Innovate+Educate Blog

Slow Reading a Benefit for STEM? IBMer thinks so

July 05, 2010

Take your time reading this. That’s the point.

Not all education can be performed online; sometimes it is important to turn off the computer and pick up a book, says author and IBMer John Miedema.

Today’s world moves at a much faster pace, but that doesn’t mean learning has to follow suit – especially when it involves complex ideas in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Miedema is an IT architect at IBM (NYSE: IBM) in Ottawa, Ontario, whose 2009 book “Slow Reading” explores the movement.

In a phone interview, he explains that it’s not just about students reading as slowly as possible, but there comes a time when you deeply want to comprehend a subject, especially complex subjects such as STEM, that you really need to go offline and read more slowly.

“Print books are still the better technology for long-form reading,” he notes, but also saying the Web has its place in the mix. “A student or an employee trying to understand a complex idea will benefit on the whole by picking up a print book that allows them to read without distraction.”

Miedema recently finished his graduate work in the Library and Information Sciences program at the University of Western Ontario and is well aware of the difficulties of consuming large amounts of information in a short period of time.

He spoke at the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) Forum at the Library Congress last year and said it is often useful and necessary to read quickly, but that reading slowly aids to comprehension when deciphering complex text and may even involve arguing with a text, so to speak, or seeking out additional materials to add context.

“In an age of information overload, an increasing number of people are choosing to slow down and enjoy reading again,” he said during his presentation in October 2009.

At a time when people spend much of their time skimming Web sites, text messages and e-mails, a recent article by The Associated Press points out students who say they’ve become so accustomed from flitting from page to page online that they have trouble concentrating while reading printed books. One student said when he was reading a regular book and would come to a word that would almost act like a hyperlink and trigger his mind to some other thing.

“E-books are metadata for print books,” Miedema reiterates. “Books are not being replaced by digital technology. Instead of reading online, Web sites are increasingly offering online services to enhance the experience of reading print books.”

Little formal research has been done on slow reading, other than studies on physical conditions such as dyslexia and eye disorders. But, the movement is gaining ground, and certainly has a valid connection to STEM education, which requires slowness, experimentation, memorization, and precision.

“Slow reading definitely can be a benefit in STEM,” Miedema adds.

More and more segments of our society – farmers, factory workers, doctors, professors – have been urged to speed things up in order to produce more and faster. This idea of slowing down certainly has impacts in education as well as daily workforce demands – especially in technical fields where complex ideas can’t simply be reduced to snippets.

Innovate-Educate is a Small Business Heavyweight

June 25, 2010

Innovate-Educate has been recognized by The New Mexico Business Weekly as a Small Business Heavyweight, an award acknowledging 25 outstanding small businesses in New Mexico that have 25 or fewer employees.

A panel of small business experts selected these outstanding businesses, reflecting a variety of industries, from communities around the state, according to the publication. Companies that were selected have created a unique product or service; have demonstrated a strong track record in business; and have made important contributions to New Mexico and its economy.

The honorees will be featured in a special publication on July 23 and in an awards presentation July 22.

“Innovate-Educate’s Board of Directors represents unparalleled national and global leadership. These visionary leaders have excelled at fusing resources and at providing thought leadership surrounding the synergy needed between education and economic development in New Mexico,” said Jamai Blivin, executive director of Innovate-Educate. “We are honored to accept this award as we look to continue having a positive effect on our students and communities through the development of invigorating and inspiring STEM curriculums, internships, mentorships, and industry involvement.”

Read more about Small Business Heavyweights in New Mexico Business Weekly.

7th-Graders Discover Mysterious Cave on Mars

June 23, 2010

(Editor’s Note: Story by senior writer Clara Moskowitz at Space.com. Read the original story here.)

The 16 students from teacher Dennis Mitchell’s 7th-grade science class at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, Calif., found what looks to be a Martian skylight — a hole in the roof of a cave on Mars.

The intrepid students were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. The program allows students to frame a research question and then commission a Mars-orbiting camera to take an image to answer their question.

The newfound hole on Mars resembled features seen on other parts of Mars in a 2007 study by Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist.

Cushing suggested that these anomalous pit craters are like skylights — places where a small part of the roof of a cave or a lava tube had collapsed, opening the area below the surface to the sky.

The caves are thought to result from volcanic activity on the red planet. At some point lava channels likely carved out caverns in the rock, and then left behind tunnel, or “lava tubes,” when the eruptions were over. They would have been covered when a solid ceiling of cooled material settled on top, and then sections of the ceiling likely collapsed at some point to form the skylight entrances.

Scientists aren’t sure what type of materials or deposits could be stored inside.

“This pit is certainly new to us,” Cushing told the students. “And it is only the second one known to be associated with Pavonis Mons.”

He estimated the pit to be approximately 620 by 520 feet (190 by 160 meters) wide and 380 feet (115 meters) deep at least.

The young researchers had initially set out to hunt for lava tubes, a common volcanic feature on Earth and Mars.

“The students developed a research project focused on finding the most common locations of lava tubes on Mars,” Mitchell said. “Do they occur most often near the summit of a volcano, on its flanks, or the plains surrounding it?”

The class commissioned a main photo and a backup image of Mars’ Pavonis Monsvolcano, targeted on a region that hadn’t been imaged up close.

The pictures were taken by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter using its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument. Both images showed lava tubes, as the students had hoped.

But the backup photo provided another surprise: a small, round black spot. It was a hole on Mars leading into the buried cave, researchers said.

The students have submitted their site to be further imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which could reveal enough detail to see inside the hole in the ground.

“The Mars Student Imaging Program is certainly one of the greatest educational programs ever developed,” Mitchell said.  “It gives the students a good understanding of the way research is conducted and how that research can be important for the scientific community. This has been a wonderful experience.”

This is why we need our kids helping solve the problems of the future, added IE Executive Director Jamai Blivin.

  * Gallery – Latest Mars Photos From Spirit and Opportunity
  * Top 10 Strangest Things in Space
  * Image Gallery: A Tour of Mars

Google’s encrypted search creates problems for schools

June 17, 2010

A new encrypted search feature that internet search giant Google rolled out last month is causing problems for schools, which say the service keeps them from complying with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and could put their federal e-Rate funding at risk.

The service lets users search the Web in a way that can’t be tracked by employers or internet service providers. Google launched a beta version of the service May 21 to give users more control over the searches they make; the company has come under fire from privacy groups in recent months for how it handles sensitive information.

But in accommodating privacy advocates, Google ironically has angered K-12 education technology officials, many of whom are now blocking access not only to Google’s encrypted search page but also Gmail and Google Docs.

That could be a problem for Google, which is competing with Microsoft in supplying free software for communicating and collaborating online to schools.

Google’s encrypted search feature uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections to encrypt information that travels between a user’s computer and the service, meaning that a user’s search terms and search results pages cannot be intercepted by a third party on the network. Searches also are not archived in the Web browser’s history or appear in the “auto-fill” during a subsequent search.

While some people believe this new encrypted capability will help advance users’ privacy, especially those living in China, K-12 schools – which use third-party filters to monitor student and faculty conduct online – are saying the service might cripple their use of Google and its products.

The reason is simple: Schools must comply with CIPA to receive federal e-Rate funding. Without the ability to monitor student and faculty searches, schools no longer can be considered CIPA compliant, many say.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act is a federal law that addresses concerns about access in schools and libraries to the Internet and other information. For any school or library that receives discounts for Internet access or for internal connections, CIPA imposes certain requirements.

NCESSE Launches Student Spaceflight Experiments Program

June 14, 2010

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) has launched the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), a historic opportunity for students to propose experiments for the final scheduled flight of the Space Shuttle, STS-134.

The SSEP provides middle-and high-school classes across the U.S. the ability to propose experiments to fly in low-Earth orbit, and to celebrate that accomplishment with their local community and with national and global audiences.

Dr. Jeff Goldstein, head of the NCESSE, says entire school districts can participate with student teams proposing experiments like professional scientists and engineers.

Phase 1 of the program is a unique opportunity to propose an experiment to fly aboard STS-134, the final scheduled flight of the Space Shuttle. Selected student experiments would fly for 10 days aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is tentatively scheduled for launch in November; with launch slip to mid-January expected, enabling this student spaceflight experiments opportunity.

“We want the final voyage of the Space Shuttle to also mark a new beginning for private-sector sponsored student experiments in space, which organizations on the SSEP team have pioneered,” explains Goldstein. “

The flight of Endeavour will be used as a gateway to Phase 2 of the SSEP, which aims for sustainable growth and ongoing access to space for grades 5-12 to inspire students to propose experiments for low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station (with transport via the Russian Progress and Soyuz vehicles), and on suborbital space flights.

“It is about engaging students, their teachers, and their families in science education, with a focus on the process of inquiry, and in a manner that is customized to a school district’s strategic needs in STEM education,” adds Goldstein. “To our children, who are America’s future in the 21st century:  be part of history, by making history. To schools and school districts committed to STEM education:  together we can help your students step into the shoes of scientists and engineers right now.”

SSEP is undertaken by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, in partnership with American Aerospace Advisors Inc.