TEDxSanAntonio James Bower Never Mind Textbooks The Case for Virtual Edu...

Speaker: James Bower, PhD

Title of talk: Never Mind Textbooks: The Case for Online and Virtual Educational Tools

About this talk: Did you ever wonder why science, math and physics are taught as separate classes instead of one integrated subject? It's because our ancestors had to teach from printed books and couldn't fit all the information in one tome, James Bower says. We don't have those constraints today, and Bower argues that it's time to ditch the books in favor of the Internet and computers, which offer a more robust, interactive type of learning.

About James Bower: An established neuroscientist and professor of computational biology, Bower is also the CEO of a company that founded Whyville.net, a virtual world where millions of preteens learn about math, energy management, and more. "You may not know what a megawatt hour is, " Bower says, "but the kids on Whyville not only know what it is, but also how to use it." For more information on Bower: http://www.tedxsanantonio.com/speakers/2010-speaker-lineup/james-bower-phd/

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