In 2013, a who’s who of the tech world came together to launch a new nonprofit called Code.org. The purpose of the organization was to get more computer science into schools. Billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates donated millions of dollars to the group. According to the organization’s last annual report, Code.org spent more than US$91 million between 2013 and 2018. Of […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
Computer science now counts as math credit in most states – is this a good idea?
10,000 word article on student debt cancellation misses the critical valid reason to do it
I’ve been hearing people seriously talk about cancelling student loan debt for at least a decade, probably more. Granted, almost everyone who’s for it has student debt, and most everyone against it doesn’t have student debt, so I appreciate conflict of interest here…but this is ad hominem, there are valid reasons both for and against […] … learn more→
There are differences between free speech, hate speech and academic freedom – and they matter
Last week, posters appeared at the University of Auckland inviting young white men to “assume the mantle of re-taking control of our own country” and to confront “anti-racism ideology”. The group was obviously unaware of the significance of the British High Commissioner’s expression of regret, in the same week, for the killing of several Māori people during their […] … learn more→
What students learn by going abroad
Initiated in the eighteenth century by young aristocrats, the training trip to Europe has been democratized in recent years thanks to university mobility programs. At the top of the countries participating in Erasmus exchanges, France for example saw its number of outgoing students increase by 37% between 2010 and 2015 ( Campus France, 2017 ). Despite the popularity of these […] … learn more→
Students must be introduced to the human-machine workplace
There is wide acceptance of the prediction that robots will replace millions of human workers over the next decade. A widely quoted McKinsey study from 2016 predicts that 45 per cent of the activities that people are currently paid to perform could be automated using the technologies currently available. However, these predictions are based on […] … learn more→
Can hiding likes make Facebook fairer and rein in fake news? The science says maybe
You may have read about – or already seen, depending on where you are – the latest tweak to Facebook’s interface: the disappearance of the likes counter. Like Instagram (which it owns), Facebook is experimenting with hiding the number of likes that posts receive for users in some areas (Australia for Facebook, and Canada for Instagram). In the […] … learn more→
Are teachers up to date in the use of technologies in the classroom?
As every Tuesday, the classroom was full. It was already ten minutes from the start time when the teacher entered. Sheltered by the green board, he began teaching his weekly master class: a continuous verbiage of two hours and repeated year after year for more than 15 years at the university. After no more than half an […] … learn more→
Options on leasing a car for College students
There are many benefits to having a car as a college student. First and foremost is, of course, freedom. Having the freedom to drive to and from class without relying on the school’s transportation system – or your own two legs. Having the freedom to drive to the grocery store or a restaurant or even […] … learn more→
Getting your crowd-funding project off the ground
Crowdfunding a project is a great way for your research, or research communication, to connect with a wider audience. Sometimes, it’s the only way to make a project happen if it doesn’t fit into traditional funding models. Crowd-funding can also support projects that are joyful or beautiful, which are not standard grant metrics. Crowd-funding is not a […] … learn more→
Academic freedom is under threat around the world – here’s how to defend it
Academic freedom is at the heart of successful universities. UNESCO defines it as the right “to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing results”. Academics have pointed out that it also means self-governance and security of academic jobs to ensure independence. Yet in the current climate, academic freedom is under threat everywhere. […] … learn more→
