Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent
discussion-list post "Microsoft's Lesson For Public Education" [Hake
(2012)]. The abstract reads:
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ABSTRACT: EDDRA2's Mike Martin at <http://yhoo.it/Pw1ks5> wrote:
(paraphrasing): "Everyone in education should read 'Microsoft's
Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That
Felled a Tech Giant' at <http://vnty.fr/M4dJvA>. . . . . . What
educators need to know and to trumpet widely is precisely Microsoft's
'astonishingly foolish management decision' to focus on ranking
employees instead of focusing on consumers - a ranking system that
Bill Gates is now trying to impose on public education. . . . .
Gates' ideas will stop teachers from developing education that is
effective for children and instead focus on things that look good in
the evaluation system."
As sequels to the above, see the Microsoft/Gates put-downs at, e.g.:
1. Barbara and David Mikkelson's Urban Legend "Car Balk" at
<http://bit.ly/RAGFjJ>;
2. Louis Menand's hilarious "The End Matter: The nightmare of
citation" at <http://nyr.kr/McQrGm>;
3. Gene Glass' insightful "High Button Shoes and Education Reform" at
<http://bit.ly/KcWqIs>.
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". . . . it is time to speak some truth to power in this country:
MICROSOFT WORD IS A TERRIBLE PROGRAM"
- Louis Menand (2003)
REFERENCES [All URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on
07 July 2012.
Hake, R.R. 2012. "Microsoft's Lesson For Public Education," online
on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/MdbtVq>. Post of 7
Jul 2012 13:54:43-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link
to the complete post were transmitted to several discussion lists and
are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/LxEBKK> with a
provision for comments.
Menand, L. 2003. "The End Matter: The nightmare of citation." New
Yorker, 6 October, online at <http://nyr.kr/McQrGm>.