Main Page/K12 Online Initiative back-office/Nonprofits/educause/Garry with internet2


 * to		gbachula@internet2.edu
 * cc		"Alan Guinn, President" 
 * date		May 5, 2007 2:44 PM
 * subject		Re: wikitube.com

Hi Gary,

I hope you and your family are well and you are having a great year!

I just a quick update since we chatted last year about wikitube.com. A lot has happened!

I have established an entity Eduit.org. We have secure some initial board members and a $50k matching pledge. We have also aligned Fablevision.com, MITs Education Arcade and TVworldwide.com as strategic partners.

Through the help of our president Alan Guinn, Marshall Islands have asked us to submit a proposal for a math and science solution. We plan to use it as a mechanism to develop and test our K12 Online solution.

As we move forward, it has come to my realization that, we need to identify an in-kind incubator for EDUIT (2 year max). Educause would be a perfect fit! Educause would be a great fit. Basically, all I'm asking is that they take EDUIT on as in-kind initiative and provide:


 * 1) web promotion,
 * 2) a physical address and a
 * 3) staff member to liaison with EDUIT team (primarily me). Since I'm telecommuting this from Japan--it makes it difficult to always answer the phone--especially, now that my son was born on April 18.

I would like you to be our sponsor and champion for getting Educause as a partner with EDUIT's K12 Online Initiative.

Let me provide an overview of what the project is now looking like. Basically, what are four pieces well need to assemble in order to flatten global learning:


 * 1) Online video editing software -- We are calling this Wikitube. Its open source, meaning anyone has access to it to make improvements to it. A excellent example is jumpcut.com. Wikitube will allow a Chinese teacher to take an segment of, oh let say, a PBS education video and easily do a voice-over and add Chinese characters to a karaoke bar to match their voice-over. But it's bit more then simple editing software. What it will also do is "bookmarks" chunks of hosted video. For example lets say you want to do an education piece on Hamlet's soliloquy "To be or not to be?" with Wikitube you would be able to have a educational piece showing every version of it ever performed. It would allow you to take a book on tape and add images to it and create your own video. The key is it isn't creating separate recording its accessing the "bookmark" of the hosted piece. As the name " Wiki" implies, anyone will be able to view the archived videos and bookmark and make fun educational pieces. Wikitube will have a lot of other neat functions, such as a test builder. (Strategic partners: identifying)
 * 2) Media Archive -- Where will ALL the educational videos be hosted that Wikitube will access? Here's were TVworldwide and EDUIT will work together to get access to all possible videos as far back as they go. We are calling this the EDUIT Media Project. We'll have to get partnerships with Discovery, BBC, PBS, etc... (Strategic partners : TVworldwide)
 * 3) Play-learn platform -- How do we get the kids off their play station, Nintendo DS, Xbox etc...? We do it by fighting fire with fire! We give them video games, but we tweak them so they are educational based and we throw in cool prizes, hands-on mentoring programs and scholarships for them to win. This aspect of the project is called K12 Online. It will be a very sophisticated piece of proprietary software.  It will be able to detect kids that are above the norm. It will allow them to progress at their own pace and go as far as they like. (Strategic partners: Fablevision and Educations Arcade)
 * 4) Educational multi-touch tablet PCs (ancillary-currently being investigated). We want to explore the feasibility to developing tablet PCs for K12 Online to run on. One Lap Top Per Child is distributing 100m laptops per year around the world. Many think the tool they have developed is inadequate for education. Getting PCs in the hands of kids  isn't a solution when they cant read or  write. K12 online will be 100% point-touch(click) system embedded around audio-video educational modules. Text, keyboard and mouse will be tertiary components. The ideal vehicle to deliver K12 online is maybe a 19" ergonomic, multi-touch "lap" tablet PC we are calling Teaching Tablets.  Kids will sit them on their lap and play and learn. They will prohibit general access to the Internet unless unlocked by the parent/teacher. Our gaol, is NOT to get into the hardware business. We would instead seek to identify a maker and ask that $2 to be donated to EDUIT for TT sold.

Here's a strategic overview of the various pieces fitting together. - Hide quoted text -

I appreciate the help and hope you can be our Educause champion--thanks.

Cheers,

Michael

PS. I did send Brian L. Hawkins an email propositioning the Educause to be a in-kind sponsor. I was wondering if you can follow up with it? Also, I have asked that Alan Guinn, Eduit's president follow-up too.


 * to		gbachula@internet2.edu
 * date		Sep 8, 2006 1:19 AM
 * subject		wikitube.com
 * mailed-by		gmail.com

Gary,

Thank you for hearing me ramble about wikitube. As I told you my objective is simple: put all K-12 education information (initial emphasis on science and math) online in an immersive, fun, format, built around a new generation of wiki called a wikitube. Everything pertaining to the new project is housed on www.wikitube.com. This is a temporary site until we find a home the the project. My garage days are over.

My goal is two fold:


 * 1) help identify a suitable incubator for the project. I don't mind doing the work, because this is something I care a lot about. And the plain fact is, it need to be done.
 * 2) to help assemble a volunteer group of advisers. The role of group is to:
 * 3) help identify potential incubators for the project by helping to open a few doors. Ill take it from there.
 * 4) provide me with wisdom and insights whenever possible.
 * 5) keep WIKITUBE, on a yellow post it on their desk :) Talk about it and if anything comes to mind email me.

I hope you'll join the group—you will be able to say you were the first.

Cheers,


 * Michael Trout.
 * 202 360 4467
 * (DC-redirects to Japan)

P.S. I do work with Mike Rosenbum www.pcnetinc.biz he a good guy and has access to some fairly decent system engineers. He recently did some work with Lucent. And you might have read about him in the Post, this week.