There are at least 600 schools across the country that have handed iPads to every student. At Burlington High School in Massachusetts, the students are using iPads and not textbooks. The principal states that everything students need for learning can be found on their web-enabled devices. Textbooks are static and publisher-driven, whereas in this school they focus on personalized learning where students frame the coursework. Some say technology should be limited in order to engage students in real world experiences, and that textbooks are an important part of how students learn. Listen to the story of this High School and debate with your students: Are textbooks or tablets better for student learning?
Story Length: 4:52
WBUR
AIR DATE: 03/23/2012
December 17, 2015
3:20
At a high school in Tennessee, a teacher asked his students to go without their phones for 24 hours. He says cell phones are an addiction where there is always something for students to see and something for students to do. He wanted them to see what happened when they lived a day without them. Listen to this story to hear the reaction of the students and how they filled their time without their phones.
Read MoreApril 2, 2015
6:46
In the modern tech industry, computer programmers are predominantly male. The industry has even been accused of sexism and hostility towards female programmers. But you might be surprised to learn that it was women who made the breakthroughs that paved the way for modern programming. These women, though, didn’t get the credit. Listen to learn more about the origins of computers and the women who drove the industry in its early years.
Read MoreFebruary 19, 2015
3:54
Complex computer algorithms designed to weigh options and make choices are consistently outperforming humans. The algorithms aren’t perfect, though, and many people have a hard time trusting them. Why do we feel this way? Would you trust a computer to make an important decision in your life? Listen to learn more about how algorithms work and why humans often mistrust them.
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