Rapping to STEM - will.i.am Rocks!

I was catching up on my Graham Norton recordings on Sunday. If you have never watched this BBC talk show, you are missing one of the most hilarious shows ever. What they can do and say on BBC talk shows is vastly different from U.S. television, that's for sure! Anyway, one episode had will.i.am as a guest, and I will admit it - I wasn't too excited. I mean, me and rap...not simpatico, so my thoughts were he wasn't going to have much to say of interest to me.

I was however completely wrong and pleasantly surprised.

will.i.am is first, an insanely interesting man. A very funny guy. Hilarious in fact. Gracious as well, and a great story teller (watch the show and hear his tale of horse back riding with Michael Jackson....he even tries to curb his use of the word 'like'....really, hilarious). And, while I am sitting there watching and listening, he went and blew my mind even further by talking about STEM. Yes...Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Honestly - last thing I expected!

Turns out, will.i.am is an amazing supporter of education. Obviously, I have been out of the loop, so I have been doing some research on will.i.am's STEM support. It's fascinating. He's fascinating. He's given $7 million to fund a STEM school in his native L.A., $500K to the Princes Trust in the UK to support students technology skills and he's teamed up with Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology to host a "i.am FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll,” a groundbreaking, one-hour special promoting education, science and technology. He also partnered with Time Warner Cable to support the "Wouldn't It Be Cool If...." contest for students "to dream up the coolest invention idea to make their lives, communities and even the world more AWESOME".

A man who clearly is giving back to his community above and beyond. I feel guilty now about my initial reaction and want to apologize for that, and then I want to sign up to be part of his STEM team! The things he is doing are so exciting.

So, will.i.am (@iamwill), if you need a former math teacher, current edtech enthusiast and believer in helping students expand their minds with technology and inquiry and innovation, and supporting teachers efforts to do the same, I am available!

Rather than me try to explain all the great things will.i.am is doing, I thought it would be easiest to just provide links for you to discover yourself.

1) Graham Norton Episode - seriously funny!
2) will.i.am/Black Eye Pea website
3) i.am.First TV. Special 7 pm, August 14, ABC
4) Wouldn't It Be Cool If.... Contest winner and other entries and information
5) i.am.First/DipDive Science and Rock and Roll website - great videos and information with other musical stars talking about the science of music.

Now...gotta go load some Black Eyed Peas music on my MP3 player!

Implementation Dip - It's Not Just Test Scores, It's Any Change

I read this article yesterday by Andrew Ujifusa entitled New Tests Put States on Hot Seat as Scores Plunge . Basically, states that have implemented new standardized tests to address revised academic standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, have seen a drop in student scores, so panic has ensued. What I want to know is: has no one ever heard about the implementation dip? Whenever you try to implement something new, there is going to be a period of adjustment, scores will go down if we are talking tests, classroom behaviors will change and achievement will go down if new teaching strategies are being implemented - in short, any time you try something new, it is NOT going to go exactly as planned! Mistakes will happen, things will be bad before they get better - it's part of the whole change process. Which is why we need to be implementing changes slowly, early, and over time so that things that go wrong can be adjusted. Image from images.google.com What ...

Social Media's Impact on Personal Life - Personal Reflections

The question - does social media impact personal life? The answer - yes. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? The answer - it depends. I have been on vacation the past week or so and am currently on personal leave to finish writing my dissertation proposal (which, as you can see, I am procrastinating!) During my vacation, I swore I would take a break from blogging, Twitter, email, and all things electronic. I lied. I admit - I did honestly make the attempt and in fact, did not turn on my computer one time. However, the iPad is a constant companion, especially since the books I am reading (currently, the Game of Thrones series) are on there, so I had the iPad with me a lot - even on the beach. It was very easy to check if I had emails, to check out my Facebook or to send a Twitter or two. Long story short, I failed miserably at the disconnecting aspect. View from chair and under canopy! Which brings me back to the question of does social media impact p...

Lecture, Direct-Instruction or Talk - There's the Confusion!

In yesterday's weekly #edchat Twitter collaboration the discussion focused on the flipped classroom, where, naturally, there was quite a bit of debate around the idea of video lectures. What became apparent was the many different interpretations of the term 'lecture'. This came to the forefront for me when I offered up the idea of TED Talks as one option for learning rather than a teacher's video lecture, and someone said "TED talks are just lectures, so how is that better?" This stumped me as I have never thought of a TED talk as a lecture, which is funny, because now, forced to think about it, I guess they could be construed as lectures, depending on your definition. Which of course has led me to this post! Obviously, my perception of a lecture is not the same as others. What is MY definition of a lecture? Perhaps it's my many years of being both a student and a teacher, but for me a 'lecture' has rather negative connotations, as I envisio...

Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

Search This Blog