Teaching kids democratic values
Teaching democratic values and the importance of civic responsibility doesn’t seem to be particularly strong in the school system. However, given that so many schools cling to an outdated education model, I don’t find fault with many kids for ending up apathetic. It’s hard to imagine getting excited about learning the importance of civic responsibility and democracy from simply reading a text book.
This is why I’m sending kudos to the province of Ontario’s educational television network for thinking outside of the box and programming a new show called Pillars of Freedom, in an effort to not only entertain, but to educate and engage kids. Additional kudos as you don’t have to be from Ontario to enjoy the program – everything is online.
The show’s creators were inspired (by means of being uninspired by low voter turnouts) to create a multi-platform, interactive show that teaches kids at an early age about democracy and the consequences of choices. Kids aged 6-10 watch the show which portrays two young dragons who are trying to restore freedom to their kingdom, which is suffering from apathy. Viewers are driven online to a “choose your own adventure” series of choices. Within the show’s online community, kids can vote on what they would like to see the animated characters do next, watch previous episodes and play out the roles of the two protagonists via the show’s online game. It is a great example of the kind of programming that a generation which is growing up online is looking for. It’s fun, interactive, educational and puts viewers in the driver’s seat to do what they do best – choose.
I encourage other programmers to start thinking how we can inspire our youngest citizens to want to understand the importance of civic values.
May 16th, 2012 on
Our society is collectively creating, storing and communicating information at nearly exponential rates of growth. Most of this data is personally identifiable, and third parties control much of it. This personal data will be archived online forever and be instantly searchable, and few appreciate how many ways this data might be used to harm us.
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May 11th, 2012 on Reuters
A growing number of people argue that the notion of having a private life in which we carefully restrict what information we share with others may not be a good idea. Instead, sharing our intimate, personal information with others would benefit us individually and as a society.
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May 4th, 2012 on Reuters
Whatever happened to the “we”? We haven’t heard about it since the 2008 victory. “They built the largest online community in the history of the presidency,” says Andrew Rasiej, founder of Personal Democracy Media, which tracks the intersection of technology and politics. “But then they stopped talking to them and engaging them”.
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May 2nd, 2012 on The Globe and Mail
Recently, the smartest organizations have been rethinking what it means to be open. In this article I will show that there are three particular dimensions of openness that really matter in the business arena.
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March 26th, 2012 on The Huffington Post
The ‘Kony 2012′ director who was found naked in the street will remain in the hospital for several weeks. Danica Russell, Jason Russell’s wife, attributed her husband’s “reactive phsychosis” to the “sudden transition from relative anonymity to worldwide attention — both raves and ridicules, in a matter of days.”
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January 31st, 2012 on Social Media Week
The debate on the role of social media and change is over. Over the last year, many have questioned just how important social media are in helping activists achieve social change.
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