“The Singularity is Near”
Ray Kurzweil, “the ultimate thinking machine,” maintains that humans will transcend biology.
Dana Gioia, “the man who saved the NEA,” ardently advocates for arts and humanities education. He’s argued that poetry has become too elitist.
What do they have in common? It will be interesting to see! Both are keynoting Lenovo’s Annual ThinkTank Conference at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in June. ThinkTank, in its 13th year, enjoys a proud tradition of convening innovative educational institutions to showcase the best ideas in technology and education. During a series of breakout sessions, professors, IT directors, principals, instructional technologists and even marine biologists share innovations from their institutions. From “Constructivism and the Role of Choice in Instructional Outcomes” to “Teaching Analytics with Web-Based Applications,” a wide range of topics are examined.
Hosted by the experts at UNC Chapel Hill (see: the Campus Computing Initiative), the event spans three days at the Carolina Inn and the UNC Graduate School of Education. Registration for the event will be open for only seven more days.
Question to the community: What has been the best ThinkTank presentation over the last 13 years? Clayton Christensen’s sermon on disruptive technologies? Babson College’s “unorthodox” ThinkVantage Technologies Presentation? Douglas Rushkoff’s anaysis of the media’s influence on youth culture? Post your favorite(s) in the comments.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:24 pm
To me, the most amazing presentation at a ThinkTank was Clayton Christensen’s “sermon” on disruptive technologies, taken largely from his excellent “The Innovator’s Dilemma”. I loved how he tore through many case studies of benighted companies failing to see the attacking competition. Just when you thought he was a pretty cold fish talking so blithely about other people’s issues, he finished with one final and ongoing case – his own Harvard Business School.