When I was in fourth grade, I struggled with simple long division. So, I got a tutor: my second-grade brother, Mike. The most important thing that he taught me was that good communication is the key to breaking down any challenging concept. This led me to pursue a minor in science along with my writing degree, because I’ve learned that specialists often have [...]
These days, as we are forgetting to be worried about our dependence on technology, finding an example where it can truly enhance a learning experience provides hope for our techno-filled future. Here we find an example of literature paired with technology that is driving students to the computer—not to look up SparkNotes, but to go beyond the reading process and experience the journeys taken in [...]
Though I’m both an avid reader and social media user, books and social networking seemed like an unlikely pairing to me. Maybe it’s because they appeal to me in completely different ways: reading is an isolated activity that requires concentration, while social networking connects me to a large group of people and requires a shorter attention span. Still, I believe both activities have [...]
When I started PSG back in 2003, mathematics projects were a small part of my business, but that statistic has changed dramatically in the last five years. Now, we have multiple math projects in-house year-round. My staff and I tell some pretty funny math jokes, we come up with assessment questions for all kinds of situations in our daily lives and I’ve been [...]
Believe it or not, one of the coolest jobs right now is using building blocks. Although it may sound like what a child is doing in elementary school, this activity hardly has the connotation of playing with LEGOs. Instead, building blocks have captured interest on a much smaller level: the nanometer, or the measure of one billionth of a meter. To put a [...]
Is social networking harming students’ grades? The quick answer might be yes, because it distracts students from studying. And in fact, a 2009 study at The Ohio State University found that students who admitted logging onto Facebook several times a day to check status updates, correspond with friends and relatives, or join common-interest groups, had a GPA as much as a grade lower than non-users. [...]
This past Christmas the only thing I asked for was a subscription to the Sunday New York Times. I’d fallen behind on keeping up with current events because my only news source was the Internet—and I avoid my computer when I’m not at my internship or doing schoolwork. After staring at a screen for most of the day, nothing feels nicer than setting my [...]
When I was a senior in high school, I was so stressed that no amount of yoga, tea, or silence could calm my nerves. My mind was littered with grades, organizations, and college and financial concerns—weighing one incomprehensible amount of debt against another, or remembering which school’s food tasted better on a campus tour. It is from this personal experience that I know [...]
The past several years we have seen many stories about how technology is becoming an integral of part of classroom instruction, almost to the point that it is sometimes being touted as the solution to all of our education problems. While technology has certainly proved valuable in giving students access to resources and instruction and simulations previously unavailable to them, not every teacher [...]
Is 3-D the wave of the future? It seems like 3-D technology is taking over more and more of the 2-D world everyday. There are 3-D movie theaters, televisions and video games. People can even make their own 3-D movies with their phones or tablet computers and this trend is also making its way into the classroom. Recently, the International Research Agency, lead [...]