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"A student-run Web site at Stanford University seeks to convince students to input their class assignments to keep themselves-and their classmates-more organized. It could, founders hope, grow into a student-run course-management system."

stanford app for ios development lessons

Stanford for Everyone: More Than 120,000 Enroll in Free Classes

Online education startups such as the Khan Academy, as well as new efforts by MIT, Stanford, and Harvard have helped spur interest and add legitimacy to the notion of remote learning. Now Google is lending its brainpower to the rapidly growing space by releasing a tool called Course Builder, open source software that is designed to let anyone create online education courses.

Howard Rheingold 03 Feb 12 10:09:30 Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck conducted the groundbreaking research showing that praise intended to raise young people's self-esteem can seriously backfire. When we tell children, "You're so smart," we communicate the message that they'd better not take risks or make mistakes, lest they reveal that they're not so smart after all. Dweck calls this cautious attitude the "fixed mindset," and she's found that it's associated with greater anxiety and reduced achievement. Students with a "growth mindset," on the other hand, believe that intelligence can be expanded with hard work and persistence, and they view challenges as invigorating and even fun. They're more resilient in the face of setbacks, and they do better academically. Now Dweck has designed a program, called Brainology, which aims to help students develop a growth mindset. Its website explains: "Brainology makes this happen by teaching students how the brain functions, learns, and remembers, and how it changes in a physical way when we exercise it. Brainology shows students that they are in control of their brain and its development." That's a crucial message to pass on to children, and it's not just empty words of encouragement-it's supported by cutting-edge research on neuroplasticity, which shows that the brain changes and grows when we learn new things. You, and your child, can learn to be smarter.