There are more species of insects than pretty much anything else in the world. And scientists know there are millions they haven't even identified yet. Now, in a tropical rainforest in Panama, a multinational team of scientists has just completed the first ever insect census.
Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.
That canopy was as much as 13 stories above the forest floor. So Basset and his multinational team of researchers and volunteers had to get creative. They got help from professional tree climbers. They used a helium balloon to soar above the foliage. They had a helicopter lower a giant inflatable sampling platform onto the tree tops. And they also had construction crane right in the middle of the forest.
It took Basset and his team two years to collect the specimens and send them out to labs all over the world for identification. The Smithsonian's Scott Miller says it took more than 100 scientists another eight years to process them all. Miller says to identify the species, researchers relied in part on DNA analysis, and in part on the arthropods' physical characteristics.
Transcript
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Combine Equal Parts Oprah and Martha
The new domestic ideal owes more than a little to the fading moguls.
 |
Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey would seem to come from different planets. One is blonde, thin, tall, chilly, exacting. The other is brown, sometimes plump, warm, accepting. In the hypothetical event that your piecrust failed to cohere, Martha might scold, instructing you to use colder butter next time. Oprah would hand you a Kleenex, tell you about her own piecrust catastrophes, and lay a soothing arm around you.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Learning How to Make a Smartphone App
Learning How to Make a Smartphone App
According to Apple, app developers have received more than $6.5 billion in royalties since the App Store launched in 2007.
... Yes, coding can be difficult, but I would urge you to check out GameSalad.com. It's all "drag and drop" with no real coding, it allows you to make apps for iPhone or Android devices and the basic version (which is great) is totally free.
http://spillingcoffeemedia.com
What is GameSalad? tutorial
http://www.wnyc.org/tags/tech/
According to Apple, app developers have received more than $6.5 billion in royalties since the App Store launched in 2007.
... Yes, coding can be difficult, but I would urge you to check out GameSalad.com. It's all "drag and drop" with no real coding, it allows you to make apps for iPhone or Android devices and the basic version (which is great) is totally free.
http://spillingcoffeemedia.com
What is GameSalad? tutorial
http://www.wnyc.org/tags/tech/
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Diane Ravitch:
Education historian Diane Ravitch served as Assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush. She later advocated No Child Left Behind's strict testing standards and expansion of charter schools. But, Ravitch now says those initiatives have failed, and the real enemy of schools is poverty. Professor Ravitch talks to host Michel Martin.
MARTIN: ...the argument is that, in the absence of a testing regimen, a comprehensive testing regimen, there really isn't any incentive for the schools to demonstrate that kids are learning, especially in areas where the parents aren't strong advocates for themselves for whatever reason, or for their kids for whatever reason. How do you respond to that?
RAVITCH: Well, actually, Michel, that is wrong. I was going to say it's nonsensical. Testing does not close achievement gaps. Testing just shows that there are gaps, but then you have to do something about it. Testing should be used diagnostically. It should not be used the way we're using it today. It's being used to punish teachers, to close schools and to do all sorts of high stake things like merit pay and basing teachers' evaluation on testing, and that's wrong.
Transcript
MARTIN: ...the argument is that, in the absence of a testing regimen, a comprehensive testing regimen, there really isn't any incentive for the schools to demonstrate that kids are learning, especially in areas where the parents aren't strong advocates for themselves for whatever reason, or for their kids for whatever reason. How do you respond to that?
RAVITCH: Well, actually, Michel, that is wrong. I was going to say it's nonsensical. Testing does not close achievement gaps. Testing just shows that there are gaps, but then you have to do something about it. Testing should be used diagnostically. It should not be used the way we're using it today. It's being used to punish teachers, to close schools and to do all sorts of high stake things like merit pay and basing teachers' evaluation on testing, and that's wrong.
Transcript
Microsoft's Surface Tablet:Summary: Surface Hardware and Software
Summary: Surface Windows RT Hardware and Software by Mark Minasi
"The Surface hardware is an impressive tablet in many ways and a worthy competitor to the iPad. Surface's pathbreaking keyboard cover, numerous easy options for add-on storage, superior wireless networking and USB port will make iPad owners jealous, at least until they see that the Surface inexplicably lacks 3G or 4G, although honestly given no shortage of small, easily-portable, inexpensive hotspots, that may not be the dealbreaker that it seems at first glance. Having to buy overpriced cables for video and having to deal with a lame magnetic power connector are negatives but not significant ones." "Windows RT is horribly lacking in available applications at the moment, but Microsoft includes Office 2013’s Word, PowerPoint and Excel in every copy of RT. RT Office is almost good enough to make up for the lack of apps, but it lacks Outlook. Instead, you get some weak contacts / email / calendar tools, and no syncing of your Outlook notes. Many people will, however, overlook that annoyance because the Surface includes a version of Internet Explorer that lets you visit Flash sites, if puzzlingly not Silverlight sites. Overall, I like the Surface quite a bit, but it hasn't entirely replaced my iPad yet — for now, they're cohabitating in my bag" "The Surface's operating system software — Windows RT — is solid in a way that the iPad is not and surprisingly replete with drivers." "The Surface turns out to be a visually pleasing, light and useful tablet, but with a cover that doubles as a quite functional keyboard and what may be the first touchpad that hasn’t raised my blood pressure. Why a touchpad? As you'll read later, RT has two very different desktops, the "runs old Windows apps" Desktop and the "runs new tablet apps" Start Screen. The Start Screen's great with big fat human fingers, but the old Desktop still needs you to click little check boxes, small text fields, and tiny "close" icons. The 3G broadband hardware: It ain’t there. Just Wi-Fi. This is by far the biggest screwup hardware-wise in the Surface, no questions about it and maybe a fatal screwup..." Wireless: Yeah, I’m bugged that there’s no 3G/4G. But the wireless is pretty good, I have to say. Recently I was just sitting in an airport restaurant and thought I might just indulge myself and get an Internet connection for the hour I’d be waiting (I hadn't gotten the hotspot yet), so I clicked the Settings charm and found several hotspots, but none more than a bar. Bummer, I thought, I bet the iPad would have done better, so I pulled it out, sat it next to the Surface, and …
Nothing.
It couldn’t see a single hotspot. I had seven on the Surface, zero on the iPad. Later, on the plane... Surface saw five networks, the iPad saw two. When I got to my hotel, I tried again and the iPad saw two, the Surface saw nine. Nice antenna. (It’s a “MIMO” or something like that, and I have idea what that means, nor do I care, but I will certainly be looking for it in the future.)
Encryption: RT also has Bitlocker, the drive encryption tool that makes it tougher for bad guys to extract data from a stolen or lost tablet. Even better, it's on by default -- my C: is encrypted. The iPad has nothing like that, but on the other hand the iPad has that wonderful free "find my iPad" feature. I'd sooo like to see that for the Surface.
the Surface is "the writer’s tablet."
Mark Minasi
"The Surface hardware is an impressive tablet in many ways and a worthy competitor to the iPad. Surface's pathbreaking keyboard cover, numerous easy options for add-on storage, superior wireless networking and USB port will make iPad owners jealous, at least until they see that the Surface inexplicably lacks 3G or 4G, although honestly given no shortage of small, easily-portable, inexpensive hotspots, that may not be the dealbreaker that it seems at first glance. Having to buy overpriced cables for video and having to deal with a lame magnetic power connector are negatives but not significant ones." "Windows RT is horribly lacking in available applications at the moment, but Microsoft includes Office 2013’s Word, PowerPoint and Excel in every copy of RT. RT Office is almost good enough to make up for the lack of apps, but it lacks Outlook. Instead, you get some weak contacts / email / calendar tools, and no syncing of your Outlook notes. Many people will, however, overlook that annoyance because the Surface includes a version of Internet Explorer that lets you visit Flash sites, if puzzlingly not Silverlight sites. Overall, I like the Surface quite a bit, but it hasn't entirely replaced my iPad yet — for now, they're cohabitating in my bag" "The Surface's operating system software — Windows RT — is solid in a way that the iPad is not and surprisingly replete with drivers." "The Surface turns out to be a visually pleasing, light and useful tablet, but with a cover that doubles as a quite functional keyboard and what may be the first touchpad that hasn’t raised my blood pressure. Why a touchpad? As you'll read later, RT has two very different desktops, the "runs old Windows apps" Desktop and the "runs new tablet apps" Start Screen. The Start Screen's great with big fat human fingers, but the old Desktop still needs you to click little check boxes, small text fields, and tiny "close" icons. The 3G broadband hardware: It ain’t there. Just Wi-Fi. This is by far the biggest screwup hardware-wise in the Surface, no questions about it and maybe a fatal screwup..." Wireless: Yeah, I’m bugged that there’s no 3G/4G. But the wireless is pretty good, I have to say. Recently I was just sitting in an airport restaurant and thought I might just indulge myself and get an Internet connection for the hour I’d be waiting (I hadn't gotten the hotspot yet), so I clicked the Settings charm and found several hotspots, but none more than a bar. Bummer, I thought, I bet the iPad would have done better, so I pulled it out, sat it next to the Surface, and …
Nothing.
It couldn’t see a single hotspot. I had seven on the Surface, zero on the iPad. Later, on the plane... Surface saw five networks, the iPad saw two. When I got to my hotel, I tried again and the iPad saw two, the Surface saw nine. Nice antenna. (It’s a “MIMO” or something like that, and I have idea what that means, nor do I care, but I will certainly be looking for it in the future.)
Encryption: RT also has Bitlocker, the drive encryption tool that makes it tougher for bad guys to extract data from a stolen or lost tablet. Even better, it's on by default -- my C: is encrypted. The iPad has nothing like that, but on the other hand the iPad has that wonderful free "find my iPad" feature. I'd sooo like to see that for the Surface.
the Surface is "the writer’s tablet."
Mark Minasi
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Ray Kurzweil: The Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence
How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed
The Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence
One of the eminent AI pioneers, Ray Kurzweil, has created a new book to explain the true nature of intelligence, both biological and non-biological. The book describes the human brain as a machine that can understand hierarchical concepts ranging from the form of a chair to the nature of humor. His important insights emphasize the key role of learning both in the brain and AI. He provides a credible roadmap for achieving the goal of super human intelligence which will be necessary to solve the grand challenges of humanity."
Kurzweil’s new book on the mind is magnificent, timely, and solidly argued!! His best so far!" – MARVIN MINSKY,
MIT Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Cofounder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, widely regarded as the "father of artificial intelligence."
Kurzweil’s book is a shining example of his prodigious ability to synthesize ideas from disparate domains and explain them to readers in simple, elegant language. Just like Chanute’s Progress in Flying Machines ushered in the era of aviation over a century ago, this book is the harbinger of the coming revolution in artificial intelligence that will fulfill Kurzweil’s own prophecies about it." - Dileep George,
AI scientist, pioneer of hierarchical models of the neocortex, Co-Founder of Numenta and Vicarious Systems.
One of the eminent AI pioneers, Ray Kurzweil, has created a new book to explain the true nature of intelligence, both biological and non-biological. The book describes the human brain as a machine that can understand hierarchical concepts ranging from the form of a chair to the nature of humor. His important insights emphasize the key role of learning both in the brain and AI. He provides a credible roadmap for achieving the goal of super human intelligence which will be necessary to solve the grand challenges of humanity." – RAJ REDDY,Founding director, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, recipient of the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery.
…Ray's new book is a clear and compelling overview of the progress, especially in learning, that is enabling this revolution in the technologies of intelligence. It also offers important insights into a future in which we will begin solving what I believe is the greatest problem in science and technology today: the problem of how the brain works and of how it generates intelligence." – Tomaso Poggio
It is rare to find a book that offers unique and inspiring content on every page. How to Create a Mind achieves that and more. Ray has a way of tackling seemingly overwhelming challenges with an army of reason, in the end convincing the reader that it is within our reach to create nonbiological intelligence that will soar past our own. This is a visionary work that is also accessible and entertaining." – RAFAEL REIF,
President of MIT, MIT Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technology, former MIT Provost, former department head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), MIT’s largest academic department.
If you have ever wondered about how your mind works, read this book. Kurzweil’s insights reveal key secrets underlying human thought and our ability to recreate it. This is an eloquent and thought-provoking work." – DEAN KAMEN,
Physicist and inventor of the first wearable insulin pump, the HomeChoice portable dialysis machine, and the IBOT mobility system, and founder of FIRST; recipient of the National Medal of Technology.
The Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence
One of the eminent AI pioneers, Ray Kurzweil, has created a new book to explain the true nature of intelligence, both biological and non-biological. The book describes the human brain as a machine that can understand hierarchical concepts ranging from the form of a chair to the nature of humor. His important insights emphasize the key role of learning both in the brain and AI. He provides a credible roadmap for achieving the goal of super human intelligence which will be necessary to solve the grand challenges of humanity."
Kurzweil’s new book on the mind is magnificent, timely, and solidly argued!! His best so far!" – MARVIN MINSKY,
MIT Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Cofounder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, widely regarded as the "father of artificial intelligence."
Kurzweil’s book is a shining example of his prodigious ability to synthesize ideas from disparate domains and explain them to readers in simple, elegant language. Just like Chanute’s Progress in Flying Machines ushered in the era of aviation over a century ago, this book is the harbinger of the coming revolution in artificial intelligence that will fulfill Kurzweil’s own prophecies about it." - Dileep George,
AI scientist, pioneer of hierarchical models of the neocortex, Co-Founder of Numenta and Vicarious Systems.
One of the eminent AI pioneers, Ray Kurzweil, has created a new book to explain the true nature of intelligence, both biological and non-biological. The book describes the human brain as a machine that can understand hierarchical concepts ranging from the form of a chair to the nature of humor. His important insights emphasize the key role of learning both in the brain and AI. He provides a credible roadmap for achieving the goal of super human intelligence which will be necessary to solve the grand challenges of humanity." – RAJ REDDY,Founding director, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, recipient of the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery.
…Ray's new book is a clear and compelling overview of the progress, especially in learning, that is enabling this revolution in the technologies of intelligence. It also offers important insights into a future in which we will begin solving what I believe is the greatest problem in science and technology today: the problem of how the brain works and of how it generates intelligence." – Tomaso Poggio
It is rare to find a book that offers unique and inspiring content on every page. How to Create a Mind achieves that and more. Ray has a way of tackling seemingly overwhelming challenges with an army of reason, in the end convincing the reader that it is within our reach to create nonbiological intelligence that will soar past our own. This is a visionary work that is also accessible and entertaining." – RAFAEL REIF,
President of MIT, MIT Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technology, former MIT Provost, former department head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), MIT’s largest academic department.
If you have ever wondered about how your mind works, read this book. Kurzweil’s insights reveal key secrets underlying human thought and our ability to recreate it. This is an eloquent and thought-provoking work." – DEAN KAMEN,
Physicist and inventor of the first wearable insulin pump, the HomeChoice portable dialysis machine, and the IBOT mobility system, and founder of FIRST; recipient of the National Medal of Technology.
The Real Nat Turner By Dr. Molefi Kete Asante
Nat Turner's slave rebellion which occurred in 1831 in Virginia for the only sign of that rebellion that occurred for about two centuries was something called Blackhead Signpost Road, which was a street sign that existed not far from where the original rebellion was because it was a marker where a slave's severed skull had been placed at the head of a road by local whites as a warning to other slaves.
Slave Rebellions
Monday, November 19, 2012
"doom soul/gothic gospel”
When the Canadian singer-songwriter who performs as Al Spx had to categorize her music, she made up a new genre: “doom soul/gothic gospel.” Cold Specks, the band she put together, released its debut album I Predict a Graceful Expulsion earlier this year.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The transatlantic slave trade: The Understanding Slavery initiative (USI)
 |
| English: Triangular trade between western Europe, Africa and Americas. Français: Commerce triangulaire entre l'Europe occidentale, l'Afrique subsaharienne et les Amériques. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Understanding Slavery initiative (USI) is a national learning project which supports the teaching and learning of transatlantic slavery and its legacies using museum and heritage collections. Over the past eight years six museums across the UK have worked in partnership to share expertise, develop resources, training opportunities and school sessions.
One of the main tenets of the USI partnership is that the history of transatlantic slavery does not belong to any one cultural group, or nation. It is a global history whose legacy can be seen and felt in various areas of today’s societies on an international scale. The USI partners have developed resources and approaches with an understanding that by reviewing the history, and understanding its wider global impacts, teachers and learners gain a better understanding of how to read history and ways in which to make sense of the world in which they live today.
The kidnapping of Africans occurred mainly in the region that now stretches from Senegal to Angola. However, in the 19th century some enslaved Africans were also transported across the Atlantic from parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa. Read More...
Friday, October 26, 2012
Questions Lead Way in One School's Teacher Training
Tiferes Bnos is an all-girls school located on the first floor of an apartment building near the border of the Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant sections of Brooklyn. It would be unsurprising if the school had a poor academic track record. None of the teachers went to college. All the students speak Yiddish as their first language. The vast majority of the schools 430 students are extremely poor. So are the teachers: the base teacher salary at the Orthodox Jewish school is just $6,000 dollars a year. The students spend less than half of the week studying math, reading, science and social studies; most of their class time is spent on religious instruction.
The principal started off the meeting, as she always does, with a critique of her own performance. Then, she spent most of the rest of the meeting listening. Teachers went around the circle, sharing obstacles they were facing and asking one another for advice about how to better monitor small-group work and manage their classrooms. More experienced teachers, a couple with several years on the job, shared ideas with the newcomers and offered to lead workshops about the topics that came up. Amsel suggested some books.
“They don’t feel forced to grow, but they would feel out of place if they didn’t,” she said.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
ventriloquist ventriloquism Instructions on How To
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism is the art of making an inanimate object seem to come alive. This article provides tips and instructions for becoming a good ventriloquist.
You'll notice that the letters "b," "f," "m," "p," "q," "v," and "w" will make your lips move. To say these without moving your lips, you must use substitutions. For "b," say "d" or "geh." For "f," say "th." For "m," say "n," "nah," or "neh." For "p," say "kl" or "t." For "q," say "koo." For "v," say "th." And for "w," say "ooh". You may think the new words with the substituted letters sound ridiculous, but if you learn to put the stress on the syllables that don't contain these letters, the words will begin to sound natural.
Check Out Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice ( http://www.hulu.com/watch/410874 )
Ventriloquism is the art of making an inanimate object seem to come alive. This article provides tips and instructions for becoming a good ventriloquist.
You'll notice that the letters "b," "f," "m," "p," "q," "v," and "w" will make your lips move. To say these without moving your lips, you must use substitutions. For "b," say "d" or "geh." For "f," say "th." For "m," say "n," "nah," or "neh." For "p," say "kl" or "t." For "q," say "koo." For "v," say "th." And for "w," say "ooh". You may think the new words with the substituted letters sound ridiculous, but if you learn to put the stress on the syllables that don't contain these letters, the words will begin to sound natural.
Check Out Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice ( http://www.hulu.com/watch/410874 )
Friday, October 12, 2012
Incentivizing Innovation in Education; or A Role For For Profits in Education
Rethink Education's Tom Segal responds to critics of edtech's 'profit motive'
Some bloggers are quick to point to the evils of the “profit motive” and the dangers of politics pushing technology for technology’s sake; but those same bloggers are often quick to praise new apps that they find particularly creative and helpful. I say, you can’t have one without the other. You can’t have high-quality digital tools without the profit motive (heck, you certainly can’t have that computer without the profit motive, and I imagine even the most ardent haters of private sector in the classroom would agree that a computer is a useful educational tool). Instead, what you need is the profit motive coupled with a truly transparent market filled with a multitude of options. Does this market exist yet in today’s educational landscape? Nope. But the way to get there is to promote the symbiotic relationship of schools and entrepreneurs, not to detract from it.
To be sure, there are tricky issues to navigate in making this kind of public-private partnership work. But these are the real stakes now. Do we move forward and find sensible ways to capture the public benefits that private-sector innovation has brought to every other field? Or do we stay trapped in old ways of doing things that aren't meeting America's needs? When even a famouslyegalitarian society like Sweden is embracing private sector innovation to help improve schooling, our own path should be clear.
If Bill and Melinda have anointed the chosen one (ahem, Sal Khan) and distributed capital accordingly, the infusion of cash and attention may help in the short-term, but it is not a way to assure that the best products get to market—it is only a way of making sure that a few products designated by a few philanthropies will have an edge. I don’t mean to pick on Khan Academy, because I think Sal has brought phenomenal exposure to the idea of blended learning, but others have begun questioning the efficacy behind the product.
The Case for the Private Sector in School Reform
The good news is that the Common Core Standards, now adopted in 46 states, are creating incentives for innovation at the heart of the system. At last there's a common definition of what "good" looks like for students and teachers, at least in core subjects like math and English. This helps explain why venture capital is now flowing in record sums to startups seeking to serve K-12 schools—and why larger firms (like the one I lead) are for the first time assembling world class teams of educators, technologists, and designers to tackle these challenges.
Some bloggers are quick to point to the evils of the “profit motive” and the dangers of politics pushing technology for technology’s sake; but those same bloggers are often quick to praise new apps that they find particularly creative and helpful. I say, you can’t have one without the other. You can’t have high-quality digital tools without the profit motive (heck, you certainly can’t have that computer without the profit motive, and I imagine even the most ardent haters of private sector in the classroom would agree that a computer is a useful educational tool). Instead, what you need is the profit motive coupled with a truly transparent market filled with a multitude of options. Does this market exist yet in today’s educational landscape? Nope. But the way to get there is to promote the symbiotic relationship of schools and entrepreneurs, not to detract from it.
To be sure, there are tricky issues to navigate in making this kind of public-private partnership work. But these are the real stakes now. Do we move forward and find sensible ways to capture the public benefits that private-sector innovation has brought to every other field? Or do we stay trapped in old ways of doing things that aren't meeting America's needs? When even a famouslyegalitarian society like Sweden is embracing private sector innovation to help improve schooling, our own path should be clear.
If Bill and Melinda have anointed the chosen one (ahem, Sal Khan) and distributed capital accordingly, the infusion of cash and attention may help in the short-term, but it is not a way to assure that the best products get to market—it is only a way of making sure that a few products designated by a few philanthropies will have an edge. I don’t mean to pick on Khan Academy, because I think Sal has brought phenomenal exposure to the idea of blended learning, but others have begun questioning the efficacy behind the product.
The Case for the Private Sector in School Reform
The good news is that the Common Core Standards, now adopted in 46 states, are creating incentives for innovation at the heart of the system. At last there's a common definition of what "good" looks like for students and teachers, at least in core subjects like math and English. This helps explain why venture capital is now flowing in record sums to startups seeking to serve K-12 schools—and why larger firms (like the one I lead) are for the first time assembling world class teams of educators, technologists, and designers to tackle these challenges.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Free Markets vs. Government Intervention: A Never-Ending Debate
Free Markets vs. Government Intervention: A Never-Ending Debate
The on-going debate in Washington, over how to decrease unemployment while stimulating economic growth, centers on both parties conflicting views of the role of markets and government in the economy. The concern of this essay will be to show why the policies of each party are unable to cope with the aftermaths of a recession caused by a financial crisis.
Perennial Conflict: The State vs. Free Markets
Paul Volker Says Republican Economic Plan Is Inadequate
To oversimplify, Democrats say expand demand and supply will follow, while Republicans say put more money in the hands of suppliers and demand will increase. What do you think?
See Entire Interview in Link
To oversimplify, Democrats say expand demand and supply will follow, while Republicans say put more money in the hands of suppliers and demand will increase. What do you think?
See Entire Interview in Link
Teaching with the News: Egypt's Uprising
The Choices Program
Brown University – Box 1948Providence, RI 02912
choices@brown.edu
(p) 401-863-3155
(f) 401-863-1247
This lesson is the first in a series on the recent events in Egypt. The latest, Protests, Revolutions, and Democratic Change, helps students consider the potential effects of the protests on democracy and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. The second, After Mubarak, helps students consider the implications of a leadership change in Egypt on the protests for democracy throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Why should high school students learn about what is happening in Egypt?
What is the historical relationship between the United States and Egypt?
What is the relationship between the United States and Egypt?
What role have social media played in the protests in Egypt and Tunisia?
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Learn more about the Partnership and the Framework for 21st Century Learning.
State Initiatives
P21 Common Core Toolkit
ISTE_Slides: Common Core State Standards and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)
P21 Looks to New Leadership for 2013
Additional resources:
4. Life and Career Skills
Twenty-First Century Support Systems
1. Twenty-First Century Standards
2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills
3. Twenty-First Century Curriculum and Instruction
4. Twenty-First Century Professional Development
5. Twenty-First Century Learning Environments
One notable leader is the West Virginia Department of Education, a P21 state. Led by former Superintendent Steven Paine and current Superintendent Jorea M. Marple, West Virginia has created a cornucopia of online resources -- Teach21, Learn21, Global21, Parents21 -- and provided systematic and extensive leadership development and professional development for principals and teachers.
State Initiatives
P21 Common Core Toolkit
ISTE_Slides: Common Core State Standards and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)
 |
| The Partnership for 21st Century Skills |
Additional resources:
- 21st Century Skills Assessment white paper
-
Professional Development: A 21st Century Skills Implementation Guide
wenty-First Century Student Outcomes
The elements described in this section as “21st centurystudent outcomes” (represented by the rainbow) are the skills, knowledge andexpertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21stcentury.1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes
2. Learning and Innovation Skills
- Creativity and Innovation
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Communication and Collaboration
4. Life and Career Skills
Twenty-First Century Support Systems
The elements described below are the critical
systems necessary to ensure student mastery of 21st century skills. 21st
century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional
development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a
support system that produces21st century outcomes for today’s students.
1. Twenty-First Century Standards
2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills
3. Twenty-First Century Curriculum and Instruction
4. Twenty-First Century Professional Development
5. Twenty-First Century Learning Environments
One notable leader is the West Virginia Department of Education, a P21 state. Led by former Superintendent Steven Paine and current Superintendent Jorea M. Marple, West Virginia has created a cornucopia of online resources -- Teach21, Learn21, Global21, Parents21 -- and provided systematic and extensive leadership development and professional development for principals and teachers.
Cable in the Classroom (CIC) Games
Cable in the Classroom (CIC)
Games
CIC Mission Statement
Cable in the Classroom (CIC) promotes the visionary, sensible, responsible and effective use of cable’s broadband technology, services, and content in teaching and learning. CIC also advocates digital citizenship and supports the complimentary provision, by cable industry companies, of broadband and multichannel video services and educational content to the nation’s schools.Games
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Pelada (2012)
Away from the bright lights and manicured fields, there's another side of soccer. Two players, twenty-five countries, one game.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Bronx DA No Longer Prosecuting Some Stop-And-Frisk Cases
The DA's bureau chief for Arraignments, Jeannette Rucker, sent a letter
to the NYPD saying arresting officers will now have to submit to an
interview, as first reported by The New York Times.
WNYC Transmitter Park - in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
WNYC Transmitter Park - WNYC
WNYC Transmitter Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The $12 million redevelopment of WNYC Transmitter Park includes an esplanade for passive recreation, and 1.6-acres of open space to provide residents and visitors with increased access to the Greenpoint waterfront.
New York Public Radio’s Archivist Andy Lanset, who is with me today, actually found the architectural blueprints of this site. Here they are! He also found the audio recordings from the dedication ceremonies in 1937 when the transmitter site first opened—it’s pretty cool to listen to Mayor La Guardia back then. You too can listen on our website! On that day’s opening ceremonies, Mayor La Guardia stood here and talked about the rejuvenation and revitalization of WNYC which he called “New York’s OWN station.” It was with this new AM transmitter and from this destination that WNYC established itself as the voice of New York.
WNYC Transmitter Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The $12 million redevelopment of WNYC Transmitter Park includes an esplanade for passive recreation, and 1.6-acres of open space to provide residents and visitors with increased access to the Greenpoint waterfront.
New York Public Radio’s Archivist Andy Lanset, who is with me today, actually found the architectural blueprints of this site. Here they are! He also found the audio recordings from the dedication ceremonies in 1937 when the transmitter site first opened—it’s pretty cool to listen to Mayor La Guardia back then. You too can listen on our website! On that day’s opening ceremonies, Mayor La Guardia stood here and talked about the rejuvenation and revitalization of WNYC which he called “New York’s OWN station.” It was with this new AM transmitter and from this destination that WNYC established itself as the voice of New York.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Welcome to Travel.State.Gov
Our vision is to help American citizens engage the world. The Bureau issues the travel documents that allow Americans to travel the globe and lawful immigrants and visitors to travel to America and provides essential cycle of life services to American citizens overseas.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Work is Learning and Learning is Work
Work is Learning and Learning is Work
It’s not about innovative individuals so much as the ability of the network (society, organization, company) to stay connected to its collective knowledge. This is an important factor to consider in knowledge-intensive organizations. How quickly would your lose collective knowledge if people do not share their knowledge? Are your knowledge networks large enough to ensure that collective knowledge does not get lost? Is your organization more like an isolated island or part of a connected and diverse continent?
Work has become learning; learning has become the work.
 |
| Networked Sharing |
Work has become learning; learning has become the work.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
The Most Segregated Big-City Districts in the Nation
The Most Segregated Big-City
Thanks to a reader for sending this story from the New York Times. It has a graph showing the most racially segregated big-city school districts in the United State
Diane Ravitch's Blog by Diane Ravitch
The winner of this disgraceful award: Chicago.
Second place: Dallas
Third place: New York City
Fourth place: Philadelphia
Fifth place: Houston
Sixth place: Los Angeles
Thanks to a reader for sending this story from the New York Times. It has a graph showing the most racially segregated big-city school districts in the United State
Diane Ravitch's Blog by Diane Ravitch
The winner of this disgraceful award: Chicago.
Second place: Dallas
Third place: New York City
Fourth place: Philadelphia
Fifth place: Houston
Sixth place: Los Angeles
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Transcript: Rep. Paul Ryan's Convention Speech
President Barack Obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those were very tough days, and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My home state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory.
A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: "I believe that if our government is there to support you ... this plant will be here for another hundred years." That's what he said in 2008.
Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that's how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight
It went to companies like Solyndra, with their gold-plated connections, subsidized jobs, and make-believe markets. The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst. You, the working men and women of this country, were cut out of the deal.
What did the taxpayers get out of the Obama stimulus? More debt. That money wasn't just spent and wasted – it was borrowed, spent, and wasted.
Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan
Thirty years of Republican apostasy — a once grand party’s embrace of the welfare state, the warfare state and the Wall Street-coddling bailout state — have crippled the engines of capitalism and buried us in debt. Mr. Ryan’s sonorous campaign rhetoric about shrinking Big Government and giving tax cuts to “job creators” (read: the top 2 percent) will do nothing to reverse the nation’s economic decline and arrest its fiscal collapse.
Mr. Ryan showed his conservative mettle in 2008 when he folded like a lawn chair on the auto bailout and the Wall Street bailout.
In short, Mr. Ryan’s plan is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices. And it couldn’t pass even if Republicans were to take the presidency and both houses of Congress. Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan have no plan to take on Wall Street, the Fed, the military-industrial complex, social insurance or the nation’s fiscal calamity and no plan to revive capitalist prosperity — just empty sermons.
David A. Stockman, who was the director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985, is the author of the forthcoming book “The Great Deformation: How Crony Capitalism Corrupts Free Markets and Democracy.”
Transcript: Michelle Obama's Convention Speech
And when he returned home after a long day's work, my brother and I would stand at the top of the stairs to our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him...watching as he reached down to lift one leg, and then the other, to slowly climb his way into our arms.
But despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work...he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of.
And when my brother and I finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Janna Ryan, Paul Ryan's Wife, Lobbied For Cigar, Nuclear, Pharmaceutical Industries
The details of Janna Ryan's lobbying career come as Democrats and Republican party insiders question whether Paul Ryan's career in government, and his scant private sector experience, are at odds with Mitt Romney's pro-business, anti-Washington message.
The cigar lobbying effort was launched to fend off congressional scrutiny of the industry, following revelations in the late 1990s that cigar manufacturers had orchestrated a decades-long campaign to make cigars look cool, and to minimize their health hazards. This included paying celebrities to smoke cigars at events and coincided with the launch of Cigar Aficionado, a magazine that glamorizes cigar smoking and relies heavily on industry advertising (its former landlord was also the CEO of General Cigar Holdings, one of the nation's largest cigar manufacturers). Cigars contain as much nicotine as several cigarettes.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
'My Brooklyn: The Battle For The Soul Of A City' Documents Brooklyn Gentrification (VIDEO)
'My Brooklyn: The Battle For The Soul Of A City' Documents Brooklyn Gentrification (VIDEO)
Trailer
"My Brooklyn: The Battle For The Soul Of A City", a new documentary from Kelly Anderson and Allison Lirish Dean, tells the story of Brooklyn gentrification in an effort to show that the drastic changes the borough's undergone in the past decade are "not natural, but fueled by public policy."
A short walk from Fulton Mall is the ongoing project at Atlantic Yards, the focus of another recent documentary "Battle For Brooklyn", which chronicles a community's fight against the construction of the Bloomberg-supported future home of the Brooklyn Nets, Barclay's Center.
'Battle For Brooklyn' Follows Daniel Goldstein's Fight Against Atlantic Yards Project (VIDEO)
Trailer
"My Brooklyn: The Battle For The Soul Of A City", a new documentary from Kelly Anderson and Allison Lirish Dean, tells the story of Brooklyn gentrification in an effort to show that the drastic changes the borough's undergone in the past decade are "not natural, but fueled by public policy."
BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN is the epic and universal tale of one man under pressure, and how far he will go to save his community and his home from the private developers who want to build a basketball arena on top of it "Battle For Brooklyn" website When completed, Atlantic Yards will include Barclay's Center, future home of the Brooklyn Nets, and 16 skyscrapers.
Intrapreneurship
"A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation". Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship.
the intrapreneur focuses on innovation and creativity, and transforms an idea into a profitable venture, while operating within the organizational environment. Thus, intrapreneurs are Inside entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the organization.
INTRAPRENEURIAL NOW
An intrapreneur is someone who has an entrepreneurial streak in his or her DNA, but chooses to align his or her talents with a large organization in place of creating his or her own
Move Over Entrepreneurs, Here Come The Intrapreneurs
firms should not pay people for attendance at the workplace but should pay competing groups for modules of work done.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Geniuses Unite: The Intersection of Hip-Hop and Science
Christopher Emdin
by Christopher Emdin
Geniuses Unite: The Intersection of Hip-Hop and Science
GZA and Neil Tyson are two black men, both products of New York City public schools, both science enthusiasts, and each with very different experiences as young schoolchildren. As I spoke with each of them, I reminisced on my own experiences as a black male in NYC public schools and the many obstacles that I had to overcome before I was able to see myself as a scientist. I immediately thought of the youth that I work with in urban schools that are deeply engaged in hip-hop, and are disengaged in school. For these youth, and those who want them to be successful, there are five lessons from the exchange I had GZA and Neil deGrasse Tyson that can support us in opening up the world of science to youth.
1) Genius is not always defined by academic success
2) Exposure and environment is everything
3) It's never too late to reclaim your genius
4) You don't need to know all the answers ---Teachers may be the guide on
the side, not the sage on the stage.
5) Support more partnerships and make them public
If we agree that creating more STEM minded folks is a necessary goal, and youth who are unsuccessful in school are deeply engaged in hip-hop, partnerships like the one between GZA and Tyson, or research that explores the intersections of science and hip-hop must be embraced, and shared with the public.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
 |
| Charting the Future of Teaching the Past |
The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents modified for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities.
This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on issues from King Philip's War to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and make historical claims backed by documentary evidence.
Program Overview
EDUCATION WEEK
Friday, August 3, 2012
Contacting Peer Instruction Network
Peer Instruction Network
Peer Instruction Network is the global community for current and future users of Peer Instruction and related interactive teaching methods. By joining, you can Connect with other innovative educators, Share experiences and resources, and Learn how to transform teaching and learning using research-based methods.
Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction is a research-based, interactive teaching method developed by Eric Mazur at Harvard University in the 1990s. It has been adopted across the disciplines, institutional types, and throughout the world. To learn more about Peer Instruction, check out our blog at Turn to Your Neighbor and download papers and talks about Peer Instruction on Mazur’s website.
Julie Schell
Flipping your classroom using college readiness assignments: Research-Based Strategies for your Classroom
seeker of educational change everywhere
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Hungry Academy
The Hungry Academy is an intensive program that will put you in a
position to join our engineering team. It’s an exclusive program for two
dozen dedicated people who want to build amazing products.
The Hungry Academy
The Hungry Academy
About the Academy:
The Hungry Academy is a unique and game changing five-month learning experience. It's your opportunity to push yourself to the limits. At Hungry Academy you’ll:- Work with and be mentored by the industry’s best programmers.
- Learn how to build successful products using software development tools, like Ruby on Rails.
- Prepare yourself to join LivingSocial’s elite engineering team.
- Have a huge impact on the world of local commerce.
Electoral Outlook 2012
The current view of the 2012 presidential election, based on HuffPost Pollster charts and analysis.
Electoral Outlook 2012
Electoral Outlook 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Nigeria's Rotimi Babatunde wins the 2012 Caine Prize
the tanjara Blog
Rotimi Babatunde of Nigeria was last night awarded the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa’s leading literary award, for his short story Bombay's Republic first published in 'Mirabilia Review' Vol. 3.9 (Lagos, 2011). Babatunde is the fourth Nigerian to have won the prize in its 13-year existence; Nigeria has produced more Caine winners than any other African country.
Babatunde noted that most African soldiers were "quite proud to fight for the empire". But for Bombay "there was a slight shift, I think he was watching more, observing, he was neutral - by the end of the war he knew where he was going." (There is an interview with Babatunde on his story on Pen International - Babatunde is among other things the chair of Nigeria's PEN Writers in Prison Committee).
He is currently taking part in a collaboratively produced piece at the Royal Court and the Young Vic as part of World Stages for a World City. The Royal Court explains: "The journey of Yoruba culture, tradition and religion, as it moved through slavery from West Africa to the Americas, is one of the most powerful stories of exploitation, resistance and survival that has never been told.
The other four shortlisted writers for the 2012 Caine Prize were Billy Kahora of Kenya for Urban Zoning; Stanley Kenani of Malawi for Love on Trial; Melissa Tandiwe Myambo of Zimbabwe for La Salle de Départ; and Constance Myburgh (the pen name of Jenna Bass) of South Africa for Hunter Emmanuel.
The chair of this year's judges, Bernardine Evaristo, is the award-winning author of six books of fiction and verse fiction. Her new novel, Mr Loverman, will be published by Penguin in 2013. A literary critic who teaches creative writing at Brunel University, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Arts.
Evaristo's fellow judges were cultural journalist Maya Jaggi; Zimbabwean poet, songwriter and writer Chirikure Chirikure; Associate Professor at Georgetown University, Washington DC Samantha Pinto; and the Sudanese CNN television correspondent Nima Elbagir.
The chair of the 2012 judges Bernardine Evaristo said on announcing this year's shortlist: "I’m proud to announce that this shortlist shows the range of African fiction beyond the more stereotypical narratives. These stories have an originality and facility with language that made them stand out. We’ve chosen a bravely provocative homosexual story set in Malawi; a Nigerian soldier fighting in the Burma Campaign of WW2; a hardboiled noir tale involving a disembodied leg; a drunk young Kenyan who outwits his irate employers; and the tension between Senegalese siblings over migration and family responsibility.”
Stanley Kenani: "It's one thing to announce and pass a law, it's another thing to change the mentality," to repeal the laws banning homosexuality
Last year the Caine Prize was won by Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo. She has subsequently been awarded the highly regarded two-year Stegner Writing Fellowship at Stanford University, in the US and her debut novel, We Need New Names, is forthcoming from Little, Brown in North America and Chatto and Windus in the UK.
Previous winners are Sudan’s Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian Helon Habila (2001), Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan Yvonne Owuor (2003), Zimbabwean Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian Segun Afolabi (2005), South African Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian EC Osondu (2009) and Sierra Leonean Olufemi Terry (2010).
Zimbabwean writer Melissa Tandiwe Myambo La Salle de Départ is set in Senegal: Jacaranda Journals
'Africa Writes'
Black Book News Blog
London Afro-Caribbean Book Club
Tricia Wombell: recorded on her blog and to discuss the five stories
Rotimi Babatunde of Nigeria was last night awarded the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa’s leading literary award, for his short story Bombay's Republic first published in 'Mirabilia Review' Vol. 3.9 (Lagos, 2011). Babatunde is the fourth Nigerian to have won the prize in its 13-year existence; Nigeria has produced more Caine winners than any other African country.
Babatunde noted that most African soldiers were "quite proud to fight for the empire". But for Bombay "there was a slight shift, I think he was watching more, observing, he was neutral - by the end of the war he knew where he was going." (There is an interview with Babatunde on his story on Pen International - Babatunde is among other things the chair of Nigeria's PEN Writers in Prison Committee).
He is currently taking part in a collaboratively produced piece at the Royal Court and the Young Vic as part of World Stages for a World City. The Royal Court explains: "The journey of Yoruba culture, tradition and religion, as it moved through slavery from West Africa to the Americas, is one of the most powerful stories of exploitation, resistance and survival that has never been told.
The other four shortlisted writers for the 2012 Caine Prize were Billy Kahora of Kenya for Urban Zoning; Stanley Kenani of Malawi for Love on Trial; Melissa Tandiwe Myambo of Zimbabwe for La Salle de Départ; and Constance Myburgh (the pen name of Jenna Bass) of South Africa for Hunter Emmanuel.
The chair of this year's judges, Bernardine Evaristo, is the award-winning author of six books of fiction and verse fiction. Her new novel, Mr Loverman, will be published by Penguin in 2013. A literary critic who teaches creative writing at Brunel University, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Arts.
Evaristo's fellow judges were cultural journalist Maya Jaggi; Zimbabwean poet, songwriter and writer Chirikure Chirikure; Associate Professor at Georgetown University, Washington DC Samantha Pinto; and the Sudanese CNN television correspondent Nima Elbagir.
The chair of the 2012 judges Bernardine Evaristo said on announcing this year's shortlist: "I’m proud to announce that this shortlist shows the range of African fiction beyond the more stereotypical narratives. These stories have an originality and facility with language that made them stand out. We’ve chosen a bravely provocative homosexual story set in Malawi; a Nigerian soldier fighting in the Burma Campaign of WW2; a hardboiled noir tale involving a disembodied leg; a drunk young Kenyan who outwits his irate employers; and the tension between Senegalese siblings over migration and family responsibility.”
Stanley Kenani: "It's one thing to announce and pass a law, it's another thing to change the mentality," to repeal the laws banning homosexuality
" He admitted he had long ago been anti-gay and had "agreed with Robert
Mugabe's assertion that gays are Western dogs and pigs. But my views
have evolved... because over the years I've made friends with people who
are gay, and I've got some of the strongest friendships with them, and
they are as normal as everybody else."
- now Nigeria won @CainePrize 4 times -double S Africa,Kenya & Zimbabwe 2X each.Uganda,Sierra Leone,Sudan once each. Just 7 countries in all. about 4 hours ago
- Nigeria's Rotimi Babatunde wins 2012 Caine Prize - 4th win in 13 years for Nigeria - photos & blog post http://t.co/3t5sCe2j about 4 hours ago
Last year the Caine Prize was won by Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo. She has subsequently been awarded the highly regarded two-year Stegner Writing Fellowship at Stanford University, in the US and her debut novel, We Need New Names, is forthcoming from Little, Brown in North America and Chatto and Windus in the UK.
Previous winners are Sudan’s Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian Helon Habila (2001), Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan Yvonne Owuor (2003), Zimbabwean Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian Segun Afolabi (2005), South African Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian EC Osondu (2009) and Sierra Leonean Olufemi Terry (2010).
Zimbabwean writer Melissa Tandiwe Myambo La Salle de Départ is set in Senegal: Jacaranda Journals
'Africa Writes'
Black Book News Blog
London Afro-Caribbean Book Club
Tricia Wombell: recorded on her blog and to discuss the five stories
Monday, June 25, 2012
The G20 includes 19 countries and The European Union
The G20 includes 19 countries and The European Union:
The G20, which includes both developed and emerging economies, closely reflects two current trends that are transforming international relations: 1) the increasing influence of emerging economies on political and economic affairs and 2) the need to find innovative forms of cooperation to meet new global challenges that require collective responses.
business without borders
 Argentina |  France |  Japan |  South Africa |
 Australia |  Germany |  Mexico |  Turkey |
 Brazil |  India |  Republic of Korea |  United Kingdom |
 Canada |  Indonesia |  Russia |  United States |
 China |  Italy |  Saudi Arabia |  The European Union |
The G20, which includes both developed and emerging economies, closely reflects two current trends that are transforming international relations: 1) the increasing influence of emerging economies on political and economic affairs and 2) the need to find innovative forms of cooperation to meet new global challenges that require collective responses.
business without borders
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
