Three Primary Colours

 

Three Primary Colors is a collaboration between OK Go and Sesame Street explaining the basics of color theory in stop-motion. Made me smile.

MF, studio, dbda

A Free, Open, Curriculum for Web Education

 

 

WaSP InterACT is a community driven project that offers a free, open, curriculum for web education.

Schools that teach web design struggle to keep pace with our industry, and those just starting their curricula often set off in the wrong direction because the breadth and depth of our medium can be daunting. The WaSP InterACT curriculum project seeks to ease the challenges schools around the world face as they prepare their students for careers on the Web.

WaSP InterACT is a living curriculum designed to change and keep pace with the fast moving industry. Its courses are divided into several tracks that provide students with a well rounded foundation in the many facets of the web design craft.

Anyone can get involved and contribute!

(via swissmiss)

MF, studio, dbda

Creating the Future of Education and Work

Creating the Future of Education and Work wants to help educators foster creativity and conceptual thinking in schools. The founders, Rita J. King and Joshua Fouts, created creatingthefuturetoday.com as a resource for teachers and parents with ideas that help foster imagination and teach kids to collaborate while problem solving.

“A truly collaborative approach to problem solving is a necessity, and a recognition of the importance not only of science and mathematics, but of creativity, art and music to amplify learning. Einstein credits some of his greatest breakthroughs in insight to his violin breaks, which connected different parts of his brain in new ways.”

I find the idea behind this site pretty fantastic.

MF, studio, dbda

Is it time for parents to go back to school?

Whilst the debate will continue for some time, the finger of blame is repeatedly being pointed towards poor parenting as a main cause for the recent unrest. A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the Metro found that the negative factors most affecting youngsters’ prospects were poor parenting (84%) and lack of moral guidance (83%).

Schools have also been bought into the ring of blame with calls for more discipline, but interestingly the riots took place in holiday time.
So how do we address the lack of parenting skills and should parents alone be responsible providing the moral compass for young people? If good parenting can be taught, what is the role for education and when should it start?

One glimmer of hope on the academic horizon is the Government’s review of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, launched in July.  This will look at what should be taught at school such as ‘the importance of positive parenting’ and whether elements of PSHE should become part of the statutory curriculum. Whilst this may go some way towards building a more civil youth and improving their prospects, it still begs the question of whether parents should also be returning to the classroom.

Morrisons to fund 1,000 degrees in retail studies

Supermarket chain aims to enrol 1,000 people in its ‘Futures’ programme within next 18 months.

According to the Guardian:

‘Morrisons will fund the degree studies of 1,000 A-level students in a move to recruit its future senior managers straight from school.’

‘The Bradford-based supermarket chain said the initiative, to be announced this week, would offer young people with the “right drive and attitude” the chance to get a management education from one of the UK’s top business schools without the attendant student debt. It aims to enrol 1,000 people in its “Futures” programme within the next 18 months, with the first 100 in place by the end of the summer.’

Access the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/aug/13/morrisons-fund-degrees-retail-studies

Source:  Gemma/ The Guardian

Thousands of children ‘not ready for school’ at five

The Telegraph reports that up to half of five-year-olds are not ready for school as working parents increasingly abandon traditional games, nursery rhymes, bedtime stories and lullabies.

An interview with child development expert, Sally Goddard Blythe supports many of the findings from a recent Ofsted report which found growing numbers of school children were diagnosed as having special education needs when they were in fact ‘no different’ to other pupils.

CBI: Students want universities to better explain employability skills

The importance of students learning ‘employability skills’ in the classroom was highlighted last week with the results of the latest CBI/National Union of Students Education & Skills survey.

Just over half of students surveyed (57%) said they want their university to do more to help them with employability skills – including numeracy, teamwork, self-management and business awareness.

The results showed that employability skills are “the single most important consideration for 82% of businesses when recruiting graduates. However 70% of employers said that university students need to do more to prepare themselves to be effective in the workplace.”

CBI Director for Education & Skills, Susan Anderson said, “Competition for jobs is intense and graduate unemployment remains high, so students need to proactively develop relevant employability skills. But at the same time all universities need to explain these skills better and make sure they embed them in teaching.”

Nationwide Education (www.NationwideEducation.co.uk) is currently developing an Employability Skills programme, due out this summer. It will focus on teaching all ages (in particular secondary school students and above) about the world of work, and the key employability skills they will need to enter it.

To read more about the CBI results you can view the press release here:
http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/0363c1f07c6ca12a8025671c00381cc7/60519e9e213d34268025788f003808ef?OpenDocument

MG, Account Manager

Bob Geldof supports Decade for Action with The Children’s Traffic Club

Marking the start of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, this video features the aims of this initiative, with Bob Geldof KBE highlighting the contribution of The Children’s Traffic Club.

School leavers lack key employability skills

A survey published by the Confederation of British Industry highlights the lack of key employability skills in the majority of young school leavers. Key areas of concern are English, numeracy, self-management and the growing decline in students taking STEM subjects.

A spokesman for the Department of Education agreed that it is right for employers to raise concerns and commented that the Government are commited to “The recruitment of specialist maths teachers, introducing phonics-based reading for six-year-olds and restoring the rigour of GCSE and A-level exams” in order to help improve matters.

See the full BBC news story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13310246

Nationwide Education will soon be launching an Employability  resources for ages 4-16 helping to develop key employability skills in students and to encourage career aspirations. Keep checking the website for more details. www.NationwideEducation.co.uk

Gaming industry veteran introduces $25 computer, laments lack of computer science in schools

Veteran programmer David Braben has launched the Raspberry Pi (via a UK-registered charity, the Raspberry Pi Foundation), a $25 computer only slightly larger than a 20p piece, in the hope of rekindling an interest in computer science and programming in children, something he feels has been lacking from the UK curriculum in recent years.

Full story via EDGE via the BBC.