Giving learning a personal touch
A learning system that adapts to the abilities and needs of students opens the way to a more personalised approach in delivering education electronically.
The use of the web as a teaching medium has not had the success that many had hoped it would. Universities around the world have placed much of their teaching online, accessible from their websites. Many open and distance learning institutions are relying heavily on the web as a means of distributing teaching material to students working at home.
Yet somehow reading a computer screen and interacting with software is not the same as studying in a classroom or a laboratory and e-learning has had a mixed reception.
”The problem is that such an approach is technology driven,“ says Pierluigi Ritrovato of the Research Centre in Pure and Applied Mathematics (CRMPA) near Salerno, Italy. ”The web is a wonderful tool for delivering content so people imagine that this technology is suitable for e-learning. So all the efforts have been going into producing some content and then finding technological solutions for delivering it.“
A second, subtler problem is that the teaching content itself contains assumptions about the kind of person the student is and what kind of teaching approach is appropriate. The student or distance teacher is not able to adapt easily the contents to the needs of the student.
What e-learning software has overlooked until now is that no two students are the same. They have different backgrounds, different learning styles and different approaches to learning. A technological medium that ‘delivers’ the same material in the same way to every student is bound to fail.
Models of learning
European researchers in the EU-funded project ELeGI (European Learning Grid Infrastructure) decided to take a new approach to e-learning. They designed key network software designed around models of how people learn.
Ritrovato, who is one of the project’s scientific coordinators, cites the example of people who want to learn a programming language.
”I might like to work with experiments while others are more interested in reading and understanding, or doing exercises or perhaps by a ‘learning by doing’ approach,“ he says. ”The learning model is general enough to take all these aspects into account in a comprehensive way.“
The consortium of universities and research centres involved in the project pursued two research lines. On one hand, researchers focused on formal learning such as in educational institutions. On the other, they researched methods of informal learning through collaboration and conversational approaches.
The learning platform developed by the ELeGI team can automatically be tailored to the different needs of students, and can also adapt rapidly in the way it can access teaching resources through a ‘grid’ of networked computers.
If a teacher decides that the students would benefit by collaborative working, the ELeGI platform can find suitable software, perhaps a wiki, locate a machine to run it on, set it up for the group of students and set them to work in an automatic and transparent way.
The ELeGI software can group students who share similar learning styles. It can also recognise when a student is having difficulty and can offer a ‘mini-course’ of remedial work, generated according to the student’s profile and preferences.
Intelligent web teacher
A number of pilot studies and demonstrators have shown how the ELeGI platform could work in practice. The studies include a series of ‘virtual scientific experiments’, mainly in physics. In the studies, students learn from a simulated experiment.
The researchers also designed several demonstrations related to collaborative working and designed a system to automate assessments of students’ work. As part of the programme, the researchers also launched EnCOrE, a net-based encylopaedia of organic chemistry.
”In terms of outcome we have the model for creating adaptive and personalised learning experience, the ELeGI software infrastructure, that is based on grid technology,“ says Ritrovato. ”It can be considered the first example of a service-oriented infrastructure for learning.“
Insights gained through ELeGI, particularly in formal learning, have been incorporated into Intelligent Web Teacher (IWT), a software platform for distance learning that has been developed over many years with support from several other EU-funded projects.
IWT is marketed by MoMA, a spin-off from the Pole of Excellence in Learning and Knowledge, a virtual research organisation based at Salerno University and which includes several ELeGI partners.
The project demonstrated that it is possible to create a highly personalised learning experience in a dynamic way taking into account the user’s reaction, preferences and the pedagogical aspects,“ Ritrovato says
”It is now clear in the community that the existing learning management systems are out of date,“ he adds. ”They have to change their approach to learning and to be much more user-driven instead of content-driven. This is one of the key features that IWT and ELeGI have been developing. The teacher should be a guide, a support for the student in their learning process.“
The project, which lasted for 41 months and received funding from the EU's Sixth Framework Programme for research, came to an end in June 2007.
Provided by ICT Results
IES Research Funding Opportunities Webinars
The Institute of Education Sciences will host a series of webinars related to research funding opportunities at the National Center for Special Education Research and the National Center for Education Research.
For more information regarding webinar topics, dates, and registration process, please browse here. http://ies.ed.gov/funding/
To view slides from previous webinar sessions discussing research funding opportunities at the National Center for Special Education Research and the National Center for Education Research, browse here.
Please register for the IES Newsflash http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash/ for information about future webinars and upcoming funding opportunities.
Submitting Grant Applications to IES via Grants.gov
Beginning in 2007, grant applications to Institute of Education Sciences (IES) competitions must be submitted via the Grants.gov government-wide portal that allows potential applicants to find grant opportunities and apply for grants. Individuals planning to submit an application on behalf of their organization must ensure that (1) their institution/organization is registered with Grants.gov, and (2) they register themselves as Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs) well before the competition deadline. The Grants.gov registration process can take several weeks. Grants.gov registration information can be found at: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp. Please direct your questions about submitting applications through Grants.gov to the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518-4726 or by email to support@grants.gov.
Letters of Intent
The receipt deadline for Letters of Intent for the October 2, 2008 application deadline dates has been extended from July 10, 2008 to August 4, 2008. This is applicable to the National Center for Education Research's Research, Training, Research and Development Center, and Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies competitions (CFDA Numbers 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305C, 84.305E), and the National Center for Special Education Research's Research and Training competitions (CFDA Numbers 84.324A, 84.324B).
Nano Training Courses:
California Institute of Nanotechnology will be offering Certified Professional Development Training in Nanotechnology and Clean Tech.
The programs offered are:
· Certified Nanotech & Clean Tech Professional: This intensive program is designed to train participants for careers in the high growth industries of nanotechnology and clean technology. The program includes a lab component to train participants to become proficient with a Scanning Electron Microscope and lecture style classes led by a instructors from NASA, Environmental Protection Agency, IG Partners and many more. In addition to the curriculum, weekly industry seminars are held to expose students to current technology, business contacts and networking opportunities. Students will be expected to demonstrate their acquired knowledge through problem solving, group discussions, and project development. There are two tracks offered for the CNCP Training: 6 Weeks and 13 Weeks Decelerated. The 6 Week classes will be held on Monday through Thursday from 1:30 PM-5:30 PM. The 13 Week classes will be held on Saturdays from 9 AM to 6 PM.
Upcoming Dates:
6 Week July 28 September 4, 2008
13 Week August 2 October 30, 2008
Location: San Jose, CA
Registration Fee: $3995
· Micro-Nano-Fabrication for Photovoltaic Workshop:
The Micro-NanoFabrication for Photovoltaics Workshop is an intensive program geared towards introducing technical and business managers to the applications of nanotechnology for photovoltaics. The program includes a hands-on lab component covering the basic principles and practice of micro-nano fabrication techniques applied to electronic devices. This program spans 6 sessions 3 lectures and 3 lab practicals.
Upcoming Dates: July 19 - August 2, 2008
Location: San Jose, CA
Registration Fee: $1995
· Business Re-Engineering: provides insight on the state of nanotechnology from an industry perspective and highlights fundamental applications, environmental issues, and how to finance and run a successful nanotech venture. This program is geared towards professionals, entrepreneurs, program managers, and consultants who wish to learn about business opportunities in the emerging field of nanotechnology. This intensive 3-day program consists of classroom style lectures, group discussions and requires completion of a mini-business proposal.
Upcoming Dates: July 22 24, August 25 27, September 29 October 1, November 17 19
Location: San Bernardino, CA
Registration fee: $395
· Train the Trainer: features a series of technical workshops on state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing techniques, including nanocharacterization, nano-fabrication, and the commercial applications for nanobiotechnology, thin films and carbon nanotubes. Train the Trainer is designed to equip lay audiences with practical knowledge for today’s high tech industries. This 4-day intensive program consists of classroom style lectures, group discussions, a tour of a nanomanufacturing site, and requires completion of a mini-proposal.
Upcoming Dates: July 22 25, August 25 28, September 29 October 2, November 17 20
Location: San Bernardino, CA
Registration Fee: $495
For more info: http://www.cinano.com/Training.html
TO REGISTER:
Register on-lineat:http://www.cinano.com/registration.htm
Nano Education: Nanotechnology in Medicine
FAES (Foundation for the Advanced Education in the Sciences, Inc.) at the National Institutes of Health
The FAES Bio-Trac program will be conducting a hands-on ”TRAC 32: Nanotechnology in Medicine“ workshop at the NIH campus on Monday, July 28 Wednesday, July 30, 2008.
This workshop, which is team taught by active researchers, will include lecture and hands-on laboratory exercises. Each participant will receive a comprehensive binder containing all material presented in the workshop along with laboratory protocols and reference material. There is a class limit of 24 participants with registration being on a first come first serve basis. The registration fee for this program is $750.00
Registration information can be obtained from Bea Sonnenberg at FAES (301-496-2316). Course schedule and content information can be obtained from Mark Nardone at 301-496-8290, nardonem@mail.nih.gov or from the Bio-Trac website at www.biotrac.com. If you desire further information on up coming Bio-Trac workshops, please request by email at nardonem@mail.nih.gov.
Summit: Save STEM or watch America fail
Two years after a report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" warned that the United States is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America's competitiveness in the global economy, education leaders, lawmakers, and cabinet members met for a national summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss what progress--if any--has been made in closing the gap. Their verdict: The U.S. needs to make a greater investment in critical math, science, and research programs for these efforts to succeed. | Read More
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53697;_hbguid=8063c0d6-2405-465f-8e47-53f07b253979
Get a video recap of all the month’s top news with eschool news ”TechWatch“.
Click on photo to watch May Video
eSN TechWatch: Low-cost Laptops -- May 5, 2008
4 hours and 4 minutes ago
Inspired by the One Laptop Per Child initiative, a host of other scaled-down, cheaper laptops aimed primarily at students has emerged. Plus, Birmingham, Alabama, becomes the first U.S. city to buy low-cost laptops from OLPC. READ MORE
Go to http://www.eschoolnews.com/video-center/
NanoArt and Photography in the “Energetic Light” Multimedia Show
Cris Orfescu's NanoArt work will be featured in the “Energetic Light” multimedia and still images exhibit presented by El Camino College, in California.
The show brings together several forms of art, NanoArt, Photography, and Multimedia, by eight South Bay artists. It is an interesting parallel between the images created by light waves or light particles (photons) as in Photography, and the images created by much more energetic particles, like electrons (electrically charged particles) as in NanoArt. The electrons penetrate deeper inside the stuctures and generate images with more depth, more natural 3D.
NanoArt is a new discipline which combines art with science to create sculptures at molecular and atomic levels. Artists and scientists use chemical or physical processes to create these works, and the resulting micro and nanostructures are visualized with powerful research tools like scanning electron and atomic force microscopes. These scientific images are then captured and further processed, using different artistic techniques, to convert them into artworks to be showcased for the general public.
The El Camino show artists have extracted selected still images from their multimedia pieces and framed them along side the multimedia display for comparison. The exhibit also demonstrates how carefully selected music and image movement further enhances great still images that depict subjects as large as fireworks bursts and as small as nanosculptures that are approximately 80,000 times thinner than a human hair.
To view Orfescu's work, please visit http://www.crisorfescu.com/
The exhibition opens in the Schauerman Library on Saturday, May 3rd and runs through June 15th. The library is in the center of the El Camino College campus, which is located at 16007 Crenshaw Blvd. in the city of Torrance, California. The exhibit is open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
View a Flash movie of the top 10 artists from the NanoArt 2007 online competition at:
All artists albums will remain online for a year.
Note to Teachers:
We will be launching the first NanoART for KIDS show in 2008. Contact us for more information.
Gaming helps students hone 21st-century skills
Environments such as Second Life can both stimulate and educate, experts say
By Laura Devaney, Senior Editor, eSchool News
Virtual worlds and games can help students develop necessary skills.Online gaming can help students develop many of the skills they'll be required to use upon leaving school, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity, agreed educators who spoke during an April 16 webinar on gaming in education.
Sharnell Jackson, the chief eLearning officer for Chicago Public Schools and the webinar's moderator, noted that gaming and simulations are highly interactive, allow for instant feedback, immerse students in collaborative environments, and allow for rapid decision-making. The webinar was sponsored by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). Read full article at:
Orfescu's NanoArt - Digital Mural
Commuters coming to Boston on the Massachusetts Turnpike now have a new landmark: a large LED digital mural outside WGBH's new studio complex in Brighton. Every day, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the digital mural features a new image or series of images drawn largely from that day's TV or radio programming on WGBH or from other sources of content that reflect WGBH's mission. Embedded in the building's exterior wall, the approximately 30-foot-by-45-foot display of light-emitting diode (LED) panels is visible to eastbound MassPike travelers from approximately a mile and a half away.
WGBH is a public service media for New England on TV, radio, the Web, and out in the community. WGBH is the single largest producer of PBS prime-time and online programming, and a major source of programs heard on public radio from coast to coast.
In honor of the Cambridge Science Festival, on April 26 the WGBH's digital mural will feature the work of Cris Orfescu.
This festival is the first and only full-scale celebration of science and technology in the United States. During nine days in April, the City of Cambridge erupts with 200 free & open events designed to excite, engage and educate the public.
As part of this year's Cambridge Science Fair, the Boston Museum of Science will be featuring NanoArt, an exhibition intended to promote a greater understanding of nanotechnology among the general public. Nanohedron will present a slide show featuring Orfescu's works along with other nanoartists.
NanoArt is a new discipline which combines art with science to create sculptures at molecular and atomic levels. Artists and scientists use chemical or physical processes to create these works, and the resulting atomic and molecular structures are visualized with powerful research tools like scanning electron and atomic force microscopes. These scientific images are then captured and further processed, using different artistic techniques, to convert them into artworks.
To view Orfescu's work, please visit www.crisorfescu.com
The new shape of music: Music has its own geometry, researchers find
The figure shows how geometrical music theory represents four-note chord-types -- the collections of notes form a tetrahedron, with the colors indicating the spacing between the individual notes in a sequence. In the blue spheres, the notes are clustered, in the warmer colors, they are farther apart. The red ball at the top of the pyramid is the diminished seventh chord, a popular 19th-century chord. Near it are all the most familiar chords of Western music. Credit: Dmitri Tymoczko, Princeton University
The connection between music and mathematics has fascinated scholars for centuries. More than 200 years ago Pythagoras reportedly discovered that pleasing musical intervals could be described using simple ratios.
And the so-called musica universalis or "music of the spheres" emerged in the Middle Ages as the philosophical idea that the proportions in the movements of the celestial bodies -- the sun, moon and planets -- could be viewed as a form of music, inaudible but perfectly harmonious.
Now, three music professors Clifton Callender at Florida State University, Ian Quinn at Yale University and Dmitri Tymoczko at Princeton University -- have devised a new way of analyzing and categorizing music that takes advantage of the deep, complex mathematics they see enmeshed in its very fabric.
Writing in the April 18 issue of Science, the trio has outlined a method called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of musical theory into that of contemporary geometry. They take sequences of notes, like chords, rhythms and scales, and categorize them so they can be grouped into "families." They have found a way to assign mathematical structure to these families, so they can then be represented by points in complex geometrical spaces, much the way "x" and "y" coordinates, in the simpler system of high school algebra, correspond to points on a two-dimensional plane.
Different types of categorization produce different geometrical spaces, and reflect the different ways in which musicians over the centuries have understood music. This achievement, they expect, will allow researchers to analyze and understand music in much deeper and more satisfying ways.
The work represents a significant departure from other attempts to quantify music, according to Rachel Wells Hall of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. In an accompanying essay, she writes that their effort, "stands out both for the breadth of its musical implications and the depth of its mathematical content."
The method, according to its authors, allows them to analyze and compare many kinds of Western (and perhaps some non-Western) music. (The method focuses on Western-style music because concepts like "chord" are not universal in all styles.) It also incorporates many past schemes by music theorists to render music into mathematical form.
"The music of the spheres isn't really a metaphor -- some musical spaces really are spheres," said Tymoczko, an assistant professor of music at Princeton. "The whole point of making these geometric spaces is that, at the end of the day, it helps you understand music better. Having a powerful set of tools for conceptualizing music allows you to do all sorts of things you hadn't done before."
Like what?
"You could create new kinds of musical instruments or new kinds of toys," he said. "You could create new kinds of visualization tools -- imagine going to a classical music concert where the music was being translated visually. We could change the way we educate musicians. There are lots of practical consequences that could follow from these ideas."
"But to me," Tymoczko added, "the most satisfying aspect of this research is that we can now see that there is a logical structure linking many, many different musical concepts. To some extent, we can represent the history of music as a long process of exploring different symmetries and different geometries."
Understanding music, the authors write, is a process of discarding information. For instance, suppose a musician plays middle "C" on a piano, followed by the note "E" above that and the note "G" above that. Musicians have many different terms to describe this sequence of events, such as "an ascending C major arpeggio," "a C major chord," or "a major chord." The authors provide a unified mathematical framework for relating these different descriptions of the same musical event.
The trio describes five different ways of categorizing collections of notes that are similar, but not identical. They refer to these musical resemblances as the "OPTIC symmetries," with each letter of the word "OPTIC" representing a different way of ignoring musical information -- for instance, what octave the notes are in, their order, or how many times each note is repeated. The authors show that five symmetries can be combined with each other to produce a cornucopia of different musical concepts, some of which are familiar and some of which are novel.
In this way, the musicians are able to reduce musical works to their mathematical essence.
Once notes are translated into numbers and then translated again into the language of geometry the result is a rich menagerie of geometrical spaces, each inhabited by a different species of geometrical object. After all the mathematics is done, three-note chords end up on a triangular donut while chord types perch on the surface of a cone.
The broad effort follows upon earlier work by Tymoczko in which he developed geometric models for selected musical objects.
The method could help answer whether there are new scales and chords that exist but have yet to be discovered.
"Have Western composers already discovered the essential and most important musical objects?" Tymoczko asked. "If so, then Western music is more than just an arbitrary set of conventions. It may be that the basic objects of Western music are fantastically special, in which case it would be quite difficult to find alternatives to broadly traditional methods of musical organization."
The tools for analysis also offer the exciting possibility of investigating the differences between musical styles.
"Our methods are not so great at distinguishing Aerosmith from the Rolling Stones," Tymoczko said. "But they might allow you to visualize some of the differences between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And they certainly help you understand more deeply how classical music relates to rock or is different from atonal music."
Source: Princeton University
Roberta goes to Europe
Girls enjoy working with robots: they especially like to carry out tasks that are related to nature. Credit: © Fraunhofer IAIS
The idea that girls are not interested in science and technology is a popular misconception. For the past five years, school girls have been working with robots in "Roberta courses". And now Roberta is ready to take Europe. At this year's Hannover Messe, Roberta organizers will provide an overview of the new Roberta centers that are operating in six different countries.
The tension mounts: Will the demonstration work? Will the robot ant mark the path to food, and will it be able to send other robot ants information on how to find it? In the end, everything works out well, and the robots purposefully head towards their food source. Five years ago, the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems in Sankt Augustin initiated the ”Roberta® Girls Discover Robots“ project, which has been extremely successful.
Girls have shown a great deal of enthusiasm for the project. ”Our experience with children in robot courses has shown that girls are not interested in programming armored vehicles, combat or football robots,“ says project manager Gabriele Thiedig. Instead, Roberta course participants program their robots to dance or to organize a rescue operation.
The Roberta development team has also produced a series of teaching and learning materials. Without much effort, teachers can use these materials to conduct robot courses in a way that is interesting to girls. A cooperation agreement between Fraunhofer IAIS and the non-profit Competence Center for Technology-Diversity-Equal Opportunity has created a Germany-wide Roberta network served by qualified multipliers. There are currently 22 regional Roberta centers in Germany, where interested school groups and their teachers can get information about courses from experienced instructors. One such course is the ”Smart Girls“ initiative. By allowing girls to gain experience with robotics, the initiative aims to spark high school girls’ interest in technical trades and university programs.
From 21 to 25 April, the TectoYou youth initiative will be at the Hannover Messe to give young people aged 12 to 16 the opportunity to check out what Roberta has to offer. ”On Girl’s Day, however, courses will be offered to girls only,“ says project manager Theidig. TectoYou’s female Roberta instructors will also be on hand to talk about their experiences, along with teams participating in the RoboCupJunior competition.
Roberta is already well-known across Germany, and further regional centers are to be set up, while a European dimension begins to take shape. In fact, 12 regional centers have already opened in England, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, and organizers hope that more will be added soon.
Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Advocacy group demands textbook revision
A U.S. advocacy group said it's upset over statements downplaying global warming that are included in a high school textbook.
The Friends of the Earth is asking the publisher, the Houghton Mifflin Co., to correct statements about global warming in its "American Government" textbook used in high schools nationwide.
The group claims a chapter in book concerning environmental policy is so biased and misleading "it would humble a tobacco industry PR man."
Two of the textbook's statements Friends of the Earth finds objectionable are, "Science doesn't know how bad the greenhouse effect is," and "On the one hand, a warmer globe will cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal communities; on the other hand, greater warmth will make it easier and cheaper to grow crops and avoid high heating bills."
The group said one of the world's most respected climate scientists, James Hansen, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has also demanded revisions.
Hansen said, "Failure to correct the book's errors will leave students gravely misinformed about the facts and science of global warming -- one of the most serious problems that we as a society and a species face."
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com
http://www.physorg.com/news127054324.html
14-year-old CEO makes chemistry a game with 'Elementeo'
Part whimsical, part educational: One of the 121 cards that make up the Elementeo deck. Credit: Courtesy of Anshul Samar
Age seems to be no obstacle when it comes to starting a business. That’s the case with 14-year-old Anshul Samar, CEO of Alchemist Empire, Inc., who invented a trading card game, ”Elementeo,“ that aims to teach chemistry to students in a fun, unusual way.
At the 235th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans, Samar will present his inventive card game. While other 14-year olds play on their Xbox, this precocious CEO hopes to secure $500,000 in funding so his Silicon Valley-based startup can begin mass producing the game.
”I have always wanted to show the world that the youth can start a business and have fun at the same time,“ says Samar.
Like other popular trading card games, Elementeo casts two players against each other in card-based fantasy combat. But unlike ”Pokemon“ or ”Magic: the Gathering,“ Samar says that Elementeo educates just as much as it entertains.
The game is based on a 121-card deck of chemical elements, compounds and catalysts. Every card has an explanation of the element or compound’s uses and chemical properties. For example, the Oxygen card can rust neighboring metal cards and the Copper Conductor card can shock any metals. The oxidation state of an element is used as its attack power, and its physical state determines its movement on the board. The goal of the game is to reduce the opponents electrons to zero through strategic use of each card’s chemical properties.
”Our aim is to combine fun, excitement, education, and chemistry, all in one grand concoction,“ says Samar. ”We don't want to create a fantasy wizard world or create a boring education textbook world, but combine the two where fun and learning come together without clashing!“
Samar received $500 in seed money from the California Association of the Gifted (CAG) to develop a prototype of Elementeo. Now, after stealing the show at the entrepreneur conference TiECON in mid-2007, Samar hopes to get the financial backing he needs to mass produce Elementeo.
”You are not a geek or a nerd if you like chemistry,“ says Samar. ”If people do end up calling you a geek because you love chemistry, don't worry, those people are going to end up working for you at the end!“
Source: American Chemical Society
NASA to stage student science competition
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is giving U.S. students the chance to see what it's like to be a NASA scientist.
The space agency said students in the 5th to 12th grades can enter a competition in which they must conduct research on Saturn and then write an essay suggesting what targets would be the most valuable to the Cassini spacecraft, which will take images of three designated Saturn targets June 10.
Students must write a 500-word essay on why the images they choose would be the most scientifically rich. Essays will be judged by a panel of Cassini scientists, mission planners and by the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory education and outreach team. Winners will be invited to discuss their essays with JPL Cassini scientists via a teleconference.
Entries are divided into three groups: grades five through six, seven through eight and high school. One winner will be chosen from each group. The deadline for entries is noon PDT May 8. All participants with valid entries will receive a certificate of participation.
More information about the competition is available at
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/
HP unveils small laptop for schoolkids
By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer
AP Photo
One more of the world's biggest technology companies is clamoring to enter the growing market for pint-sized computers targeted mainly for pint-sized customers. Hewlett-Packard Co., the No. 1 seller of personal computers worldwide, said Tuesday it's throwing its weight behind a new class of miniaturized laptops, a fledgling market already populated with products from Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor company, and Asustek Computers Inc., the world's largest maker of computer motherboards.
The machines are so new the industry hasn't settled on a name for low-cost and scaled-down laptops used primarily for surfing the Internet and performing other basic functions like word processing.
Intel has labeled them "netbooks," and it expects more than 50 million netbooks to be in circulation by 2011.
HP executives say their new machines, which go on sale later this month, are an important piece of the Palo Alto-based company's effort to build market share in schools, where machines had to be smaller and cheaper without losing too many functions.
The companies also expect adults to cotton to the idea of buying two laptops a lightweight one just for Web browsing on the go and the full-power machine for the home or office. But industry executives acknowledge that the market is untested and that no one knows what demand will be once the machines are deployed widely.
HP's foray comes in the form of a new computer called a "Mini-Note" that weighs less than 3 pounds with a screen that measures 8.9 inches diagonally. The machines start at under $500 for a Linux-based model. Prices go up for Windows Vista models with faster processors.
The processors HP is using are made by Via Technologies Inc., the distant third-ranked player in the microprocessor space, and come in clock speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz. The inclusion is a big win for Via, which trails Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. by a wide margin in the microprocessor market.
HP executives say the only major feature its Mini-Note lacks is an optical drive for ingesting DVDs and CD-ROMs, which can be bought separately. But they say many schools requested the drives be left out to prevent students from playing unauthorized games.
The Mini-Note will compete primarily with Intel's Classmate PCs which are designed by Intel and feature Intel chips but are built and branded by other companies and Asustek's Eee PC.
To a lesser extent, they also will go up against the XO laptop from the Cambridge, Mass., nonprofit One Laptop per Child, which is intended primarily for schoolchildren in developing countries.
Intel says it has sold "tens of thousands" of Classmate PCs since they went on sale last year. And OLPC says it has sold hundreds of thousands of the XO. Figures were not immediately available for sales of the Eee.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080408/ap_on_hi_te/hewlett_packard_small_laptops
Intel Unveils Second-Generation Intel-Powered Classmate PC -- 'Netbook' for Worldwide Education Markets
New Strategic Investment, Software Certification Service also Disclosed at Shanghai IDF
INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, Shanghai, April 3, 2008 Intel Corporation unveiled a new design of the Intel-powered classmate PC today at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. As announced in a keynote by Andrew Chien, Intel vice president, Corporate Technology Group and director of Intel Research, the second-generation Intel-powered classmate PC is an affordable, fully functional, rugged Internet-centric computer platform. These simple-to-use PCs have wireless capability, longer battery life, water resistant keyboards and are more shock resistant if dropped. Intel is calling this category of PCs "netbooks."
The Intel designed computer offers different choices to manufacturers so each can tailor laptop models for a variety of education needs. The new classmate PC blueprint is the latest innovation and educational tool for parents and teachers to use technology, computers and Internet access to better educate students around the world.
"Only 5 percent of the world's children today have access to a PC or to the Internet," Chien said. "Education is one of the best examples of how technology improves our lives. We have seen how technology helps teachers create fun learning experiences more efficiently. We have also been touched by children's excitement when they are inspired by technology. The Intel-powered classmate PC is one of the ways we support the IT industry in spreading the benefits of technology in education for children around the world."
The second-generation classmate PCs are built on Intel® Celeron® M processor with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and mesh network capabilities. The top range of these netbooks includes a 9-inch LCD screen, 6-cell battery life, 512 MB memory, a 30 GB HDD (hard disk drive) storage and an integrated webcam. An Intel powered classmate PC supports Microsoft* Windows* XP and variants of the Linux* operating environment. When pre-installed with the education software stack, these netbooks are ideal for classroom-learning environment. Software and content will be available in more than eight languages.
More than 80 software and hardware vendors, content providers, educational services providers and local OEMs have been working with Intel to develop a complete infrastructure that supports the Intel-powered classmate PC. They were present at today's announcement in Shanghai.
Chien also said future Intel-powered classmate PCs will be built with the Intel® Atom™ processor. It is an energy-efficient, low-cost computer chip designed to provide wireless capability to small mobile computing devices such as netbooks.
The updated child-sized computer will continue to be deployed as part of the Intel World Ahead Program, a global initiative aimed at spreading digital accessibility and educational opportunities.
The Digital Transformation
Chien also discussed how the second-generation classmate PC is a proof point of the digital transformation he believes is underway today. He highlighted several more digital advances including the use of a cascaded silicon Raman laser as a low-cost Methane gas detector and talked about a novel "holistic" platform power management technology to significantly improve the energy efficiency of a wide range of platforms. He addressed emerging digital consumer applications such as personal robotics and computational photography as fronts where this transformation is taking place by demonstrating "Fuwa," a personal robot from the Fudan University and ReFocus Imaging's light field camera.
Intel architecture is also transforming with the multi-core movement in mainstream, parallel computing. This will require new programming techniques and languages at the heart of Intel's tera-scale computing research program. Chien, along with Dr. Zhang Xia, chief technology officer of Neusoft Co., demonstrated Ct, a new parallel programming language from Intel research that will make programming for many-cores more efficient than what is possible today. Chien says Intel's research is poised to tackle both the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead with the Digital Transformation.
Renee James: Software: Unlocking the Opportunities on Intel Platforms
Also at IDF, Renee James, vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group, illustrated the crucial role software plays in unlocking the power of hardware and ultimately creating a better computing experience. She highlighted visual computing and mobile applications for MIDs as two important, rapidly growing areas of software development and announced the Intel® C++ Software Development Tool Suite for Linux* OS Supporting MIDs.
James also announced the Intel® Certified Solutions program. This new software testing and validation service will enable Intel® Software Partner Program members to deliver high-quality solutions that are certified to meet rigorous standards for security, interoperability and maintainability, and are optimized for Intel technologies. This new service offering, provided by SpikeSource*, will help software vendors reduce development costs and produce more trustworthy solutions that work well on Intel platforms. In conjunction with this certification initiative, Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, has made an additional investment of $10 million in SpikeSource. Intel Capital originally invested in SpikeSource in 2005 and has played an active role to make the company successful through company building and customer introductions. Intel and SpikeSource are initially offering the service as an early adopter program with broader availability expected later this year.
Intel and Epic Games launched the "$1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest" for aspiring game developers to create modifications ("mods") for the PC version of "Unreal Tournament 3." Winnings are valued at $1 million and include an Unreal Engine 3 license and other cash awards and prizes, including Intel® Software Development Products and PCs based on Intel® Core™2 Extreme quad-core processors.
Intel, Intel Atom, Intel Core, Celeron and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Low-cost handheld targets elementary students
Chicago nonprofit calls its $50 'teachermate' an affordable way to give every kid a computer
From eSchool News staff reports
The teachermate features a 2.5-inch screen, 512 MB of memory, and costs only $50.
Elementary schools in at least seven cities are piloting an innovative handheld computer that costs only $50 and can be used to help teach reading and math. The nonprofit organization that developed the device, Chicago-based Innovations for Learning, bills it as ”the world’s most affordable solution“ for giving a computer to every student.
The ”teachermate“ handheld computer, as the device is called, features a 2.5-inch color screen, 512 megabytes of internal memory, an SD slot for expandability, a built-in microphone and speaker, and a battery life of four hours. An innovative case that holds 30 of the devices can charge them all at the same time using one AC outlet and synch all of the student performance data to a teacher’s personal computer using a single USB cable.
The teachermate includes reading and math software programs also developed by Innovations for Learning, which says it created the software first but was looking for an affordable, scalable way to deliver the software to every student.
”Our organization has been stymied over the years by the same roadblock faced by all educational software makersthe inadequacy of personal computers in K-2 classrooms,“ said Seth Weinberger, executive director of the nonprofit. ”There are too few computers in the classroom, too many of them are broken, and too many of them are hand-me-downs. Public schools do not have the funds to provide sufficient computer resources to the young students who need them most.“
The problem inspired the group to develop an inexpensive solution that would be intuitive for young students to use.
The teachermate is lightweight and portable, yet the images on its screen are highly visible. All you have to do is switch on the power button and it’s ready to go. A row of three colored buttons on the top, a circle of arrows to the right, and a big blue ”enter“ button on the left make up all the controls. The software’s learning games are simple and have fun noises and actions for kids to look at. There’s also a dog character named Max who dances and plays instruments for students when they complete a game successfully. The device comes with lightweight earphones and has places for a USB cable and an AC cord.
Innovations for Learning is rolling out its ”teachermate“ handheld computers to all 500 Chicago elementary schools over a two-year period. With the help of funding from JP Morgan Chase, the nonprofit will provide teachermates for every student within one classroom in each of the city’s elementary schools; schools will be able to purchase handhelds for additional classrooms at cost. Software for the handhelds includes a complete K-2 reading and math program that aligns with the Chicago Public Schools’ reading and math initiatives.
”The teachermate handheld computer is one of the most promising new educational tools I have seen. Not only is the cost of each unit low enough to be affordable for every student in a classroom, but the device is easy to use, easy to train, and easy to maintain. This is a big step forward in providing a high-quality education to an increasingly technological generation,“ said Sharnell Jackson, chief eLearning officer for the Chicago Public Schools.
In addition to the rollout in Chicago, schools in New York City, Detroit, New Orleans, San Antonio, Phoenix, and the Denver area are piloting the device.
Innovations for Learning’s software has been proven effective by independent research funded by the Spencer Foundation. The Spencer Foundation is currently funding research by the University of Illinois at Chicago on the effectiveness of the teachermate handheld computers.
All of the programs are in Spanish as well as English, and teachers can select how much Spanish support to provide for each student.
”The teachermate system definitely enhances students’ reading skills,“ said Martha Arriaga, a first grade teacher at Jungman Elementary School in Chicago. ”If the students could use these devices all day long, they would. It gets them focused on what they should be learning, but they think they are just playing games.“
”The teachermate is really a bridge from the digital world to a first grader,“ Weinberger concluded. ”Teachers see the kids laugh, learn, and do their own voice recordings when using the reading software. It really gets them goingit energizes them in their teaching.“
Links:
Innovations for Learning www.innovationsforlearning.org
Chicago Public Schools www.cps.k12.il.us
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/related-top-news/?i=53093
eSchoolNews
7920 Norfolk Ave, Suite 900, Bethesda Maryland, 20814
Tel. (866) 394-0115, Fax. (301) 913-0119
Web: http://www.eschoolnews.com, Email: WebAdmin@eschoolnews.com
New breed of cognitive robot... a puppy?
Puzzled? Prepare for a new breed of cognitive, thinking robots. Photo: COSPAL
Designers of artificial cognitive systems have tended to adopt one of two approaches to building robots that can think for themselves: classical rule-based artificial intelligence or artificial neural networks. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and combining the two offers the best of both worlds, say a team of European researchers who have developed a new breed of cognitive, learning robot that goes beyond the state of the art.
The researchers’ work brings together the two distinct but mutually supportive technologies that have been used to develop artificial cognitive systems (ACS) for different purposes. The classical approach to artificial intelligence (AI) relies on a rule-based system in which the designer largely supplies the knowledge and scene representations, making the robot follow a decision-making process much like climbing through the branches of a tree toward a predefined response.
Biologically inspired artificial neural networks (ANNs), on the other hand, rely on processing continuous signals and a non-linear optimisation process to reach a response which, due to the lack of preset rules, requires developers to carefully balance the system constraints and its freedom to act autonomously.
”Developing systems in classical AI is essentially a top-down approach, whereas in ANN it is a bottom-up approach,“ explains Michael Felsberg, a researcher at the Computer Vision Laboratory of Linkφping University in Sweden. ”The problem is that, used individually, these systems have major shortcomings when it comes to developing advanced ACS architectures. ANN is too trivial to solve complex tasks, while classical AI cannot solve them if it has not been pre-programmed to do so.“
Beyond the state of the art
Working in the EU-funded COSPAL project, Felsberg’s team found that using the two technologies together solves many of those issues. In what the researchers believe to be the most advanced example of such a system developed anywhere in the world, they used ANN to handle the low-level functions based on the visual input their robots received and then employed classical AI on top of that in a supervisory function.
”In this way, we found it was possible for the robots to explore the world around them through direct interaction, create ways to act in it and then control their actions in accordance. This combines the advantages of classical AI, which is superior when it comes to functions akin to human rationality, and the advantages of ANN, which is superior at performing tasks for which humans would use their subconscious, things like basic motor skills and low-level cognitive tasks,“ notes Felsberg.
The most important difference between the COSPAL approach and what had been the state of the art is that the researchers’ ACS is scalable. It is able to learn by itself and can solve increasingly complex tasks with no additional programming.
”There is a direct mapping from the visual precepts to performing the action,“ Felsberg confirms. ”With previous systems, if something in the environment changed that the low-level system was not programmed to recognise, it would give random responses but the supervising AI process would not realise anything was wrong. With our approach, the system realises something is different and if its actions do not result in success it tries something else,“ the project coordinator explains.
”Like training a child or a puppy“
This trial-and-error learning approach was tested by making the COSPAL robot complete a shape-sorting puzzle, but without telling it what it had to do. As it tried to fit pegs into holes it gradually learnt what would fit where, allowing it to complete the puzzle more quickly and accurately each time.
”After visual bootstrapping, the only human input was from an operator who had two buttons, one to tell the robot it was successful and another to tell it that it had made a mistake. It is much like training a child or a puppy,“ Felsberg says.
Though a learning, cognitive robot of the kind developed in COSPAL constitutes an important leap forward toward the development of more autonomous robots, Felsberg says it will be some time before robots gain anything close to human cognition and intelligence, if they ever do.
”In human terms, our robot is probably like a two or three year old child, and it will take a long time for the technology to progress into the equivalent of adulthood. I don’t think we will see it in our lifetimes,“ he says.
Nonetheless, robots like those developed in COSPAL will undoubtedly start to play a greater role in our lives. The project partners are in the process of launching a follow-up project called DIPLECS to test their ACS architecture in a car. It will be used to make the vehicle cognitive and aware of its surroundings, creating an artificial co-pilot to increase safety no matter the weather, road or traffic conditions.
”In the real world you need a system that is capable of adapting to unforeseen circumstances, and that is the greatest accomplishment of our ACS,“ Felsberg notes.
COSPAL series: Part 1 of 2. The second part will be published on 27 March.
Source: ICT Results
Visual technology enables brain to learn in new ways
New technology at Tufts University's Center for Scientific Visualization is enabling researchers to translate the most abstract, complex scientific concepts into clearer, more precise 3-dimensional images than conventional visualization systems can create.
Funded by a $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Tufts' new 14-foot by 8-foot visualization display offers a combination of advanced features found nowhere else in New England and in only a few other installations in the country. Its application will further Tufts' research and educational programs in diverse disciplines, from mathematics and physics to human factors engineering, and even drama and dance.
Brain's Untapped Capacity for Visuals
"Users will be able to manipulate, simulate, touch and literally immerse themselves in data in a way they never have been able to before," said Amelia Tynan, vice president and chief information officer and co-principal investigator on the grant.
Visualization is built on the age-old premise -- borne out by modern cognitive science -- that pictures say as much as, or even more than, words.
The human brain has a powerful, often underutilized capacity to process visuals, noted Robert Jacob, computer science professor and co-principal investigator on the project. A large portion of the brain processes visuals, and visualization technology puts that ability to work. "The brain absorbs a lot more information when it's presented in pictures rather than in stacks of data from a computer," Jacob said. This, he says, enables researchers and students to recognize things more quickly and also develop insights about what's going on with the data.
Unusual Combination of Technologies
While visualization is widely used in science, Tufts' "VisWall" offers unusually robust capabilities by combining advanced features not typically found together.
Housed at Tufts' School of Engineering but available to the entire university, the seamless wall features a high resolution display system that uses rear projection in order to enhance the amount of detail that is visible. Most visualization systems use several projectors at once or multiple, tiled screens to display images. Tufts' uses just a single screen with close to 9 megapixels resolution (4,096 x 2,169 pixels) and two projectors (with overlapping fields of projection) to create high- resolution images and animation.
By using a single screen and two projectors, Tufts is able to produce ultra-high resolution images -- including 3-D images -- that appear smoother and without seams. Images projected at a higher resolution reveal fine, minute details that would be imperceptible on a screen with fewer pixels or tiled images. The VisWall's projectors are equipped with Infitec filters to minimize ghosting, in which an image appears to include elements of another image. Ghosting is a common drawback with conventional polarized filters.
In addition, the Tufts system can combine the sense of touch with that of sight through haptic devices that convey varying levels of resistance to the user when he or she touches graphical objects on the display wall. This also allows Tufts researchers to create virtual environments, such as the human body for surgical simulations that can be physically manipulated and transformed.
Order in Chaos
Tufts faculty have already discovered applications of the new technology. Mathematics Professor Boris Hasselblatt made a surprising find while viewing a mathematical model of butterfly populations as they fluctuated through successive generations. The model, used for research in dynamical systems theory, is based on a simple formula and is well-known to anyone familiar with chaos theory.
Visualizing the large population dataset with the 14-foot-wide, high-resolution graphical display enabled Hasselblatt to detect anomalies impossible to perceive with conventional displays: subtle traces of curving lines that he said indicated irregularities in variations in the population. The lines extended over different areas of the model and then converged at one distinct point.
Hasselblatt has looked at smaller images of this classic model many times during the last 20 years but had never recognized this convergence. He has not yet determined the implications of this discovery, but he said the pattern reflects order in what mathematicians have always thought to be a progression of chaotic cycles. "The pattern is so subtle that it's imperceptible but in this rendition the resolution is fine enough that I can easily see it," he said.
Bruce Boghosian, chairman of the mathematics department at Tufts and principal investigator on the NSF grant, said that the VisWall will benefit his study of fluid dynamics. Visualization capabilities can help him and his fellow researchers better understand fluid flow.
"You can go right up to streamlines in a fluid or dig into a reservoir and see which way it's flowing," said Boghosian. "That's the direction we would like to move in. You can imagine all kinds of other uses for something like that."
Virtual Surgery
The VisWall will also aid Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Caroline Cao. Her goal is to develop more robust laparoscopic surgical training systems in which 3-D computer simulations enable surgeons in training to feel as well as see.
She and her team, including senior Kyle Maxwell, have already developed software that enables users to remove a "tumor" during a simulated procedure. With the haptic device, these virtual surgeons receive force feedback when touching a hard surface, such as a tumor or bone, and a soft, deformable surface, such as tissue. The reaction is determined by the parameters provided by the model, which is based on real material properties.
Cao, who is director of the human factors program in the School of Engineering, said she wants to develop more anatomical features in the models. She also hopes to develop software that will simulate more complicated virtual procedures like heart surgery and colonoscopy. The VisWall's size, resolution and 3-D capability will greatly help in her work.
"Imagine the difference between simulating a virtual environment on a computer screen and one on a visualization wall -- the difference is tremendous," she said. "That's what large-scale visualization gives us, a capacity to create a richer immersion experience."
From Particle Physics to the "Lord of the Rings"
Similar benefits could be gained by physicist Austin Napier. His work in high energy physics relies on the ability to process huge streams of data from organizations like Switzerland's CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Tufts' VisWall will enable him to visualize on a single display what would otherwise require multiple computers.
Tynan said she expects the VisWall to become a resource for the broad range of academic disciplines at Tufts. She envisions scientists and engineers collaborating with faculty from the arts or humanities.
Boghosian brings up the example of the character Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings." Actor Andy Serkis' movements were tracked and translated to the digital rendering of the creature in the film. Similar technology is now available through the VisWall, which goes beyond traditional 3-D rendering to create a true virtual reality environment.
"Imagine taking the ability to do something like that and applying it to drama and dance," Boghosian mused. "Imagine taking the ability to do something like that and trying to use it for facial recognition or occupational therapy or many other fields. We haven't really even begun to explore those kinds of things yet."
Source: Tufts University
HELP US RAISE FUNDS: It's easy to earn money for NanoTechnology Group (Nacogdoches TX) when you have the GoodSearch toolbar installed in your browser. GoodSearch has toolbars for IE 6 and 7 and search box plugins for Firefox, IE7 and Safari. Click here for download instructions. www.GoodSearch.com/toolbars.aspx
© 2002-2008 by The Nano Technology Group, Inc. Please share the information with the consideration of a credit line for each use.
The NanoTechnology Group Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization incorporated in Texas with an international group of partners and welcomes collaboration in the United States and all countries. Supporting education projects that lead to better informed public awareness and formal and informal education in all schools. There are no membership dues, just an exchange of ideas and partner support which involves lending your skills and expertise for project development to reach these goals.