Last week, Google hosted a gathering called “Solve for X,” which brought together entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists interested in finding technological solutions to the world’s greatest problems. These solutions weren’t small in scope. No, they were all “moonshots,” ideas that live in the “gray area between audacious projects and pure science fiction; they are 10x improvement, not 10%.” And these moonshot ideas were all presented in TED-style talks that now live on the WeSolveForX website and the WeSolveforX YouTube Channel.

Cognitive Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga, a pioneer in the study of hemispheric (left vs. right brain) specialization describes ”the Interpreter” – a left hemisphere function that organizes our memories into plausible stories. Less romantic, perhaps, than Gone With the Wind, the Interpreter may help to explain our species’ profound relationship with storytelling.

As the technologies of the 21st century evolve and mature, we become the beneficiaries of exciting approaches for designing learning experiences. The convergence of informal and social media learning, combined with the explosion of smartphone and tablet use, is having a huge impact on how we think about training and education.

via The Best of Open Culture 2011 | Open Culture.

Twitter, Facebook, e-publishing, blogs, distance-learning and other social media raise some of the most divisive cultural questions of our time. Some see the technological breakthroughs we live with as hopeful and democratic new steps in education, information gathering, and human progress. But others are deeply concerned by the eroding of civility online, declining reading habits, withering attention spans, and the treacherous effects of 24/7 peer pressure on our young.

Screening Shorts is a major new resource developed by Creative Scotland and Education Scotland to help teachers deliver moving image education (MIE).

The use of moving image as a non-traditional literacy text across Curriculum for Excellence offers engaging and exciting opportunities to get learners speaking, listening, reading, writing and creating. Short films are ideal as they are complete, easily accessible and good for multiple viewing. On this website, you will find a collection of superb downloadable films (fiction, animation and factual) suitable for primary and secondary school audiences.

The UK’s Oil Painting Collection

The United Kingdom holds in its galleries and civic buildings arguably the greatest publicly owned collection of oil paintings in the world. 200,000 publicly owned oil paintings are held in institutions ranging from museums large and small to town halls, universities, hospitals and even fire stations.

However, four in five of these paintings are not on view. Whilst many galleries make strenuous efforts to display their collections, many paintings across the country are held in storage, usually because there are insufficient funds and space to show them. Furthermore, very few galleries have created a complete photographic record of their paintings, let alone a comprehensive illustrated catalogue of their collections. In short, what is publicly owned is not publicly accessible.

via The Public Catalogue Foundation.

Article from the New York Times earlier this year about Museums around the world now using social media for interesting visitor engagement.

via Speaking Digitally About Exhibits – NYTimes.com.