Set aside the tri-fold presentation boards and the PowerPoint presentations on laptops. Today's 2014 White House Science Fair features young academics and researchers who are tackling some big projects, using up-to-the-minute technology to make it happen.
From prosthetic limbs to galaxy clusters, from disease research to autism and solar power, these young scientists are testing boundaries.
-- lab leftovers becoming solar power generators
-- new information about dark matter
-- a vibrating bracelet to help autistic children manage ritual behaviors
-- a prosthetic leg from recycled tires and zip-ties, for use in developing countries
-- an alarm that sounds when cars grow too hot for humans or animals
-- an environmentally friendly solar cell
-- partnering with earthworms to reduce carbon emissions
-- stem-cell research against adult brain cancer
-- pedestrian safety systems in Africa
...and more.
At a time when many students use iPhones to watch cat videos and the Web strictly for entertainment, it's encouraging to see what students are doing with technology.
Wouldn't it be great to explore with our students what other young people are doing in labs worldwide? Many of them used only materials that nearly everybody has access to (recycled materials, computers and curiosity). What other scientific breakthroughs could we encourage? Maybe one of our students could be at the White House Science Fair someday....
On NPR today: a White House directive to the FCC, to explore ways of getting high-speed internet to all of America's schools by 2018. It's called ConnectED.
I had no idea that only 57% of America's schools have access to high-speed internet because of location or limited technology. That means 43% of American schools -- not students, schools -- don't have access to the internet.
The White House also wants teachers better trained to use technology to accomplish academic outcomes; and it called on businesses like Microsoft, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Comcast to invest in tech infrastructure to ensure that all communities and schools have equal access to the internet.
There's been a lot in the news lately about Net Neutrality, the concept that businesses should not be permitted to charge tiered fees for various internet speeds. Without it, only the "haves" will possess fast, reliable access to communication and information.
We can't afford "have-not" schools. Businesses that make money from cell phones and internet usage should be willing to invest some of that money in serving the public; and it serves their long-term interest as well.
