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Adidas will livestream high school football games on Twitter
Adidas has partnered with Twitter on a new series that will livestream high school football games happening all over the country on the social network. Titled, naturally, Friday Night Stripes, the show will broadcast friday night games throughout the sport's regular season from September 7th until November 9th.
Algeria shuts down internet during exams to curb cheating
Algeria is not kidding around when it comes to exam cheats this year. The country is shutting off internet access for both mobile and fixed line connections for an hour after each high school diploma exam starts. Officials hope the move will stop any leaks. The temporary shutdowns will last until the end of the exam season on June 25th, the BBC reported. Algeria is also blocking Facebook across the nation during the period.
A new generation of high school athletes will play eSports
At the college level eSports are set to explode as more school-supported programs sprout up every day. But officially sanctioned high school esports are essentially nonexistent. Many teachers (and parents) still see video games as a waste of time. Teens looking for competitive team play could previously only find it in the unsung volunteer efforts of online leagues. They've been making do on their own for years, but they can't offer meeting spaces to practice and connect, or validation from adults and authority figures.
Startup will launch nationwide high school eSports league this fall
Professional eSports is entering the mainstream and the college competitive gaming scene is heating up. But what about high school? One Los Angeles start-up is gearing up to start a nationwide league next fall, and it's looking for teams to sign up -- but it's not looking alone. The venture-backed organization PlayVS has partnered with the Nationial Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) -- the high school version of the NCAA -- to bring eSports to 14.5 million American high schoolers in a national league.
Apple trains Chicago teachers to put coding in more classrooms
Apple isn't quite done announcing educational plans in Chicago. It just unveiled a partnership with Northwestern University and public schools to help teachers bring programming and other forms of computer science into Chicago-area classrooms. The trio will set up a learning hub at Lane Tech College Prep High School (conveniently, the venue for Apple's iPad event) that will introduce high school teachers to Apple's Everyone Can Code curriculum. They'll also have the option to train in an App Development with Swift course to boost the number of high school-oriented computer science teachers.
A game of 'Whac-a-Mole' can tell if you're concussed
When Reflexion Interactive's Matt Roda was in high school, he suffered a severe concussion during a hockey game. At the time, his coach put him back in the game after asking asinine questions like who was president and what year it was. The experience inspired him and his friends to find a better way for high schools to detect concussions without buying expensive gear. A few years later, the Reflexion Edge was born.
High school students open-source Shkreli's pricey HIV drug
Australian high school students have done "a little Breaking Bad" by synthesizing and effectively open-sourcing the drug famously hiked 5,000 percent in price by "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli. The drug they recreated, Daraprim, is used to treat infection caused by malaria and HIV and without it, many patients would die. "Working on a real-world problem definitely made us more enthusiastic," said 17-year-old Sydney Grammar student Austin Zhang. "The background to this [drug] made it seem more important."
Sprint offers high school students a million free wireless devices
In an effort to help bridge America's digital divide, Sprint announced today that it will provide a million wireless devices and service to disadvantaged high school students. Dubbed the "1Million Project," it'll give kids the choice of a free phone, tablet, hotspot or computer, together with 3 gigabytes of LTE data (along with free 2G data beyond that) and free voice and text. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure (who is also a founding member of the One Laptop Per Child project) says he hopes to get the equipment out to students within five years.
Toyota is teaching teens how to build fuel-cell cars
Toyota has launched a new project to teach high school students how to build fuel cell cars. Well, OK, the company is teaching them how to build small, remote-controlled fuel cell cars, but it's hoping that's enough to ignite their interest in the technology. The automaker's Hydrogen Horizon Automotive Challenge isn't a full-blown, multi-year program like the drone and robotics course offered at one Japanese high school. But it will teach teens about climate change and the importance of alternative energy for a whole semester.
Snapchat brings live score filters to high school football
For its next geofilter trick, Snapchat is partnering with fellow Southern California startup ScoreStream to bring live scores from more than 5,000 weekly high school football games into your Snaps and Stories. As Mashable reports today, the scoreboard geofilters will show up just in time for back to school season when they launch on September 2nd.
High school in Japan to offer drone and robotics course
In the latest installment of 'Japan is too cool and I wish I grew up there,' one private high school has announced a new course dedicated to drones and robotics. While the specifics are a little hazy, RocketNews24 is reporting that it's a full-time, three-year program that kicks off next April. Presumably, students won't have to take other subjects (no algebra or history? Sign me up.) It's an educational gamble, but one that could make graduates ultra-hireable for Amazon, Google and the like. Or simply well-suited for a University course that specialises in either field.
Millions of kids used e-cigarettes last year
Stephen Dorff is apparently more influential than we all thought -- if the youth of America even know who he is. Last year 3 million middle-schoolers and high-school students used e-cigarettes as their preferred method of tobacco delivery, according to a report by the Center for Disease Control. The CDC says that this carries over from 2014, where e-cigs were the most used tobacco product among those surveyed. In 2011, e-cigs represented 1.5 percent of overall tobacco use among that population and in 2015 the number skyrocketed to 16 percent. That's despite cigarette and cigar usage dropping during the same period. So yeah, kids really like battery-powered smokes.
The creator of 'XKCD' is working on high school textbooks
XKCD's Randall Munroe has done a good job of simplifying scientific and technical concepts through his comics, so it only makes sense that he would turn his attention to full-on education, doesn't it? Sure enough, that's about to happen. Thanks to the right people at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt seeing his work, Munroe will integrate segments of his book Thing Explainer (which explains concepts using the 1,000 most-used English words) into high school biology, chemistry and physics textbooks arriving this summer. Yes, the usual dry diagrams will be accompanied by Munroe's signature stick figures discussing "thinking bags" (brains) and "heavy metal power buildings" (nuclear reactors).
Alt-week 7.28.12: social mathematics, Pluto's moons and humans-on-a-chip
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. It's a beautiful world we live in. And, while the sweet and romantic part is debatable, strange and fantastic is not. Our universe is one populated by non-planetary celestial bodies with their own non-planetary satellites, high school social hierarchies based on predictable mathematical formulas and military-funded "gut-on-a-chips." It's a weird place filled with weird stories, and we just can't get enough of it. So, what has the last seven days brought us from the fringes of science and tech? Keep reading after the break to find out. This is alt-week.
Five apps for High School and College graduates
It's that time of the year when graduating students proudly receive their diploma and move onto the next phase of their life. Many high school graduates have college on their mind, while college grads are preparing to enter the workforce. Here are five apps that'll help these grads as they move onward and upward. I've included five for high school and another five for college graduates. If you have your own suggestions, please share them in the comments. High school graduates on their way to college will appreciate the following apps to help them get organized and stay in touch with old friends. Path (Free) Path is a social network that provides a more personal alternative to Facebook. Users have tight control over their friends list and share what they want, with the people they want. The Path app for the iPhone has a pleasing UI that makes using the social network an enjoyable experience. It's perfect for high school grads who want to stay in touch with their high school friends. Waze (Free) Waze is a social GPS and navigation app that'll help you get to your destination. It might not be as accurate as Navigon, but the UI and social features are outstanding. The app uses community-sourced information to get traffic data and road reports like the location of speed traps and road hazards. You can also share your location and destination information with friends via text or email. Weather 2X ($0.99) If you're looking for a simple, yet elegant way to view the weather, look no further than Weather 2X. The app shows you the current weather and the forecast with a beautiful backdrop. It's perfect for those mornings when you're getting ready to head out for the next class and need to know whether you should grab that umbrella. It lacks a radar view, but that's not needed when you want a quick snapshot of the weather. Wake N Shake Alarm Clock Pro ($0.99) If you have a hard time waking up for that early morning lecture, then you need Wake N Shake Alarm Clock Pro. The app drops the conventional snooze button and makes it a challenge for you to turn the alarm off by shaking your iPhone. By the time you've turned off the alarm, the shaking motion has woken you up. Don't worry if you sleep like a log, Pro version owners can use the "Merciless" level to ensure the shaking wakes them up. iStudiez Pro ($2.99) and Paper Desk ($3.99) iStudiez Pro is a productivity tool designed specifically for students who want to track their classes, professor's contact info and assignments. The scheduling and PIM app works on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, so you always have your data at your finger tips. There's also Paper Desk, a note-taking app with recording that'll sync the audio to your words. It's great for taking notes and reviewing them before the next exam. College grads looking to move from the classroom to the conference room could benefit from these apps below: Monster Jobs for iPad (Free) Once your done with your studies, you will need to find a job and one of the best places to look is Monster Jobs. The job board has an iPad and iPhone app that is a portal into your Monster account. You can search, view and apply for jobs as well, as view you resume and edit cover letters. It's a great resource for on-the-go job hunters. LinkedIn (Free) One of the best ways to get a new job is by networking and one of the best places to network is LinkedIn. The business social network is filled with professionals in your field of interest who can help you find a job. The iOS app is a basic version of the website. It doesn't let you edit your profile, but you can see your connections and find new ones. Despite this drawback, it's still an excellent way to stay in touch with your colleagues. Mint.com (Free) Though you might not be rolling in the dough quite yet, you'll still need an app to help manage your finances. Mint.com is an excellent online app that makes it easy to keep track of your money from a web browser or your iOS device. The latest iOS version adds support for budgeting and split transactions, making Mint one the best online financial managers. Zillow (Free) Say goodbye to frat houses and dorms. Now that you're out of school, you'll need to find a decent place to live. One of the best resources for finding real estate for sale or rent is Zillow. The iOS app has an extensive listing of homes and apartments that are searchable based on location and property details. You can view property listings, get driving directions and even send an email off to a real estate agent if you're interested in a property. Though its geared toward real estate for sale, Zillow does include rentals. If you want a rental only service, you should check the Rent.com or Trulia Apartment rental app. There's also a decent number of listings on Craigslist which you can find using the +Craigslist+ app. Pocket Resume ($2.99) Before you submit your resume to the Monster job board, you should spend some time tweaking your credentials so you can make yourself stand out from the crowd. To help you effectively present your skills, experience and ambition, you should check out Pocket Resume. The app will help you format your resume and save it as a PDF. You can also upload it to Dropbox for sharing with others and for your own safe-keeping. If you already have a LinkedIn profile, you can easily fill out your resume by importing your information directly from LinkedIn's website.
TED launches 'TED-Ed', hopes to make lessons worth sharing
Who doesn't love filling an idle hour with a good ol' bit of TED? Now, the people behind those share-worthy ideas are bringing us TED-Ed: a new lesson-based YouTube channel. Aimed primarily at high-schoolers, the initiative invites teachers to submit their "best lesson" in a youthful mind-friendly ten minutes or less. If chosen, TED will ship out a "portable recording booth" -- which look suspiciously like an iPad in a sound-absorbing flightcase. Once the knowledge has been preserved, it's sent over to a team of animators to bring it to life. If you know a great teacher, or animator, you can also nominate them to the TED-Ed team if they're too humble to put themselves forward. The TEDEducation YouTube channel is up and running right now, but the new original content won't land until a dedicated site is launched next month. There's a typically heartwarming and informative video about the project after the break.
Khan Academy releases iPad app
MIT alum Salman Khan has an ambitious plan. He wants to provide anyone, anywhere with a quality education. To that end, he's created a website with over 2,700 K-12 lectures spanning math, history, science and more. Now he's bringing all this online learning to the iPad with his new Khan academy app. In keeping with Khan's philosophy of learning, the Khan Academy app and all its resources are available for free. The app lets you login to your Khan Academy account and track your progress as you work through the courses. You can also download videos and playlists for learning on the go and follow along with subtitles that'll help you navigate through each lecture. You can grab the Khan Academy app for free from the iOS App Store.
Switched On: You tell me it's the institution
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Apple rose to dominate sales of digital music by more or less mirroring the way consumers acquired music in the physical world -- that is, purchasing songs, but providing a greater degree of granularity. This worked well for music and has also held true for apps and best-selling books, but hasn't been as in step with consumer media acquisition habits for other content.For example, before Apple brought sales of video material to iTunes, most consumers did not generally own TV shows except for perhaps a few cherished series on DVD. They either watched them as they aired as part of a cable-like subscription or paid a flat monthly fee for the privilege of recording them on a DVR to be viewed after they aired. Furthermore, both Blockbuster physical stores and later Netflix's DVD by mail feature relied on a system of one-time consumption via rental or subscription that eschewed ownership of movies. And today, Vevo.com offers free streaming of many music videos that Apple still seeks to sell.
High school senior kills cancer with nanotech, still can't legally drink
Ever ask yourself, "What am I doing with my life?" No? Well, a little existential crisis is in order then. Because while you and the rest of Team teen America were busy dressing like Gaga, dancing to the Bieber and playing Angry Birds, high school senior Angela Zhang was killing cancer. Yes, this 17-year old medical prodigy from Cupertino was just awarded the Siemens Foundation grand prize -- a $100,000 payday -- for her work "Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells." It's certainly a mouthful, but this nanotech is what one fellow researcher's calling the "Swiss Army knife of cancer treatment," as her gold and iron-oxide nanoparticle does double duty delivering the drug salinomycin to a tumor site, in addition to aiding MRI and photoacoustic imaging. If that's not impressive enough, this real-life lady Doogie Howser's also won Intel's ISEF grand award in both 2010 and 2011 for other health science-related work. Sure, Angela might inadvertently fall into the overachiever category, but girlfriend definitely deserves to win that Prom Queen crown.
Iowa school replaces workbooks with MacBooks
The school district in Van Meter, Iowa has ditched their workbooks and replaced them with MacBooks in a four-year digital learning experiment. John Carver, Superintendent of the Van Meter school district in Iowa, has taken a bold move into the realm of digital learning. In the 2009-2010 school year, the district handed out laptops to all its seventh to twelfth grade students. The school district signed a four-year lease agreement with Apple to provide the students with MacBook laptops. The program costs about US$149,000 per year and is funded by the district's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) tax. It hopes to have the funds to extend this program to K-12 students by the 2012-2013 school year. Unlike other schools that plop computers on a student's desk and walk away, Carver did away with traditional paper-based learning and actively used the laptops in a new digital curriculum. The response towards the program has been enthusiastic. School board member John Seefeld was "amazed at students' attentiveness, how engaged they were and how they seemed to be learning better under the new format." Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass took a tour of the program and remarked that "after two years of exploring the capacity of the devices, the kids and teachers are learning and evolving in their own knowledge of how powerful new technology can be." Well done, Van Meter School District! May the program bring continued success.
