Friday Round-up

Happy Passover, Good Friday and Weekend to all!

How 30 Minutes a Day Can Increase Your Intelligence
Although this article is from early March I just found it and wanted to share because I thought it was great. Pick something new that you’ve always wanted to learn. Devote only 30 minutes a day to this activity. Check back in a few months and see how much you’ve improved! Activities like this are a great way to learn something new and keep your brain active and healthy. (And you could create a ShowMe to share what you’ve learned!)

Tweet, Tweet, Go the Kindergartners
Unlike most kindergarden classrooms, Mrs. Aaron’s  class at PS 150 in Tribeca has a twitter account that they use to tweet their daily activities to parents and friends. The students are learning how to share ideas in a concise way. They are even learning how to abbreviate. It also helps parents keep connected with their students and help foster conversation at home. It’s nice to see these students using social media in such a productive way at such an early age.

Technovation Challenge A Course In Entrepreneurship For High School Girls – And Their Mentors
The Technovation Challenge is a program to promote women in technology, run by Iridescent, a science education non-profit.  This 10 week program serves over 500 girls in California, New York City and Boston. The participants gain skills in computer science and entrepreneurship by building a mobile phone app, writing a business plan and learning to pitch ideas. At then end of their program the girls participate in regional pitch events where teams pitch ideas to venture capitalists and leaders in the technology world. This program really sounds fantastic!

The Global Search for Education: More from Finland
Compared to other nations, Finland’s 15 year olds have ranked near the top in reading, math and science competency for the past 12 years. This is an interview with Finland’s State Secretary Tapio Kosunen. He explains different aspects of the education system in Finland. This includes requiring teachers to hold a Masters Degree, and giving  teachers the freedom to chose their own pedagogical methods. Finland also encourages both students and teachers to think critically and creatively. The biggest take away I had from the interview is this quote from Kosunen: “It is important to understand how to continue to motivate teachers and inspire them to stay in their professions long term.” I couldn’t agree more!