<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16LE"?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Personal Fabrication and Design</title> <link>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design.aspx</link> <description>Better desktop tools, 3D printers, and digital machinery democratize the machine shop. Anyone can experiment with making cool things. Cheaper, more user-friendly interfaces empower individuals to draft their own designs and even manufacture them themselves. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Create t-shirts for events or schools &lt;a href="http://www.cafepress.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;CafePress&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://www.threadless.com" target="_blank"&gt;Threadless&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use &lt;a href="http://www.fabathome.org" target="_blank"&gt;Fab@home&lt;/a&gt; as an inspiration for your next learning project &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Customize a gift for your favorite digital citizen with &lt;a href="http://www.fabjectory.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Fabjectory&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Bring  your digital creations to life with 3D printing (see &lt;a href="http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1839765.ece" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt; Microtrends: Printing in 3D &lt;/a&gt;) &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Create and sell your own ideas and goods at &lt;a href="http://www.ponoko.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Ponoko&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Diane Demee-Benoit, previously with the George Lucas Foundation, notes how open-source programs and products are changing the economy, and by engaging the collective wisdom of others we have the opportunity to create new services for others.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;a href="&lt;object width=" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CCclMnFNCLo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt; </description> <name>Personal Fabrication and Design</name> <atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design" /><feedburner:info uri="personal-fabrication-and-design" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><item> <title>The Maker Economy (Driver of Change)</title> <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Personal fabrication technologies and open-source principles democratize production and design&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; New forms of bottom-up social networking and economic coordination, along with advances in small-scale, community-based fabrication and design, transform local economies in the next decade, enabling productive flexibility that will help cushion against economic instability. New tools, including 3D printers (desktop printers that print out objects, parts, and components), computercontrolled machine tools (such as laser cutters), and online networking applications (that allow designers, consumers, tinkerers, and artisans to share blueprints, solutions, and how-to knowledge) will enable local communities to  make their own economic futures - to innovate, customize, design, and create solutions to meet local needs. Schools, community centers, and local businesses will become important hubs of design knowledge, rapid prototyping, and problem-solving skills that will increase local interdependencies and resilience, redefining relationships with the broader economy. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;What new skills are required for the maker economy, and what industrial and knowledge economy skills remain important?  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;What new models of education suggested by the maker economy transcend industrial-age, assembly-line models? &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More on This Topic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Two future forces, one mostly social, one mostly technological, are intersecting to transform how goods, services, and experiences - the "stuff" of our world - will be designed, manufactured, and distributed over the next decade:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;An &lt;strong&gt;emerging do-it-yourself culture of "makers"&lt;/strong&gt; is boldly voiding warranties to tweak, hack, and customize the products they buy. And what they can t purchase, they build from scratch. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Meanwhile, &lt;strong&gt;flexible manufacturing technologies&lt;/strong&gt;, such as 3D desktop printers that allows users to print out parts and components, will change fabrication from massive and centralized to lightweight and ad hoc. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;These trends sit atop a platform of &lt;strong&gt;grassroots economics - &lt;/strong&gt;new market structures enabled by technologies of cooperation that embody a shift from stores and sales to communities and connections.  These makers are also helping craft a culture of tinkering, sharing, hacking, remixing, and collaborating.  They are blending open-source principles (in which code, blueprints, and designs are shared openly for the purposes of catalyzing innovations) with making practices that celebrate individual craftsmanship and ingenuity.  &lt;a href="http://www.makezine.com/"&gt;Maker Magazine &lt;/a&gt;and their eponymous &lt;a href="/signal/Maker-Faire.aspx"&gt;Maker Faire &lt;/a&gt;are examples of ways that home producers, hackers, and tinkerers gather and share their creations. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the maker economy, "do it yourself" is becoming &lt;strong&gt;"do it ourselves,"&lt;/strong&gt; as social technologies are amplifying individual makers and stimulating &lt;a href="/trend/Citizen-RD.aspx"&gt;citizen R&amp;amp;D&lt;/a&gt;. These emerging industrial markets are driven not solely by profit but also by play - genuine excitement about making is inspiring these artisan networks.  They use social media sites, such as &lt;a href="/signal/Instructables.aspx"&gt;Instructables&lt;/a&gt; to explain their inventions and creations to others. They develop close connections with their markets and communities, tapping this relationship in order to develop new ideas, iterations, and solicit feedback. They participate in solutions markets like &lt;a href="/signal/Innocentive.aspx"&gt;InnoCentive&lt;/a&gt; to solve design, technical, and scientific problems that lead to new products and solutions. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; The maker culture will not replace industrial society, but &lt;strong&gt;traditional manufacturers and the maverick makers will remain inevitably linked - &lt;/strong&gt;sometimes cooperating, sometimes competing, but frequently blurring the boundaries that separate them. Success will occur when the two cultures are woven together in new and interesting ways.  Look for the rise in makers, &lt;a href="/trend/Networked-Artisans.aspx"&gt;networked artisans&lt;/a&gt;, and ad hoc factories to redefine the significance and role of the industrial arts and crafts in society.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Implications for Learning&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;The emergence of the maker economy will increase the status of the industrial arts and crafts as it becomes a source of economic and social innovation and customization.  The maker economy will draw inspiration from local communities and markets, yet collaborate and share knowledge at a global level.   &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Expect the maker economy to &lt;strong&gt;influence traditional curriculums&lt;/strong&gt;, school to work programs, and vocational training.  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;The maker economy will give new meaning to efforts in &lt;strong&gt;project-based learning and purpose driven knowledge acquisition. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design &lt;/strong&gt;will become an effective entry to learning critical skills, ranging from designing production teams and work processes to physical goods themselves.  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cooperation&lt;/strong&gt; across disciplines, skill domains, and national boundaries will trump competition as makers demonstrate the value of open, cooperative practices. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kinetic learning&lt;/strong&gt; from interacting with physical objects and materials will open up new ways to experience complex concepts and principles. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5 Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tool-lending_libraries" target="_blank"&gt;tool library &lt;/a&gt;near you to create your own learning project &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Trade something you don't need any more for something you want on &lt;a href="http://www.swapthing.com/home/index.jsp" target="_blank"&gt;Swapthing&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Create and sell your own ideas and goods at &lt;a href="http://www.ponoko.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Ponoko &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Earn money for research on various projects at &lt;a href="http://www.innocentive.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Innocentive &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Donate your idle time on your computer to science through the &lt;a href="http://folding.stanford.edu/" target="_blank"&gt;Folding@home &lt;/a&gt;project or the &lt;a href="http://boinc.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank"&gt;BOINC&lt;/a&gt; project &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/kBMTwkmLpRs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/kBMTwkmLpRs/The-Maker-Economy.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/driver/The-Maker-Economy.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Transliteracy (Trend)</title> <description>&lt;p&gt;Effective communication depends on the ability to read, write, and interact across multiple media and social platforms. (provided by &lt;a href="http://www.transliteracy.com" target="_blank"&gt;www.transliteracy.com&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Podcasts &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Digital video &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Virtual Worlds &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Microblogs &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Wikis &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Social Networking &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Tagging &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the emerging decade, ideas will migrate across multiple social media platforms: podcasts, digital video, virtual worlds, microblogs, wikis, social networking, tagging, etc. The amplified, transliterate organization will have the capacity to communicate across these platforms.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;View or post a video around your lesson plan or around an educational component on &lt;a href="http://www.teachertube.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;TeacherTube&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Try e-learning for your own professional development &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn how &lt;a href="http://transliteracies.english.ucsb.edu/category/research-project/definition-of-online-reading" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;The Transliteracies Project&lt;/a&gt; is designing technology to improve the experience of reading for people of all backgrounds &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Explore how archaeology and media can be used in your next class at &lt;a href="http://metamedia.stanford.edu/" class="jive-link-external-small"&gt;MetaMedia&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Download courses from &lt;a href="http://itunes.stanford.edu/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Stanford University on iTunes&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;MIT OpenCourseWare&lt;/a&gt;, or another open access sites for use in your classrorom &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chuck House, executive director of Media X, Stanford University's membership research program on media and technology, talks about the new skills needed for 21st century jobs. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;a href="&lt;object width=" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qSFuZDc-7yw&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;&amp;amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/2vJl88KMLsU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/2vJl88KMLsU/Transliteracy.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Transliteracy.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Beta Building (Trend)</title> <description>Transparency, collaboration, and rapid iteration create a beta culture displaying open critique and reflective practice. In a world of transparency and open contribution, collective creation and critique, and rapid iteration, &lt;i&gt;beta&lt;/i&gt; status (a stage of testing and refinement) is a norm. But in this world, &lt;i&gt;beta&lt;/i&gt; is fully functional, just open to improvement. &lt;i&gt;Beta&lt;/i&gt; building reflects both a mindset that any product or process can be improved, and the platforms that encourage input and enable revision. Organizations engaging in &lt;i&gt;beta&lt;/i&gt; building must be comfortable with open authorship making things transparent even when  incomplete  and participating in a community of contribution. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Focus on fostering imagination, creativity, thoughtfulness, and collaboration over providing training on specific technologies that will soon be outmoded &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Be a citizen journalist by contributing to &lt;a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;NowPublic&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Create an internal wiki to collaborate within your organization with one of the tools listed at &lt;a href="http://www.wikimatrix.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;WikiMatrix&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Announce real-time organizational updates to the public using &lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt; or within your organization using &lt;a href="http://www.yammer.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Yammer&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Adopt &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_design" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;iterative design&lt;/a&gt; principles throughout your organization &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="watch-video-desc description"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Henry Lowood, Curator for History of Science &amp;amp; Technology Collections at Stanford, and Henrik Bennetsen from the Stanford Humanities Lab speak on how virtual worlds and sharing of information can have a dramatic impact on education.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;a href="&lt;object width=" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2OHKi7_E7ok&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/a2j5k96_jm4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/a2j5k96_jm4/Beta-Building.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Beta-Building.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Visual Literacy (Trend)</title> <description>Vast data streams require visual tools to discern underlying stories. Various visual displays will emerge as sensemaking and navigation tools for these data streams -- biometric, geographic, cognitive, neurological, tagging, taste trails, online personae, etc. Many data sets will prove too complicated for linear or text-based analysis: visual representations of multiple variables will reveal underlying patterns much more effectively and eloquently. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Tell a more compelling story about education with data visualization (see &lt;a href="http://www.flowingdata.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Flowing Data&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Debunk third-world myths with &lt;a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Hans Rosling&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Explore &lt;a href="http://www.horizonmapping.net/projects/tmc/tmc_gallery/Tutor_Mentor_school_maps.html" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Chicago Schools on the 2007 Warning List&lt;/a&gt;; if you can find a similar resource for your community, promote it; if not, consider starting one&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Generate a housing map in your zip code at &lt;a href="http://www.zillow.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Zillow&lt;/a&gt; and determine whether the prices are related to the quality of the local schools&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/Kw3CUtzUHfs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/Kw3CUtzUHfs/Visual-Literacy.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Visual-Literacy.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Metaverse (Trend)</title> <description>Blended physical-digital worlds create new learning geographies.  Learning in the real world is complemented by the navigation of virtual worlds through avatars.  Google Earth and Second Life merge to become the 'Metaverse.'&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/9SoAvr-obTc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/9SoAvr-obTc/Metaverse.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Metaverse.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Enabled Innovation (Trend)</title> <description>Neurodiversity, physical enhancements, and disability communities converge, turning marginalized populations into mainstream innovators. People with disabilities are quickly becoming lead users and innovators of sophisticated physical and cognitive enhancements, ones that will make people  better than normal. Neurodiversity, which considers a-typical neural behavior such as autism not as a disability but as a natural human difference, is empowering many marginalized populations to embrace and explore their unique cognitive functioning not &lt;i&gt;dis&lt;/i&gt;abled, but &lt;i&gt;en&lt;/i&gt;abled. Many of these developments will be rapidly adopted back into mainstream use, meanwhile challenging our notions of performance,  normal, and what it means to be human. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn why some think a double-leg amputee like &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius" class="active_link" target="_blank"&gt;Oscar Pistorius&lt;/a&gt; has an unfair advantage in racing&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;View the parody site &lt;a href="http://isnt.autistics.org/archived.html" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Institute for the Neurologically Typical&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;See how the Asperger's Syndrome community is banding together at &lt;a href="http://www.wrongplanet.net/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;WrongPlanet.net&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/UOAqDroUIc8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/UOAqDroUIc8/Enabled-Innovation.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Enabled-Innovation.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Lightweight Community-Based Manufacturing (Trend)</title> <description>Ad hoc factories and job shops enable flexible, fast, and customized production, unlike fabrication by assembly lines and dedicated factories. Physical goods can be made - or recycled and remade - on small, specific scales, ideal for personal or local projects. Anyone can become a player - buyer, producer, designer - in the manufacturing arena. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Reduce your manufacturing costs with &lt;a href="http://pchchinasolutions.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;PCH International&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tool-lending_libraries" class="active_link" target="_blank"&gt;tool library&lt;/a&gt; near you to create your own learning project &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Find out if your community gives new life to old electronics, as does the &lt;a href="http://www.accrc.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Alameda County Computer Resource Center (ACCRC)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Donate or procure hands-on learning materials from &lt;a href="http://www.raft.net/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Resource Area for Teacher (RAFT)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Donate 3-D production tools from &lt;a href="http://www.zcorp.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Z Corporation&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://www.shopbottools.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;ShopBot Tools&lt;/a&gt; to your local school, library, or community center &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Diane Demee-Benoit, previously with the George Lucas Foundation, notes how open-source programs and products are changing the economy, and by engaging the collective wisdom of others we have the opportunity to create new services for others.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CCclMnFNCLo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/gyBT84FOHbs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/gyBT84FOHbs/Lightweight-Community-Based-Manufacturing.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Lightweight-Community-Based-Manufacturing.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Networked Artisans (Trend)</title> <description>Solo inventors, tinkerers, and craftsmen form networks to collaborate and celebrate their creations. Connected, they can iterate and innovate rapidly, and they re often driven much more by shared excitement than by financial rewards. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Have your next learning project featured at &lt;a href="http://makerfaire.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Maker Faire&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Find ideas for your next project at &lt;a href="http://www.evilmadscientist.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories&lt;/a&gt; or on &lt;a href="http://www.instructables.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Instructables&lt;/a&gt;; build it and then teach someone else how&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Join your local &lt;a href="http://www.freecycle.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Freecycle Network&lt;/a&gt; to exchange things for free in your area&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Trade something you don't need any more for something you want on &lt;a href="http://www.swapthing.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Swapthing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Diane Demee-Benoit, previously with the George Lucas Foundation, notes how open-source programs and products are changing the economy, and by engaging the collective wisdom of others we have the opportunity to create new services for others.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CCclMnFNCLo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/nVhgq48hNLQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/nVhgq48hNLQ/Networked-Artisans.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Networked-Artisans.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Citizen R&amp;D (Trend)</title> <description>Makers reach out to their markets and communities to ideate, iterate, and solicit feedback. Research and development is no longer relegated to a lab where only  experts are welcome. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Explore the love of a father for his daughter on &lt;a href="http://mydaughtersdna.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;My Daughter s DNA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use courses and protocols in biology and engineering for your next lesson plan from &lt;a href="http://openwetware.org/wiki/Main_Page" target="_blank"&gt;Open Wetware &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Contribute to the body of global climate data through the NASA &lt;a href="http://www.globe.gov/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;GLOBE&lt;/a&gt; project&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Earn money for research on various projects at &lt;a href="http://www.innocentive.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Innocentive&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Donate your idle time on your computer to science through the &lt;a href="http://folding.stanford.edu/" target="_blank"&gt;Folding@home &lt;/a&gt;project or the &lt;a href="http://boinc.berkeley.edu/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;BOINC&lt;/a&gt; project&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Diane Demee-Benoit, previously with the George Lucas Foundation, notes how open-source programs and products are changing the economy, and by engaging the collective wisdom of others we have the opportunity to create new services for others.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href="&lt;object width=" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CCclMnFNCLo&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/fdSnZgBG7JY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/fdSnZgBG7JY/Citizen-RD.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Citizen-RD.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Scientists Use 3D Printer to Create First  Printed Human Vein (Signal)</title> <description>Scientists working on the Organovo NovoGen printer recently created the first  printed human vein, making the body part from actual cells. This technology could replace other toxic and carbon-heavy medicinal practices like using artificial parts in the human body.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/84aGgpF3Ggo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/84aGgpF3Ggo/Scientists-Use-3D-Printer-to-Create-First-e2809cPrintede2809d-Human-Vein.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Scientists-Use-3D-Printer-to-Create-First-e2809cPrintede2809d-Human-Vein.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Want to Improve Democracy? Try Design Thinking (Signal)</title> <description>Tim Brown, of IDEO, author of "Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation," suggests that dead-end political discussions could be given new life through design thinking. Instead of arguing from entrenched positions on health care, climate change, etc., we should step back and actually look at the effects of various options on life in 30-40 years. Design thinking "enters the debate without an agenda," and "brings experiments to life quickly to see what works and what doesn't."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/hIv4_WdUkqI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/hIv4_WdUkqI/Want-to-Improve-Democracy--Try-Design-Thinking.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Want-to-Improve-Democracy--Try-Design-Thinking.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Maker Economy Meets Biology (Signal)</title> <description>Professors at Vassar, Berkeley, and Harvard are taking advantage of pliable materials and tiny microprocessors to create robots that mimic behaviors of early life forms and test theories of evolution.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/t3WCMAPZDE8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/t3WCMAPZDE8/Maker-Economy-Meets-Biology.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Maker-Economy-Meets-Biology.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title> Microtrends: Printing in 3d (Signal)</title> <description>An article introducing 3-d printing and surveying the emerging players and technologies.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/iue5RWUUaa8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/iue5RWUUaa8/e2809cMicrotrends-Printing-in-3de2809d.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/e2809cMicrotrends-Printing-in-3de2809d.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Fabjectory (Signal)</title> <description>Have your electronic characters made into incredibly detailed, full color, real-life statuettes.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/QJTzctzsgPA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/QJTzctzsgPA/Fabjectory.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Fabjectory.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Gapminder (Signal)</title> <description>Gapminder is a non-profit venture promoting sustainable global development by increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development. Gapminder utilizes a Trendanalyer, which gives meaning to statistical time series by converting boring numbers into enjoyable, animated and interactive graphics. Visitors can download Gapcasts 3  10 minute walkthroughs of time series explore existing graphs, and create their own graphs, provided they have the appropriate data.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/QNZ4SmCrJws" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/QNZ4SmCrJws/Gapminder.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Gapminder.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Ponoko (Signal)</title> <description>Ponoko is a platform for anyone to share, buy and sell product plans to make individualized goods.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/CWBDXiEwtrw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/CWBDXiEwtrw/Ponoko.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Ponoko.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Fab@home (Signal)</title> <description>Fab@Home is a project dedicated to making and using  fabbers, which are machines that can make things on your desktop. The website provides everything you need to know in order to build or buy your own simple fabber, and to use it to print three-dimensional objects.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/S9gLUuX_Goo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/S9gLUuX_Goo/Fabhome.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Fabhome.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Assessment Designer (Learning Agent)</title> <description>Using social networks and insights into cognitive functioning, assessment designers will create appropriate methods for evaluating media literacy, learning discovery journeys, and other innovative forms of instruction.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/ciqSEOHCyio" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/ciqSEOHCyio/Assessment-Designer.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/learningagent/Assessment-Designer.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Edu-vator (Learning Agent)</title> <description>Edu-vators will build platform prototypes, experiment with new tools, evaluate new practices, and generally explore innovations in the learning sphere. They will team with learners, who will get credit for being in  edu-vation workshops. &lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/ogvkpRTb-RA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/ogvkpRTb-RA/Edu-vator.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/learningagent/Edu-vator.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Diane Demee-Benoit notes how we are moving from economies of scales to economies of groups (Resource)</title> <description>Diane, previously with the George Lucas Foundation, notes how open-source programs and products are changing the economy, and by engaging the collective wisdom of others we have the opportunity to create new services for others.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/NyyT2k2OmN0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/NyyT2k2OmN0/Diane-Demee-Benoit-notes-how-we-are-moving-from-economies-of-scales-to-economies-of-groups.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Diane-Demee-Benoit-notes-how-we-are-moving-from-economies-of-scales-to-economies-of-groups.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Future of Education Community (Resource)</title> <description>This community is devoted to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas with others. It's a place for thoughtful discussion on an incredibly important topic.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/WTx4ZblAkvw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/WTx4ZblAkvw/Future-of-Education-Community.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Future-of-Education-Community.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Make Magazine Blog and Maker Faire (Resource)</title> <description>MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in one s life. MAKE is loaded with exciting projects that help anyone make the most of technology at home and away from home. This is an on-line magazine that celebrates the right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology at will.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/urmIf6fFo40" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/urmIf6fFo40/Make-Magazine-Blog-and-Maker-Faire.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Make-Magazine-Blog-and-Maker-Faire.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Institute for the Future Technology Horizons Program (Resource)</title> <description>Given concerns for security, flexibility, and health risks, centralized infrastructure will no longer be key to economic progress. New materials and technologies will make it possible to use more flexible infrastructures for transportation, people and information.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/dN6ydLNX_50" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/dN6ydLNX_50/Institute-for-the-Future-Technology-Horizons-Program.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Institute-for-the-Future-Technology-Horizons-Program.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>One Laptop Per Child Book &amp; Music Drive and XO Hackathon (Resource)</title> <description>SJ Klein, director of community content for OLPC notes a collaboration between One Laptop per Child, Creative Commons, and Textbookrevolution.org.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/VSEbJAgHfM8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/VSEbJAgHfM8/One-Laptop-Per-Child-Book--Music-Drive-and-XO-Hackathon.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/One-Laptop-Per-Child-Book--Music-Drive-and-XO-Hackathon.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Green School Buildings Making A Surge (Resource)</title> <description>Environmentally friendly schools can reduce energy costs ... and improve learning. School systems nationwide are beginning to realize the benefits of "going green" when building new schools, according to experts who follow school construction trends. Though the initial building costs can run higher, schools are seeing a return on their up-front investment through a reduction in monthly energy costs. Green schools are also witnessing a boost in student achievement resulting from more healthy, productive, and comfortable learning environments.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/OLzT4zB11ao" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/OLzT4zB11ao/Green-School-Buildings-Making-A-Surge.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Green-School-Buildings-Making-A-Surge.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Rapid Rise in How-To Instructions Online (Resource)</title> <description>What is eHow.com? Whatever a person wants to learn to do (Tie a tie, lose weight, negotiate a raise, etc.) the eHow"! database of over 100,000 articles can help. It's the popular place to find instructions on how to do almost everything. Monthly, over 8 million people visit the site. It has more than 100,000 articles professionally written with directions on how to do things. It also has a growing library of articles created by eHow's members. Members love sharing their knowledge with the world and use this platform for everyone to share their knowledge with others. Anyone who becomes an eHow member will be able to comment on articles and interact with other members through a robust set of social networking tools. They can even write their own How -To articles with the easy-to-use publishing tools that let members express their knowledge through text, images, and video. eHow's community is changing the way people share and learn information.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/oQrK5cvFeII" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/oQrK5cvFeII/Rapid-Rise-in-How-To-Instructions-Online.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Rapid-Rise-in-How-To-Instructions-Online.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Plan Turns Habitat for Humanity into an Investment (Resource)</title> <description>Habitat for Humanity is looking to grow funds by borrowing a developing-world concept: microloans. The Atlanta-based nonprofit, which builds homes for people in need, recently announced the launch of a microloan program in partnership with the Maryland-based Calvert Foundation. It will allow individuals to invest in  not just donate to  Habitat's philanthropic mission. If the program succeeds, investors will receive interest payments on their money. Microloans are typically used to provide small amounts of credit to people or businesses that do not qualify for traditional loans. The concept is popular in the developing world, but it is a first for Habitat, which has subsisted on donations, grants, and proceeds from home sales. Habitat s Chief Executive Jonathan Reckford said the Calvert partnership, intended to last 5 years, is a new way to fuel the growth of Habitat, that nearly doubled the number its completed projects from 2005 - 2007. Last year, it finished 49,000 home projects worldwide.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/YGizeAzqG4A" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/YGizeAzqG4A/Plan-Turns-Habitat-for-Humanity-into-an-Investment.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Plan-Turns-Habitat-for-Humanity-into-an-Investment.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title> Little Green Schoolhouses (Resource)</title> <description>High-performance schools -- those that integrate the best in today s design strategies and building technologies -- also referred to as "green" or "sustainable" -- can help us make the most of the opportunity presented by today s massive school construction programs. While there are many variations, in general, high-performance schools are healthy, productive, and comfortable environments for students and teachers that provide high levels of acoustic, thermal and visual comfort. Their windows and skylights admit generous amounts of daylight, and the buildings are safe and secure. They are cost-effective to own and operate because they use durable products and systems. Their systems and materials are chosen using life-cycle cost analysis, rather than the cheapest first-cost. During design, energy analysis tools are used to optimize the building s performance, and after construction its equipment is fine-tuned to operate correctly. High-performance schools are available for use by non-students during hours when the school is not in operation, and community participation during design is encouraged.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~4/l0ipXmPFbsw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Personal-Fabrication-and-Design/~3/l0ipXmPFbsw/-Little-Green-Schoolhouses.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/-Little-Green-Schoolhouses.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> </channel> </rss>