The Relevance of Algorithms // Culture Digitally

I’m really excited to share my new essay, “The Relevance of Algorithms,” with those of you who are interested in such things. It’s been a treat to get to think through the issues surrounding algorithms and their place in public culture and knowledge, with some of the  participants in Culture Digitally (here’s the full litany: Braun, Gillespie, Striphas, Thomas, the third CD podcast, and Anderson‘s post just last week), as well as with panelists and attendees at the recent 4S and AoIR conferences, with colleagues at Microsoft Research, and with all of you who are gravitating towards these issues in their scholarship right now.

The motivation of the essay was two-fold: first, in my research on online platforms and their efforts to manage what they deem to be “bad content,” I’m finding an emerging array of algorithmic techniques being deployed: for either locating and removing sex, violence, and other offenses, or (more troublingly) for quietly choreographing some users away from questionable materials while keeping it available for others. Second, I’ve been helping to shepherd along this anthology, and wanted my contribution to be in the spirit of the its aims: to take one step back from my research to articulate an emerging issue of concern or theoretical insight that (I hope) will be of value to my colleagues in communication, sociology, science & technology studies, and information science.

The anthology will ideally be out in Fall 2013. And we’re still finalizing the subtitle. So here’s the best citation I have.

Read the full essay by ,  Cornell University Department of Communication

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Analytics platform lets instructors monitor students’ use of course materials There’s no doubt technology can be a useful tool in education, whether to help analyze classroom data or simply to make sure students attend. Whereas most such efforts focus on the classroom, however, California-based CourseSmart now offers new insight into the homework process by giving instructors a way to monitor pupils’ use of electronic course materials. READ MORE…

Analytics platform lets instructors monitor students’ use of course materials

There’s no doubt technology can be a useful tool in education, whether to help analyze classroom data or simply to make sure students attend. Whereas most such efforts focus on the classroom, however, California-based CourseSmart now offers new insight into the homework process by giving instructors a way to monitor pupils’ use of electronic course materials. READ MORE…

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Former Apple Exec Creates High-Tech Building Blocks To Teach Kids Programming - PSFK

The Boulder, Colorado-based Seamless Toy Company has created a set of modular, high-tech building blocks called ATOMS. Founded by Michael Rosenblatt, who has worked at MIT and Apple, the company aims to help teach kids programming by creating toys that can do all sorts of exciting things.

Former Apple Exec Creates High-Tech Building Blocks To Teach Kids Programming

Gigaom reports that Rosenblatt wanted to make something that encourages kids to interact with electronics, even if they don’t have tech-savvy parents. ATOMS don’t require any electronics skills or programming experience. The company is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter, and will introduce a selection of different sets at launch.

Former Apple Exec Creates High-Tech Building Blocks To Teach Kids Programming

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simplystatistics:

Interview with Rebecca Nugent of Carnegie Mellon University.

In this episode Jeff and I talk with Rebecca Nugent, Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. We talk with her about her work with the Census and the growing interest in statistics among undergraduates.

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  Belgian Hackers Let You Build Circuit Boards on the Web | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com The rise of low-cost, hacker-friendly electronics is fueling a new wave of hardware hobbyists. Using programmable boards like the Arduino and dirt-chip computers like the Raspberry Pi, you can build everything from your very own supercomputers to an internet-connected beer fermentation refrigeration system. But Belgium startup called Circuits.io wants to take this trend even further. It wants to give you the power to build your own custom circuit boards. Historically, that’s been expensive and difficult for hobbyists to do, but Circuits.io wants to change that by offering a web-based circuit board design system made especially for hobbyists complete with library of open source component designs. And soon it will also offer a CafePress-style print-on-demand service for circuit boards.

  Belgian Hackers Let You Build Circuit Boards on the Web | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

The rise of low-cost, hacker-friendly electronics is fueling a new wave of hardware hobbyists. Using programmable boards like the Arduino and dirt-chip computers like the Raspberry Pi, you can build everything from your very own supercomputers to an internet-connected beer fermentation refrigeration system.

But Belgium startup called Circuits.io wants to take this trend even further. It wants to give you the power to build your own custom circuit boards.

Historically, that’s been expensive and difficult for hobbyists to do, but Circuits.io wants to change that by offering a web-based circuit board design system made especially for hobbyists complete with library of open source component designs. And soon it will also offer a CafePress-style print-on-demand service for circuit boards.

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Catch the replay of IBM Global Business Services’ interactive panel discussion, “The First Three Years after Business School: How Early Consulting Experiences Shape Careers” featuring special guests from the Forte Foundation, University of Virginia and IBM.  And discover more vPanels available on demand on the New Intelligence Livesteam Channel.

Moderator: Elissa Sangster, Exec. Director of the Forte Foundation

Panelists:

  • Kristen (Kris) Pederson, VP, NA Transformation Leader, IBM Global Business Services
  • Erika Hayes James, Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business

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MaKey MaKey “an invention kit for everyone” turns every day objects into things that can trigger the internet (technical term, there) as seen with the banana piano. An invention kit for artists, kids, educators, engineers, designers, inventors, makers… You can use any material that can conduct at least a tiny bit of electricity - even ketchup or lemons!

MaKey MaKey “an invention kit for everyone” turns every day objects into things that can trigger the internet (technical term, there) as seen with the banana piano.

An invention kit for artists, kids, educators, engineers, designers, inventors, makers… You can use any material that can conduct at least a tiny bit of electricity - even ketchup or lemons!

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We Are All Born Scientists, Study Finds | Popular Science Young kids think and learn about their surroundings much the way that scientists think and learn in advanced experiments, a new study says. They form hypotheses, test them, analyze their findings and learn from their actions and the actions of others — all in child’s play. A growing body of evidence about this style of learning shows yet again that early childhood education is crucial — but it also shows making preschool more academic could actually be detrimental, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley.

We Are All Born Scientists, Study Finds | Popular Science

Young kids think and learn about their surroundings much the way that scientists think and learn in advanced experiments, a new study says. They form hypotheses, test them, analyze their findings and learn from their actions and the actions of others — all in child’s play.

A growing body of evidence about this style of learning shows yet again that early childhood education is crucial — but it also shows making preschool more academic could actually be detrimental, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley.

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These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education | Wired Design | Wired.com When the African Robotics Network announced their $10 robot design challenge this summer, co-founder Ken Goldberg was careful not to share too many expectations, lest he influence contestants’ designs. But he never imagined one of the winning entries would prominently feature a pair of Spanish lollipops.

These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education | Wired Design | Wired.com

When the African Robotics Network announced their $10 robot design challenge this summer, co-founder Ken Goldberg was careful not to share too many expectations, lest he influence contestants’ designs. But he never imagined one of the winning entries would prominently feature a pair of Spanish lollipops.

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Harvard Business Review: Data Scientist Is The ‘Sexiest Job Of The 21st Century’ | Popular Science What is the sexiest job of the 21st century? If you said “data scientist,” you’re probably an editor at Harvard Business Review and probably not anyone else. The HBR has named the emerging practice of sifting through data to find hidden, below-the-surface meaning and otherwise extrapolate underlying knowledge the “sexiest” job of the new century. But while we love Big Data here at PopSci (we dedicated a whole issue to last year), we’re going to have to argue semantics here. Data scientists are certainly in demand (you might even get away with calling it a “hot” profession), but unfortunately that’s not what “sexy” means. It’s an interesting piece, nonetheless. Read it here.

Harvard Business Review: Data Scientist Is The ‘Sexiest Job Of The 21st Century’ | Popular Science

What is the sexiest job of the 21st century? If you said “data scientist,” you’re probably an editor at Harvard Business Review and probably not anyone else. The HBR has named the emerging practice of sifting through data to find hidden, below-the-surface meaning and otherwise extrapolate underlying knowledge the “sexiest” job of the new century. But while we love Big Data here at PopSci (we dedicated a whole issue to last year), we’re going to have to argue semantics here. Data scientists are certainly in demand (you might even get away with calling it a “hot” profession), but unfortunately that’s not what “sexy” means. It’s an interesting piece, nonetheless. Read it here.

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smartercities: What Exactly Is A Smart City? | Co.Exist Having worked in the smart cities space for several years now, I am encouraged by the growth of the sector and the pace of technological advancements being developed for urban environments. However, I believe that the smart-cities movement is being held back by a lack of clarity and consensus around what a smart city is and what the components of a smart city actually are. While some people continue to take a narrow view of smart cities by seeing them as places that make better use of information and communication technology (ICT), the cities I work with (and most of the participants in the #smartchat, a monthly Twitterchat about smart cities held on the first Wednesday of each month) all view smart cities as a broad, integrated approach to improving the efficiency of city operations, the quality of life for its citizens, and growing the local economy. Later this year, I’ll publish my annual rankings of smart cities here on Co.Exist. In order to improve them, I have been working on a new rubric for smart cities, that I call the Smart Cities Wheel.

smartercities:

What Exactly Is A Smart City? | Co.Exist

Having worked in the smart cities space for several years now, I am encouraged by the growth of the sector and the pace of technological advancements being developed for urban environments. However, I believe that the smart-cities movement is being held back by a lack of clarity and consensus around what a smart city is and what the components of a smart city actually are.

While some people continue to take a narrow view of smart cities by seeing them as places that make better use of information and communication technology (ICT), the cities I work with (and most of the participants in the #smartchat, a monthly Twitterchat about smart cities held on the first Wednesday of each month) all view smart cities as a broad, integrated approach to improving the efficiency of city operations, the quality of life for its citizens, and growing the local economy.

Later this year, I’ll publish my annual rankings of smart cities here on Co.Exist. In order to improve them, I have been working on a new rubric for smart cities, that I call the Smart Cities Wheel.

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“Coursera today announced 17 new universities have signed agreements with the education technology company to bring courses online for free, in the areas of music, medicine, humanities, and so on. The addition more than doubles the service’s total count of supported schools. Coursera now hosts more than 200 courses from 33 universities, reaching over 1.3 million students across the globe.”

Coursera: 33 Universities, 200 Courses, 1.3 Million Students

(via thenextweb)

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Lasers, 3-D Printers, And Robots: The New Shop Class | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

DARPA is funding the creation of 1,000 Makerspaces in high schools across the country to get American kids interested in making things again.

“We have to move from an engine of bureaucracy to an engine of innovation,” said Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter, announcing this week that at least 1,000 high schools around the country will be opening up Makerspaces over the next four years.

What is a Makerspace, you ask? “It’s a place where you get to do things,” Dale Dougherty, founder of O’Reilly Media’s Make magazine and creator of Maker Faire, told Co.Exist. “I think it’s sort of a mashup of a shop class, a computer lab, an art class, and maybe a bio lab.”

It’s sort of a mashup of a shop class, a computer lab, an art class, and maybe a bio lab.

The national Makerspace project is the brainchild of Dougherty and Saul Griffith, many-tentacled inventor and founder of Squid Labs, Instructables, and Howtoons, and is sponsored by a grant from DARPA MENTOR, the defense department’s research arm related to advancing manufacturing and reviving the nation’s strategic interest in making things; the organization is already sponsoring Makerspaces for adults, so this is a logical extension. There’s some pretty heavy national goals riding on this initiative: getting American kids excited about science, math and technology again and fostering a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. “I feel we’re at this point in time where people are looking for some substantial change in education,” says Dale. “And I want to be that new thing.”

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“The innovative thing about Coursera is it’s on a massive scale. 45,000 students have signed up. Unlike real life, the course is asynchronous,” Werbach says. “It looks very different from a traditional class. The assessments, for instance, are designed to be machine-graded or peer evaluated by fellow students”

A Free Online Class From Wharton To Get You Started On Business School | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation (via futuristgerd)

(via emergentfutures)

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