Summary: Across 33 rich countries, only 5% of the population has high computer-related abilities, and only a third of people can complete medium-complexity tasks.
Source: The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think
Also, 26% can’t use a computer AT ALL!!!
Former New York Times technology reporter John Markoff used to think robots taking jobs was cause for alarm. Then, he found out that the working-age population in China, Japan, Korea and the U.S. was declining. Source: We need robots to take our jobs, according to John Markoff Some very surprising insight on where robots will be needed.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a test that uses children’s ability to assemble LEGO pieces to assess their spatial visualization ability. Spatial visualization is the ability to visualize 3D shapes in one’s mind, which is tied to increased GPAs and graduation rates in STEM college students. Source: Using LEGO to…
As a previous math teacher, I have a soft spot for the pains teachers and students can feel when trying to use math symbols and expressions in technology. The same thing can be said in science when typing chemical formulas. Technology seems to play best with normal letters and numbers, rather than exponents, subscripts, fractions, and such. Although…
Two big updates to Google sheets, the ability to visualize data with machine learning and syncing data in Google Sheets to Google Docs or Google Slides. Machine language charting allows you to ask Google Sheets questions about your data, and let Google Slides figure out the best way to present the information to you. This is…
By analysing brain activity, researchers found that the brain regulates its resource use and tries to identify the most essential information.A recently completed study indicates that the human brain avoids taking unnecessary effort. When a person is reading, she strives to gain as much information as possible by dedicating as little of her cognitive capacity…
An interesting use of computer vision and machine learning to generate metadata about student engagement. This could (should|will) be used for more than just lecturing, and what if students had access to their own data? This could be a powerful tool to support self-reflection on teaching and learning… Source: Charlene Chin – Will this be the…