Lifelong Learning Records
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Book Review: The New Learning Economy
The book is written by Martin Betts and Michael Rosemann. Martin is Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, having served as Deputy Vice Chancellor of Engagement until 2020. He leads the higher education sector with experience from seven universities in three continents. He is co-founder of HEDx, impacting higher education through a podcast, advisory services, and…
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Batumi Archeological Museum – Batumi, Georgia 🇬🇪
We visited this Museum during our stay in Batumi, which was the first city we visited in Georgia during a Summer roadtrip we did throughout this country in July 2023. The Museum was founded in 1994 and is considered one of the most important scientific, educational and cultural centers in Georgia. It presents a variety…
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Book Review: High-Velocity Culture Change – A Handbook for Managers
This handbook is written by Price Pritchett and Ron Pound. I received it from President Michael Crow’s office, as part of the key references that his office usually distributes so Arizona State University (ASU) leadership understands the ‘why,’, ‘what,’ ‘who,’ ‘how’ and ‘when’ associated to the vision that ASU deploys as a public enterprise. The…
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Prometheus Cave Natural Monument – Tskaltubo, Georgia 🇬🇪
After spending a couple of days in Batumi, we initiated a roadtrip throughout Georgia. One of the first places we visited while driving towards Tskaltubo, was Prometheus Caves. We really wanted to visit it since, as presented in several online sources, the deepest caves ever discovered all over the globe are located in Georgia. Prometheus…
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Book Review: Learning Planetizen Manifesto – Together Tackling the Challenges of the 21st Century
The book is written by Franciois Taddei, who is based in France and who I met during a visit he made to Arizona State University (ASU) to explore collaboration opportunities. He gave me the book as a present by the end of our conversation. The image below presents a brief message he included to summarize…
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Mauna Kea Observatories – Hawai’i
During our visit to the Big Island in Hawai’i, we went to the Mauna Kea Observatories. This is one of the most impressive hikes we have ever made. The Maunakea Observatories are a collaboration of nonprofit independent institutions with telescopes located on Maunakea on the island of Hawai‘i and managed by organizations and countries such…
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Book Review: The Fifth Wave – The Evolution of American Higher Education
The book is written by Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University. Malcolm Gladwell describes President Crow and this book as follows: “In a perfect world, we would clone Michael Crow, so every university would have the same advantage as Arizona State University. Until that happens, The Fifth Wave is our next best option.” Robert…
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Boyce Thompson Arboretum – Superior, AZ
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located in Superior, Arizona, about an hour’s drive from Phoenix. It features 343-acres of beautiful landscapes with over 3,900 different species of plants, hidden gardens along miles of trails, and historic buildings. A haven for wildlife, the Arboretum has been called “the most enchanting” important birding Area in Arizona. As…
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Book Review: Prescriptive Analytics – The Final Frontier for Evidence-based Management and Optimal Decision-Making
The book is written by Dursun Delen, who serves as Professor of Management Science and Information Systems in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University (OSU). I decided to go through this book to see if it would present additional and useful ways to address the Prescriptive Analytics broader vision under a business…
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Haleakala National Park – Maui; Hawai’i
Haleakalā National Park is located in the island of Maui and, as presented in its official website, is a superb example of the Hawai’ian Islands’ native ecosystems. The Park preserves the outstanding volcanic landscape of the upper slopes of Haleakalā and protects the unique and fragile ecosystems of Kipahulu Valley, the scenic pools along Oheo…
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Book Review: The Next Education Workforce – How Team-based Staffing Models Can Support Equity and Improve Learning Outcomes
I received this book as a gift from Carole Basile, who serves as dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) at Arizona State University, by the end of an early February meeting that we had with her. The book outlines a key part of MLFTC’s vision for the future of the education workforce…
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Garden of Eden – Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Maui; Hawai’i
We visited the Garden of Eden during our stay in Maui Island. We decided to devote a full day to drive through the entire loop of the Hana Road and make selected stops, being the Garden of Eden one of them. We arrived early in the morning, around 8:30am, right after we opened, and were…
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Book Review: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology – The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America
The book is written by Allan Collins and Richard Halverson. I went through this book after my wife had to read it as one of the main references within one course of Arizona State University’s Masters in Learning Sciences, which she is currently studying. The overall vision of education in this book is structured around…
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Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden – Big Island, Hawai’i
The Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden is a 40-acre natural garden of tropical plants and, as presented in several blogs and reviews, a nature lover’s paradise located in the Onomea Valley about 5 miles North of Hilo, Hawai’i. The Garden is home to over 2,000 plant species, representing more than 125 families and 750 genera…
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Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park – Hawai’i
This park is located on the West side of the Big Island nearby Kona and, as described in its website, is home to some of the most significant traditional Hawaiian sites in the Hawaiian archipelago. One of the most prominent features of the park is the puʻuhonua or place of refuge which is a massive…
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Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
During our Holiday 2022 vacations we spent some days in Hawai’i visiting the Big Island and Maui. While being in the Big Island, we went to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park which, as presented in its website, protects some of the most unique geological, biological, and cherished cultural landscapes in the world. Extending from sea level…
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Book Review: Failure to Disrupt – Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education
The book is written by Justin Reich, who serves as Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Director of the Teaching Lab Systems at MIT. Overall, the book aims to present an argument against the overestimation of the power of technology to profoundly alter the ways educational institutions operate and how students learn. The author aims…
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Botero Museum – Bogotá, Colombia
This museum is housed in a colonial mansion in old town Bogotá, Colombia, and is best known for its robust collection of Colombian artist Fernando Botero’s works. It also presents pieces by other worldwide know artists such as Dalí, Chagall, and de Kooning. I visited this museum for the first time about ten years ago,…
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Book Review: What We Owe The Future, by William MacAskill
This book is written by William MacAskill, who is an associate professor in philosophy at the University of Oxford. I decided to read the book after Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University, suggested it during one of the university’s senior teams meeting. As presented by the author, this book is about longtermism: the idea…
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The Gold Museum – Bogotá, Colombia
The Gold Museum is located in the heart of Bogotá, Colombia. While I had already visited this museum a couple of times in the past, I had a chance to go through it again in October 2022, since we visited it with a group of graduate students enrolled in a Global Field Seminar I lectured…
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Book Review: Managing Your Boss – Harvard Business Review Classics
In this popular Harvard Business Review book, John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter provide valuable guidelines for building this essential relationship – including tips for communicating mutual expectations and tactics for negotiating priorities. The fifteen main takeaways I got out of this book are outlined below: Because two people can on occasion be psychologically…
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Zipaquirá, the Salt Cathedral. Zipaquirá, Colombia
Zipaquira, which is usually described as Colombia’s Salt Cathedral, is located about 600 feet underground in a former salt mine located in Zipaquirá, just outside Bogotá. I visited this place for the first time several years ago and had a chance to make a brief visit again in October 2022, while taking a group of…
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Book Review: The Innovators – how a group of hackers, geniuses and geeks created the digital revolution.
The book is written by Walter Isaacson and aims to outline the story of the innovations that created the digital age, including many strands within them. While the ten top takeaways that I got out of this book are outlined below, I could say that the main one, as presented by the author, is that…
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Museum of Belarusian Polesye – Pinsk, Brest Region. Belarus
We visited this Museum during Summer 2022, while spending some weeks in Eastern Europe and working remotely from there. The museum was founded in 1924 and opened in 1936, just prior to the Second World War. In 1940, it was established as the Pinsk Local History and Folk Museum, and from 1954 it was the…
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Book Review: The Order of Time, by Carlo Rovelli
The book is written by Carlo Rovelli, who is an Italian physicist and specialist in quantum gravity research about time in physics. I was curious to read this book after a couple of former colleagues at the University of Chicago, specialized in the Quantum Mechanics field, recommended me to go through it. The twenty-seven takeaways…
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Museum of Nature; Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park – Belarus
The Nature Museum of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is the largest natural history museum in the Republic of Belarus in terms of its design and collection. It is also, as presented in its website, the one with the greatest amount of visitors per year: around 150 thousand. We visited this Museum during Summer 2022…
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Book Review: Designing the New American University, by Michael Crow
I went through this book for the first time back in 2015 after Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University (ASU), published it with William B. Dabbars. Afterwards, when I accepted a job offer to join ASU in June 2021, I went again through some of the highlights that I got out of it and…
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Küçüksu Pavilion – Istanbul, Turkey
During our Summer trip to Europe we spent some days in Istanbul, Turkey. Among other places, we visited the Küçüksu Pavilion, which is situated in the Küçüksu neighborhood of Beykoz district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus between Anadoluhisari and the Fatih Sulyan Mehmet Bridge. The pavilion was used by Ottoman sultans for short…
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Adalar Müzesi; Museum of the Princes Islands – Büyükada, Turkey
My wife and I spent some days in Turkey and, among several places, decided to visit Buyukada and Heibeliada islands. While both islands are full of great nature and views, we also decided to make a brief stop at Adalar Müzesi, or Museum of the Princes’ Islands. It is a small but charming museum with…
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Istanbul Archeological Museum – Turkey
During our latest visit to Istanbul, we decided to visit its Archeological Museum. Besides its importance as the first Turkish museum, it remains one of the world’s largest museums with over one million works. Opened to the public in 1891, it houses a collection of Greek, Roman and Byzantine artifacts. These are photos of some…
Marco Serrato 