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Schoolless

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From the Back Cover

Eventually, we all find ourselves schoolless. Some become schoolless when they drop out of high school, and some only after they graduate from college. Be it sooner or later, when traditional educational doors close to us, how do we go about the task of lifelong learning?

We can unlock the answer by studying those who have found themselves schoolless prematurely. Some are quite notable. Steve Jobs dropped out of college after one semester. The Wright brothers never attended any college after high school. Abraham Lincoln found himself schoolless after about one year of formal schooling. Benjamin Franklin had about two. Frederick Douglass had none at all.

It is from these biographies that lessons are gleaned about how one can successfully overcome a lack of access to formal education. Add to their biographies the latest psychological research into learning, as well as the lessons from the open-source movement, and what is left is part inspiration and part guide to fulfill one's intellectual potential.

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Presentation on Schoolless Given at Refresh, Winchester

Part 1

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Presentation on Schoolless Given at Refresh, Winchester

Part 2: Q and A

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Schoolless Resources

Below are some of the resources referenced in Schoolless. The landscape of education is changing in profound ways, and the resources below will help you understand how that landscape is shaping up.

Schoolless Learning Examples on Squidoo

Below are two examples of resources created to facilitate open-source learning.
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350 Free Online Courses from Top Universities!

Khan Academy Introduction

The Khan Academy is a great place to learn a variety of subjects. While it's heavily focused on math and science, Sal Khan is constantly adding to to his library of modular lessons. There are college test out programs like the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) that a student can use to get credit for many of the subjects learned at the Khan Academy.
Khan Academy on the Gates Notes
by khanacademy | video info

3,773 ratings | 1,104,685 views
curated content from YouTube

Khan Academy: 1800+ lessons for free.

The Importance of Peer-to-Peer Mentoring

In this talk, Dr. Mitra shows a modern day example of peer-to-peer mentoring, although he never uses the term. Notice how the kids in Dr. Mitra's experiments teach each other without the aid of traditional teachers or mentors. As adults, Benjamin Franklin made use of this method famously in his Junto, as did Albert Einstein in his Olympia Academy. Frederick Douglass made use of the method as a child when learning to read.
Sugata Mitra's new experiments in self-teaching
by TEDtalksDirector | video info

2,539 ratings | 185,251 views
curated content from YouTube

Food for Thought

Sugata Mitra contends that based on his experiments the ideal ratio is one computer per four children. Think about it this way: The computer replaces the library; the students, through peer-to-peer mentoring, replace the role traditionally filled by a teacher. Again, the model for this is Benjamin Franklin's Junto. The members of the Junto pooled their books to create the first lending library, while they used peer-to-peer mentoring to help each other learn a variety of subjects.

Getting the World Connected

The world is getting more and more connected. Nicholas Negroponte is leading the way with his One Laptop Per Child program. Once people fully tune into the method of open-source education, getting education to students by getting them connected to the internet becomes the greatest imperative. If Sugata Mitra is correct, one laptop per four children -- not one per child -- is actually the ideal.
Nicholas Negroponte: One Laptop per Child, two years on
by TEDtalksDirector | video info

166 ratings | 30,923 views
curated content from YouTube

Bonus Resources

The following links and resources aren't talked about in the book; however, if you are trying to open-source educate, you may want to check them out.

Learning (and Teaching) Through Web Video

In this clip, Chris Anderson makes a compelling case for the power of learning from video. That in and of itself makes his talk worth watching, but I was especially drawn in by his point about the crowd as both students and teachers simultaneously.
Chris Anderson: How YouTube is driving innovation
by TEDtalksDirector | video info

1,194 ratings | 155,285 views
curated content from YouTube

What to Learn?

When it comes to education, one size does not fit all; therefore, what is needed are ways (the more the better) for each student to develop his or her unique talents. Sir Ken Robinson drives this point home in his popular TED Talk.
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
by TEDtalksDirector | video info

25,193 ratings | 3,242,465 views
curated content from YouTube

Buffet Style Education

This isn't quite open-source, but it's close. The two websites linked below offer tremendous video instruction in a wide variety of subjects. Once you have paid for access to each site, you have unlimited access to their learning materials.
Virtual Training Company (VTC)
VTC provides unlimited access to thousands of video tutorials for $30 per month.
Digital-Tutors
Digital-Tutors provides unlimited access to thousands of video tutorials for $45 per month.

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GannonBeck

I am an illustrator living in Virginia. I am an advocate of learning, mentoring, and sharing knowledge.
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