This morning, I wrote a thank-you letter to the folks who invited me to speak

I wanted to thank you both for inviting me to speak at the workshop on Friday -- I enjoyed sharing my work and it was very interesting to participate in the focus group discussions. You had selected a fascinating group of people who brought a range of unique perspectives to bear on the issues. It was valuable for me to see where the viewpoints overlapped and differed with the views of faculty at my institution. I also wanted to comment that I have more appreciation for the challenges facing publishers and the efforts you're making to explore the possibilities raised by new technologies.

After my talk, I encountered several people who had never heard of Wikipedia -- maybe I should have been surprised by that, but it didn't occur to me to including wikipedia in my talk and I probably should have. If you haven't visited wikipedia, you should. You might start here, on the page about cellular respiration. Take a look at some of the linked pages here on ATP synthase, electron transport chain, etc. It will give you a sense for what is already here. I can easily imagine having classes use and extend the wikipedia instead of using a traditional textbook.

There has been a furious debate between people who believe in the traditional publishing model versus those who support the open development model that wikipedia uses. Here is one snippet from that debate, with a bunch of links that should help you find more.

A fundamental part of the debate is whether a bunch of non-experts can produce a more "reliable" text than one controlled by a central authority that hires experts. This morning, people were pointing out this article as an example that the traditional publishing model doesn't necessarily produce more accuracy (and is much more difficult to update, extend, and correct).

Thanks again for the chance to come speak and to participate in the focus group discussions -- I had a great time.

This evening, Alisa participated in a debate on effects of the proposed charter on schools. It was a moderated discussion with Andy Churchill, who is another parent in the fifth grade at Marks Meadow. Yet another parent in the class served as moderator. Everyone was tense going into the discussion and releatively few of the audience members were simply parents coming in to learn about the issues -- most of the audience were town insiders with entrenched positions on the question. Both presenters did a good job of framing the issues and showing the particular values they believe their form of government would foster. I was particularly impressed with Alisa's ability to cogently argue for her position without demonizing the opposition. A colleague today pointed out how that aspect of the debate has become so tiresome to her, she has practically tuned out the debate. It was a welcome, civil discussion of the issues.

StevenBrewer