Video: Media Expert Jeff Jarvis Speculates About the Future of Education in the Information Age

During a difficult budget season, the future of education is on the minds of many Basking Ridge residents, including national media expert Jeff Jarvis, who spoke at Ridge High School on May 11.

Jarvis was the founding editor of Entertainment Weekly, author of the book "What Would Google Do?" and the media blog BuzzMachine.com. Jarvis also has a son who is a senior at Ridge High School and a daughter at William Annin Middle School.

The speech mainly focused on breaking out of the one-size-fits-all approach to education used in most school districts, with a heavy reliance on test data and right and wrong approaches to problems. Jarvis explained the connections between his studies of Google's success and ways that education might better prepare its students to thrive in an age dominated by hyperconnectivity through platforms like Facebook, Twitter and, of course, Google.

The majority of the speech can be found in the accompanying videos to this article. Click on the play image to the right to begin playing part one.

Editor's note: Jeff Jarvis is a member of the Patch editorial advisory board.