Category Archives: Technology

The Plot Against Education (Politico October 6, 2014)

The Plot Against Public Education                                                          (Politico October 6, 2014)

This article is an adapted excerpt from Bob Hebert’s new book Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America (Doubleday), out Oct. 7. 

In the article Bob Herbert provides details on Bill Gates $2 billion, 9-year failed small-school initiative, charter schools leaving behind the most disadvantaged children, the 2000 K12 Incorporated ‘virtual schools’ venture (Goldman Sachs banker Ronald Packard, junk-bond king Michael Milken, Oracle founder-billionaire Larry Ellison, Secretary of Education and Drug Czar William Bennett – results – math, reading, graduation poor; attrition high), Pearson’s enormous influence in Texas politics, and the Bloomberg-Klein failed reforms of the New York City school system.

You can access the full article here.

The two final paragraphs sum up his findings:

“The amount of money in play [in American education] is breathtaking. And the fiascos it has wrought put a spotlight on America’s class divide and the damage that members of the elite, with their money and their power and their often misguided but unshakable belief in their talents and their virtue, are inflicting on the less financially fortunate.

Those who are genuinely interested in improving the quality of education for all American youngsters are faced with two fundamental questions: First, how long can school systems continue to pursue market-based reforms that have failed year after demoralizing year to improve the education of the nation’s most disadvantaged children? And second, why should a small group of America’s richest individuals, families, and foundations be allowed to     exercise such overwhelming—and often such toxic—influence over the ways in which public school students are taught?”

Tom

Kids science projects are now life-changing ideas

Science projects are no longer just about poster boards and papier-mâché volcanoes.

With prestigious competitions like the Google Science Fair and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, millions of entrepreneurial students are showcasing their talents and gaining national recognition for their work. From bioplastics made from banana peels to new treatments against influenza, today’s science projects by children and teenagers have turned into life-changing ideas.

Click here to see nine recent award-winning science projects from some of the brightest and youngest minds out there.

 

Is this permissible? In Bernalillo County high schools? [Video]

Do you ever look around the place you live and get totally bummed out by all the pollution?

Well, that’s what was happening to Elif. So she said: “Oh I know, I’ll just invent a more eco-friendly way to make plastic! It’s not like I’m just a teenager who’s still in high school or anything.”

Just click  here  to see this very cool 2:29 video.

How can we support more of this kind of inventiveness and inquiry in our local high-schools?

 

Details matter. Small things count. 13 minute TED Talk on how and why

2010 TEDSalon London:

“It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but ad man Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.”

http://bit.ly/1juODqV

To me this sounds a lot like what Buckminster Fuller called “Trimtab.” Here’s a video:

http://www.examiner.com/article/call-me-trimtab-a-most-important-concept-for-humans-to-make-a-difference-skillful-means-video

Ideas useful in many domains, it seems to me.

How to turn a (huge) problem into a solution

How to turn a (huge) problem into a solution

A cool example of how to turn a problem into a solution – there is so much good stuff here to explore and appreciate

–  18-year old Boyan Slat spends a half a year studying  plastic pollution and how to use the power of nature to clean itself up

–  the young simply aren’t smart enough nor have sufficient experience to appreciate why certain things cannot be done or certain problems are beyond solving

–  click through the website and enjoy the crisp, clarity of its design/functionality

–  also notice how clear, crisp and understandable the problem and concept  (solution) statements are

Then, consider how some of these concepts might be turned to advantage in viewing and languaging other “problems” in New Mexico that might benefit from this kind of thinking   —  water, education achievement gaps, fracking, homelessness, family poverty, family violence, fill-in-the-blank.

Just let this website wash over you and allow your mind to ponder.

Enjoy,

Tom

 

Want to Learn to Code? There’s a Board Game for That.

Raj Sidhu had one of the most coveted design jobs in New York City — and then he left it all to play board games.

The 23-year-old’s first project, Code Monkey Island, (click here for a short video) teaches kids the logic of computer programming through the playful dynamic of monkeys competing over bananas. The game teaches you all of the logic of basic programming under the guise of the game: Instead of dice, it’s governed by cards that work in tandem to impact how many spaces (if any) you may move per turn.

Raj has taken faith in his idea and run with it. After quitting his job at Quirky, an invention company, he put his full energy into creating board games, seeking funding in the playground where ideas and amateur venture capitalists roam: Kickstarter.

After a chaotic month of donations and lack thereof, some last-minute publicity allowed Code Monkey Island to meet its stretch goal and then some.

After a chaotic month of donations and lack thereof, some last-minute publicity allowed Code Monkey Island to meet its stretch goal and then some. Raj spoke with Mashable about life after Kickstarter; funding is always an encouraging step, but many of Raj’s contemporaries have fallen prey to the pitfalls of perk fulfillment, lack of preparation and failure to find the right industry support.

Raj said that he was able to learn a great deal about board game creation and marketing almost entirely from online forums. He mapped out a game plan and struck a deal with a manufacturer, and now, he’s on track to ship out the first wave of the game later this summer to Kickstarter backers.

“This has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my.life,” Raj says. “I couldn’t imagine not doing this again.” You can preorder his game, which is for both kids and adults, here.

Work Wonders Project – marrying technology and collaboration in education

May 27, 2014

Microsoft has today announced the Work Wonders Project, a video series that explores the power of technology and collaboration powered by Office 365. You’ll be able to watch two very bright minds as they work together to achieve positive results in a YouTube series that launches June 2.

The challenge is on: “Pencils of Promise” founder Adam Braun believes schools are the future, and education reformer Sugata Mitra thinks they’re obsolete. But the two are joining together in The Work Wonders Project to collaborate on ways to revolutionize education, including using Office 365 to do it.

Braun, whose nonprofit program has built 200 “pencil of promise” schools in Laos, Guatemala and Ghana, will work with Mitra, a ted prize winner and a professor of educational technology, who will bring his cloud-based, elementary education approach to Braun’s schools in Ghana

Very neat 3 minute video overview:  

.http://www.microsoft.com/office/workwonders/

Tom