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How Minecraft is becoming the foundation of a generation’s computer science education

Pluma Invitada

By: CHAD SAPIEHA

Minecraft: Education Edition will be one of the most popular modules at Hour of Code events around the world this week.

Like many adults, Benjamin Kelly didn’t initially get the global Minecraft phenomenon, which has seen millions upon millions of kids investing endless hours exploring and creating within a blocky virtual world. Eventually he came around.

“I consider myself a late adopter,” says Kelly, who teaches technology at Caledonia Regional High School in New Brunswick. “But the students’ passion for the game was unyielding. I adopted Minecraft mainly because of that.”

By “adopted” he means he not only began playing it himself but also brought the game into his classroom. In addition to the 120 million-plus copies of the consumer-oriented version that have been sold since the Swedish-made mining game launched in 2011, Microsoft Corp. has sold more than 2 million Minecraft: Education Edition licenses specially designed to help kids learn to code.

Once he started poking around the game he began to see its educational potential. “It offers community,” he explains. “Minecraft is so popular it’s a culture. And by adding the recent powerful coding connections to the game Microsoft has created the ideal computer science education environment.”

Minecraft: Education Edition allows kids to command an agent within the game using computer code, sending it off to perform actions such as mining, harvesting, or building while the player continues doing whatever he or she likes. It’s designed to provide a familiar and accessible environment in which to introduce kids to some of the core concepts of computer science while keeping things fun and creative.

“I’ve seen examples where coding has caused the agent to build entire cities with random building heights all while the student continues to explore the game,” says Kelly.

Once he began using Minecraft in his classroom there was no turning back. Kelly went on to become a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and a Global Minecraft Mentor. He was recently named New Brunswick’s Inspirational STEM Teacher of the Year for 2017.

“Minecraft may be the single best educational tool available to support inclusion, universal design for learning, a wide variety of curriculum, and, most importantly, 21st century skills and competencies needed for successful lives and careers,” he says.

Kelly is just one of thousands of teachers now using Minecraft: Education Edition, and he’ll putting it to work again this week as part of the Hour of Code, a series of more than 100,000 teacher-planned educational events taking place in over 180 countries, with 3,000-plus events registered in Canada alone. Educators can choose from hundreds of ready-made tutorials sorted by grade and topics, many with prepared teacher notes. The student-led Minecraft module is, unsurprisingly, among the most popular of these programs.

Cam Smith, a spokesperson for Microsoft in Education Canada who has spent his entire career leveraging technology as a teaching aid (he built his first computer when he was 15), isn’t surprised that kids gravitate towards Minecraft as a portal to learning about computer science. He says nearly 70 million people have used Minecraft tutorials to understand the basics of coding.

“Minecraft is a great first step into coding,” says Smith. “It’s an open sandbox environment that is already beloved by students of all ages, genders, and backgrounds around the world. It’s a powerful validation that coding can be a truly creative pursuit for students.”

But are kids actually learning anything by playing Minecraft in the classroom? Smith is convinced they are.

“I’ve seen first-hand the power of how a gamified learning approach to coding ignites curiosity and passion within students,” he explains. “I’ve spoken to educators and have seen students learn to code using Minecraft in classrooms across the country. Complimentary to learning to code, Minecraft: Education Edition helps kids with teamwork by building worlds together.”

Smith’s job has given him opportunity to see how Minecraft not only helps students learn about computer science, but also geography and architecture as kids recreate real world replicas of schools, provinces, and cities. He even once observed students building a river in Minecraft to study fish conservation.

And he’s looked on, satisfied, as Minecraft has nudged quiet students out of their shells. “I’ve seen Minecraft: Education Edition be an incredible tool for students to stand out where they might not be as vocal in the classroom,” he says. “Their work shines through building confidence and an interest in STEM learning.”

As a teacher, Kelly has seen these sorts of occurrences first-hand, too. He believes that Canadian universities are now being flooded with students in computer science and engineering who cut their coding teeth via Minecraft. He thinks even those who don’t go on to study STEM subjects benefit from spending time with Minecraft in the classroom.

“As our world becomes more and more globally competitive and robots take over countless careers, creativity will be a badge for employment,” he explains. “Minecraft is a giant sandbox only limited by the player’s creativity while at the same time fostering the growth of creative ability. The 21st century competencies will win careers moving forward in a world where knowledge is just a mobile device away. Computer science education – and Minecraft: Education Edition – prepare our students today for that future.”

Source:

http://calgaryherald.com/technology/gaming/how-minecraft-is-becoming-the-foundation-of-a-generations-computer-science-education/wcm/f18131f0-a3d4-4d78-a758-2794077de785

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EEUU: Apple’s Plans To Win Back The U.S. Education Market May Be Too Little Too Late

Noticias

Por: forbes.com/Susan Adams/28-03-2018

At an hour-long event staged in a Chicago public high school auditorium this morning, Apple said it would introduce lower-priced devices and initiatives aimed at regaining market share at America’s schools.

The company will offer a new 9.7-inch iPad that will be compatible with its Pencil drawing stylus, which previously only worked on the higher-priced iPad Pro. Last year Apple dropped the price it charges schools for the low-priced tablet to $299, a reduction of $30 from the consumer price. Today Apple also announced that Logitech, a Swiss company that makes computer accessories, will introduce a $49 drawing stylus that can substitute for Apple’s $99 Pencil.

Since 2012, Apple has lost its grip on the educational hardware market for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. According to a report by U.K.-based Futuresource Consulting, which sells its market research studies to Apple and other tech firms, in 2012 Apple sold 52% of all mobile computing products to K-12 schools in the U.S. But last year Apple had only 15% of that market. Chromebooks made by Samsung, Acer, and other manufacturers are now the dominant players, with 58% of the market last year. Windows machines trailed in second place at 22%.

Courtesy: Futuresource

Apple’s share of the education hardware market has shrunk since 2012.

Future source doesn’t break out the value of the K-12 education hardware market but its research shows that school spending on all information technology products, including hardware, software, information technology services and assessments totaled $18 billion in 2017.

Why has Apple’s popularity taken such a hit? Four reasons: Its devices have cost more than twice as much as competitors’, its batteries didn’t last as long, iPads lack the keyboards viewed by teachers as essential to writing instruction, and Apple’s computing environment does not live mainly in the cloud. By contrast, students working on cloud-based Chromebooks can use any machine to get access to their work and administrators can easily implement systemwide changes from a dashboard on a single computer. And Chromebooks sell for as little as $149.

At the Chicago event today, Apple announced several new education apps. It is introducing a tool called Schoolwork, which will make it possible for teachers to give digital handouts to students, including notes, PDFs, and web links. One of Schoolwork’s selling points is privacy. Only teachers will be able to see students’ data. But Google also promises privacy for student information and it’s not clear whether Apple’s system is more secure. Schoolwork will launch in June. Apple is also updating its Pages word processing app, which will allow teachers and students to make books together using handwritten notes, photos, videos and drawings using pre-made templates.

*Fuente: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2018/03/27/apples-plans-to-win-back-the-u-s-education-market-may-be-too-little-too-late/

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Education in South Sudan

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South Sudan/March 19, 2018/International Policy Digest

Resumen: La mayoría de las discusiones sobre el desarrollo en Sudán del Sur giran exclusivamente en torno a la seguridad, la inversión extranjera y la ayuda. Los esfuerzos a gran escala, como la infraestructura, el cuidado de la salud y el comercio, deberán dirigirse a nivel nacional con el respaldo de inversiones de socios internacionales. Sin embargo, hay muchos desafíos de capacidad institucional y humana que se abordan mejor a nivel local. Focalizar la inversión en esfuerzos locales de pequeña escala puede hacer crecer economías que sean más sostenibles y que estén en mejores condiciones para adaptarse a futuros grandes planes de desarrollo.

Most discussions about development in South Sudan revolve exclusively around security, foreign investment and aid. Large-scale endeavors such as infrastructure, health-care, and trade will have to be directed at the national level supported by investments from international partners. However, there are many institutional and human capacity challenges that are better addressed at the local level. Targeting investment into small-scale local efforts can grow economies that are more sustainable and better able to adapt to future large development plans.

The African Development Bank, in “Infrastructure Action Plan in South Sudan: A Program for Sustained Strong Economic Growth,” identifies four broad areas where developing countries need to focus attention to grow into a successful middle-income country: well-functioning public and private institutions; well developed basic infrastructure; a stable macroeconomic framework; and a healthy and literate labor force.

On a macro-level, terms like well-functioning, developed, healthy, and stable are not used to describe any aspect of the Republic of South Sudan’s economy or government. However, at the local, micro-level, there are glimpses of civil society taking responsibility for local needs.

The most debilitating problem facing the new republic is its lack of internal security. The ongoing civil war atrocities undermine the economy & make a stable nation impossible.

Only after peace is secured can large-scale infrastructure programs commence. With the exception of China, other countries do not feel secure in investing their resources in South Sudan. Until the country can germinate its own industries, it will need to foster relationships with outside investors to build its economy and train its labor force. Diversification will be the foundation on which this economy will stabilize, not one dependent on oil. South Sudan will need to refocus its public expenditures on developing a strong education system to assure that the workforce can sustain domestic civil engineering projects, agriculture, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Even if the national government could redistribute its expenditures immediately, developing a new country from scratch is an immense endeavor. Development cannot be only top-down, but also must emerge from regional and local populations. Institutional and human capacity building will be most sustainable if it originates at the local level.

Across South Sudan, local communities are mobilizing themselves to provide universal education, suspend child marriage, enact gun control and develop businesses. In one of South Sudan’s largest cities, Rumbek, local residents, churches, and NGOs are working with the Rumbek and Lakes government to find creative ways to address contentious cultural issues and provide for the basic needs of the people.

(Abukloi Enterprises)

Motivated by UN Peace Conferences, schools are creating “Peace Clubs” and using classroom time to discuss conflict resolution techniques. Students participate in local and regional debates about political and cultural issues. They use their education to challenge long-standing cultural practices and empower their families to engage in new practices for everyday living.

Rumbek’s Abukloi Secondary School has developed innovative ways to build local capacity to solve problems. Abukloi is tackling food insecurity by using its school grounds as an agricultural training center. Students implement their science curriculum knowledge in the school gardens. Produce from the garden is sold at market and used to sustain the school project, thus exposing the students to the entire business cycle.

They then encourage one another to share and implement these ideas at home. With the help of funding from an American NGO, the school sponsors a women’s community garden that not only teaches sustainable agriculture practices, but also teaches the young women how to market their produce and manage their business and personal funds.

Business training goes beyond agriculture. Abukloi has developed a sewing program and internet café. Both projects employ community business people to train students, teaching them tangible skills they can expand upon to create businesses for themselves. Furthermore, their curriculum has students work in teams to develop business plans.

The most promising plans are loaned start-up funds by the NGO so not only will students have a job upon graduation, but they will also be able to employ others in their community.

The beneficial returns on this educational model are exponential. First, young women are encouraged to stay in school and participate in every aspect of the school’s programs. Educating women changes the cultural norm, encourages the older generation to take time to learn new skills and passes the value of education on to the next generation.

They are also addressing food insecurity without the direct aid of government or multinational organizations. This empowers the local population to demand the resources they need from the regional or national government deepening political participation and expanding political consciousness.

By teaching basic business skills, students also expand their creativity and problem-solving skills. By creating businesses, the community is literally creating its own economy: generating demand for goods and services that others will be inspired to provide.

The focus of economic and social development should not rest solely in the hands of NGOs. Investing in local communities throughout South Sudan can empower the people to understand and solve basic needs. It can create a new vision for how to confront difficult issues, provide a fair and stable government, and be the foundation for a lasting peace among all South Sudanese.

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Can Virtual Reality Open STEM Education And Jobs To More People?

Sasha Banks-Louie

By: Sasha Banks-Louie , Oracle

Employers need to fill 1.6 million jobs in the US that require backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math by 2021, according to a 2016 study by the US Department of Education. That demand is spurring new approaches to STEM education that are designed to appeal to more, and a greater diversity, of students.

“Science educators know we need to stop teaching facts and figures from textbooks and start showing students how to apply the fundamental concepts of scientific methods to real-world problems,” says Dr. Becky Sage, CEO of Interactive Scientific, a UK-based education technology firm.

Interactive Scientific, part of the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator program in Bristol, has developed scientific simulation software, called Nano Simbox, which students are using to observe how atoms and molecules interact. Researchers are also using this technology to explore new theories, product designs, and drugs.

Employing tablets, virtual reality headsets and controllers, students can visualize atoms, observe how they behave in different combinations, and manipulate them for testing.

Dominique Skinner, a chemistry student at Queen Mary University of London studying biochemistry, used Nano Simbox technology and research to combine atoms and create digital models of the molecules for a plant-based line of cosmetics.

“I wanted to put science next to veganism, and veganism next to cosmetics,” Skinner says. “Nano Simbox allowed me to see how skin would react to molecules from animal proteins and synthetic chemicals that were harsh on the skin versus plant-based molecules that benefited the skin.”

New Approach to Learning

Interactive Scientific has begun experimenting with artificial intelligence to understand how students learn, and how applying machine-learning algorithms could guide their progress.

“Whilst our machine learning work is in its infancy we have already designed the software to help students understand complex, scientific concepts in a way that’s unique to their individual learning styles and encourages them to challenge their own thinking by exploring alternative ideas,” says Sage.

Traditional teaching approaches using textbooks and standardized testing tend to be less flexible, both in the pace at which students progress and how their understanding is tracked and measured.

Nano Simbox’s simulation software runs on Oracle Infrastructure as a Service, making it possible “to scale this really complex science,” says Interactive Scientific founder Dr. David Glowacki.

“We needed a system to help us monitor, log, and report on scalability in real-time,” says Glowacki, who’s also a Royal Society research fellow at the University of Bristol and visiting scholar with Stanford University’s chemistry and mechanical engineering departments.

Creating Opportunities

Traditional methods of teaching STEM can be a deterrent to some students. Females, minorities, and students from lower-income families are underrepresented in STEM education and related professions. According to the Department of Education study, that makes it harder to narrow education and poverty gaps, meet the demands of a tech-driven economy, and maintain US leadership in scientific research and innovation.

“Our goal is to open up lifelong science learning to everybody, whether you’re in grades K-12, studying at a university, or in a non-traditional learning environment,” says Sage. “And our hope for the future workforce is that inclusivity will be valued so anyone will be able to thrive in their working environment.”

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2018/02/20/can-virtual-reality-open-stem-education-and-jobs-to-more-people/#78f87b508874

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EEUU: DPI announces expanded partnership for tech education in state’s schools

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EEUU/February 06, 2018/By: Pamela Knudson/ Source: http://www.grandforksherald.com

An expanded partnership with Microsoft Corporation to bring a technology program to the state’s schools has been announced by North Dakota School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler.

Baesler, the head of the Department of Public Instruction, is gauging interest from superintendents and high schools in using a unique program for computer science instruction, she said in a news release.

Microsoft will be expanding its Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program to the state by hiring a full-time, North Dakota-based coordinator, volunteering some of its employees and expert instructors as classroom teachers and exploring further investment to expand this program for high school students, Baesler said.

In the TEALS program, a volunteer computer science professional from Microsoft or another industry partner teams up with a classroom instructor to team-teach computer science courses. The classroom teacher gradually takes over instruction as she or he gains knowledge of the subject.

Hillsboro High School is the only North Dakota high school with a Microsoft TEALS program, but Baesler said she hopes the program will catch with many other schools.

Forty teams of 9- to 14-year-olds from around the area are expected to participate in the North Dakota FIRST LEGO League Robotics State Championship tournament Saturday at the UND Memorial Union. «FIRST» stands for «For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.»

At the event, students compete using science, engineering and technology skills to solve real-world problems. This year’s focus is hydro-dynamics—how to find, transport, use or dispose of water.

The competition, held annually at UND, is open to the public.

For more information, go to: www.usfirst.org .

Grand Forks Public Schools has received $5,000 from the Russell and Helen Sand Public High School Education Fund, the school district announced.

A competitive grant for $2,500 has been awarded for the purchase of a digital monitor and software to help students design and create digital signage in graphic arts classes at Central High School.

Students will use the equipment to design and create posters promoting events, classes and school information for display on the monitors.

With the second $2,500 grant, the school district has purchased a geriatric simulator that allows students to experience some of the physical changes that can occur with aging and the challenges the elderly face in confronting those changes.

The simulator mimics vision impairment, restricted range of motion and decreased mobility and strength, loss of sensation and changes in balance.

«I tell my students that anytime we can step into our patients’ shoes and get a sense of the challenges they face, it allows us to be more empathetic in the care we give,» Kim Adams, medical careers instructor at Central High School, said in a news release.

Holy Family-St. Mary’s Catholic School hosts its 13th Annual Dinner, Dance and Auction on Friday at the Ramada Inn in Grand Forks.

Dubbed the «Written in the Stars Prom 2018,» the event begins at 5:45 p.m. The buffet is served at 6:30 p.m., and the dance is at 8:30 p.m.

Source:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4398363-dpi-announces-expanded-partnership-tech-education-states-schools

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China Education Resources Inc. Soccer Program Update

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China/ January 23, 2018/Source: http://www.otcmarkets.com

China Education Resources, Inc. («CER») (TSX-V:CHN) (OTC:CHNUF), an ed-tech company with leading technology of intelligent system and contents to provide online/offline learning, training courses and social media for teachers, students and education professionals, today provides shareholders and investors with an update on its soccer program.

Further to its press release of December 6, 2017, CER is working on an indoor kids soccer training program. Building upon CER’s existing soccer education products and contents, CER has rented a 2,900 square feet space in a shopping mall to start its indoor kids soccer training program. The program will offer face to face soccer training together with CER’s online soccer training platform with video contents and online/offline interaction among students, coaches and parents.

Shopping malls in big cities of China now house early-stage educational institutes that offer classes covering every conceivable subject, ranging from English language to arts. According to research reports, the early-stage education market is still nascent in China, with 2017 sales revenue expected to top $30 billion USD. «Asian parents spend seven times more money on their kids’ education than American parents do. Connecting users and teachers through the internet is another way to solve the imbalance in the educational resource distribution.” industry observers said.

The Central Government of China is in the process of implementing national soccer plan with the aim of popularizing soccer knowledge and skills, developing soccer interests through organizing soccer activities on campus in various forms, and supporting family -oriented social soccer activities. The Government also encourages in-depth integration of internet technology with soccer education, with a focus on mobile internet, e-commerce, data, new technology and new industry; supporting the development of soccer mobile applications, internet and mobile phone soccer games, soccer theme animation and film and television works.

Without a doubt, there is a huge soccer market in China, and we believe soccer education has a great potential. We are pleased to have made progress on our soccer program and will continue to update shareholders on CER’s future development.

In collaboration with China’s education administrators and experts, China Education Resources has been helping to transform the curriculum of the world’s largest educational system. Recognizing the need to address education reform changes, China Education Resources has created educational tools and curriculum for China’s entire kindergarten through twelfth grade system. The Company is playing an integral part in transforming China’s educational system through helping to convert the existing educational system from a memory-based learning system to a creative thinking and interactive approach. Presently, China Education Resources has over 1 million kindergartens through twelfth grade teachers registered through its Web portal. For more information, please visit www.chinaeducationresources.com or call (604) 331-2388.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements made herein, and other statements relating to matters that are not historical facts and statements of our beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments, results and events which will or may occur in the future, constitute «forward-looking information» within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information and statements are typically identified by words such as «anticipate», «could», «should», «expect», «seek», «may», «intend», «likely», «plan», «estimate», «will», «believe» and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by China Education Resources, Inc.’s management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading «Risks and Uncertainties» elsewhere in the Company’s MD&A filed at www.SEDAR.com. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Except as required by law the Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future, unanticipated events.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed, and does not accept, responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this press release.
Contact China Education Resources at: (604) 331-2388
Email: admin@chinaeducationresources.com.
Website: http://www.chinaeducationresources.com

Source:

http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/CHNUF/news?id=181025

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EEUU: Apple partners with Malala to fund girls’ education

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EEUU/ January 23, 2018/by Jordan Valinsky/ Source: CNNTech

Activist Malala Yousafzai’s charity is getting a major investment from Apple.

Apple’s support will allow the Malala Fund to double the number of grants to fund the secondary education for girls in India and Latin America, the company announced Sunday. The initial goal is to help more than 100,000 girls.

 «We believe that education is a great equalizing force, and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,» said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement.

The money will also be used to help the organization scale its «technology, curriculum and research into policy changes.»

Apple (AAPL) didn’t specify how much it’s donating, but Cook will join the fund’s leadership council.

«Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple has helped educate and empower people around the world,» said Yousafzai in a statement. «I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear.»

The Malala Fund, founded in 2013, aims to help girls in struggling countries access «free, safe and quality education,» according to its website. Yousafzai gained global attention for becoming the youngest Nobel Peace Price winner in history in 2014. She survived a gunshot to the head from the Taliban in 2012 when she spoke out about attaining quality education in Pakistan.

Yousafzai is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/22/technology/apple-malala-yousafzai/index.html

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