mathematics

The 50 Most Popular MOOCs of All Time — from onlinecoursereport.com, via Jordan Hall

Excerpt:

MOOCs – or Massive Open Online Courses – are picking up momentum in popularity – at least in terms of initial enrollment.

Unlike regular college/ university courses, MOOCs can attract many thousands of enrollees around the world. They can come in the form of active course sessions with participant interaction, or as archived content for self-paced study. MOOCs can be free, or there can be a charge – either on a subscription basis or a one-time charge. Free MOOCs sometimes have a paid “verified certificate” option. There are now thousands of MOOCs available worldwide from several hundred colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning. For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of 50 of the most popular MOOCs, based on enrollment figures for all sessions of a course. The ranking is based on filtering enrollment data for 185 free MOOCs on various elearning platforms.

That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket — from forbes.com by George Anders; with a shout out to Krista Spahr for bringing this item to my attention

Except:

What kind of boss hires a thwarted actress for a business-to-business software startup? Stewart Butterfield, Slack’s 42-year-old cofounder and CEO, whose estimated double-digit stake in the company could be worth $300 million or more. He’s the proud holder of an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Canada’s University of Victoria and a master’s degree from Cambridge in philosophy and the history of science.

“Studying philosophy taught me two things,” says Butterfield, sitting in his office in San Francisco’s South of Market district, a neighborhood almost entirely dedicated to the cult of coding. “I learned how to write really clearly. I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings. And when I studied the history of science, I learned about the ways that everyone believes something is true–like the old notion of some kind of ether in the air propagating gravitational forces–until they realized that it wasn’t true.”
…
And he’s far from alone. Throughout the major U.S. tech hubs, whether Silicon Valley or Seattle, Boston or Austin, Tex., software companies are discovering that liberal arts thinking makes them stronger. Engineers may still command the biggest salaries, but at disruptive juggernauts such as Facebook and Uber, the war for talent has moved to nontechnical jobs, particularly sales and marketing. The more that audacious coders dream of changing the world, the more they need to fill their companies with social alchemists who can connect with customers–and make progress seem pleasant.

Addendum on 8/7/15:

STEM Study Starts With Liberal Arts — from forbes.com by Chris Teare
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Much has been made, especially by the Return on Investment crowd, of the value of undergraduate study in the so-called STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Lost in the conversation is the way the true liberal arts underpin such study, often because the liberal arts are inaccurately equated solely with the humanities. From the start, the liberal arts included math and science, something I learned firsthand at St. John’s College.

This topic is especially on my mind since reading the excellent article George Anders has written for Forbes: “That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket” In this context, understanding the actual origin and purposes of the liberal arts is all the more valuable.

“Surprising insights: How teachers use games in the classroom” [Korbey] plus other items re: games and learning

On 06/24/2015, in educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, love of learning, mathematics, multimedia, participation, play, student-related, youth, by Daniel Christian

Surprising insights: How teachers use games in the classroom — from ww2.kqed.org (MindShift) by Holly Korbey

Excerpt:

More teachers are using digital games in the classroom, and they’re using them more frequently, according to a new teacher survey just released by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. But more surprisingly, the study reveals that teachers are finding that one of the most impactful use of games is for motivating and rewarding students, specifically those who are low-performing.

The survey, which interviewed 694 K-8 teachers with an average of 14.5 years of teaching experience, aims to understand how and why teachers are using digital games in the classroom.
…
Almost half the teachers surveyed — 47 percent — said low-performing students who’ve been struggling in traditional school settings benefited the most from using games. Conversely, only 15 percent of teachers said that high-performing students benefited from playing games.

How digital games can help kids learn — from thedianerehmshow.org

Description:
For as long as there have been schools, teachers have tried to find ways to keep children engaged in the classroom. Today a growing number of schools are using video and other digital games as teaching tools. Many of the games incorporate incentives and rewards to keep students engaged. Experts say the best of them are challenging as well as fun. But critics question whether game designers are promising too much. Some say not enough is known about how these games can affect the learning skills and developing brains of children. A discussion of the role of digital play in schools.

Guests

Greg Toppo national education and demographics reporter, USA Today; author of a new book, “The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter.”
Keith Devlin mathematician and co-founder and executive director of Stanford University’s H-STAR institute; he’s the co-founder and president of BrainQuake,an educational technology company. He’s also the “Math Guy” on NPR.
Leah Hirsch science teacher and curriculum designer at Quest to Learn, a public middle school in New York City.
Robert Pondiscio senior fellow with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank.

Also see:

Games vs Game-based Learning vs Gamification — from upsidelearning.com
Excerpt:

Addendum on 6/29/15:

Gamification or game-based learning? What’s the difference? — from knowledgedirectweb.com

Addendum on 6/30/15:

Top 6 Benefits Of Gamification In eLearning — from elearningindustry.com by Asha Pandey
Gamification in eLearning helps create an effective learning system that enables learners to rehearse real-life scenarios and challenges in a safe environment. In this article, I will walk you through some of the benefits of Gamification for learners and how the experience of learning (recall and retention) can be enhanced through Gamification.

For summer vacation: Some resources to help spark students’ interests and perhaps identify some new passions! [Dyoco]

On 06/17/2015, in architecture, engineering, geography / geology, global / globalization, ideas, K-12 related, love of learning, maker movement, mathematics, participation, passions, project-based learning, science, STEAM-related, student-related, teachers, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With a special thanks and a shout out to Jasmine Dyoco at educatorlabs.org for the following information:

Summer vacation is upon us and students will be spending it in a variety of ways – from tinkering around the house and going swimming through brushing up on math and thinking about college. Whatever they do, we hope to inspire them to get excited about something new, and make use of their unstructured time to find a new passion.

We’ve gathered resources on different topics to help spark students’ interests in something new — from STEM through human stories — that we think will be useful and fun!

Dynamics of Space Flight – NASA
The Science Behind Airplanes
ScienceNews for Students
Math Calculators (organized by Subject, Topic & Difficulty)
archKIDecture
Fix-It Literacy Guide
Become an Engineer
Heart Attack Quiz
World Culture
The Science and History of Hygiene
The Encyclopedia of Earth – Geography

“More evidence that active learning trumps lecturing” [Weimer] plus other resources re: active learning

On 06/03/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, engineering, higher education, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, mathematics, pedagogy, science, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, STEAM-related, teaching & learning, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from More evidence that active learning trumps lecturing — from facultyfocus.com by Maryellen Weimer

The June-July issue of The Teaching Professor newsletter highlights a study you don’t want to miss. It’s a meta-analysis of 225 studies that compare STEM classes taught using various active learning approaches with classes taught via lecture. “The results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sessions, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning.” (p. 8410) Carl Wieman, a Nobel-winning physicist who now does research on teaching and learning, describes the work as a “massive effort” that provides “a much more extensive quantitative analysis of the research on active learning in college and university STEM courses than previously existed.” (p. 8319) And what does he make of these results? “The implications of these meta-analysis results for instruction are profound, assuming they are indicative of what could be obtained if active learning methods replaced the lecture instruction that dominates U.S. postsecondary STEM instruction.” (pp. 8319-8320) That’s a long way from the guarded language usually found in commentaries on scientific results.

Also see:

3 key trends in campus AV technology — from campustechnology.com by Dennis Pierce
With active learning environments on the rise, new AV systems support classroom collaboration.
.
Why blogging is key to the future of higher ed — from campustechnology.com by Michael Hart
A massive experiment at Virginia Commonwealth University involving 7,000 blogs could lead to a new view on how college students learn.
Excerpt:
Using these blogs and other forms of social media, students could communicate with one another and with their teachers, and do much of their coursework online. At the same time, faculty members began to participate in intensive face-to-face Online Learning Experience training sessions, followed by an additional online component that could introduce them to a broad range of connected learning ideas and tools.

Math professors laud 3D printing’s classroom potential [Matisons]

On 06/01/2015, in 3D, adjunct faculty, faculty, ideas, innovation, mathematics, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Math professors laud 3D printing’s classroom potential — from 3dprint.com by Michelle Matisons

Excerpt:

The explanations were quite varied but all mentioned the need for concrete application of abstract concepts (especially in calculus classrooms). Keith White, Associate Professor of Developmental Mathematics, Utah Valley University, explained his interest in 3D printing is helping students learn how to apply math in a real world environment with a tangible outcome. White reports that 3D printing motivates his students, piques their interests, and reinforces mathematical concepts as a major bonus.

“A lot of the math we teach is procedure and skill based. It doesn’t have a lot of application, and when it does the applications are usually contrived. Students know that. They see that. They get that, and anything that we can do to make it more real, and tie it to things that actually have meaning to them would be beneficial,” White said. “I am trying to figure out how 3D printing might give learning more meaning. I think students would find 3D printing interesting, but not necessarily meaningful. So I am exploring in order to see, in the context of a developmental math course or a general education math course, could you integrate 3D printing in a way that would reinforce mathematical concepts, while simultaneously increasing the motivation and interest level of students?”

From DSC:
I originally saw this at Helge Scherlund’s blog;
so thanks to Helge for posting this item.

2 items on those increasingly powerful algorithms

On 02/27/2015, in 21st century, analytics, business, career development, computer science, data related items, ethics, mathematics, programming, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Can technology identify China’s top graduates? — from bbc.com by John Sudworth, Shanghai

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Has the humble CV finally met its match?
…
[L’Oreal] has chosen the world’s biggest jobs market – China – to utter two words that would be music to the ears of beleaguered recruitment executives everywhere: “Goodbye CV”. This year, the 33,000 applicants for the 70 places on the company’s Chinese graduate recruitment scheme have been asked to save themselves the paper, the printer ink and the pain. Instead, they were asked to answer three simple questions via their smartphones.
…
“We have developed algorithms that can take the words that people use and derive context from them,” said Robin Young, the founder of Seedlink Tech.
…
Here’s how it works: students use their mobile phones to access L’Oreal’s website which prompts them to answer three open-ended questions.
…
The answers, which have to be at least 75 words long, are automatically fed into Seedlink’s database and the software gets to work. It analyses the language used and compares each candidate’s answers with the many thousands of others. Then, supposedly calibrated to mine for the specific personality traits that L’Oreal is looking for, it produces a ranking with, in theory, the person most suited for a career at L’Oreal at the top.

Excerpt from the March 1, 2015 edition of CIO Magazine (emphasis DSC):

The almighty algorithm is the fuel for today’s data-driven businesses. They stoke the data engines that recommend purchases, trade stocks, predict crime, spot medical conditions, monitor sleep apnea, find dating partners, calculate driving routes and so much more. “These math equations,” writes Managing Editor Kim S. Nash, “may someday run our lives.”

In the wrong application, they may someday ruin lives, as well.

The fascinating story that Nash unearthed will show you exactly why CIOs need to develop what one expert called “algorithmic accountability.”

Disney will launch its first Imagicademy learning apps [Ha]

On 12/04/2014, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, creativity, education technology, homeschooling/homeschoolers, interactivity, K-12 related, mathematics, mobile learning, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Disney will launch its first Imagicademy Learning Apps — from techcrunch.com by Anthony Ha
Disney just unveiled its digital learning initiative Imagicademy, which will launch on December 11

Excerpt:

As outlined at a press event today in New York, it’s a suite of mobile learning apps for kids, along with an app where parents can follow along, give their kids a virtual high five, and see recommended physical activities that complement that in-app lessons.

…

With Imagicademy, on the other hand, there are plans for a suite of 30 similarly branded apps covering math, creative arts, science, language arts, and social skills. The first app to launch will be Mickey’s Magical Math World on iPad, as well as the companion app for parents.

Also see:

From DSC:
When you look at their About Imagicademy page, you’ll notice words like:

Imagination
Wonder
Love of learning
Curiosity
Magical
Discovery
Creativity
Dream
Passion
Build
Design
Create

Those seem like great words for any classroom.

Are their profit motive here? Sure there are. But these types of efforts could be important because they represent team-based approaches as well as some solid collaboration. Disney consulted with a number of education experts to create these games — while bringing their own strengths to the table as well.

Does Studying Fine Art = Unemployment? Introducing LinkedIn’s Field of Study Explorer [Hwang]

On 08/14/2014, in art, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, business, career development, chemistry, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, design, drama/theater, engineering, entrepreneurship, geography / geology, higher education, history, instructional design, interaction design, interface design, K-12 related, leadership, liberal arts, library / librarians, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mathematics, MBA, media/film, music, new media literacies, organizational change, photography, political science, professional development, programming, psychology, publishing, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, tools, user interface design, web design and production, workplace, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Does Studying Fine Art = Unemployment? Introducing LinkedIn’s Field of Study Explorer — from LinkedIn.com by Kathy Hwang

Excerpt:

[On July 28, 2014], we are pleased to announce a new product – Field of Study Explorer – designed to help students like Candice explore the wide range of careers LinkedIn members have pursued based on what they studied in school.

So let’s explore the validity of this assumption: studying fine art = unemployment by looking at the careers of members who studied Fine & Studio Arts at Universities around the world. Are they all starving artists who live in their parents’ basements?

Also see:

The New Rankings? — from insidehighered.com by Charlie Tyson

Excerpt:

Who majored in Slovak language and literature? At least 14 IBM employees, according to LinkedIn.

Late last month LinkedIn unveiled a “field of study explorer.” Enter a field of study – even one as obscure in the U.S. as Slovak – and you’ll see which companies Slovak majors on LinkedIn work for, which fields they work in and where they went to college. You can also search by college, by industry and by location. You can winnow down, if you desire, to find the employee who majored in Slovak at the Open University and worked in Britain after graduation.

Mathematics 101 — Leading sites for math teachers [Petersen]

On 07/01/2014, in mathematics, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Per Karen Petersen:

I created a list of 101 resources for math teachers. You can see the list at http://onlinemathdegrees.org/leading-sites-for-teachers/

…

For current and future math teachers everywhere, the web offers a treasure trove of resources, from advanced curricula to games and activities for teaching math concepts to students of all ages and skill levels. Many math educators are prolific bloggers, and the sheer volume of excellent math resources available freely online is astounding. This list is not intended as ranking, but as a broad and comprehensive guide to available resources, and the order is arbitrary. The sites highlighted in this collection are some of the most useful, informative, creative, and fun math resources on the web!

From DSC:
First, some items:

Thinking for the future — from nytimes.com by David Brooks

Excerpt:

We’re living in an era of mechanized intelligence, an age in which you’re probably going to find yourself in a workplace with diagnostic systems, different algorithms and computer-driven data analysis. If you want to thrive in this era, you probably want to be good at working with intelligent machines. As Tyler Cowen puts it in his relentlessly provocative recent book, “Average Is Over,” “If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement the computer, you may want to address that mismatch.”

So our challenge for the day is to think of exactly which mental abilities complement mechanized intelligence. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few mental types that will probably thrive in the years ahead.

Excerpt:

Create your own employment avatar robot to replace you at work. Fight fire with fire. Could this be the solution to the coming robotic automation revolution?

…

The question on everyone’s mind is “If all the jobs are automated, who will have money to buy the products from these corporations?” This is not just a blue-collar issue. Predictive analytics in soft A.I. robots could replace creative jobs as well.

Siri says ‘dump him’? How mobile devices could run (or ruin) your life — from CNN.com by futurist Gerd Leonhard

Excerpt:

(CNN) — The Web is set to change our lives dramatically over the next decade. This will also raise questions about the use of personal data and the need to balance new powers with ethics. Here are five ways you can expect the explosion in technology to impact you:

From DSC:
These items caused me to reflect…they made me wonder…

How should we educate our youth in this age of automation?
How should our curricula respond/change/adapt to these trends?
Or should we even be talking about curricula? Perhaps we should rather be curating and providing streams of content — and doing so on a lifelong basis…?
How should we reinvent ourselves and keep ourselves marketable?

Addendum:

Why Cognition-as-a-Service is the next operating system battlefield — from gigaom.com by Nova Spivack

What if augmented reality could help bring more of the invisible things to life — such as equations, molecular structures, etc.?

On 11/07/2013, in 21st century, animation, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, chemistry, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, mathematics, physics, by Daniel Christian

augmented-reality-picture-11-7-13

From DSC:
When I woke up last night, an idea surfaced to the forefront of my thinking. It had to do with augmented reality. I wondered (and tried to picture)…

What if augmented reality could help bring something that’s harder to picture/understand/grasp to life?

What if, for example, you could point your mobile device at an object/piece of paper/”button” on a main screen and have an animation pop up that would explain what’s being discussed…? I realize this is being done in some areas (even in elementary apps such as ColAR App), but I think we are largely leaving this area untapped and we’re missing out on a powerful, potential way of engaging students and inviting interactivity.

For example, I had a very difficult time grasping organic chemistry — and the “weeding out” method worked on me big time! That course had a lot to due with me questioning my future as a pre-med student and I ended up dropping out of pre-med (a good decision, but heh, why blow the story now?). Being a student who prefers visuals, I think that it would have helped me greatly if I could have seen — and ideally manipulated — models and animations in real time.

For example:

If I tried to move an atom to an inappropriate ring/connection, the holographic design would show a holographic pop up — with accompany audio — letting me know why that won’t work. Wow.
Then I ran into the article below and the idea came back to me…and again, I wondered…where might augmented reality help us out here? Or holographic displays that can be manipulated?

Which points to:

BEAUTY OF MATHEMATICS — a video on Vimeo from PARACHUTES.TV by Yann Pineill & Nicolas Lefaucheux

“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty — a beauty cold and austere, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music.”

—Bertrand Russell

edShelf: Find the right educational tools for your needs

On 08/13/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, biology, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, creativity, digital learning, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, homeschooling/homeschoolers, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, love of learning, mathematics, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, science, simulations, social learning / networks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

With thanks to
Robin Good for curating this item

Shortfall in educated U.S. workers to worsen: study — — from reuters.com by Paige Gance

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON | Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:55pm EDT (Reuters) – U.S. workers with advanced skills in areas such as math, science and healthcare are growing more scarce, with a shortfall of 20 million adequately educated workers expected by 2020, a study released on Wednesday found.

“The United States has been under-producing workers with postsecondary education since the 1980s,” researchers at Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce said in the study. “Jobs will return, but not everyone will be ready for them.”

They predicted that 65 percent of the projected 165 million jobs in 2020 will require more than a high school diploma, up from 59 percent in 2010.

From DSC:
IF the status quo is maintained, the outlook for the U.S. is not good.

That is, if the prices of obtaining a degree in higher ed keep going up and the middle class continues to be hollowed out, a smaller pool of people will even be able to afford getting a postsecondary education (regardless of whether it’s in healthcare, math, or science).

How much longer do the status quo’ers think that the U.S. Federal Government will wait around, watching this situation develop? How much longer before the Federal Government looks elsewhere for its workforce development (let alone the students out there who need to make a living)?

There is not an infinite period of time for institutions of traditional higher education to respond. MOOCs are a start, but they are but one option and they need to be improved. Along those lines:

The organization who can collaborate with those perfecting IBM’s Watson, Apple’s Siri, or Google Now — and integrate those technologies into a low-cost solution for postsecondary education — will be a potent force in the future.

“Apps for High School” featured on iTunes this week

On 05/01/2013, in Apple, art, biology, chemistry, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, geography / geology, history, K-12 related, languages and translation, mathematics, music, physics, reading, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With thanks going out to Mr. Mike Amante (@mamante) for posting this item out on Twitter.

Learning Ecosystems

That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket [Anders; Forbes]

Math professors laud 3D printing’s classroom potential [Matisons]

Mathematics 101 — Leading sites for math teachers [Petersen]

What if augmented reality could help bring more of the invisible things to life — such as equations, molecular structures, etc.?

Shortfall in educated U.S. workers to worsen: study [Gance]

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