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13 Sep 2011 00:43

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Culture: Angry Birds: Educational? Uh, sure, why the heck not?

  • That’s why it’s only natural that today’s more tech-savvy educators are recognising the potential of using games as a teaching device in their classrooms.
  • Ntombezinhle Modiselle, a South African teacher • Defending the use of technology in the classroom.  This teacher is trying to recognize the fact that “today’s learners are the gamer generation.” We kinda think that the Atlanta teacher using “Angry Birds” to teach velocity and acceleration might be taking it a little far, though. What’s next, urban planning through “SimCity”? (OK, OK, you’re right, that’s actually a good idea) World War II history through “Call of Duty”? Statistics through one of the “Final Fantasy” games? source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jun 2011 22:37

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U.S.: Four years of high school in one week

  • 8 days to get a high school diploma, and it costs less than an iPad! source
  • » For all the benefits provided by a high-school education, there’s one pesky drawback: it takes four years to get one. InterAmerican Christian Academy in Florida seeks to rectify this injustice by offering a high school diploma to anyone with a free week and four hundred bucks. The school, which is co-run by a convicted felon and located next to a lubricant company, has rigorous curriculum comprised entirely of five short take home tests. But don’t worry; they come with “workbooks” (in case you get stumped), and the place has a “very flexible grading policy.” Supposedly, at least 88 students have used degrees from IACA to gain admission to Miami-Dade College.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2011 01:29

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U.S.: Stay in school and you’re much, much more likely to get a job

  • This is why they tell you to stay in school, kids. Seriously, look at that discrepancy! Of course, the usual causation-correlation disclaimer is in effect here; maybe the kids who graduated college were the ones naturally more predisposed to keeping a job anyway? Nevertheless, this should give pause to any high schoolers considering dropping out. (source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 10:26

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World: WTF study: Early breastfeeding leads to better grades in school

  • 10% improvement in math and writing, two things we suck at
  • 8% improvement in spelling, something we suck at even more
  • 6% improvement in reading; we’re guessing we weren’t breastfed source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Sep 2010 10:36

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U.S.: Al Gore’s luck: There’s always an inconvenient truth, isn’t there?

  • good Al Gore had his own L.A. school named after him – a first for a vice president. He shares the honor with Rachel Carson, another well-known environmentalist.
  • bad Too bad the school was built on toxic soil that a bunch of workers had to spend Labor Day weekend attempting to replace. That’s one way to honor his name. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2010 11:38

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Culture: Slowly but surely, Michael Jackson’s kids becoming normal(ish)

  • They don’t have any friends. They don’t go to school, they have private lessons at home – but that will change in September, when they are due to enroll at private college.
  • Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson • On her grandkids’ future as actual human beings who may actually have friends. The three kids – Prince, Paris and (our favorite) Blanket – plan to go to school. RIght now, they spend their days hanging around and listening to their father’s music. They have big aspirations, though – Prince wants to produce movies and Paris is musically-inclined. And we’re pretty sure none of them own llamas yet. When they’re old enough to buy one, we know where they could get one on the black market. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Apr 2010 11:16

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World: Scary: Unemployed, mentally ill guy attacks school in China

  • 28 children stabbed in the incident; five were critically wounded source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Mar 2010 10:42

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U.S.: No Child Left Behind doesn’t mean their reading scores get ahead

  • fourth After a modest increase in 2007, reading scores for fourth graders stalled in 2009 on a national level; some local schools did better, others did worse.
  • eighth While reading scores increased
    for eighth graders in 2009, there’s been no change in score since the “No Child Left Behind” law was enacted in 2002. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 09:29

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U.S.: California universities throw tons of cost-cutting options on the table

  • one Encourage students to take summer classes and graduate in three years.
  • two Double the number of out-of-state students in the university system to 10 percent.
  • three Charge more for the most popular campuses – UCLA and UC Berkeley particularly.
  • four Increase online classes offerings so people don’t have to look at each other. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Nov 2009 21:02

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U.S.: Stoners looking to make “pot” a career: There’s a school for you

Medical marijuana enthusiasts in Michigan can take six weeks of classes at the Med Grow Cannabis College, where you can get high on learning or something. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
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