Online classes from Stanford
A colleague pointed out to me that Stanford University is offering three distance learning courses this fall. These are probably worth checking out:
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Introduction to Machine Learning
Introduction to Databases
Here’s an interesting article from The Atlantic about STEM education in the US vs. the UK.
Education reform is top on the government’s agenda, and nearly everyone has an opinion on how to solve the learning lag. STEM education has become the poster child for education leaders. And while there is a renewed emphasis on math and science, the same cannot be said of their less popular siblings, engineering and technology. Very rarely are all four concepts taught in one lesson.
Many schools follow the ‘basics-first’ approach where they teach the foundational concepts of a design problem first (like basic math), without actually taking students through the process. How torturous for a curious student to learn about torque, motors and circuits without getting the chance to even unhinge a bolt.
The Way You Learned Math Is So Old School
If you’re a parent of a certain age, your kids’ homework can be confounding. Blame it on changes in the way children are taught math nowadays — which can make you feel like you’re not very good with numbers.
image: Download
Madame Curious is coming to visit me.
Madame Curious is the creation of the students in fifth grade at Harold S. Winograd K8 School in Greeley, Colorado. She is our way of bringing scientists and science research back to our classroom. We are interested in all kinds of science and want to know what you are creating, researching, and learning. Since we can’t take field trips to science labs, we want Madame Curious to bring them to us through this wikispace. If you are interested in having Madame Curious visit your science lab or field study, she would love to come.
Fifth grade science teacher (and Mme Curious’s friend) Ms. Sage contacted me through National Lab Day to arrange the visit. (Here’s the NLD Project Page.) Mme Curious has already visited several scientists around the country, where she’s participated in some hands-on experiments. It should be interesting for the students to see the variety of jobs held by people with science/engineering/math backgrounds.
This is an interesting presentation about math. Check it out.
(via skewedleft)
