Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg, with Zoe Marie Jones: Over the past two decades, the way we learn has changed dramatically. We have new sources of information and new ways to exchange and to interact with information. But our schools and the way we teach have remained largely the same for years, even centuries. What happens to traditional educational institutions when learning also takes place on a vast range of Internet sites, from Pokemon Web pages to Wikipedia? This report investigates how traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. The authors propose an alternative definition of "institution" as a "mobilizing network" -- emphasizing its flexibility, the permeability of its boundaries, its interactive productivity, and its potential as a catalyst for change -- and explore the implications for higher education.
Nicholas Carr: Over the past few years I've had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn't going -- so far as I can tell -- but it's changing. I'm not thinking the way I used to think.
John Seely-Brown: The best way to predict the future is not to look ahead, but to look around.
Bill Buxton: Any technology that is going to have significant impact over the next 10 years is already at least 10 years old.
John Schwartz: The critical issue is no longer getting information, but getting the right information to the right people at the right time. And that turns out to be one of the hardest tasks around.
Junot Diaz: Ideas are wonderful things, but unless they're couched in a good story they can do nothing.
Louis Kahn: A good idea that doesn't happen is no idea at all.
The Future of Thinking | 
