2014: One Educator’s Year in Review

by Vicki Davis, Edutopia

The person who never makes mistakes never makes progress. As we embark on new journeys in 2015, remember that there’s truly nothing new under the sun and learn from what has gone before in 2014. For if we cannot inhale the fresh wind of progress, we will surely asphyxiate in the stale wind of yesterday’s exhale. So here’s my pondering on the stories, conversations, and stats of 2014 that suggest trends in education. I hope you’ll add more about the trends you see.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/2014-year-in-review-vicki-davis

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Exitticket: Creating Individualized Instruction for Students

By Edudemic

When it comes to crafting individualized instruction for your students, ExitTicket tops the class. Tested against other apps in its category, this app emerged as the fullest-featured piece of exit ticket software I’ve seen. Although indispensable for offering individualized instruction, it also offers the additional advantages of being aligned with national Common Core and Science Standards initiatives. After using it over the course of a week for lesson-planning and student assessment, I found that Exitticket’s features and continuity with educational standards create a seamless experience.

http://www.edudemic.com/exitticket-creating-individualized-instruction/

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Cuomo Signs Online Learning Bill

by Post-Journal

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill into law authored by state Sen. Catharine Young, R-C-I-Olean, chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, that will help bring more academic enrichment and opportunities to classrooms across the state. Senate Bill 5509-C calls for the creation of a statewide online and blended learning program. It addresses the need for new technology and teaching systems that will change the classroom experience for students by providing them with access to unique courses and innovative instructional methods. Virtual learning programs include online courses as well as blended learning initiatives that combine both a physical location with online resources. They provide schools with cost-effective opportunities for students to access coursework and educational resources otherwise not available.

http://www.post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/657738/Cuomo-Signs-Online-Learning-Bill.html

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WIRED’s Top Science Stories of the Year

Our most popular science stories this year covered a really broad range of topics. Your favorites included stories on cat behavior, quantum mechanics, black holes, absurd creatures, traffic, maps, and blood tests.

The post WIRED’s Top Science Stories of the Year appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/41e82106/sc/38/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C120Ctop0Escience0Estories0E20A140C/story01.htm

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Biochemists Are Turning Genetically Modified Yeast Into Perfume and Opioids

GETTY IMAGES Yeast. Is there nothing it can’t do? Scoop it up from nature and it makes alcohol. Fiddle with the genes and you can coax it to produce gasoline. Useful, but such synbio projects tend not to be cost-effective. Now, though, biochemists are genetically modifying yeast and algae to produce stuff with good enough […]

The post Biochemists Are Turning Genetically Modified Yeast Into Perfume and Opioids appeared first on WIRED.

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A Look Inside the Classroom of the Future

by Dana Mortenson, Edutopia

Over the next generation, whether they work for corporations, small businesses, government organizations, nonprofits, or other organizations, many U.S. employees will move from working primarily with American colleagues, bosses, and customers for American organizations in U.S. cities, to being part of global teams. As leaders, they will use technology to bridge geographic divides, build organizations that transcend borders, and work together with colleagues from around the world on issues such as climate change, food security, and population growth — issues that require multinational teams coming together to effect change. For those whose work is closer to home, the changing demographics of the U.S. will mean that their colleagues, customers, and neighbors may look a lot less like them, and have fewer shared histories than American colleagues, customers, and neighbors have shared in the past.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/look-inside-classroom-of-future-dana-mortenson

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Net neutrality important to all Internet users

By Sean McGarvey, Iowa State Daily

Four million people have submitted their comments to the FCC about net neutrality. Disabling the free and open Internet goes against the founding principles of why it exists—creation and innovation of ideas and organizations that can help further the growth of our society. I believe net neutrality is very important to college students and online learning in general. If this two-tiered system of a fast lane and a slow lane goes into existence, students may not be guaranteed access to necessary information required to gain knowledge in the classroom. It will also be detrimental to distance learning on all levels of education.

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/opinion/article_ae0def02-7fc9-11e4-8dff-1b3d42e30feb.html

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Top 10 Ways iPads Are Key to Teaching Kids With Learning Disabilities

By Leah Levy, edudemic

By now, saying that “the iPad is a great tool for customizing the classroom” wouldn’t exactly be breaking news. But while this holds true for every student, each of whom learns in their own way, iPads are truly a lifeline for students with learning disabilities and the people who work hand-in-hand with them. For these students, iPads act as a translation, communication, and individualization tool with unrivaled effectiveness. In so doing, these devices reduce frustration, build confidence, and, well, just work in teaching students the skills they need to learn to thrive.

http://www.edudemic.com/top-10-ways-ipads-are-key-to-teaching-kids-with-learning-disabilities/

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Forecasting Avalanche Danger for the Country’s Most Treacherous Snowpack

Benjamin Rasmussen To understand what’s happening at the top of a snow-covered mountain, you have to dig. Granular analysis of snowflakes can tell local ski resorts and government agencies which layers of snow are destined for collapse. But that process isn’t exactly scalable. “We can’t dig snow pits every 100 feet over the whole state,” […]

The post Forecasting Avalanche Danger for the Country’s Most Treacherous Snowpack appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/41e297df/sc/10/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C120Cjohn0Esnook0C/story01.htm

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9 Amazing and Gross Things Scientists Discovered About Microbes This Year

We can’t see them, but they are all around us. On us. In us. Our personal microbes have us outnumbered by orders of magnitude, but scientists are only beginning to understand how they influence our health and other aspects of our lives. It’s an increasingly hot area of science, though, and this past year saw lots of interesting developments. Here are some of the highlights.

The post 9 Amazing and Gross Things Scientists Discovered About Microbes This Year appeared first on WIRED.

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The Year’s Most Awesome Photos of Space

For nearly three years, we have been gathering the best, most interesting, most beautiful photographs of space we could find, delivering one of them to you each day. Here are 35 of our favorites among this year's bunch.

The post The Year’s Most Awesome Photos of Space appeared first on WIRED.

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Anthropomorphic Technology: Making Online Education Social

By Edudemic

The advent of online education has been a wonderful gift for both educators and students. It has allowed teachers to reach out to students in other parts of the globe and has allowed students to form a study group without actually being together physically. Online education is permitting students who live in a rural or isolated area to attend classes from the comfort of their own home and it has added to home school curriculums across America. However, there is one drawback to all of this innovative technology: The lack of socialization. Most problems have a solution if the creative thinkers of the world spend time to search for it. What is the solution to this particular drawback. There are several ways that online education can become more social and more closely mimic the benefits of an in-person education.

http://www.edudemic.com/making-online-education-social/

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Chromebook: Three things Google must do in 2015

By James Kendrick, ZD Net

The Chromebook has evolved nicely, resulting in acceptance by schools and some enterprises. Even so, there are three things Google must do next year to make it a better solution. Having used Chromebooks since they first appeared, it’s clear to me that they are a good solution. They can be used for both work and play, and they are more capable than many realize.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/chromebook-three-things-google-must-do-in-2015/

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2015: Year of the Windows renaissance?

By Larry Seltzer, ZD Net

After largely avoiding Windows 8, I really got to like Windows 8.1. When Windows 10 comes along I’ll feel a lot better about it and so, I suspect, will everyone else. I’ve heard many people say the same thing I concluded not long after I spent some time with Windows 10: If only this is what Windows 8 had been, things would have been different.I think Windows 10 will accelerate the rehabilitation of Windows’ public image. If you follow the Technical Preview you can see clearly that Microsoft is trying to listen to the customers and make Windows 10 the OS you want to use. It has the best of Windows 7 mixed into the good parts of Windows 8, and it uses Microsoft’s cloud services, like OneDrive, extensively.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/2015-year-of-the-windows-renaissance/

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Machine Intelligence Cracks Genetic Controls

Every cell in your body reads the same genome, the DNA-encoded instruction set that builds proteins. But your cells couldn’t be more different. Neurons send electrical messages, liver cells break down chemicals, muscle cells move the body. How do cells employ the same basic set of genetic instructions to carry out their own specialized tasks? […]

The post Machine Intelligence Cracks Genetic Controls appeared first on WIRED.

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