It’s great to catch up with Milton Chen and learn about his experience with the Fulbright New Century Scholars Program and the exciting efforts at the George Lucas Educational Foundation. We discuss his Fulbright research, Glow Scotland, and Mr. Lucas Goes to Washington.

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I found my visit awhile back at Skywalker Ranch for Internet summit insightful and enjoyed conversations with Foundation staff and colleagues in the Silicon Valley.

Cool photo of summit attendees in front of Skywalker Ranch main house.

“Lucas, a filmmaker and chairman of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, testified before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet that Congress should expand and modernize its twelve-year-old program of telecom discounts to schools and libraries. To achieve his vision of Edutopia, in which students direct their own learning while teachers nurture their curiosity, he said, the ultimate goal should be to make these connections for every school and library not just more affordable, but free.” More here…

Another year podcasting at da Vinci Days Festival. Tom Hager is our keynote speaker this year. Levi and Brock (Linus Pauling Middle School students) joined me to learn more about Ava Helen and Linus Pauling through Tom’s biographical work. Oregon State is home to Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers…drop by Valley Library and peruse this amazing collection or visit online. Ava Helen and Linus Pauling met in Education Hall room 201 and became soul mates for life. We talk about their chance meeting in the podcast.

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Courtesy of Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers at Special Collections Oregon State University. Linus Pauling received two Nobel Prizes – one for chemistry and another for peace.

Steve Lawson from the Oregon State Linus Pauling Institute talks about the work of Linus Pauling.

Jake Tenpas is our podcaster with da Vinci Days Grammy-award winning band BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet.
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Bob Dylan, upon listening to BeauSoleil during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was asked “what do you think about BeauSoleil’s music?” Dylan replied “That’s my kind of music!”

Michael Doucet – Violin, Guitar, Accordion, Mandolin, Vocals
David Doucet – Guitar, Vocals
Jimmy Breaux – Accordion
Billy Ware – Percussion
Tommy Alesi – Drums
Mitch Reed – Bass, Fiddle, Banjo, Electric Guitar

Bestselling author Richard Florida was keynote speaker at Greenlight Greater Portland summit “Pursuing the Future: The Outlook for Greater Portland.” I enjoyed podcasting with Richard and learning about what’s on his mind these days and hearing his admiration for the City of Portland.

Place + Happiness = Portland Prosperity, Richard Florida, The Oregonian
Author Richard Florida to Headline Greenlight Greater Portland’s Economic Summit

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Great podcasting with Joe Born CEO at Neuros Technology International. Joe shares his learning in creating open source hardware and coming soon is our podcast with Lars Bo Jeppesen at Danish User-centered Innovation Lab.

Neuros Podcast

Check out Neuros innovation efforts with “nTube” video browser.

Neuros Technology International

Open sesame, The Economist Print Edition Jun 5th 2008
A good example is the OSD, a “media fridge” made by Neuros Technology of Chicago which acts as a repository of video from DVDs, camcorders, cable boxes and so on. Neuros made the OSD’s technical specifications available, and a group of users then wrote software to add a new feature that many users had requested: the ability to stream video from the OSD to another device across the internet. To access this new feature, users simply had to download a software patch. “It’s harder for my device to get antiquated,” says Aaron Crum, an OSD user, “and I don’t have to buy another $200 device next year.”

What This Gadget Can Do Is Up to You The New York Times

I enjoyed podcasting with Oregon 4-H’s state program leader Roger Rennekamp last week and learning more about 4-H’s Science, Engineering, and Technology initiative (SET). Roger and the Oregon 4-H team bring a great program to youth across the state.

“Currently, 4-H SET projects reach more than 5.9 million youth in urban, suburban and rural communities across America. In order to address our nation’s challenge, 4-H is committed to involving 1 million new young people in SET projects over the next five years.” More here…

Amazing efforts underway in Oregon to meet SET goals….check out our podcast:

“Currently, 4-H extends the knowledge and research base of Oregon State University to more than 150,000 young people across Oregon through a network of 5000 volunteers and 120 faculty and staff. Through strategic deployment of resources and curriculum, 4-H offers a unique and powerful solution to the country’s shortage of scientists and engineers. For years, 4-H has utilized an experiential, hands-on approach for helping young people learn science content. But, being ready for new century careers involves more than academic competence. Young people must possess life skills necessary to navigate complex human systems while acting with integrity and character.”
~~ SET.pdf