We all talk about broadening engagement. FCC Chairman Genachowski shared this data with us.He acknowledges the Mobile Divide at a conference at the New America Foundation in January. Barriers to Use Affordability: 36 percent of non-adopters, or 28 million adults, said they do not have home broadband because the monthly fee is too expensive (15 percent), they cannot afford a computer, … [Read more...]
The Digital Divide , Native American Perspectives
Here is a problem along the edges of the digital divide that most people are unaware of the perspective from Native American Tribes. Given the fact that many Native American tribes have some land and some have casinos, people think that they live in the lap of luxury. There are a few tribes who have learned to create a business model to change the future of their children. But we have an interesting set of problems that the President has to address. For those not familiar with the cultures, … [Read more...]
The Other Action in Education in Washington
Those of us who live inside the beltway have been observing Michelle Rhee. Some see her as the savior of DC School, others have an opinion that she should ride away on the broom that she was holding while talking about getting rid of teachers. Her claim is that she wants to help the children of DC . Her no nonsense talk, gets your attention, well unless you are a teacher in the system or a parent. No matter how boring a school board meeting is , in some places you get to have your say.but in DC … [Read more...]
Bridge Day, Teragrid A Special Event for Teachers
Bridge Day, Teragrid A Special Event for Teachers June 26,2009 The secretary of education and the president want transformational learning. We have examples of transformational learning in the high performance computing fields. But a lot of people are still stuck in an analog world as we move into the future of digital. Computational thinking is something that has to be considered. Truthfully we have closed our eyes to new types of learning in many ways through the era of no child left behind … [Read more...]
Study : Girls Still Not Swarming into Sci-Tech
This is a conversation I often have with others, the question being why don't girls get involved in science, technology , engineering and math. I get a headache every time I see a certain commercial that displays a mother too tired to remember 3 times 4. What? That's a big deal? Then there was the Barbie fiasco. Even this week I have been talking to colleagues about exposing teachers to higher math with certain programs. Problem solving, supercomputing, that kind of thing. Take a look at this … [Read more...]