030808 keynote speakers

Speaker 1:

Everything that’s bad is good for you: Steven Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Bad_Is_Good_For_You

Speaker 2:

Convergence culture: Dr. Henry Jenkins, MIT

http://www.nyupress.org/books/Convergence_Culture-products_id-4756.html

HJ: Never underestimate the power of parents to see their children as dumb. Kids have always adopted new technology as a way to separate themselves.

New literacies emerging that adults don't understand...hence a wave or angst over the 'declining skills' of youth. But no good evidence testing for new learnings in areas such as collaborative learning, ability to tap into collective knowledge...people don't need to have mastery over an ever evolving body of knowledge.

People don’t do things that are meaningless…the challenge is determining how it is meaningful to the individual engaged in the activity...in many instances, this meaning is found in collaboration.

For instance, TV shows like Lost/The wire….The Wire is hill street blues on steroids, last gasp of old school tv??? Lost, fan created engagement with the map of underground lair…people trying to decode text, freeze frame map and upload to discusson threads…

And then, the good Doctor panders to the audience! “What’s wrong with America that they don’t value such creative engaged people?” Expected applause follows as everyone in the audience thinks he's talking about them :)

On to politics of technology:

How do we turn a collective knowledge society toward endeavors that change the political culture/system? The Obama Phenomenon (PhenomObamathon??)

In Politics, younger generation is about ‘We’ versus 'I’…collective intelligence and collaboration are hallmarks of Obama's campaign, moresoe than Hillary according to the doctor.

"We are the answers we are seeking."

On to the audience questions...