Group items tagged

Interesting Debate about ebooks

The NYT keeps asking the wrong question, over and over. The issue is not whether technology is a good or bad innovation, but under what circumstances it provides strong benefits for the cost.

more studies needed to sort out what is happening

Very disturbing findings. Here's a quick excerpt: "There is still debate over whether scientific collaboration leads to better results. Jonathon Cummings, an associate professor of management at Duke University, and his colleagues got a grant from the National Science Foundation to look at 491 research collaborations funded by the foundation. They discovered something unsettling: Collaborations of more universities fared worse than projects primarily executed at a single university. More collaborators meant fewer patent applications, fewer published papers, and less chance of the group seeking additional funding to keep projects going." "Dr. Cummings says it appears that the amount of coordination required to make progress on research-everything from setting up meetings to integrating knowledge among group members-outweighed the potential benefits of collaboration. In the wake of the study, he says, the science foundation now requires grant applicants for some programs to detail how they expect to manage the collaboration."

The trial of Anders Behring Breivik (Norway's alleged mass killer) is reintroducing the hot topic of violent video games.

An article discussing various attempts at providing therapy for anxiety through computer programs and phone apps. One of the research projects targeting social anxiety is currently being conducted at the McNally Lab here at Harvard. The findings are still a little murky but I think it's a great start to providing education about and strategies for treating mental health issues to a broader audience- especially to those who otherwise have very limited or no access to help.

Thank you for sharing this, Kate. I'm a little skeptical about 1) the long-term effectiveness of this technology, 2) the transferability of learning/conditioning, and 3) the subtle implications of "therapist-free" therapy. The debate is similar to when educational technology was first heralded to be able to replace teachers and classrooms, when in fact technology is best supplemented by in-person guidance. It is a fascinating area of research and development though, and I look forward to seeing how this type of therapy can transform standard practice.

I think vocational schools give students the means for making time spent in school relevant and useful to them. They pursue an interest and see it connected to a relevant future. In the current age where interdisciplinary work is the norm, jobs are mutable, and careers are evolutionary, vocational education is no longer preparing students for a job or career; just their first one.

I completely agree! I have a good friend who dropped out of high school, earned his GED the same week, and went on to a technical vocational school to study IT/systems management. Turned out that once he got to the vocational school, he became the top student in most of his classes, and well-known for staying after class to engage instructors in intellectual debate. I find it disappointing that our society tends to devalue vocational schools; it seems to me that we should instead be focusing on what fits each student best.

"Over the past 20 years educators have fought over the best way to teach numbers to kids. Advocates of traditional math tout the practice of algorithms and teacher-centered learning, whereas reform-math proponents focus on underlying concepts and student inquiry."

Commentary on a new report showing how extensively kids use media

I was introduced to pro-social gaming last semester, and I found it to be quite an interesting topic. I think it can be done!