When I remember back to my days as a student, and I think of the lasting “academic” memories, one of the few specifics that remains as a strong visual is a science fair project I did. It is curious to me that of all the memories that could be this permanent, the one I remember has nothing to do with math or even more so the teacher. As a student I was very passionate about math and beyond math there were many teachers of whom I have great memories, but this particular science project was neither. So I often wonder why I can remember it so clearly. The project I had created was a computer program that would display the night sky based on the date. (I wonder if I should talk to some IP lawyers about Google’s SkyMap, wink.) Sure it was computer-related, but I have had many other computer “hobbies” that are not so fresh in my mind. So what was it about that project that has etched itself into my mind? One plausible answer is the lure of space. There is something special about that deep darkness that creates a passion for exploration and investigation. In our history there have been many amazing accomplishments, but very few create as much wonder and excitement as those beyond our atmosphere. Hopefully the Space Lab competition will foster similar experiences to mine, and that today’s generation of students will embrace the opportunity to reach for the stars. If you have any lasting academic memories of a project, please...
Continue reading “Space Lab and the Lure of Space”
At ThinkTank a few days back, I had the opportunity to sit-in on the Education Research Initiative (ERI) Board of Advisors meeting. It was a great opportunity to hear about many of the wonderful projects underway. Through ERI, a partnership with Intel and Microsoft, Lenovo seeks to gain insight into technology’s impact on the learning environment. Utilizing quantitative and qualitative research, the initiative seeks to measure the effect of technology on the learning experience from grade one through college. In its initial year, ERI established core research programs at four global educational institutes: The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Center for Faculty Excellence in Chapel Hill, NC How can research faculty members be trained to become more effective instructors without sacrificing research? The Student Global Leadership Institute (SGLI) at the Punahou School in Honolulu, HI Does multinational collaboration lead to improved outcomes for high school students and teachers? The Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership in North Melbourne, Australian How effective is administrative leadership development for teachers? The Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, CA Are technology-based after school programs effective academically and socially? In addition to these sites, ERI is also sponsoring research of input methods for students with dyslexia, cloud computing and higher education, synchronous vs. asynchronous online...
Continue reading “ERI and SGLI: Very Tasty Alphabet Soup”
Last week Lenovo hosted ThinkTank 2011 at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and while there was no predefined theme, one clearly emerged. Whether it was the keynote addresses, the sessions, the Evening Gala or just casual conversations, it was clear that making connections was a common theme for everybody who attended. Technology is a right not a privilege for our students…Every child needs access to digital information – Salcito For Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector Education for Microsoft, making connections means finding a way to bridge the gap for students without access to the internet. In his keynote, he stressed how Shape the Future is looking to ally private and public partnerships to bridge this divide. Tenure is flawed. Teaching our children should be a privilege. - Rhee On day two, Michelle Rhee, founder and CEO of StudentsFirst.org, argued for more connections between the evaluations of teachers and the performance of their students. Although highlighting the importance of identifying and developing teacher leaders and principal leaders to improve learning outcomes for our students, her talk underscored the contentious battle in education circles between measurement and creativity. This tension was mentioned by Salcito in his keynote as he cited the work of the people at ATC21S, where they are working on assessing and teaching 21st century skills. No two kids, no two teachers, no two...
