One Dad’s Work to Improve Math in Schools

Nicholas Aggor was so frustrated with his children’s problems in elementary school math that he left his position as an engineer and started writing math texts. The books are designed to get kids who aren’t doing well in math to turn their grades around. His tutorial-style texts emphasize problem solving and critical thinking. Aggor’s texts, Math Teaching Series (MTS) for Students, Teachers and Parents, are a resource for helping parents help their children, for after-school tutoring programs, for students to help themselves with assignments, and for teachers to use to help students. Aggor believes that “no student is unsalvageable, and that there are gifted learners even among the poorest performing students.” One parent using the book with his children says that “the best part of the series is it shows you what to do next with logic so that you cannot get stuck.” MTS is available for Grades 5-8 and for Algebra I. You can order a free book preview for any of the levels.

What Do Parents Want When It Comes to Tech in Schools?

Blackboard K-12 provides the download of a pdf booklet, Speak Up 2008 Selected National Findings, which discusses findings related to parent responses collected for Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up 2008.  The report says that only a third of the parents who took part in the survey thought “schools were doing a good job of preparing students for the 21^st century.” Parents were “dissatisfied with the availability of “quality technology in schools and teachers’ skills in using technology.” While both parents and students taking part in the survey wanted better technology use in schools, there were differences of opinion on what types of technologies should be used for learning. Parents tended to want tools that could be related to traditional learning such as eBooks, interactive whiteboards, and systems that let them know how their children were doing.  Students were more interested in mobile devices, media tools, games, online classes, and unlimited Internet use. Sound right on target, doesn’t it? The survey included over 21,000 parents, almost 300,000 students, and over 30,000 teachers and administrators from 50 states.

Google To Help Users View Personal Data Stream

Google is offering a new privacy control called “Dashboard” that makes it easier for people to see some of the information being collected about them.That includes summaries of an individual's e-mail, search requests and viewing habits on Google's video site, YouTube. Before, a user would have to check multiple places for all that. Dashboard represents Google's latest step to give its users more control over their personal information and appease privacy watchdogs.You'll soon find a link to Google Dashboard in the "personal settings" of the "my account" page.

Thinking of Publishing Your Own Book?

The roadblocks to publishing a book these days are monumental, but there are ways to DIY that are both easy and cost effective. Take a look at Kim Komando’s column on self-publishing called Publish your own book for fun and profit for some ideas. We’ve used the Lulu.com service and found it quick and high quality.

Less Concern for Privacy a Cause for Concern

FBI Assistant Director of Cybersecurity Shawn Henry made comments recently in address to the Information Security Forum about the increasingly effective methods of criminal hackers, with the bright side being that there is a growing degree of cooperation among law enforcement groups trying to track these folks down. While that is concerning and comforting, for parents some of his most interesting remarks concern the additional security risks growing because of young people’s open attitudes on the nature of online privacy. Generational differences in how potential victims view the Internet's role in their lives -- and how much they trust it -- are also determining how successful cybercriminals can be.Young people have grown up in an environment of online banking and shopping and sharing personal information on social networksThey don't have the same concern for privacy or for security and that creates a bigger challenge, a bigger threat for all of us. Henry also points out that many of the folks who are coming up the ranks in major corporations don't have the same sense that there's a threat, because they've been surrounded by the technology, the openness, that is supposed to make their lives easier and faster. He says that those very capabilities are the ingress for the threat.

Viruses Blamed in Framing of Alleged Child Porn Collectors

The Associated Press has broken a story on how an Internet virus has framed a number of unsuspecting people recently for allegedly being collectors of child pornography. That’s right, heinous pictures and videos can be deposited on your computer by viruses - the malicious programs better known for swiping your credit card numbers. In this twist, it's your reputation that's stolen. And how does this work? It seems that pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites. Whatever the motivation, you get child porn on your computer - and might not realize it until the police knock at your door. The Associated Press apparently has found dozens of cases of this and it can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence and as well as having to spend time in jail. Some victims have even lost custody of their children. Just another reminder to check to make sure your virus protection software is up-to-date.

Who’s Distracted?

If the folks in your life have any doubts that texting or talking on their cell phone is a hazard while driving, have them take this interactive test, courtesy of The New York Times, that gauges how distracted you are when asked to do various technology related tasks. Could be quite an eye opener.

Disney Has A Brand New App

Disney has a new app for tweens that have access to an iPhone or iPod touch that is noteworthy. Besides music, video, games and a Wikipedia of Walt Disney characters onboard, there is a new feature that bears watching called “Click to Life,” a sort of matching game that asks kids to use their iPhone to find objects in the real world. The game will show kids a picture of a something, say Doug, the dog from the movie “Up.” When kids find a matching image, like on a movie poster, they take a picture, which the program will recognize, and it unlocks a digital prize. Could open a whole new door to interactivity for kids and apps. Just think of taking kids to a museum or zoo and being able to set them loose with a feature like that?

Law Covers Metadata

The Arizona State Supreme Court has ruled that hidden data embedded in electronic public records must be disclosed. That means that the data that tells how and when a document was created or revised and by whom now has to be made public as well. That information isn't visible when a document is printed on paper nor does it appear on screen in normal settings. The Arizona ruling came in a case involving a demoted Phoenix police officer's request for data embedded in notes written by a supervisor. The officer got a printed copy of the records but said he wanted the metadata to see whether the supervisor backdated the notes to before the officer's demotion.

Ever Wondered How GPS Works?

As my son says about his GPS system, “it may still be hard getting there, but you know you will be able to get home.” And that’s just it. We are never really lost anymore. But have you ever wondered how it all works? If so you’ll be interested in this article from The Washington Post called Now we know where we stand, and it's about time . It reviews a history of GPS and tells you how that simple looking device makes all those calculations to be able to tell you right where you stand. (This article is linked to The Washington Post and you can read it for free but you will need to register.)