Short Video: Disconnect to Connect

Here is a short "commercial" from Thailand, titled "Disconnect to Connect."

It highlights our collective addition to gadgets, and then points the way to the joy of human-to-human (H2H) genuine interactions and experience.

http://www.wimp.com/disconnectconnect/

Are The New Gadgets Cutting-Edge Tools or Dangerous Distractions ?

This article from the New York Times highlights the raging battle between the Internet and the Book.
Most young people today are choosing the Internet, and the many gadgets that access the Net.

The great problem of our era is the problem of education and technology:
How can use our advanced communication technology for education, enjoyment, personal growth and a deep connection with others --
instead of burying ourselves in the lonely emptiness of cyberspace ?


The image in this post is from the WikiMedia commons, here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Addicttv.jpg

and reproduced with a CopyLeft license.

President Obama Speaks in Indonesia

U.S.A. President Barack Obama gives an inspiring speech in Indonesia, on November 9, 2010. Obama's 30-minute talk describes America's partnership with Indonesia, sustainable development, how democracy promotes economic progress, and education for the future in a rapidly-changing world.

You can watch a video of the talk here:

Free Knowledge from the Best Universities in the World

"Knowledge is power," wrote Will Durant, "but only wisdom is liberty."

Nevertheless, knowledge -- when combined with compassionate intelligence -- is a very good thing.

Many of the world's leading universities are now offering their courses online, in the form of lecture notes, audio recordings, and even videos of the lectures.

An article in yesterday's (November 1, 2010) New York Times describes some of the course offerings, at Harvard, Yale, Stanford and the University of Michigan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/world/europe/01iht-educLede01.html

Apple's iTunes University offers many free courses; you can begin exploring the jungle of knowledge here:

http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/
http://www.openculture.com/2007/05/10_free_university_courses_on_itunes.html
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

Additional links to free online courses can be found on the web page of Zorba's Guide to Free Ebooks, here:

http://www.zorba.us/?page_id=818

--Michael Pastore, Epublishers Weekly