As CK-12 starts its third year, the world around us is changing in many ways – yet we at CK-12 continue to think about how to level the playing field by giving access to information for all students in K-12 area.
2008 will be remembered in history for many things that changed the way we think about our lives. Let’s run through some of the more notable ones.
We made great strides in making it possible to have access to resources for less fortunate people in areas such as Microfinance (www.grameenfoundation.org) microgiving (www.kiva.org), and education (www.donorschoose.org). A large portion of human-beings continue to be generous and actively involved in closing the gaps between the haves and the have-nots.
Yet on the flip side, rifts continue to grow and persist between people because of value systems and clashing ideologies: one man’s sacrifice is another man’s tragedy (Bombay shootings, Suicide bombers).
Much progress in improving living standards has been made by two of the largest nations – China and India – Chindia effect. Chindia showed the world “how the world could do it right“; something that the for all help from large organization such as World Bank, UN, and others could not happen.
The American economy enjoyed record highs and demoralizing lows. The beginning of 2008 showed many promises of a rosy future with choices in jobs and unbelievable market conditions. Technology companies lead the way with DOW Jones showing unseen advances – Apple and Google became global household name. Collaboration (Wikipedia) and sharing (DIGG, Tumblr, Twitter) on the internet became a new norm. In the last couple of months the dominoes came tumbling down and the American economy suffered losses like it had not seen before.
Zero-to-hero culture continues with Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin a.k.a. Tina Fey, Madonna left her husband and joined the ranks of Britney Spears in being “a model of commitment“, so children have little option but to turn to the likes of Hannah Montana.
The power of the weapons changed to the power of the fuels – oil and the Middle East are now commanding the spending. The world turned upside down with the fall of the banking system disasters. With this disaster many walls came tumbling down and exposed how people were manipulating the system – Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, and Satyam’s became symbols of capitalist morality or I should say immorality. Layoffs became the story of the year bringing unemployment to 7.2%.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of the nature of the human race!
Dear President Elect Obama,
What will your legacy be?
Will you help us to make our children become rational thinkers such that they can learn to think what Madoff et al are doing to them?
Will you help us to take NCLB to a higher standards as it should have been – No child left behind but all allowed to move ahead?
Will you help make education affordable?
I believe “YES WE CAN” is “YES WE CAN THINK”
At CK-12, we believe that we provide a crucial piece of the educational puzzle.
CK-12 provides the tools necessary to create, access and disseminate content for free. Governor Schwarzenegger, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent for adopted content. Can we help to reduce that cost substantially?
The content generated through CK-12 tools will be dynamic content open to all to re-purpose to their own needs rather then static content bound by covers and controlled by a few. If access to information is the step towards learning and critical thinking, then CK-12 provides this access to information freely and at no cost to the user other than the cost of resources – paper, printing, etc.
The mission of CK-12, embodies the generosity that the people of the United States have historically and continuously demonstrated, by making the content provided to all in a democratic manner both nationally and globally. We are well on our way to providing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content via FlexBooks that we have commissioned. We are working with the Commonwealth of Virginia, DC school systems, Project Algebra, Arizona State University, and many others to bring 21st century educational technology and content to classrooms everywhere.
We believe that we all have to invest in the children. They are our future.