"When medicine became a business, we lost our moral compass." - Dr. Nissen

EscapeFire (@EscapeFire)

3/16/13, 8:58 PM "When medicine became a business, we lost our moral compass." - Dr. Nissen in@EscapeFire on @CNN #rescuehealthcare Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare Watch a video trailer at: http://vimeo.com/27450676 "Like a backfire, it works by depriving an approaching primary fire of fuel so that when the primary fire reaches where the escape fire started the primary fire cannot continue; there is nothing there to burn." "The technique had been described in James Fenimore Cooper's 1827 novel The Prairie but became well-known only after the Mann Gulch fire. On this occasion, (Robert) Wagner "Wag" Dodge came up with the same idea independently, and successfully put it into practice. He cleared an area large enough for him to survive unharmed when the main fire was less than one minute away." Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_fire

How to Make Online Courses Massively Personal - Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-make-online-courses-massively-personal-peter-norvig

Educators have known for 30 years that students perform better when given one-on-one tutoring and mastery learning—working on a subject until it is mastered, not just until a test is scheduled. Success also requires motivation, whether from an inner drive or from parents, mentors or peers.

Will the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs) quash these success factors? Not at all. In fact, digital tools offer our best path to cost-effective, personalized learning.

I know because I have taught both ways. For years Sebastian Thrun and I have given artificial-intelligence courses at Stanford University and other schools; we lectured, assigned homework and gave everyone the same exam at the same time. Each semester just 5 to 10 percent of students regularly engaged in deep discussions in class or office hours; the rest were more passive. We felt there had to be a better way.

So, in the fall of 2011, we tried something new. In addition to our traditional classroom, we created a free online course open to anyone. On our first try, we attracted a city's worth of participants—about 100,000 engaged with the course, and 23,000 finished.

Inspired by Nobel laureate Herbert Simon's comment that “learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks,” we created a course centered on the studentsdoing things and getting frequent feedback. Our “lectures” were short (two- to six-minute) videos designed to prime the attendees for doing the next exercise. Some problems required the application of mathematical techniques described in the videos. Others were open-ended questions that gave students a chance to think on their own and then to hash out ideas in online discussion forums.

Our scheme to help make learning happen actively, rather than passively, created many benefits akin to tutoring—and helped to increase motivation. First, as shown in a 2013 study by Karl K. Szpunar, Novall Y. Khan and Daniel L. Schacter in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, frequent interactions keep attention from wandering. Second, as William B. Wood and Kimberly D. Tanner describe in a 2012 Life Sciences Education paper, learning is enhanced when students work to construct their own explanations, rather than passively listening to the teacher's. That is why a properly designed automated intelligent tutoring system can foster learning outcomes as well as human instructors can, as Kurt van Lehn found in a 2011 meta-analysis in Educational Psychologist.

A final key advantage was the rapid improvement of the course itself. We analyzed the junctures where our thousands of students succeeded or failed and found where our course needed fine-tuning. Better still, we could capture this information on an hour-by-hour basis. For our class, human teachers analyzed the data, but an artificial-intelligence system could perform this function and then make recommendations for what a pupil could try next to improve—as online shopping sites today make automated recommendations for what book or movie you might enjoy.

Online learning is a tool, just as the textbook is a tool. The way the teacher and the student use the tool is what really counts.

When Life Knocks You Down It Takes About Two Years to Get Up - Smithsonian

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/08/when-life-knocks-you-down-it-takes-about-two-years-to-get-back-up/

If, as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross argued, there are “five stages of grief”—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance—how long are you doomed to wallow in each one?

Whatever the grieving process, it’s clear that getting over a traumatic experience is a long and twisted road: according to Elizabeth Bernstein writing in the Wall Street Journal, recovering from a big loss—of a job, of a marriage—can take around two years.

Experts say most people should give themselves a good two years to recover from an emotional trauma such as a breakup or the loss of a job. And if you were blindsided by the event—your spouse left abruptly, you were fired unexpectedly—it could take longer.

…Some experts call this recovery period an “identity crisis process.” It is perfectly normal, they say, to feel depressed, anxious and distracted during this time—in other words, to be an emotional mess.

Some people seem to bounce back sooner, and some people may never quite regain their old footing. And, some traumas, like the “death of a loved one,” Bernstein reports, are “more complicated and typically will take even longer than two years.”

But as a rule, when your life plan is derailed in a big way, it can take a couple of years to get back on track. The reason it takes so long, says Bernstein, is because while you have to come to grips with what happened, these big shifts tamper with many other facets of your life, too:

Recovering from a divorce or job loss actually involves two overlapping processes. There is the recovery from grief. And there is the even more time-consuming process of rebuilding the structure of your life. Where will you eat dinner? Who will your friends be?

So, if you’re going through something hard and kicking yourself because you think you’re not getting over it soon enough, take some solace from the fact that healing is hard, and patching great wounds takes time.

Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/08/when-life-knocks-you-down-it-takes-about-two-years-to-get-back-up/#ixzz2bkrZ6eHB 

Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Special Report - Learning in the Digital Age - Scientific American

Scientific American Magazine

Big Data Make Big Inroads Into Schools

Introduction to a special report on the ways technology is remaking every aspect of education—bringing top-notch courses to the world's poorest citizens and reshaping the way all students learn.

Read article:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/editorial/digital-education/?id=learning-digital-age

Students Say Online Courses Enrich On-Campus Learning

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=students-say-online-courses-enrich-on-campus-learning


Stefan Kühn studies biochemistry at Stellenbosch University in the wine country of South Africa's Western Cape province. He was working on his master's thesis last year and writing in his usual way, which he describes as messy and free-flowing. Then he took a massive open online course (MOOC) from Duke University called Think Again: How to Reason and Argue. It changed the way he approached his thesis. “It taught me what a good argument is, how to construct it, how to avoid general fallacies,” Kühn says. “I started the course because of personal interest (I love a lively debate) and was pleasantly surprised when I realized I was using it for my write-ups as well.”

Kühn enjoys MOOCs and has recommended them to friends, and in this regard, he is typical of many science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students who take classes from online platforms. A readers' survey conducted by Nature and Scientific American found that more than 80 percent of 1,128 STEM students who had taken at least one MOOC agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed the latest course they took. Slightly larger percentages said they would take a MOOC in the future and would recommend MOOCs to others.

This article was originally published with the title “I Was Pleasantly Surprised”.

Kühn is also typical in that he, like a large majority of those surveyed, did not take the course to fulfill any formal qualification. He uses MOOCs to supplement his knowledge and to learn things he cannot find in his brick-and-mortar university. He followed the Duke reasoning course through to the end but also dabbled in other online courses on social modeling and computer programming. Because the lessons cost him nothing—and do not affect his grades or transcript—he is free to jump in and out as he is able to, without necessarily completing all the assignments or quizzes.

Similarly, Yang Liu, a Chinese citizen pursuing Ph.D. studies at Osaka University in Japan, took MOOCs to fill gaps in her knowledge. Although she had earned a master's in biotechnology, Liu is now doing research on tissue engineering, which she had never studied before. “I didn't have sufficient time to take half-year undergraduate lectures or read [more than] 1,000 pages [of] text books,” she says. So Liu read the transcripts of a Yale University course in biomedical engineering, absorbed the online lecture notes for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Molecular Principles of Biomaterials and watched video lectures related to stem cells from other universities. (The Yale and M.I.T. offerings are part of their respective OpenCourseWare programs, which predate MOOCs.) Because her English is weak, Liu could not catch every point in the video sessions, so she had to review lecture notes at the same time. Even so, Liu says, “MOOCs still saved me a lot of time”.

The MOOC students surveyed, nearly half of whom had a biology focus, included skeptics, of course. The number of people who thought traditional courses offered greater educational value than MOOCs was roughly equal to the number who favored the online approach. Yet the percentage of those who thought traditional courses offered superior career value was significantly larger (43 versus 26 percent). Kathleen Nicoll, an associate professor of geography at the University of Utah, took an M.I.T. mathematics class and was underwhelmed. She notes that the course mostly consisted of PowerPoint graphics and canned videos of a professor solving problems. “MOOCs do a good job of basically documenting information,” she says. “It's like television—a very passive experience”.

Although some classes try to mimic research experiences in a virtual lab, that cannot substitute “for smelling formaldehyde or seeing something almost explode in your face and having to react to that,” Nicoll says. She also believes that human interaction is fundamental to learning and that online forums and discussion groups are no substitute. “It's kind of like the difference between having a real friend and a Facebook friend,” she says. Yet even Nicoll sees benefits: “One of the huge upsides is that MOOCs can reach everyone [with a computer and Internet]—people who are differently abled, people behind bars in prison”.

Because failure is cost-free in a MOOC, the basic human tendencies toward procrastination and sloth are stronger than in traditional classes. Still, many STEM students seem motivated to do all or most of the course work, in part to get certificates saying they completed the class. Shannon Bohle, a medical librarian and a blogger at SciLogs.com who has taken eight MOOCs, sometimes “lurks” in online classes, but on several occasions she has been driven to do enough work to earn a “statement of accomplishment.” “People always like to have badges and trophies,” she says with self-deprecating humor. “I'm doing the courses as a hobby, really—I'm not applying them toward a degree—and I like to share with my friends that I finished the course and hear everyone say, 'Oh, you're so brilliant. Kudos to you!'”

Rev. Bernice Warren 'We serve anybody who needs us.' - Delco Times

Town Talk

Central Delco

Wednesday June 19, 2013PROFILE OF THE WEEK

Rev. Bernice Warren'We serve anybody who needs us.' by Bette Alburger DCNN Correspondent

Dynamic and dedicated... that describes the Rev. Bernice Warren, pastor and director of Chester Eastside Ministries, a vital part of a struggling Delaware County community that brings together residents of Chester and the surrounding suburbs. Since 1995, it's been responding to human needs by providing everything from food and clothing to an afterschool education and recreation program for area children.

Rev. Warren grew up in the same public housing project in Chester where her mother still lives. So it was like coming home 18 years ago, she says, when she gave up her pastorate at a Presbyterian church in Wilmington to take on her present position. It's the only full-time post; there are four part-time staffers, and those who run various programs are part time as well.

The bulk of the work in meeting Chester Eastside's mission is done by more than 200 volunteers. They come, week after week, from as close as the immediate neighborhood to as far away as Washington, D.C. Many churches in the Philadelphia Presbytery, as well as those in other denominations in Delaware County and elsewhere, support the work of Chester Eastside Ministries.

For instance, the interdenominational "Feast from the Garden" project at Princeton Presbyterian in Springfield - now in its second year - grows and provides fresh produce for Chester residents via the agency.

The agency also partners with a wide range of institutions, such as Widener University, Swarthmore College, the Food Trust, the Delaware County Food Assistance Network and the University of Pennsylvania. In the past, it has collaborated with Habit for Humanity, the Chester Upland School District, Neumann University and Palmer Theological Seminary.

Chester Eastside is located in a stately but aging church building on East 9th Street that once housed one of the largest Presbyterian congregations this side of the Mississippi River. Today, it brings people from all backgrounds together to work toward a common purpose: meeting basic human needs, expanding horizons and helping people realize their full potential. Distinctions of race and social class tend to melt away as people from Chester and surrounding communities work together to nurture the soul as well as the body. In so doing, they gain an appreciation of each other and learn from each other.

Although the agency is affiliated with the Presbytery of Philadelphia, Warren emphasizes that it serves "anybody who needs us."

"Jesus didn't ask people for their church credentials in order to serve them, and neither do we. We take quite literally the Biblical imperative found in Luke 4, verses 18-19, that says in part, 'He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor… proclaim freedom for the prisoners ... to set the oppressed free'," she said.

In addition to food and clothing ministries, Chester Eastside offers adult literacy and GED preparation, counseling in response to personal grief, classes on nutrition, support groups, an afterschool program and a summer day camp. There's a Parents First program to enable parents to help their young children succeed in school.

Also, Warren and some board members are working to help turn Chester Upland School District around by attending meetings and voicing concerns.

Horizons are expanded through bringing visitors from South Africa and the Congo to help local people get in touch with their roots and see themselves in relation to a wider world. Chester Eastside has reached out to victims of natural disasters and is helping college and university students develop a better understanding of Chester's challenges and potential.

In working for a more just and peaceful world, the agency advocates for quality education for all and an end to violence in the streets.

"Feeding, clothing, education and the rest are our ways to bring about peace and justice in Chester," said Warren.

She noted her life has been greatly influenced by her loving family, her church, her education and Swarthmore College's Upward Bound program. She said the federally funded education enrichment program was so important to her that she stayed with it until she graduated from college.

After graduating from Chester High School, she went to Kutztown State College (now university) and received her secondary education degree in 1974. Then for two years she was a GED instructor for a Delaware County job training program. It was a satisfying job, she said, but she wanted to make a larger impact on lives.

She said that as a child of the '60s, she was greatly troubled by racial unrest and injustice. She'd heard Jesus was a liberator and how the Gospel could transform lives and communities. This led her to enroll in Johnson and Smith Theological School in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977.

"There I became really excited about the Gospel, about the Jesus of liberation and what God was calling people to do in the community," she said.

She received her Master of Divinity degree in 1980 and that same year became the first African American woman to be ordained as a minister by the Presbytery of Philadelphia.

"It was not easy to be black and a single parent in those days," said Warren, whose daughter is now 35. "But I felt called by God and I never looked back."  
But looking ahead is becoming increasingly difficult because of a reduction in funding from the Philadelphia Presbytery. Although programming is continuing as vigorously as ever, Chester Eastside now operates only three days a week to save money.

"Funding is dwindling, so we're forced to raise more of our own funds. It's a huge financial challenge," said Will Richan, one of ten members of the board of directors. The longest serving member, he was on the committee that chose Warren as director.

Meanwhile, led by the board, key Chester Eastside stakeholders are gearing up to develop a strategic plan with the help of an outside consulting firm, There's no reason to believe the ministry that's been so important to Chester is going out of business. On the contrary, Richan said, it's upbeat as it faces an uncertain future. As he put it, the words "give up" dropped out of Chester Eastside's vocabulary long ago.

"Chester's been dealing with adversity for decades. We're keeping on keeping on. It beats the alternatives by a mile," he said. Warren smiled in agreement.
(Much needed donations may be made through the United Way's donor option or c/o Chester Eastside Ministries, P.O. Box 36, Chester, PA 19013 or online at www.chestereastside.org.)

How the FCC Could Revolutionize Education and put more computers in Students' hands

FLICKR USER LICKINGERBRAD

Few, if any, of the confrontations captivating Washington this summer will affect daily life in America more than a subdued regulatory process that will begin Friday in an office building far from the capital's downtown power centers.
On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission will start restructuring the "E-rate" under which Washington provides funds to help schools connect to the Internet. This seemingly obscure decision could trigger an education revolution by enormously accelerating the deployment of tablets and other digital tools into classrooms. Even lawyers' eyes may glaze over when confronted with the gray columns in the "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" the commission will unveil on Friday, but the document will provoke a kaleidoscope of change for the families of America's 76 million primary and secondary students—and sooner than many might imagine. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to allow our education system to essentially leapfrog some of our competitor nations," says James Shelton, the acting Education Department deputy secretary.
The generational opportunity that Shelton and other advocates envision centers on the use of digital technology to create a more personalized learning environment. Reformers project a reimagined classroom in which all students are equipped with tablets or laptops that allow them to work at their own pace on lessons that adjust to their progress; use video links to take courses, such as advanced science lessons, only available at other schools; and receive real-time feedback from teachers who obtain reports on their performance through online connections with the students' devices. Constant digital updates would replace bulky out-of-date textbooks lugged in spine-crushing backpacks.
In June, the bipartisan Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) commission urged a national drive to provide digital devices to all students by 2020. Around that time, Los Angeles Superintendent John Deasy won approval for a $30 million contract to provide every student in the nation's second-largest school system with an Apple iPad. "Students are going to experience a common core [curriculum] with high standards in a very customized setting," Deasy declared at this month's Aspen Ideas Festival (cosponsored by National Journal's sister publication The Atlantic). New York City's two leading Democratic mayoral candidates are proposing a similar program.
These changes won't be possible unless schools upgrade their connections. Almost all U.S. schools are now online in some fashion. That's largely because of federal assistance provided by the E-rate, which was established under the 1996 Telecommunications Act passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President Clinton. Under the E-rate, consumers pay a monthly fee of about 30 cents per phone line to subsidize Internet connections for primary and secondary schools, which must also contribute to the cost.
While that program has provided most schools with basic connectivity, only about 20 percent of American students have access to "true high-speed Internet in their classroom," as President Obama noted last month. Speaking at a North Carolina middle school that has upgraded, he urged the FCC to develop a plan to provide 99 percent of America's students with high-speed connectivity within five years. "We are talking about moving from a school where the connectivity is one computer in the library to one where every kid has a device in their hands that allows them to manipulate a 3-D science project," says Cecilia Munoz, the White House domestic policy adviser.
The LEAD commission projects that meeting Obama's call for broadband in every classroom—which prompted the FCC rule-making—will cost between $6 billion and $9 billion. The White House estimates that to meet that cost consumers would face a temporary increase of about 35 cents in their monthly E-rate fee, less if the FCC can find savings from the existing program, as it will propose in Friday's notice.
Even with more money, this ambitious vision faces many hurdles. Administration officials acknowledge that the upgrade won't be affordable unless schools negotiate more effectively with telecommunications providers (some of which have faced persistent charges of failing to provide the E-rate's mandated discounts) and device manufacturers (which have not yet provided educators with mass low-cost options.) Software companies must develop more-sophisticated digital content, and teachers will need training to get the most from the new tools. Schools will need to teach "digital literacy and digital citizenship, and not just plunk a kid in front of a computer screen for seven hours a day," says James Steyer, a member of the LEAD Commission and founder of Common Sense Media, a group that monitors media's impact on children.
But if the FCC brings mass broadband to the classroom by expanding the E-rate program, it will create a vast new market for everything connected to digital education. That will likely spur a virtuous cycle of invention and competition that generates new answers to all of these challenges from educators, parents, and private companies alike. To promote new digital breakthroughs, the FCC for years has mostly bet on a strategy of deregulation. But to propel schools into the Information Age, government intervention looks like the indispensable first step toward unlocking private innovation.http://m.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2013/07/how-fcc-could-revolutionize-education-and-put-computers-more-students-hands/67103/?oref=nextgov-cloud