Readings for any time of the year

Everything seems to indicate that e-book readers (especially the Amazon Kindle after its irruption in the Spanish market), are going to be the star gift of these holidays. As a complement to the gadget, nothing more appropriate than some reading in digital format that stimulates thought and invites reflection. Let me recommend a couple of titles that have piqued my interest: The first one, The Information Diet (It could be translated into Spanish as La Dieta Informativa), has been available in the online store of the OReilly publishing house for just over a week. It is, logically, an edition in English, so it is especially recommended for those who want to practice this language. Its author, Clay Johnson, makes an ingenious approach in which he establishes a parallel between the consumption of food and the consumption of information. In the same way that junk food and excess calories in our diet are one of the main causes of the increase in obesity and cardiovascular diseases, more and more problems of various kinds (both physiological and psychological) derived from it are being diagnosed. the information addiction suffered by many citizens. The proposed solution is the same for both cases: acquire healthier consumption habits and follow a balanced diet. With my second recommendation, Invisible learning, I continue on the path set by new technologies and the Knowledge Society, although this time dealt with within the educational context. Many teachers get defensive when they hear about ICT and Education, but this book is a real breath of fresh air in the field of educational innovation. A few months ago I had the opportunity to attend a seminar in which Cristbal Cobo, an associate researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute from Oxford University and co-author with John Moravec of The Invisible Learning. Unlike the disconcerting and clichéd jargon used by pedagogues, Cristbal Cobo conveys his ideas in simple and direct language, and you can tell he knows what he is talking about. It is a reading with special incentive for educators, but equally recommended for anyone interested in learning. Free software enthusiasts will surely identify with the opensource philosophy that permeates invisible learning: a project in constant beta in which ideas of value are found in repositories. Initially the book had a cost of 5, but once the editorial production expenses have been covered, it is available on the Internet for free download in PDF. Both the authors and the publisher understand that knowledge should be free, and initiatives like this are welcome.