2008 February 10 « Windblown Bytes

Nainoa Thompson

"When we voyage, and I mean voyage anywhere, not just in canoes, but in our mind, new doors of knowledge will open. and that's what this voyage is all about . . . it's about taking on a challenge to learn. If we inspire even one of our children to do the same, then we will have succeeded."

"Our ancestors sailed across a vast ocean, one third of the earth's surface, and to accomplish this great feat they needed the vision to see islands over the horizon, the ability to plan intentional voyages of discovery, the discipline to train physically and mentally, the courage to take risks, and a deep sense of aloha to bind the crew together during the voyage. These are Hawaiian values but they are also universal values. They worked in the past and they will work today" (Polynesian Voyaging Society and Georganne Nordstrom, "Nainoa Thompson: In Search of History," Horizons, 1999).

Paulo Freire

"I am appealing to all of us who have escaped cognitive death by school -- who are the survivors here -- to work on modifying it. For me, the challenge is not to end school, but to change it completely and radically . . . . So I keep fighting in the hope of putting school on the level of its time. . . . We learned before teaching. . . . The name ["school"] doesn't

matter. What matters to me is the determined space and time where determined tasks are accomplished. Social historical and political tasks, not only individual ones. . . . The two main tasks of the school: to get the already known knowledge and to produce the knowledge not yet in existence" (In Seymour Papert's "The Future of School," transcripts of a late-1980s Sao Paulo, Brazil, TV broadcast).

John Dewey

"A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. The extension in space of the number of individuals who participate in an interest so that each has to refer his own action to that of others,

and to consider the action of others to give point and direction to his own, is equivalent to breaking down barriers of class, race, and national territory which kept men from perceiving the full import of their activity" (Democracy and Education, Macmillan, NY, 1916).

James L. Morrison

Innovate: Journal of Online Education, is dedicated to presenting articles via the most dynamic, interactive technology that is available. For example, for each article, the journal provides an interactive Webcast that connects authors and readers . . . . Innovate also offers an RSS feed as well as Innovate-Live forums hosted by our partner ULiveandLearn. The forums currently serve as an experimental call for papers. . . . Finally, Innovate hosts a Ning social network, Innovate-Ideagora, where members participate in wide-ranging conversations about education and information technology.