The abacus counting device dates back thousands of years but has, in the past century, been replaced by calculators and computers. But studies show that abacus use can have an effect on how well people learn math. In this excerpt adapted from his new book Learn Better, education researcher Ulrich Boser writes about the abacus and how people learn. Source:…
Facebook’s secretive advertising practices became a little more public on Monday thanks to a leak out of the company’s Australian office. This 23-page document discovered by The Australian (paywall), details in particular how Facebook executives promote advertising campaigns that exploit Facebook users’ emotional states—and how these are aimed at users as young as 14 years old. According to the report, the…
The teacher is just as important in a virtual learning environment as in a normal classroom, but a new study shows that boys and girls differ greatly in terms of how they learn best: Boys learn best when their virtual teacher comes in the form of a drone, while girls get more knowledge from VR-teaching…
This article isn’t about coding, it’s about teaching kids how to think and solve problems in a structured manner. 6 years ago, Netscape pioneer Marc Andreesen published an essay in the Wall Street Journal titled “Why Software is Eating the World.” This article is now nearly 6 years old, which shows that even 6 years…
Summary: A new study reveals exposure to dim light might impact memory and learning. Researchers report rodents exposed to dim lighting lost 30 percent of hippocampal capacity and performed poorly on spatial tasks they had previously experienced. Source: Dim Light May Make Us Dumber – Neuroscience News The rats were kept in a bright, 1000 lux…
The system is getting in the way. Sir Ken Robinson has counseled education leaders all over the world. He’s seen what works and what doesn’t. And there’s a lot we can do in the United States — and in other countries — to improve. Take standardization and competition. We’re mass-producing lessons and units for the…
