David Thornburg Speech Topics
Forget About The Future, It's The Present That Concerns Me: Preparing Students For Today's World
Abstract: For many years the presenter has shared visions of the future with educators around the world in the hope that this would influence educational practice. This was a mistake. We don't need to prepare students just for some unseen and basically unknowable future, we need to prepare them...
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If The World is Flat, Why is My Head Spinning? Education and skills for life in a global economy.
Abstract: Every one of us has a vested interest in making sure our own children are prepared for life in a world unlike that in which we grew up. This message, shared by the presenter for years, has taken on new urgency as many of his predictions have now come true. This talk expands on Dr....
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Beyond the Computer: Emerging Trends in Technology
Abstract: The face of personal computing is changing rapidly in revolutionary, not evolutionary, ways. This dynamic presentation looks at a few developments that are clearly emerging trends in technology, including: From running hot to going green: Reduced power consumption From television to...
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Campfires in Cyberspace: Learning in the Telematic Age
Abstract: This new presentation updates the presenter's perspectives on four primordial cross-cultural learning environments (campfires, watering holes, caves, and life) as embodied in modern tools for learning and communication. The goal is to make sense of the diverse and rapidly changing...
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Leading With Technology for Academic Achievement: Where Things Are, Where They Could Be, How Do We Get There?
Abstract: What is the connection between educational technology and academic achievement? Personal computers started showing up in classrooms about thirty years ago. Today, computer penetration in U.S. schools is frozen at a student/computer ratio of nearly 4:1. Why has the revolution stalled?...
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Why Linux in Education, Why You, and Why Now?
Abstract: In the past five years the Linux operating system went from a curiosity in K-12 computing to the dominant platform in Indiana high schools, as well as many other schools and districts throughout the US, mirroring the rise of Linux in other countries. For example, in 2008, Brazil...
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Space Exploration as a STEM Curriculum
Abstract: The development of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills is a national priority. This dynamic and content-rich (and visually stunning) presentation outlines an approach to address these skills in an integrated fashion using student projects and inquiry, supported by...
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