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Maybe we don't know how smart animals and birds really are. Just like we didn't know for a long time how early babies can count.

"Children spend five times as much time outside the classroom as they do in school, and our country has 30 million parents or caregivers who are not good readers themselves, so they pass illiteracy down to their children."

Is the push for STEM and math programs progressing beyond the quality of literacy games?

Using computer games as well as interactive visuals in the classroom, students are taught fractions, equations, comparisons and other math processes. Later, they learn the vocabulary and symbols that go with the subject matter. It's a high-tech version of the paper money and metal coins that instructors have long used to teach about currency.

After reading this I wonder what other resources there are online for learning all those things that I have found difficult to master in my life.

A great read and resource that came up through another one of my classes. The Harvard Business School grad makes free online videos that explore math and science concepts. Bill Gates is a big fan.

Big money for games that help young children learn STEM

Maybe you or someone could comment on what this has in common with the Tesla project (or what is different). Would love to hear more. As a future middle school teacher, this inspires me. The contest geared toward middle school age validates my conviction that middle schoolers can and should be learning technology ... yes, even in BPS there's got to be a way.

TESLA is studying both how we can make math education more effective and what types of motivational inductions appeal to various types of students in grades 5-9. The emphasis in engagement is on building intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy in math, rather than using external motivation to "sugar-coat" math as yucky, but necessary. The intrinsic/extrinsic distinction is often ignored by game designers,and as a result kids who are momentarily engaged in STEM can actually be demotivated longer term. TESLA is trying to established a more nuanced view of how to build this type of game.

Another great Dan Meyer video. (His Ted talk has gotten a lot of attention but this one is even better!) Dan describes the creative way he teaches math, including the active use of technology (rather than the "tired, dead tree format").

Using math to design your own Disney World ride!

Haha! Read this one today. Considered bookmarking it. I don't know how much fun a ride would be after standing in line for two hours than having to think about what it is you are going to ride.

This is what some very talented current students at HGSE are working on. It's a solid plan, with a talented and diverse team of educators and media producers. And it's taking off! So heads up everyone. This is part of the next phase of your plan too ;-) Just look at the production value!

oh, and give them money. lots of money. and tell your friends to give them money. 'cuz they're actually doing this. http://www.indiegogo.com/drmadd plus this is a great promo video anyway

TEP11 grad here. Now a math teacher in a Title 1 school. Interested. I follow this Diigo feed (since when I took this useful class) so saw the video just now ... edutainment.com not working yet :-( I wanted to see more. Fyi, here's a rare example of a math video my students "tolerated" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7MxGyEaN64

I've heard of 3D printers before. I thought it would be interesting to try out in schools. For example, if students were designing towns to learn volume and surface area. This could help with spatial learning, which is essential to understanding math. I don't know how feasible this it though...

Hi Irina, Yes! Nothing like seeing your ideas take a concrete shape. Looks like the cost of these printers is comparable to that of SmartBoards, so it may be feasible to try them out in classrooms pretty soon. That said, unless the projects are well integrated into the curriculum, they will end up as another fancy toy.

Harvey and I had a conversation about these last week - Harvey spoke of the way that these printers could open up opportunities for those who can visualize their creations in their heads, but have trouble putting those ideas in tangible form. We spoke of the potential in art and design.

Along the lines of the discussions we've been having on the isites, mobile learning has major potential in the developing world. "Mobile phones are increasingly ubiquitous in poor countries, which now account for FOUR IN EVERY FIVE connections worldwide". This means that almost everyone owns or has access to a mobile phone. How can we leverage this reality? Well, we can't impose anything that requires a smart phone, since most of these mobile phones cannot access 3G or wifi networks. Perhaps we can start to send podcasts as voice notes? Audio wikis of information sent via sms? In-phone calculators for math homework completion? I think all we need is an educational system that supports this type of learning, and m-learning can possible change the face of education in the developing world. 

Through optimizing the power of digital footprint in the classroom, students transform from passive to active learners. When incorporating technology within core curriculum, students' prior knowledge and experiences (PKE) with content are leveraged. They can then build learning communities, or personal learning networks, within and outside the classroom.

Microsoft recognized three U.S. schools at its Global Forum Educator awards last week. I didn't find two of them terribly intriguing, but the third, LYNCing Distance Learning Math Classes to Blind and Visually Impaired Students, was a great example of how technology can be used to link educators with special skills and students with special needs how may not otherwise have access to a qualified instructor.

Math remediation software

Raspberry Pi may sound like the name of a math-based dessert. But it is actually one of the hottest and cheapest little computers in the world right now. Almost one million of these $35 machines have shipped since last February, capturing the imaginations of educators, hobbyists and tinkerers around the world. One Pi owner, Dave Akerman, of Brightwalton, England, even sent a Raspberry Pi to the upper atmosphere, floating it 40,000 meters up using a weather balloon. There he was able to take live video, photos and measurements. "Now every primary school in the world can take pictures from near space," Mr. Upton said. "You give people access to this tool and they do great things."

Very cool embodied learning experience. Checkout the videos

This is really cool. I think there are opportunities in this for math learning, and maybe even connecting physics to math. For example, I could see embedded learning being used for mathematical modeling, but I have not seen it being done yet.

Just one of the many testimonials to the iTooth MATH apps by eduPAD

Ipad app that teaches fractions

I tend to agree with Professor Cuban - "IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning." The real challenge is to convert the initial excitement and performance improvement into sustained progress. The key may be in leveraging the increased self-efficacy of students.

This article makes me wonder about the novelty bump you get when you try anything new. In EcoMuve, they researched the effectiveness of EcoMuve vs a new ecology classroom based activity. This tactic is measuring the effectiveness of the technology. However in these studies, if they had kids using a computer game to practice fractions, did the control group practice fractions using a classroom based activity? 15% growth is not much to get excited about.

The role technology can play in expanding the time during which learning can take place.

Another article about "expanded learning time" both online and via community-based "brick and mortar" locations like libraries, YMCA, and Boys & Girls Clubs. "Out-of-school programs can be strong partners for schools who want to leverage expanded learning time to help their students achieve global competence. Youth-serving organizations share the broad mission to promote student success in work and life in the 21st century. Out-of-school program organization and management is often based on an asset model that values diversity. In order to attract and retain participants, out-of-school programs are centered around youth engagement through hands-on and experiential learning, often with a focus on 21st century skills, service learning, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and others."

I wonder what Helen Haste would think of this organization . . .