Dr. Thornburg gives his keynote presentation, Forget About the Future, It's the Present That Concerns Me, at the TCA 2008 conference.

For many years the presenter has shared visions of the future with educators around the world in the hope that this would influence educational practice. This was a mistake. We don't need to prepare students just for some unseen and basically unknowable future, we need to prepare them for the world as it exists today. This dynamic presentation eschews the future in favor of a pragmatic view of today's world. A world where a new class of migrant workers spans the globe working on stimulating high-tech projects on a global scale. A world where cross-disciplinary understanding is needed for success; where 87% of teens have access to primary source materials relating to their studies; where vulcanologists study volcanic eruptions on a moon of Jupiter; where national borders are transparent; where biological species from other planets are put under the microscope; where new microscopic machines are grown, not manufactured. This is not fiction, not a dream, not the future, just reality – as it exists today. By looking at the skills needed to thrive in today's very real world, ideas relating to curriculum and pedagogy naturally emerge. Forget pie-in-the sky predictions. This presentation explores the world in a way that has implications for every educator, educational leader, and student.

Note: The volume for the video clips during the presentation is low, but we've included some links from his presentation in the show notes.

Customer Service video 

Volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io

Japanese Television show intros using the Rube Goldburg style machines is attached below the keynote mp3 below