Another glimpse of the future of publishing?

Auckland author-publisher Gordon Dryden passes this video on as “another glimpse of the interactive book of the future—and especially the interactive textbook for lifelong learning, co-created by the brightest experts in any skill and the brightest in the new interactive technologies”:

http://www.gottaquirk.com/2010/02/20/tips-for-better-ideas/?utm_source=feb210&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=conopt

Dryden agrees with Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen, in his 2008 McGraw-Hill book Disrupting Class (“How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns”) that, no later than 2019, 50 per cent of all school courses, from high-school level up, will be available on the Web. But the Auckland educational writer goes further: he thinks the “model” will be based on some of the world’s best existing online games to learn to become expert at chess and bridge. Students of any age will learn hands-on, by playing at any level, from beginner to world master, with instant hints built-in from real world masters and available at the touch of a button. Another button-link will tailor the hints and activities to your own learning style.

American games designer Marc Prensky has an even bigger dream: for the world’s brightest students to redesign the world’s school system by co-creating interactive games for any subject at any level. Prensky’s newest book, Teaching Digital Natives, can be bought on his website (www.marcprensky.com), as can his earlier one, Digital Games-Based Learning.

For those New Zealanders interested in the current “national standards” debate, Dryden recommends reading several of Prensky’s articles, under “Writing” on his website, including: Open Letter to the Obama Administration, Programming is the New Literacy, and (Dryden’s favorite): A New Business Model for 21st-Century Software. It starts with this quote, from Prensky: “Education is a public service — not a place to make a buck.” Hence his suggestion to get the world’s brightest students (The new “Digital Natives”) to redesign the future of schooling.