Harvard Librarian Catalogued Years Of Cultural Heritage Destruction By Serbian Nationalists &, Testifys Before The U.N.

August 1992 nearly 2 million books was destroyed as the National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was burned to a shell.

 

András Riedlmayer with photos from his many visits to the Balkan region in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

 

Agim, a Kosovar Albanian university student who worked with Riedlmayer as an interpreter, looks at torn religious texts (pictured) inside a Carralevë mosque that was burned by Serbian soldiers in 1999.

Courtesy of András Riedlmayer

 

 

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The Racial Wealth Gap

Children of middle-class African American families, are at risk of dropping out of the middle class altogether, according to the report.

The racial wealth gap in the US is the product of a series of interactions between social, historical, political, and institutional forces. While it’s a complex picture, in much the same way that addressing the gender pay gap has been shown to create positive ripples throughout a country’s economy, closing the racial wealth gap is in everyone’s interests.

Only 8% of black families in America can expect to be in receipt of an inheritance, compared with 26% of white families. Even then, the value of that inheritance is likely to be as much as one-third less.

The average black family with a household income of $100,000 lives in a neighborhood where the average income is just $54,000. Home ownership is one of the most accessible forms of wealth accrual. Even when this is the only major owned-asset in a family, it can be a valuable inheritance for the next generation. But only about 40% of black families own a home, compared with 73% of white families.

African Americans are incarcerated at more than five-times the rate of white Americans and make up 34% of the total population in correctional custody.

Even discounting earnings lost during imprisonment, incarceration can reduce an individual’s annual income by as much as 40%, McKinsey says.

McKinsey estimates that closing the racial wealth gap in the US could add anywhere between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion to the country’s economy – between 4% to 6% of GDP forecasts for 2028.

Artificial Intelligence & Tutoring

AI is accelerating at a rapid pace in the education industry as companies that specialize in tutoring and even traditional textbook publishers get on board.

Dubbed adaptive learning, it’s designed to give students a personalized experience. AI is great at developing algorithms based on patterns it recognizes across sets of data. AI is useful in education because it can identify the gaps in a student’s understanding.

Because each student is different, AI allows a customized course of instruction that will get each student to mastery or understanding in the most efficient matter.

Chinese company Squirrel AI Learning, a leader in the AI education technology field, was founded in 2014. Currently, it has 1,700 schools, 3,000 staff members, a presence in 200 cities and an estimated valuation of $1 billion dollars. 

Squirrel AI Learning has partnered here in the US with Carnegie Mellon to help grow its US initiative further.

Derek Haoyang Li, founder and CEO of Squirrel AI Learning recently told MIT Technology Review, “When AI education prevails, human teachers will be like a pilot. Human teachers will focus on emotional communication.”

Traditional textbook companies who have long been associated with developing trends in education have already established footholds in the AI arena.

McGraw Hill has developed its own adaptive learning system called ALEKS. And, educational publishing powerhouse Pearson has just left its partnership with Knewton to develop its own proprietary program. 

 Alta, acts as a “virtual tutor” for hosts of college courses. While adaptive learning can be helpful for moving students through a course of study, opponents argue it can’t replace human teachers. AI has the ability to help a student master a course of study, but it can’t teach students how to learn. It also can’t help students determine what they’d like to learn more about, or how to cooperatively interact and solve problems with other students.

AI is proving to be a great tool in education and will most likely become more prevalent as the technology becomes more refined and readily available.

Online Education Hampered By Uneven Standards

Although online learning is on the rise everywhere, programs and courses show great unevenness because of a lack of standards.

A project, led by the International Council for Open and Distance Education, was kicked off in 2016 when ICDE sought senior leaders from around the world to run task forces that would examine the quality of online learning in their regions. This was undertaken to help address the United Nations’ fourth “Sustainable Development Goal”: “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.”

The project examined the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to quality in “online, open, flexible and technology-enhanced education” in seven broad regions:

• Africa;
• Arab region;
• Asia;
• Europe;
• Latin America and the Caribbean;
• North America; and
• Oceania.

Through regional meetings, the teams gathered data and information via surveys, focus groups and collaborations. For North America the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) served as the lead.

The final report revealed that although online learning in North America continues to grow, the absence of a single industry standard for quality has led to a lack of consistency among programs. That’s true, the report suggested, even within a single institution, where decentralized learning environments result in haphazard offerings. Faculty development needs for teaching in the online environment are also inadequate, OLC reported.

Other issues for North America included a lack of buy-in from faculty for the idea that quality standards were needed and a lack of collaboration between faculty and staff to incorporate quality standards.

A similar theme emerged worldwide. Without consistent standards, the report noted, institutions can’t be bench marked against each other and ambiguity arises regarding expectations for quality. There’s also the problem of credibility; schools may offer courses or programs without incorporating best practices or preparing their instructors to teach online, resulting in “poor learning experiences for students.”

Moreover, there are “societal perceptions” to contend with. While distance learning can have the same impact as traditional learning in many parts of the world, that’s not universally true. In some places, distance learning is considered “substandard.” Where that’s the case, the report explained, support from university leaders and even government leaders may be required to overcome the “negative perception.”

The report included three recommendations:

• That guidelines and standards for quality be adopted;
• That more research be done to help build the credibility of innovative education models, such as online and open learning; and
• That faculty and staff professional development standards be identified and used to build out the capacity for teaching in a digit

Robert F Smith Plans To Pay Off Student Loans Of Graduating Class Of 2019

A billionaire technology investor has shocked graduating students in Atlanta, Georgia, by telling them he will pay off all of their student loans.

Robert F Smith, one of America’s most prominent black philanthropists, was giving an address at Morehouse College, a historically all-male black college.

Nearly 400 students will benefit at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.

The class of 2019 and their teachers were stunned at the news before applausing.

Robert F. Smith, this year’s commencement speaker, made the announcement Sunday morning while addressing nearly 400 graduating seniors of the all-male historically black college in Atlanta.

“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus,” Smith told the graduates. “This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.”

A former chemical engineer and investment banker, he is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. In 2018, Smith was ranked by Forbes as the 163rd richest person in America. He was No. 480 on Forbes 2018 list of the world’s billionaires, with a net worth of US$4.4 billion.

As A Reminder April Is Autism Awarness Month

Only 7 Get To Go To Stuyvesant High School In New York City

Only a few black students were offered admission to the highly selective public high schools in New York City on Monday,

At Stuyvesant High School, out of 895 slots in the freshman class, only seven were offered to black students. And the number of black students is shrinking: There were 10 black students admitted into Stuyvesant last year, and 13 the year before.

 Bronx High School of Science, made 12 offers to black students this year, down from 25 last year.

Top Ranked New York Schools

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold, silver or bronze medal.

• 
  #1

  Baccalaureate School for Global Education

  34-12 36th Ave, Long Island City, New York 11106
• 
  #2

  High School of American Studies at Lehman College

  2925 Goulden Ave, Bronx, New York 10468
• 
  #3

  High School Math Science and Engineering at CCNY

  240 Convent Ave, New York, New York 10031
• 
  #4

  Staten Island Technical High School

  485 Clawson St, Staten Island, New York 10306
• 
  #5

  Brooklyn Latin School

  223 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11206
• 
  #6

  High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies

  350 Grand St, New York, New York 10002
• 
  #7

  Townsend Harris High School

  149-11 Melbourne Ave, Flushing, New York 11367
• 
  #8

  Bronx High School of Science

  75 W 205th St, Bronx, New York 10468
• 
  #9

  Queens High School for the Sciences at York College

  94-50 159th St, Jamaica, New York 11451
• 
  #10

  Stuyvesant High School

  345 Chambers St, New York, New York 10282

• Brooklyn Technical High School

  Brooklyn, NY | New York City Public Schools

  #11 in New York Rankings #69 in National Rankings

• Manhattan Bridges High School

  New York, NY | New York City Public Schools

  #12 in New York Rankings #72 in National Rankings

  95 Graduation Rate 88.3 College Readiness Gold Medal Awarded

• New Explorations Into Science, Tech and Math High School

  New York, NY | New York City Public Schools

  #13

  Niche ratings differ

University of Southern California-Scandal

The University of Southern California has announced new steps it is taking against students who are part of a scandal over bribery and fraud by wealthy parents to get their children into colleges and universities.

USC has issued a series of statements on its response to the federal charges filed against 50 people, including the parents of some current students. The latest update

A current student seeking to enroll elsewhere would be hit by this measure immediately, as he or she would be unable to obtain a transcript. The registration provision may not affect students until they try to sign up for courses for either the summer or the fall.

 

The Pitfalls Of Going To College!

Well Read This

Shut Down Creating Headaches For Scientists

The federal shutdown is creating headaches for scientists by hindering research planning and putting an abrupt halt to travel for some academics. However, the worst effects is expected to materialize in the coming weeks.

Lawmakers last year passed legislation funding the majority of federal agencies, including the Education Department and the National Institutes of Health. But they left town before resolving a dispute over a border wall demanded by President Trump and without funding several agencies that are big supporters of research at colleges across the country — among them the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For academics whose work is supported by the federal government, the shutdown means they can’t communicate with most employees at those affected agencies. Moreover, some federal data will be unavailable to researchers or the public. The shutdown also creates uncertainty over the next round of research funding awards, as proposals aren’t processed and peer-review committees aren’t meeting. As it persists, unanswered questions over funding will have a ripple effect on the status of professors, postdocs and graduate students. New funding uncertainty means many of the hard science programs whose work is funded by agencies like NSF may be less likely to offer positions to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

For academics who rely on federal funding, government shutdowns are becoming somewhat familiar. The shutdown that began in December is the third since the beginning of 2018. By Tuesday, it will enter its 18th day. The last multi week shutdown, in 2013, lasted 16 days. The longest ever federal shutdown lasted 21 days, spanning from 1995 to 1996.

Racist Rants Still Rattling @ Columbia University

A Columbia University student shouted that “white people are the best thing that ever happened to the world” on Sunday evening during a racist tirade in front of students of color, who caught the rant on video.

“We invented science and industry, and you want to tell us to stop because ‘oh, my God, we’re so bad,’” the student said, skipping around the small crowd of students. “We saved billions of people from starvation. We built modern civilization. White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world. We are so amazing. I love myself and I love my people. [Fuck] yeah, white people! [Fuck] yeah, white men! We’re white men, we did everything.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/11/columbia-student-goes-racist-tirade-fellow-students?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=bb315c6ce4-DNU_WO20181203_PREV_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-bb315c6ce4-198883777&mc_cid=bb315c6ce4&mc_eid=bdb769ae1f

SCHOOL GIRL MAP MAKERS

“A Map of the United States,” from Catharine M. Cook’s Book of Penmanship, made in Windsor, Vermont, in 1818. Courtesy Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine

The he first “schoolgirl map”  was made in 1823 by Frances Henshaw, a student at one of the best schools for girls in the young United States. The map came from Henshaw’s Book of Penmanship, which included details about geography and astronomy—comets, meridians, horizons, polar circles, and climate zones. The young girls drawing encompassed 19 states, copied from Carey’s American Pocket Atlas, from 1805, and Arrowsmith and Lewis’ Atlas, from 1812.

Harriet E. Baker’s map of Connecticut, made in 1819, in Windsor, Vermont. David Rumsey Map Collection

Susan Schulten an historian found and collected these maps made by school girls. The maps that Schulten was finding weren’t practical tools, though. Many lacked indications of scale, for instance. Instead, they showed off the mapmaker’s artistic skill and were opportunities to practice penmanship. The names of cities, rivers, and states, for example, might all be done in different lettering styles.

“Map of the northern part of the United States and the southern part of the Canadas,” by Mary Lucy Hall, made in 1814. Courtesy of the Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine

Juliana Carpenter’s “Map of the World,” made c. 1825, when she was 15 years old. Leventhal Map Collection

A map of South America, by Bradford Scott, from 1816. David Rumsey Map Collection

Hannah Comstock’s “Map of the World,” made in 1815. Boston Rare Maps and James E. Arsenault & Company

Euphemia Fenno’s “Map of the United States,” made c. 1828. New York Public Library/Public domain

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Gen Z & the Workforce

Gen Z is entering the workforce at a rapid pace, with the eldest of them now 23. A far larger group than their millennial counterparts, youth and young adults born between the mid-1990s and late 2000s have aptly been named Gen Z. Employers should be excited as a flood of talent will be joining the workforce soon — comprising 36 percent of the workforce by 2020 — but be aware, they have short attention spans, even shorter than millennials, and expect a lot from their employers.

According to a Deloitte study, Gen Z values employment that allows them to live a balanced lifestyle even more so than Millennials, with a greater emphasis on physical, mental and social well-being. They want flexibility and control within their schedules. For example, they want to be able to go to an afternoon doctor’s appointment without feeling like it reflects poorly on their work ethic. Employers must investigate providing flexible work hours, the ability to work from home when possible, and progressive benefit plans that include a Wellness Spending Account. Shopify, for example, offers a WSA that includes eligible spending categories such as gym memberships, financial planners and house cleaning.

With this massive influx of new talent, the workplace is once again going to experience significant change.

Growing up with the Internet, teens are used to getting real-time feedback—and lots of it. Their education and co-curricular activities have also made them used to receiving constructive criticism and acting upon it to improve their chances of success.

“The big thing for employers to consider is that Gen Z actually wants to be mentored and managed,” says Tom Turpin, president of employment agency Randstad. “Gen Z places a tremendous amount of value on an employer’s ability to mentor and teach them.”

Gen Z, people born in 1995 and later, are protesters, social-justice marchers, and spendthrifts just like their hippie aunts, uncles, parents and even grandparents.

Demographers may debate the exact dates, but Baby Boomers were typically born between 1946 and 1964. Their parents grew up during the Depression and the nightly news brought into their living rooms images of a war fought in Southeast Asia.

Compare that with Generation Z. Some of the first Gen Zers were teens and adolescents during the Great Recession of 2008. They saw their parents or the parents of their friends struggle with foreclosures and joblessness. Meanwhile, the country was waging a War on Terror against a nationless enemy.

 

Traditional marketing doesn’t work for Gen Z. Marketers need to embrace technology and new ways of storytelling. According to an infographic from Upfront Analytics, Gen Z customers respond to edgy and visual marketing tactics. Videos—especially short ones like those created via the social network Vine—work particularly well with young customers.

The study revealed that 80 percent of Gen Z say finding themselves creatively is important. Over 25 percent post original video on a weekly basis, while 65 percent enjoy creating and sharing content on social media.

 

White Librarianship In Blackface

Read About It here

How Well Is Your State Serving Black Students?

Now every public university in the country can see how well it is serving black students — at least by a few metrics — with a new report card from the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center.

Students Outrage Over 999$ Text Book

A student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, signed up for an introductory accounting course, and noticed that the online textbook for the course was listed at $999.

She took to Facebook and posted a screenshot on the “UL Ragin Cajuns Book Swap” group.

“Can anyone explain why the WileyPlus online code for ACCT 202 is $1000?” she asked.

Fellow students took to Twitter to voice their outrage, and soon after students and observers were accusing UL-Lafayette of scamming students.The textbook, Financial and Managerial Accounting, 3rd Edition, was customized by publisher Wiley for the Accounting 201 and 202 courses at UL-Lafayette and is a new addition to the courses this academic year. The $999 pricing was not a glitch.

Though the university and publisher argue that the $999 price was just a “placeholder” that no one would actually pay, the incident has caused uncertainty and anger among students who are just trying to purchase the correct items at the best price. The textbook marketplace can already be incredibly confusing due to its plethora of vendors, subtly different textbook editions, disliked single-use access codes and disparate rental programs.

While the online-only version of the textbook was priced at $999 in the Wiley marketplace, a bundled print and online textbook was available for $253.25 from the college bookstore. Both options include an access code for the WileyPlus online teaching and learning platform.

The university knew that the online book is usually cheaper than the hard copy. UL knew that most students would buy the online copy and just print it out so that we wouldn’t have to spend crazy money on a book from their bookstore. So they made the online version a ridiculous amount so that us students had no other option.”

LeBron James Opens Public School

Basketball star LeBron James’ foundation partnered with the public school system in his hometown of Akron, Ohio to open the I Promise School, a public elementary school.The new school will serve under-privileged children who are falling behind in educational attainment. The first intake consists of 240 third and fourth graders, who will also receive a free bike and helmet, as well as free transport to school, meals, uniforms, and free tuition at the University of Akron. I Promise plans to serve first through eighth grade students by 2022.

Brooklyn New York High School Class Can’t Take Serial Killer Book Off The Premises

High school students from Brooklyn’s Midwood high school are taking a true crime class where teens read up on real  murderers and mass shooters. Assistant Principal of English Suzane Thomas issued an edict to the school’s librarians last month that bars them from allowing students to take copies of the books home.

“I am requesting that the following list of books be placed on ‘restricted access’ to students,” Thomas said in the May 30 memo. “They have been borrowed by students in the True Crime class.

“In no way am I suggesting that these books be censored, as they are NYSTL [Text Law] approved by the DOE,’’ she wrote. “However, please do not allow students to take them home — they should be read in the library where they are supervised by a teacher or a librarian.’’

City education officials said the edict was given simply so every student could have access to the books.

“The books were available for all students to read and were kept in the library so that they could be accessible to everyone,” said Department of Education spokesman Doug Cohen.‎‎ “Any other interpretation of the guidance that was shared is simply inaccurate.’’

However, It seems that some Midwood HS staffer begged to differ

The in-school-only restriction “doesn’t make sense,” said retired Midwood librarian Arlene Weber Morales, who was at the school when the crime course was created and admitted she had “mixed feelings” about offering such violent content to teens.

“The librarians order extra copies of books so students can take them home,’’ said Morales, who retired in 2015. “Don’t parents want to know what the kids are reading? I would order more copies of the books.’’

A current Midwood staffer said Thomas “clearly states that this is not book banning. But it is.

“We are waiting to see if the administration cancels this course, because most of the books used in the class are on the[banned] list,’’ the source added, noting it would be a shame if True Crime were killed because it is “a very popular class.’’

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Brooklyn/Staten Island) questioned why the class was even in existence.

“Sadly, this is a city in which criminals are sometimes placed on pedestals, and entrepreneurs are vilified,” she said. “How about teaching about civic and business leaders who beat the odds so they too can strive for success?

“I see why the school doesn’t want students to take the books home,’’ she added. “Parents will flip out.”

Thomas declined to comment.

Our latest research, Digital Women Influencers: Millennial Moms, reveals 7 insights about a digitally-connected and highly influential segment of North American Women.

 

Baby Boomers: born between 1946 and 1964
Generation X: mid 1960s to early 1980s
Generation Y (Millennials): early 1980s to 2000s
Generation Z (Homelanders): late 1990s to current

Millennials will make up the majority of the workforce in the next 10 years. How do they feel about their role?

 

Public Libraries Are Rocking This Summer

Qatar Adds New Courses To It’s Master’s Degree In Library & Information Studies

University College London Qatar (UCL Qatar) has announced the introduction of new courses within its postgraduate master’s degree of Library and Information Studies.
For the first time in Qatar, specialized courses in archives, records and data management will be taught. These will support the transition of Qatar to a knowledge-based economy and the development of the country’s growing need for library and information specialists.
The updates will help meet the growing need from across government and the private sectors to handle an ever-increasing amount of records, and to support the emerging research sector and e-government initiatives.
Trained data professionals in the sector will be able to manage and handle records from government agencies and private corporations, as well as the emerging research sector in the country.
The announcement comes just weeks after the official opening of the Qatar National Library that will now support Qatar’s innovative and research-based libraries sector to become a
regional leader.

Applications for UCL Qatar’s master’s degree programmes in Library and Information Studies and Museum and Gallery Practice are currently open at UCL Qatar. The degree programmes are available as full-time one year courses or part-time two years courses.

U.S. Public Schools Lost Approximately 20% Of Their Librarians Since 2000

According to a new analysis of federal data, The United States can’t afford librarians. Between 1999-2000 and 2015-16, U.S. public schools lost 19% of full-time equivalent school librarians, according to a School Library Journal article by researcher Keith Curry Lance that examined National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data.

The shortage in public school librarian employment  has not recovered since 2008. Districts serving minorities have been hit the hardest. Among all the districts that have retained all their librarians since 2005, 75% are white, Education Week reports. On the other end of the scale, student populations in the 20 districts that lost the most librarians in the same time comprised 78% students of color.

In essence, while U.S. employment rates are back up in the wake of the Great Recession, the public school librarian sector has not rebounded, and the nation’s collective failure to rebuild its public information infrastructure and minorities have been hit the hardest.

 

Some states suffered a more dramatic loss than the average. The number of librarians employed across Florida’s 67 school districts has dropped by 27% since just 2005, according to a 2017 Herald Tribune article, leaving several districts without any librarians at all. In replacement, the Herald Tribune argues, paraprofessionals run libraries as media aides — a position that requires just a high school diploma and a certification, and which starts at $14.60 an hour. Librarians with masters’ degrees, however, are often the first to go when budgets need to be cut.

Education Week’s articles also argues that librarian’s roles are being replaced by other, less qualified job titles: As public school librarians dwindled by 20%, schools saw an 11% rise in counselors, 19% boost in instructional aides, and a full 28% more school administrators.

 

Several recent studies have indicated that students suffer academically as a result: One nationwide study published in 2011 found signs that states’ 4th grade reading scores dropped in correlation with their loss of librarians. A 2012 Colorado-specific study from the same researchers then followed up, finding a similar correlation in the opposite direction: “Schools that either maintained or gained an endorsed librarian between 2005 and 2011 tended to have more students scoring advanced in reading in 2011 and to have increased their performance more than schools that either lost their librarians or never had one,” that study holds.

 

Algorithm Tool Created to /wean Out Predators In Chat Rooms

An algorithm tool developed by Purdue Polytechnic Institute faculty will help law enforcement filter out and focus on predators most likely to set up face-to-face meetings with under age victims.

The Chat Analysis Triage Tool (CATT) was presented last week by principal investigator Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, assistant professor of computer and information technology, at the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts Conference in Anaheim, California.

CATT allows the officers to work through the volume of solicitations and use algorithms to examine the word usage and conversation patterns by a suspect. Seigfried-Spellar said data was taken from online conversations provided voluntarily by law enforcement around the country.

The project started as a result of a partnership with Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in California.

Seigfried-Spellar said the research discovered tactics like self-disclosure is used early in a predator’s talks with a potential victim.

Seigfried-Spellar worked in developing CATT with two co-principal investigators, associate professor Julia Taylor Rayz, who specializes in machine learning and natural language processing, and computer and information technology department head Marcus Rogers, who has an extensive background in digital forensics tool development.

CATT algorithms examine only the conversation factors and do not take the gender of either suspect or victim into consideration, at this time.

The project began with initial research done by Seigfried-Spellar and former Purdue professor Ming Ming Chiu. The exploratory study examined more than 4,300 messages in 107 online chat sessions involving arrested sex offenders, identifying different trends in word usage and self-disclosure by fantasy and contact sex offenders using statistical discourse analysis.

The trends determined through this research formed the basis for CATT. The research, “Detecting Contact vs. Fantasy Online Sexual Offenders in Chats with Minors: Statistical Discourse Analysis of Self-Disclosure and Emotion Words,” has been accepted and will be published in the journal “Child Abuse and Neglect.”

Initial plans are to turn the tool over to several law enforcement departments for a test run. Seigfried-Spellar said CATT could be handling data from active cases as early as the end of the year.

According To Statistics From U.S. Department of Education, 32 Million Adults In The U.S. Can’t Read.

Reports reveal that the rate of low literacy in the United States is higher than some of the third world countries and costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year.

In 2013, Washington, D.C. was ranked the most literate American city for the third year in a row, with Seattle and Minneapolis close behind.

Long Beach, CA was ranked the country’s most illiterate city, followed by Mesa, AZ, and Aurora, CO.

What is the literacy rate in the world?

The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0% and the rate for all females is 82.7%. The rate varies throughout the world with developed nations having a rate of 99.2%(2013); Oceania having 71.3%; South and West Asia having 70.2% (2015) and sub-Saharan Africa at 64.0% (2015).

 

Russia: The country with the highest literacy rate is Russia with almost 53% of the population has tertiary education. It is estimated that 95% of adults in Russia have higher secondary education and the country spends some 4.9% of GDP on education.

 

List of U.S. states by educational attainment

State	% High school graduate	Rank
Montana	91.8%	1
Minnesota	92.4%	2
New Hampshire	92.	3
Wyoming	92.3%	3

What is the least educated city in America?

• 8: Louisiana—Lafayette. …
• 7: North Carolina—Hickory/Lenoir/Morganton. …
• 6: California—Fresno. …
• 5: California—Modesto. …
• 4: California—Bakersfield. …
• 3: California—Visalia/Porterville. …
• 2: Texas—Brownsville/Harlingen. …
• 1: Texas—McAllen/Edinburg/Missio
• The stats back up this claim: 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, and over 70 percent of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level

United States Library Of Congress-Carla Hayden

More on her here

Trends In eLearning

Virtual Reality (VR)

VR can transmit students to the farthest corners of the universe in just a blink of an eye and surround them with an engaging and deeply educational environment. Students will no longer be stuck with pages upon pages of boring text, bullet points, and illustrations, but they will have a chance to actually go through the experience and get the most out of it instead.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. This, also, includes real-world sensory input like video, graphics, or sound [2].

When it comes to eLearning, Augmented Reality can make the learning process more interesting and easier to grasp. For instance, if you were an online instructor and your target subject was astronomy, you could offer your students a virtual tour of Mars without asking anyone to leave their home.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence is referred to the intelligence displayed by machines, as opposed to natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals [3]. It is revolutionizing the whole eLearning experience due to the many advantages it has to offer. AI can help highlight areas that require improvement and assist students in focusing on areas where they are lagging.

Big Data

If an employee is interacting with a training module based around company policies, their progress, social sharing, assessment results, and another relevant date that is being generated throughout the eLearning course is referred to as “big data”.

Big Data allows eLearning experts to understand how the users are digesting the information and which learning aspects appeal the most to them. In addition to that, it allows them to pinpoint learning interactions that should be fine-tuned within the eLearning module or course.

Wearable Devices

Wearable devices also referred to as wearables, are smart electronic devices that can be worn on the body as accessories or implants

Machine Learning

Machine Learning is a field of computer science that gives computers the capacity to learn without being directly programmed.

New York City Council Passed Legislation To Address Algorithm Discrimination

The New York City Council yesterday passed legislation seeking to address problems with Algorithms which can determine which school a child can attend, whether a person will be offered credit from a bank, what products are advertised to consumer, and whether someone will receive an interview for a job. Government officials also use them to predict where crimes will take place, who is likely to commit a crime and whether someone should be allowed out of jail on bail. The algorithms used in facial recognition technology, for example, have been shown to be less accurate on Black people, women, and juveniles.

The new bill seeking the signature of Mayor Bill de Blasio. States:

This bill would require the creation of a task force that provides recommendations on how information on agency automated decision systems may be shared with the public and how agencies may address instances where people are harmed by agency automated decision systems.

The task force would need to be formed within three months of the bill’s signing, and importantly it must include “persons with expertise in the areas of fairness, accountability and transparency relating to automated decision systems and persons affiliated with charitable corporations that represent persons in the city affected by agency automated decision systems.”

The New York division of the ACLU has argued in favor of it.

See The bill Here,

Curbing Fake Academic Credentials

It  appears that it is very easy to get a fake academic certificate from any major urban centers. The buyer of the fake certificate dont have to worry about the authenticity of the signatures or paper quality – all that is sorted out by the fraudsters.

The discussion is often about whether you want a PhD, master’s or bachelor’s degree. Additionally, the more prestigious the university you want to claim to have graduated from , the more  money you will be required to pay for the fake certificate.

Once you have the fake paper in your hands, you can apply for prominent jobs, particularly in the public sector, where job security is so high that getting fired at a later stage is more complicated and costly.

Employers find it time-consuming to authenticate or verify that glimmering certificate from the purported universities for various reasons.

In developed economies, the data protection laws do not allow universities to disclose the private credentials of students to third parties – unless the students expressly and explicitly ask them to make the disclosure.

MIT and the University of Melbourne are pioneering this approach and solution to this problem. Blockchain technology-providing a decentralised ledger that is globally accessible, immutable, secure and with the support of anonymity. Universities can record student academic certificates into the global blockchain, allowing graduates to access their credentials from anywhere across the globe and share them with potential employers.

Click Here For More

 

375 Million May Be Hunting For Employment When Automation Kicks In

By 2030 up to 30% of the hours worked globally could be automated. According to a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute  researchers estimate that between 400 million and 800 million people could find themselves displaced by automation and in need of new jobs, depending on how quickly new technologies are adopted. Of this group, as many as 375 million people—about 14% of the global workforce—may need to completely switch occupational categories and learn a new set of skills to find work.

Number of workers needing to find new jobs due to automation

Click Here

 

Racisim & Harassment Among College Roomates

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Andrew Carnegie & His Libraries

Andrew Carngie libraries brought a world of books to many towns and opened a broader world to those who read.

When Andrew began thinking of what to do with the vast wealth he had accumulated, his thoughts turned to the libraries that had given him his self-education and helped make him the man he became. He decided that to give that same opportunities to others was the best use of his money.

He began by funding libraries in the two locations he had grown up in: Dunfermline, Scotland, and the Allegheny/Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. The first of the Carnegie libraries was the one in Dunfermline and it opened in 1883.

The first library he commissioned in the U.S. was at Allegheny, Pennsylvania. The grand opening was in 1890, but although it was the first one he commissioned, a second one in Braddock, Pennsylvania, was the first to open in the states in 1889.

In 1892, he granted the funds for a library in Fairfield, Iowa, the first outside Pennsylvania.

By 1899, his Carnegie Libraries were springing up across the nation.

Because of segregation, black people were not allowed to use libraries, so Andrew also funded libraries strictly for them. He founded Colored Carnegie Libraries in Houston, Texas, and Savannah, Georgia, among other cities.

 

Andrew set up his library grants so that small towns could receive $10,000 to build a library, which was a substantial amount in those days. In order to receive that grant, the town’s elected officials had to demonstrate the need for a public library, provide the building site, pay to staff and maintain the library by committing public funds for that purpose in the amount of 10 percent of the construction cost per year and to provide free access to its patrons.

When Andrew began funding library construction, the policy of existing U.S. libraries was to operate with “closed stacks,” which meant that patrons requested a book from a staff member and that person would bring the book from the off-limit shelves of books. No browsing allowed.

 

The first five libraries he funded operated in this fashion, but Andrew soon realized this required more staff, so he came up with an “open stacks” form of operation where patrons could browse the collection of the library and decide which books they wanted to check out. He was then able to have the libraries he funded designed so that just one librarian could staff the library.

This new policy caught on quickly and soon most other public libraries were adopting this form of operating system.

In Missouri, the earliest Carnegie Library was built in 1899 and the last one in 1921. His donations for the 35 Carnegie Libraries in Missouri totaled over $1.5 million during that 22-year period.

The Carnegie Library at Bolivar was constructed in 1915 with a grant from Andrew for $8,000. It was the first public library in Bolivar and remained a public library until 2000. The building now serves as the home of the Polk County Genealogical Society.

The Carnegie Library at Marshfield is claimed to be the one granted by Andrew to the smallest community west of the Mississippi to receive such a grant. It was constructed in 1911 with that $5,000 grant and operated as a public library until 1995. It now houses the Webster County Historical Museum.

 

At the turn of the last century, Springfield residents began negotiating with Andrew Carnegie to acquire funds for a library and he granted them $50,000.

They then raised $3,250 to purchase the site for the library and it was constructed and then opened in March of 1905. At the time it opened, Springfield’s Carnegie Library housed 700 books. That building still serves as a library today and is part of the Springfield/Greene County Library System.

By the time Andrew Carnegie died on Aug. 11, 1919, he had given away over $350 million, which would equate to over $80 billion in today’s dollars.

 

Moreover, he endowed the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, founded the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust.

He contributed a substantial amount of money to construct the Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson in 1911 to study the planets and stars. He built and owned the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was one of the contributors to Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute, and help Washington found the National Negro Business League.

Andrew also started the Carnegie Hero Fund for the United States and Canada to recognize deeds of heroism. In 1903, he contributed $1.5 million to build the Peace Palace at The Hague and in 1914 he founded the Church Peace Union comprised of world leaders in politics, academia and religion in the hopes of heading off World War I.

There are two towns in the U.S., one in Pennsylvania and one in Oklahoma that bear his last name.

Libraries Lacking In Diversity

 

A report was research and generated by Ithaka S+R saying there are too many white Librarians.

As a group, librarians “are over three quarters white and nearly 90 percent white in leadership roles,” the Ithaka S+R report reveals.

The lack of “library employees of color” is a “shortcoming” in the academic library industry, the report also says. Skin color is a critically important characteristic for library employees.

“The library community considers diversity to be a core value. But the academic library sector has struggled with addressing equity, diversity and inclusion.”

Academic libraries have struggled with an excess of white employees for decades, notes Inside Higher Ed.

The Report

 

 

Live Streaming The Solar Eclipse: Well There’s A Free App For That

NASA

 

On Aug. 21, the moon will slip between Earth and sun, casting a roughly 70-mile-wide shadow that will race across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina, Whereby  millions of Americans  will have a chance to enjoy — and study -spectacular event. This is the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years. It has been dubbed,  aka the “Great American Eclipse.”

Watch a live NASA stream of the eclipse as it travels across the continental United States, calculate your view with our interactive eclipse map and get a virtual view in our eclipse simulator. While you wait, check out some of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s solar research and get even closer to the sun with near-live views from space.

The Apps

Eclipse Safari is from the makers of Sky Safari, one of the leading astronomy programs for computers, tablets and smartphones. Sky Safari code also powers the same interactive map and planetarium view used by the Smithsonian app.

New York

Time	Phase	Direction	Altitude
1:23 pm Mon, Aug 21	Partial Eclipse begins The Moon touches the Sun’s edge.	192°	60.7°
2:44 pm Mon, Aug 21	Maximum Eclipse Moon is closest to the center of the Sun.	226°	53.0°
4:00 pm Mon, Aug 21	Partial Eclipse ends The Moon leaves the Sun’s edge.	247°	40.9°

WARNING

Never look directly at the Sun. You can seriously hurt your eyes, and even go blind. Proper eye protection, like eclipse glasses or a Sun filter, is the only safe option. Sunglasses don’t work.

According to NASA, the following materials should never be used to view a solar eclipse:

• sunglasses of any kind
• color film
• medical X-ray film
• smoked glass
• floppy disks

 

They’re Now Editing Embryos Here In America

MIT Technology Review has learned that the first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon.

The experiment, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University, involved changing the DNA of a large number of one-cell embryos with the gene-editing technique CRISPR, according to people familiar with the scientific results.

To date, three previous reports of editing human embryos were all published by scientists in China. None of the embryos were allowed to develop for more than a few days—and they claim that there was never any intention of implanting them into a womb—

Scientists claim their objective is to show that they can eradicate or correct genes that cause inherited disease, like the blood condition beta-thalassemia. The process is termed “germline engineering” because any genetically modified child would then pass the changes on to subsequent generations via their own germ cells—the egg and sperm.

Some critics say germline experiments could open the floodgates to a brave new world of “designer babies” engineered with genetic enhancements—a prospect bitterly opposed by a range of religious organizations, civil society groups, and biotech companies.The U.S. intelligence community last year called CRISPR a potential “weapon of mass destruction.”

Shoukhrat Mitalipov is the first U.S.-based scientist known to have edited the DNA of human embryos.

OHSU/KRISTYNA WENTZ-GRAFF

A person familiar with the research says “many tens” of human IVF embryos were created for the experiment using the donated sperm of men carrying inherited disease mutations.

Mitalipov’s group appears to have overcome earlier difficulties by “getting in early” and injecting CRISPR into the eggs at the same time they were fertilized with sperm.

Tony Perry of Bath University, Successfully edited the mouse gene for coat color, changing the fur of the offspring from the expected brown to white.

Somewhat prophetically, Perry’s paper on the research, published at the end of 2014, said, “This or analogous approaches may one day enable human genome targeting or editing during very early development.”

Mitalipov was Born in Kazakhstan when it was part of the former Soviet Union. In 2007, he unveiled the world’s first cloned monkeys. Then, in 2013, he created human embryos through cloning, as a way of creating patient-specific stem cells.

His team’s move into embryo editing coincides with a report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in February that was widely seen as providing a green light for lab research on germline modification.

The report also offered qualified support for the use of CRISPR for making gene-edited babies, but only if it were deployed for the elimination of serious diseases.

The advisory committee drew a red line at genetic enhancements—like higher intelligence. “Genome editing to enhance traits or abilities beyond ordinary health raises concerns about whether the benefits can outweigh the risks, and about fairness if available only to some people,” said Alta Charo, co-chair of the NAS’s study committee and professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In the U.S., any effort to turn an edited IVF embryo into a baby has been blocked by Congress, which added language to the Department of Health and Human Services funding bill forbidding it from approving clinical trials of the concept.

 

 

 

 

 

Microsoft Research Developing Classroom Technology To Assess Children’s Reading Ability

Microsoft Research is developing technology which may end up in the next version Microsoft’s classroom software. In a recent publication, Microsoft Research describes an AI-driven system which could help teachers automatically assess reading performance for students, saving them time and allowing more individual attention to students who need it the most. Their research paper, “Automatic Evaluation of Children Reading Aloud on Sentences and Pseudo words,” automatically predicts the overall reading aloud ability of primary school children (6-10 years old), based on the reading of sentences and pseudo words.

 

The Wikipedia Text Adventure

 

Created by Developer Kevan Davis

Wikipedia as a classic text adventure: A “game” Wikipedia: The Text Adventure generates a list of major landmarks, and clicking any of them takes you to a landing page with a basic location description as pulled from its Wikipedia article summary, along with a list of nearby locations marked off by cardinal directions. You’re restricted to a text box, and, appropriately, typing “help” into it brings up a list of commands you can type. (Mobile users can also tap on keywords in the summaries, which isn’t as cool, but it’s a welcome alternative.)

Wikipedia: The Text Adventure 

Hair Policing Children Of Color 2017

 

Just this past Sunday, the trustees of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, near Boston, suspended a dress code policy that banned hair extensions, including the braided variety that many black girls sport.

More Here

 

Google Making It Easier to Find Jobs

Forty-six percent of people say they have difficulty locating people available for jobs while millions are looking for work. Google for jobs will recognize when a job search query is entered into Google Search and will return a set of open jobs that will match that query. Entry level jobs will also be included. Google will locate the jobs through agencies like Monster, LinkedIn, Facebook, Career Builder & Glassdoor.

Google For Jobs has been piloting with Fad-Ex and Johnson & Johnson. Google For Jobs Will Roll out in the next few weeks.

What’s Happening With The SAT

 

 

 

Hacking The SAT

The SAT Cheating Problem Overseas

David Coleman, the owner of the SAT college-entrance exam, which has been plagued by a raft of cheating incidents overseas, outlined new security measures but stopped short of remedying the test’s biggest vulnerability.

The New York-based College Board said the steps include reducing the number of times the test is given outside the United States and increasing the auditing of test centers. But the not-for-profit organization did not say it would end its practice of reusing test forms overseas that were initially given in the United States – the source of many of its security lapses in recent years.

As Reuters reported last year, the College Board has failed to stop a widespread and known security problem. Asian test-preparation companies are gathering questions and reading passages from past SAT exams, and then giving their clients that material to practice upon. The questions later show up on SAT exams administered overseas, giving an unfair advantage to students who have seen them.

Reuters also found that the College Board knowingly had administered some exams overseas that it knew had leaked. More here

They’re Calling For All Innovative Students In New York City

Read More Here

National Librarian Workers Day

 

 

Here’s what Newsday had to say

Metropolitan Museaum Of Art Now Has Open Access

All images of public-domain works in The Met collection are available under Creative Commons Zero (CC0). So whether you’re an artist or a designer, an educator or a student, a professional or a hobbyist, you now have more than 375,000 images of artworks from our collection to use, share, and remix—without restriction.

Anyone can just go over to the Metropolitan Museum’s website to search for images to download — just be sure to tick the check box for “Public Domain Artworks.” If that is too broad and you can’t be bothered to look for the “CC0” tag, you can always just choose from 20 thematic sets that the Met has arranged

Americans Suffering Garnishment On Their Social Security benefits

According to a report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO)released on 19 December 2016, stated that 114,000 people in that age group had their benefits garnished during fiscal year 2015, a process the GAO calls an offset. That figure represents an increase of 540 percent compared to fiscal year 2004.

The agency’s acting director of education and workforce security, Allison Bawden, told us that the garnishment was applied to users who have defaulted on their loans and are drawing at least $750 per month in Social Security benefits. The offset can take up to 15 percent of these users’ monthly payments, and the median amount deducted in an offset, she said, was $140 a month.

The GAO report also stated that between fiscal years 2002 and 2015, the number of people between ages 50 and 65 subject to offsets increased by 540 percent.

Around 32 percent of seniors 50 and over “paid off” their loans or were allowed by the Education Department to discharge them due to disability, the report said. But another 13 percent died with their loans still outstanding.

The report was conducted at the request of two Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Warren called the practice of Social Security garnishments “predatory and counterproductive” in a statement released on 20 December 2016

 

Since Social Security is the primary source of income for many older Americans, GAO was asked to review these withholdings, known as offsets.

GAO’s Recommendations

Congress should consider modifying Social Security administrative offset provisions, such as by authorizing the Department of the Treasury to annually index the amount of Social Security benefits exempted from administrative offset to reflect changes in the cost of living over time.

The Secretary of Education should inform affected borrowers of the suspension of offset and potential consequences if the borrower does not take action to apply for a TPD discharge. Such information could include notification that interest continues to accrue and that offsets may resume once their disability benefits are converted to retirement benefits.

The Secretary of Education should revise forms sent to borrowers already approved for a TPD discharge to clearly and prominently state that failure to provide annual income verification documentation during the 3-year monitoring period will result in loan reinstatement

The Secretary of Education should evaluate the feasibility and benefits of implementing an automated income verification process, including determining whether the agency has the necessary legal authority to implement such a process.

The Secretary of Education should inform borrowers about the financial hardship exemption option and application process on the agency’s website, as well as the notice of offset sent to borrowers

The Secretary of Education should implement an annual review process to ensure that only eligible borrowers are exempted from offset for financial hardship on an ongoing basis

Ten Thousand new York City kids To Receive $100 For College Savings Account

Ten Thousand New York City children will start kindergarten with $100 in a college savings account thanks to a public-private partnership intended to boost the number of students attending college.Under the three-year pilot program announced Tuesday, about 3,500 kindergartners will get so-called 529 college savings accounts next fall.Another 3,500 kindergartners will get the accounts in the fall of 2018 and a third group in the fall of 2019.

Families that meet savings benchmarks will get up to another $200 in matching funds.The program is being funded with $10 million from Jon Gray, the global head of real estate at the investment firm Blackstone Group.It will be overseen by a newly created nonprofit called NYC Kids Rise.Similar programs exist in cities including San Francisco and Boston.

 

The library of Congress Hacked In July 2016

Some say,” The Library of Congress is simply not equipped to join the 21st century”. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the LOC spends roughly $120 million dollars on IT functions, but the library’s accounting records leave much to be desired, particularly when recording acquisitions of new IT assets. The copyright office still runs on a largely paper based system (some records kept are still kept in card catalogues) and is forced to share the library’s aging IT systems. Large digital projects have even failed to materialize, such as the promise of an archive of everything that has been tweeted since 2010. Digitization projects are so far behind that only a fraction of the Library’s 24 million titles have been made available online. It is the hope of many  policy advocates and scholars  that with Carla Hayden in the top job, the former crown jewel of American libraries can be pulled out of mothballs and dragged into the 21st century.

The Obama Presidential Center

 

President Obama has another decision, a new Director for his new library and museum in Chicago. the Obama library is scheduled to open in 2021 in Jackson Park. The Government will administer its Archives and museum. The  nonprofit Obama Foundation will oversee its own  offices and activity space. the countries top archivist will consult with the president on the hiring.

The Conservatives Case Against President Obama’s Pick-Dr Carla Hayden

 

Following incumbent Librarian of Congress James Billington’s retirement, some conservatives have convened around the idea that the next person to head the library ought to be a prestigious scholar, rather than a professional library administrator like Carla Hayden — President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed Billington.

It appears that these critics have failed to give proper consideration to the library’s unique challenges – or the skills needed to modernize and make accessible the tremendous wealth of knowledge in its collection.

Hans von Spakovsky, a Heritage Foundation scholar who focuses on civil justice and election issues, lays out the most in-depth case against Hayden in a series of articles at the conservative outlet PJ Media.

First of all, von Spakovsky suggests Obama chose Hayden because she’s a black woman and “his administration has an unofficial quota system.” Secondly, he is overlooking Hayden’s qualifications as a librarian: She has a doctorate in library science from the University of Chicago; taught at the University of Pittsburgh; served as CEO of the City of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library, one of the oldest public library systems in the nation; served as president of the American Library Association; and was named National Librarian of the Year.

Von Spakovsky, to bolster a weak argument, also appeals to tradition to oppose Hayden. Since the Library of Congress was created by an act of Congress in 1800, there have been 13 librarians. Not all were esteemed scholars. The first librarian of Congress, John J. Beckley, was a politician, campaign manager and former clerk of the House of Representatives. Other librarians came from a wide range of professional backgrounds, which have included physicians, journalists, poets, lawyers and also several experienced library administrators.

The librarian of Congress does the kinds of things you would expect a librarian to do. It’s therefore  strange to see so many conservatives claiming that we need a “scholar-in-chief,” without thinking very deeply about it. For instance, the National Review editorial board’s complaint that Obama “politicizes” the library in nominating a professional library administrator like Hayden is as ridiculous as it is ironic for failing to understand its historical context. The original idea of nominating a “scholar-in-chief,” of course, was to politicize it.

The librarian can help make the library’s vast collections available online; create new means of access for the disabled; increase engagement with stakeholders; better organize existing resources; and improve access to congressional information. Moreover, be a progressive and innovative with a demonstrated record of accomplishments in dealing with complex issues in a multicultural environment. An exceptional people manager. The librarian is very comfortable engaging directly with the public and displays a passion for working with and serving people. An expert communicator, with seasoned diplomatic skills and a talent in bringing people together. This individual must thrive on change and be flexible, adaptable and willing to work in a progressive, ever transforming environment. As a trend-spotter and risk-taker, this person has a knack for assessing community needs and trying out innovative solutions. The ideal candidate is outward looking, enthusiastic and tireless. She or he is not only a leader, but a developer of leaders. But to accomplish these goals, a librarian is needed to make things happen.

Scholars and poets are nice, but they don’t know how to run a library any more than a former Federal Election Commission member like von Spakovsky.

Video the hearing

 

 

President Obama Calling For Youth To Submit Ideas

 

U.S. President Barack Obama wants children to submit science and tech ideas for a new kid advisory committee he had formed.

AKA “Kid Science Advisors,” the program aims to hear out what child scientists and innovators all around the nation find interesting and what they think would be helpful for the future of science.The White House would like to listen to whatever these kids have in mind – It could be on something scientific or technological.

The idea to compose a kid scientist advisory came about the meeting of President Obama with a 9-year-old kid Jacob Leggette.

Leggette was able to create interesting materials such as a bubble-blowing wand and a miniature model of the White House, using a 3D printer. He got the chance to meet and show the President his works during the 6^th White House Science Fair in April, when an ocean-energy probe made by a 14-year-old also impressed the President.

Leggette asked Obama about what he thinks of having kid scientists as advisors.

The U.S. leader was delighted with the idea so he suggested to create a kid advisory panel, which will be made up of children who can share their ideas on what is essential in the field of science and technology.

 

Inspired by a friend in Ethiopia, Hannah Herbst from Florida made an ocean-energy probe prototype, BEACON, designed to help developing countries have a power source using ocean currents. -The ninth-grader from the Florida Atlantic University High School previously presented the ocean-energy probe prototype in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2015. Herbst won the challenge and was named America’s Top Young Scientist.

New York State Master Teachers Getting Extra 15,000

The New York State Master Teacher Program started in 2013 and gives participants a $15,000 annual stipend for four years as a way to reward high-performing teachers.

New York’s 623 master teachers teach STEM subjects,(science, technology, engineering and math) at schools in almost 300 districts.