LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Netflix Founder Acquires Online Education Start-Up

Reed Hastings, the founder and chief executive of Netflix, used the Web to make it easier for us to rent movies. Now Mr. Hastings, who is also a former high school math teacher, is using the Web for a less entertaining, more educational cause — teaching math to kids.

On Tuesday, Mr. Hastings will announce that he has financed the acquisition of DreamBox Learning, a start-up that uses online games to teach math, by Charter School Growth Fund, a non-profit investment fund for charter schools.

Mr. Hastings said that he thinks netbooks will be ubiquitous in schools in a few years, creating huge opportunities for online learning software.

“I think we’re on the edge of a real inflection point where the hardware becomes so cheap that Web learning is really throughout the schools,” he said. “But what I noticed is there’s really not that many people working on the software.”

Full story here.

5 comments:

K. said...

The link may be broken.

I hope it's a good idea and that it works. I'm inherently suspicious of solutions pushed by businessmen with no background in teaching.

For products like this to be effective, their development must be program managed by people with backgrounds in all levels of classroom teaching and at all socioeconomic levels. And they must be good program managers in the bargain. I don't know where you find these people.

K. said...

P. S. The new releases from Big Sam and Trombone Shorty both get two thumbs up. Big Sam delivers great club-level funk that would get Chuckles Krauthammer on the dance floor. TS is even better -- pretty mindblowing, actually.

Foxessa said...

Actually Hastings has teaching experience. He was a math teacher before he got rich, starting with teaching math in Swaziland with the Peace Corps. He has also served as the President of the California Board of Education.

Love, C.

Foxessa said...

The money infused into New Orleans music communities from Treme is being put to good use!

MB, of Piety Street Recording Studios, remarked on the amount of money getting pumped into musicians' pockets by the show and the positive consequences quite early on. Helped save the studio too!

Love, C.

Foxessa said...

OK. Fixed the link.

My keyboard, or my mouse, is behaving progressively more weirdly all the time. I have to replace them, but I'm also planning to replace the whole shebang pretty soon, and I'm really busy, so I am putting it off.

Love, c.