RR Research

Parents and policymakers around the United States are not happy with with public education. This is why by the year 2005 there were approximately 3,400 charter schools in the United States serving about 800,000 students. Parents want choices. (Source: Educational Trends Shaping School Planning and Design 2007 by Kenneth R. Stevenson, Department of Educational Leadership and Policies, College of Education, University of South Carolina.) It also appears as if classrooms may be getting smaller. Research indicates that over the next 25 years we may see elementary schools housing an average of 200 students, middle schools with no more than 400 to 500 students, and high schools with 500 to 750 students. Some supporters argue that small schools are better at improving the academic achievement for students.They believe small schools have higher graduation rates and improved behavior among students. There has been significant research indicating that smaller classroom benefits include enhanced academic performance and also improved student behavior and teacher morale. A few studies further suggest that such classes particularly benefit at risk students. One very successful program from Brooklyn, New York is known as Create Success. The after .. more»

Copyright (c) 2007 SharpBrains The goal of Stanford University Media X is to foster collaborations between industry and academia. The 5th Annual Media X Conference on Research, Collaboration, Innovation and Productivity, which I was fortunate to attend, served its purpose well. Let me share the 10 Key Trends that every business executive and innovator should be paying attention to: 1) Personal Robotics is poised to explode soon (predicted by Paul Saffo). It usually takes 20 years science basic science exists until applications reach inflection point and take the world by storm-and we are about to see that happen. Some indicators: DARPA sponsored first robotics attempts in mid-80s, and now we have applications such as the Roomba vacuum-cleaner, and a fully automated racing car. Prof. Kenneth Salisbury showed how there are robots today with great motor skills-i.e., they can unload a dishwasher! 2) Brain Computer Interfaces. Prof. Krishna Shenoy explained how, for many people who can't move/ communicate well, new systems enable the translation of brain signals into control signals, by implanting electrodes in brain that measure signals and help predict behaviors based on response pattern recognition There are .. more»