Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts

November 8 – National S.T.E.M. / S.T.E.A.M. Day

Posted on November 8, 2018

I have read about the need for more students to go into S.T.E.M. fields - and the growth of jobs in the S.T.E.M. fields - for a long time. Those letters stand for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. 

Of course loads of kids are fascinated by science stuff - animals and messing around with mixing up glop and gak and other fun substances and outer space and dinosaurs - and almost all kids are into USING tech - but apparently math gets an early reputation for being "hard," and then that "it's so hard" reputation starts to spread over all the rest of S.T.E.M. 


But the world more and more depends on computers and microchips, understanding complex systems of weather and the environment, innovating out-of-the-box solutions to planet-wide problems, and so forth. 

Because of our needs, S.T.E.M. fields will continue to grow, and hopefully more and more kids will take on the challenges, and hopefully a wider variety of educational choices will help us to love math rather than fear it!



Okay, so when I saw that today was S.T.E.M. Day, I wasn't surprised - yep, this is important stuff! - but I wasn't sure what S.T.E.A.M. Day meant.

Could the "A" in S.T.E.A.M. stand for arithmetic, or algebra? But arithmetic and algebra are part of mathematics, so they are already represented by the "M"...right?

What else could the "A" stand for? Archeology? Anthropology?

It turns out that the "A" stands for Art!

S.T.E.A.M. proponents point out that the arts are a great learning tool that can help many more students engage with S.T.E.M. fields. If all five S.T.E.A.M. topics are interconnected in problem-based learning with student teams working together, many more students will be motivated to join in or stay in S.T.E.A.M.




 
Also, we need creativity in science, we need communication with the general public about scientific findings, we need ways to make emotional connections with people about scientific truths. And the same could be said for other S.T.E.M. fields. So integrating Art with all the other S.T.E.M. fields makes sense to eventually make those fields better and stronger.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

January 6 – National Technology Day


Posted on January 6, 2017


I've read many articles about how technology is ruining our lives and society and especially (much hand-wringing here) our kids.

I've also read many articles about how technology is making our lives and society and even our kids better and/or smarter.

There are good points to be made about the harms AND the benefits of technology, and today might be a great day to think about and discuss tech's impact on us all...

Good? Or bad?

First, we must remember that almost all technology could be used for good OR for evil. It all depends on the humans using the technology.

In this "Pure Genius" moment,
a 3-D printer creates individualized
hearts for a heart surgeon to practice
a tricky surgery on...
In the fictional TV show Pure Genius, really high-tech, cutting-edge surgical robots, computer-designed medicines, and other doctor stuff is used to help heal people and save lives. I can certainly imagine some of that technology being used only for the very rich, and I can even imagine it being used to control or kill people instead of to help and save people -- but, in this TV show at least, the fictional characters are passionate about their patients and dedicated to helping everyone.

Social media can be super warm and feel-good-y, connecting people across the globe, but it can also be cold and judge-y, and it can give big-time powers to bullies and would-be dictators. It's up to us to make sure that social media environments stay safe and sane!

Too much?

One thing that can be hard to achieve is balance -- balance between physical activity and more sedentary times, balance between practical chores and errands and more creative outlets, balance between time outdoors and time indoors, balance between time with others and time alone. 

Finding a good balance has never been easy, and "right now" is no exception.


But I think it's safe to say that using technology in moderation is a good idea. It's safe to say that it's a good thing to find a balance between high-tech play and old-fashioned, physical sports and games. 


Here is a super-quickie article with some balanced ideas about kids and technology. 

I personally cannot wait to see what happens with augmented reality and virtual reality and robotics!






 
Also on this date:






































Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

January 22 – Data Innovation Day

Posted on January 22, 2015
Yes, this is really how we used to do
research. Not only did we have to get
somehow to a library, we even had to
crouch down, often, to flip through
all those tiny cards!
It has never been so easy to get information as it is now. I remember growing up without the internet. I remember having to wait for my parents to take me to the nearest library (not VERY near!), having to look up books in the card catalog that was drawers and drawers of physical cards, having to find the books on the shelf – and often being disappointed because they were NOT there – and still having to wade through tables of contents, indexes, and pages and pages of text to find the information.

Now, of course, I google using a few key words or a full sentence of ordinary English. Even before I stop typing, the answer or a great source for the answer pops up.

Information, information everywhere!

Of course, one of the problems with modern times is that there is TOO MUCH information! Sometimes it is hard to find the fact you need among all the quadrillions of facts and of course all the MISinformation. Yikes! Now, we don't have to be sleuths tracking down information, but we have to be CIA analysts comparing various stories and trying to suss out the truth!

The people at Data Innovation have announced that today will be a great meeting-of-minds of the people who are trying to invent the next big steps in making accurate data available and ever more easily accessible.

Here are a few topics for the day's virtual meeting:

  • Open Data, Civic Hacking, and Data-Driven Government
  • Wearables, Sensors, and the Internet of Things
  • Visualization
  • Startups and Entrepreneurship

Sounds interesting, right?


I only have time to research one of these topics, right now, so I decided to look into wearables. In other words, wearable technology.

Wearables began in the 1980s with the calculator watch.

Some more recent, but still fairly early, wearables include Bluetooth headsets hidden in a pair of earrings, the Spy Tie with its hidden camera, and USB hand-warmer gloves.


Five years ago beanies and headbands with phones stitched inside them allowed snowboarders and other athletes to stay connected, hands-free. Wearable technology also allows athletes to monitor and get realtime feedback about their heart rates and other stats.


Here's an intriguing one: A do-it-yourself way to show your latest posting on Twitter on your ordinary clothing is called Pocket Tweets! Wow! That's pretty cool!


And Loud Tweets is a LED name badge type thingie that has been changed into a wearable: your latest tweet scrolls across the small screen, for all to see.




I guess you have probably also heard of Google glasses?


Wearables are a booming industry, apparently, and are predicted to become more and more widely created and sold in the decade to come!

It's probably no surprise that Apple is
innovating in the wearables field. This
is one design for an iWatch.


Also on this date:


Choreographer George Balanchine's birthday  






























Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)