Shaping the Vision

Missed the Edudemic post featuring The 11 Most Popular Open Online Courses (12.23.2012). The article highlights courses taught by some of the greats.

Just how massive are some of these individual courses? If they’re taught by some of the most well-known luminaries in their field … they’re quite huge.

I have yet to enroll in a MOOC, but plan to do so. The field is transforming traditional views of learning, to the fear and dread of some, I might add. I, for one, want to experience the revolution.

From the Huffington Post, an article that raises my eyebrows more than a little bit: “Obama Loan Policy Under Scrutiny” (5/17/2013). While I write my check every month to pay for the latest degree I earned,

The Department of Education this year is forecast to earn a record $51 billion profit off student borrowers.

It is unbelievable that this could be the case in a country that purportedly places educating young people as a top priority – a key strategy in our economic prosperity. Somehow it seems like lip service when the cost of higher education is skyrocketing and the ability to secure low-cost loans is shrinking.

Kudos to Huffington Post for its reporting.

Helpful information for students, parents, coaches, counselors and principals regarding NCAA policy on online and competency-based learning by Nick Sproull, NCAA, and Susan Patrick, iNACOL: Does the NCAA Allow Online Courses or Competency-based Education? (April 1, 2013).

Shared by my colleagues at Fielding Nair International – an inspiring learning environment: Anne Frank Inspire Academy.

Here’s to Fred Espanek who captured Comet PanSTARRS digitally and created a video featuring a time lapse sequence. Visit Fred’s blog Portal to the Universe for more excellent content.

This video features the Independent Project, a high school designed by and for students. The students are articulate about, invested in, and passionate about their own learning.

Everybody is interested in something. This gives you the room and the space to really learn whatever you want.

 

From Edutopia, an excellent new video on motivating learners, with John Seely Brown.

Check out this post from Forbes (Satell, 2.9.2013), What to do about the rise of robots? An interesting question and one we must grapple with as a county and as an educational system. As educators, we have to ask ourselves,

How are we introducing students to and sparking their interest in robotics?

There are many tools and opportunities to do so. Among them:

• First Robotics Competition
• Lego Education: Preschool to University Resources
• NASA Robotics Alliance Project

Several teams from around St. Clair County, Michigan are busy building their own robots for the First Robotics Competition. Here’s a video from one of the teams from Capac, MI. The footage was taken at our Be Very Afraid eXtra event featuring Professor Stephen Heppell (2011). This team is still actively involved in the FIRST competition. I expect great things from them this year.

The projects are out-of-school activities that require hours of dedicated engineering and design work. Kudos to these students and their sponsors who guide them.

It hardly seems like ten years have passed since the Columbia STS-107 disaster. Space.com has detailed the history of the flight, the accident investigation and the crew. The information is enlightening.

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Space.com also posts a video of the crew sharing their thoughts on the flight preparation and anticipation. It is heartwarming to hear their passion, their humbleness, and thankfulness as they ready for departure. Recognizing the beauty of Earth in space is a common theme.

We do science. We do experiments; but looking at Earth and appreciating the magnificence of it is easily the most touching thing that you come back with.
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla

It is also interesting to hear how the crew members felt humbled by the experience, yet realized the importance of their work for humanity.

All we are doing is for the next generation and the next generations to come. I’m sure the view of the Earth out of space is very unique. And since we don’t see any borders, and we see our planet as a whole, as a unity, I’m sure that we all feel that we shouldn’t have any borders.  We are human beings sharing this Earth.
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon

Did NASA learn from the Columbia disaster? Astronaut Jerry Ross, recounts the events in his own words and shares his reflections on what was learned in the aftermath.

Obviously what we do, flying in space, is never going to be totally safe, and if anybody wants to make it totally safe then we’re just going to have to stay on the ground.
Jerry Ross, NASA Astronaut, Author of Space Walker

Rest in peace brave explorers.

My passion for encouraging the creativity and genius in children is inspired by my own grandchildren who continuously amaze me. I love this time of life when I can view their innocent, creative minds at work in a world where everything is possible. I listen to the way my four-year old granddaughter reasons, and I watch my six-year old grandson construct towers and machines of his own design – no model required.

They make me know all children deserve our faith and belief in the power of their creativity.

Thank goodness children, in general, are ignoring us. In a study released today (thanks @DanielPink), Gallop.com (Lopez, 1.30.2013) reported on a poll of 5th through 12th Grade students:

Almost all fifth- through 12th-graders – 95% — say it is likely they will have a better life than their parents.

Hope is alive. Young people today aren’t listening to the negative commentary that flows across the mainstream of conversation. They aren’t worried about the fiscal cliff. They are imagining a day when they can present solutions to the big challenges we face. And some are taking action while they are still young.

Tonight, I reread the story of Jack Andraka, the high school freshman who received the Smithsonian Magazine’s first annual American Ingenuity Award for youth achievement. Jack discovered an inexpensive test for pancreatic cancer. According to this story, 197 adults – professionals in science and medicine – turned him down. One hundred ninety-seven people told him, “No.” They didn’t believe it could happen. It took some kind of grit to persist to the 198th person who did believe.

In a previous posts, I featured another captivating story:

Tanishq Abraham: Child Prodigy

Some luckies make it to adulthood still possessing the grit to pursue their imagination. The story of Janet Echelman is an inspiring one.

I want to work to create and support environments where more children have opportunities to pursue their creative dreams.