[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uzJYlbhH54[/youtube]

Dear Commons Community,

Bill O’Reilly interviewed President Obama before the Super Bowl yesterday on Fox News.  I did not see the live broadcast as I was on a plane but I looked at a replay (see above) this morning.  In my opinion, the interview was tame and covered the Obamacare rollout, the Benghazi attack, and the IRS scandal, all stories Fox News has covered extensively in the past year. A little friction was generated when O’Reilly accused Obama of distracting from the scandals to protect his image and campaign.

“Your detractors believe that you did not tell the world [Benghazi] was a terror attack because your campaign didn’t want that out,” O’Reilly said. “That’s what they believe.”

“And they believe it because folks like you tell them that,” Obama said. “These kinds of things keep on surfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them.”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

I arrived in New Orleans yesterday for the EDUCAUSE – ELI Meeting.   I must say that “The Big Easy” continues to recover from Katrina well.  In the taxi ride from the airport, I did not see any hurricane-ravaged neighborhoods as I did the last time I was here about five years ago.

I was with my colleague, Chuck Dziuban, from the University of Central Florida at Drago’s Seafood Restaurant last evening where with dinner and wine, we also could keep an eye on the Super Bowl.  What a blowout!  Renee Fleming was spectacular singing the national anthem and the Seahawks defense was awesome.

The program for ELI today looks interesting with a couple of sessions on “The Learning Brain”.  The keynote is being delivered by John Medina, Developmental Molecular Biologist and Researcher at the University of Washington.  His session is described as:

“Having brain science consort with education is the professional equivalent of a blind date, yet there are exciting reasons for them to grab a dinner and a movie. Our understanding of how the brain processes information increases every week with data surprisingly relevant to education. This fascinating exploration into how modern neuroscience can influence the way we teach will show how to integrate the science of learning with the practice of learning.”

I will let you know tomorrow how it goes.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The Federal Communications Commission will expand the E-Rate program in order to double the amount of money it devotes to adding high-speed Internet connections in schools and libraries over the next two years.   As reported in the New York Times, funding for the expansion:

“…will come from restructuring the $2.4 billion E-Rate program, which provides money for “advanced telecommunications and information services” using the proceeds of fees paid by telecommunications users. The proportion that goes to broadband service in schools and libraries will increase to $2 billion a year from $1 billion.

Mr. Obama referred to the changes during his State of the Union address last week. The changes will not require any additional taxes or assessments, according to an F.C.C. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a formal announcement was being planned for this week.

The E-Rate program is part of the Universal Service Fund, which also provides money to connect rural areas and low-income people to phone and Internet service using money raised through fees on consumers’ phone bills. The commission’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, is expected to announce details of the plan on Wednesday at an event for Digital Learning Day, which promotes the use of technology in education.

Most of the redirected spending in 2014 will come from funds left over from previous years. Next year, much of the money will come from changes to the E-Rate program, including the elimination of programs that pay for outdated technologies, like paging services, dial-up Internet connections and email programs that are available free elsewhere.

The spending will be used to increase available broadband speeds and provide wireless networks in schools, which are increasingly in demand for students using tablets and laptop computers.”

This is good policy on the part of the F.C.C. and will help many school districts and libraries to upgrade their Internet connectivity.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Early tomorrow morning I will be traveling to the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Meeting in New Orleans. The entire ELI Program is full of provocative presentations on a number of issues related to instructional technology.

I have two sessions (see descriptions below) on Tuesday with colleagues from the University of Central Florida and Brigham Young University.  Please stop by to say hello if you will be attending.

Tony

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Seeking Evidence of Impact in Blended Learning: New Models, Designs, and Results

Tuesday 9:15-10:00 am.

The presenters will describe their work over the past two years with 53 researchers in blended learning from all over the world. The result of the project was the book Blended Learning Research Perspectives: Volume II, which summarizes the evidence of impact in blended learning in numerous educational settings and extends the scope of research in this area. Topics include scaling blended learning, long-haul impact in specific disciplines, improved pedagogy, nontraditional settings, and international perspectives on blended learning.

Blended Learning: The Ideal Instructional Model?

Tuesday 3:45-4:30 pm.

Why is blended learning evolving into the instructional model of choice at all levels of mainstream education? The basic premise for this session is that even with the media attention that MOOCs and other online modalities are getting, blended learning is viewed as the most practical approach for scaling up and integrating online technology into teaching and learning. Questions to be addressed in this learning circle include: Why does blended learning appeal to mainstream institutions? Is blended learning a graceful approach for integrating technology that minimizes “disruption”? What are blended learning’s pedagogical foundations? How flexible is it, and what are the types of “blends” that are evolving? What issues does blended learning pose for faculty development? Does the role of teacher change in a blended learning environment? How do students respond to learning in a blended environment?

Dear Commons Community,

In 1936, a sixth grader, named Phyllis wrote a letter to Albert Einstein asking him: Do scientists pray?  Einstein’s response was published in 2002 in a book:  “Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein’s Letters to and from Children,” edited by Alice Calaprice.  Below is the actual exchange as reprinted in The Huffington Post.

There is elegance, grace, and wisdom in his response.

Tony

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January 19, 1936

My dear Dr. Einstein,

We have brought up the question: Do scientists pray? in our Sunday school class. It began by asking whether we could believe in both science and religion. We are writing to scientists and other important men to try and have our own question answered.

We will feel greatly honored if you will answer our question: Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for?

We are in the sixth grade, Miss Ellis’s class.

Respectfully yours,

Phyllis

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He replied a mere five days later, sharing with her his thoughts on faith and science:

January 24, 1936

Dear Phyllis,

I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer:

Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish.

However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science.

But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.

With cordial greetings,

your A. Einstein