Best-Selling Author Don Tapscott Discusses Impact of Technology on Today's Young Learners

Don Tapscott, a leading authority on business strategy and author of Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World, discusses how the Internet has changed K-12 education on the latest edition of DistrictLeadersPodcast.com. This is the only national podcast Web site created expressly for district leaders and other educational leaders.

In this interview with Arthur Griffin, Jr., senior vice president of McGraw-Hill Education's Urban Advisory Resource, Tapscott discusses the world of digital natives and how the explosion of the Internet into mainstream society has necessarily and completely changed education.

"Growing up interacting with this technology actually changes the way these students are, the way they think, and the way they process information," Tapscott said. "The old model of learning based on lecturing is so encoded in our culture. Teaching needs to be about creating a context where students can discover. We need people who can think, solve problems, and communicate in the knowledge economy. Technology has transformed their lives in a positive way to facilitate the new style of learning."

An expert on how information technology changes business, government and society and education, Tapscott is chairman of nGenera Insight. He served as founder and chairman of the international think tank New Paradigm before its acquisition by nGenera. He is an internationally sought writer, consultant and speaker for many of the world's largest corporations and government leaders from many countries. The Washington Technology Report called him one of the most influential media authorities since Marshall McLuhan. He also is Adjunct Professor of Management, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Tapscott has authored 13 widely read books about information technology in business and society. His most recent book, GROWN UP DIGITAL: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World,(McGraw-Hill Professional), is the sequel to his 1997 book GROWING UP DIGITAL, where he defined the Net Generation. In 2007, he co-authored, with Anthony Williams, WIKINOMICS: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (Portfolio).

His earlier books include THE DIGITAL ECONOMY: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1996), one of the best-selling books about technology in business ever. The book appeared on a number of bestseller lists including the New York Times business book list. It had a run of seven months on the Business Week bestsellers' list.

About DistrictLeadersPodcast.com

The District Leader's Podcast team is passionate about education and deeply committed to student success. The site serves as a valuable tool for anyone interested in improving America's schools. District Leader's Podcast is sponsored by McGraw-Hill Education's Urban Advisory Resource comprising former education leaders and other experts with extensive experience in managing large school districts. It is produced by TeachersPodcast.org, a professional development resource for educators with an audience of more than 4.3 million listeners. The podcast is currently listed on iTunes as "New and Notable" for K-12 Education. Visit www.DistrictLeadersPodcast.com for more information.

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SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Education

CONTACT: Tom Stanton, McGraw-Hill Education, +1-212-904-3214,
tom_stanton@mcgraw-hill.com; or Melina Metzger, Paul Werth Associates,
+1-614-224-8114 Ext. 236, mmetzger@paulwerth.com

Web Site: http://www.mheducation.com/