The proposal comes from an elected board with three conservative members who took office in November. The other two board members were elected in 2011 and oppose the new plan, which was drafted in response to a national framework for teaching history that supporters say encourages discussion and critical thinking. Detractors, however, say it puts an outsize emphasis on the nation’s problems.
Tension over high school education has cropped up recently in Texas, where conservative school board officials are facing criticism over new textbooks. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, conservatives have called on an education oversight committee to ask the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement courses, to rewrite their framework to make sure there is no ideological bias.
John Lemke on 03 May 11BGU software engineering students have developed innovative technology that could enable people to operate a computer without using a keyboard or mouse - only their brainwaves. While there have been previous attempts to develop devices to read brainwaves and operate specific programs, they were cumbersome and not feasible outside of a laboratory setting. The BGU technology features a helmet equipped with 14 EEG connect points that sense brain activity. According to Dr. Rami Puzis, "The technology is designed to assist those who are physically disabled who might otherwise be unable to manipulate a computer mouse or keyboard." The student team, Ori Ossmy, Ofir Tam and Ariel Rozen, developed the prototype application for their bachelor's degree project under supervision at BGU by Prof. Mark Last, Dr. Rami Puzis, Prof. Yuval Elovich and Dr. Lior Rokah. As part of a recent demonstration, a student composed and sent a hands-free e-mail using only thought combined with the adaptive hardware. The students and BGU team plan to continue research working with the disabled.