Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) talks about his vision of the future with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Kamen discusses the important role technology does and should play in the education of youth and briefly discusses how FIRST competitions are assisting in this effort.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/06/video-dean-kamen-makes-predictions-for-the-future/
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Thanks to the efforts of some very ingenius faculty members and students at the University of Nevada in Reno, the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT has taken to new heights... literally!
As part of the University's NevadaSat program, the NXT assisted in controling cameras that were launched into space via high-altitude balloons. The repeat missions have reached heights from 90,000 to 101,000 and higher!
For more details on how the NXT is utilized in space, click here.
LEGOengineering.com’s newest survey focuses on how educators manage LEGO-based learning.
They want to know how educators facilitate student learning in activities that use LEGO materials. How do LEGO activities help you meet academic requirements? How do you choose activities? How do you introduce activities? How do you keep students on task during a LEGO activity?
Take the latest survey and help the, summarize how educators are managing LEGO learning in the classroom.
Survey results will be published in Fall 2007.
http://www.legoengineering.com/content/view/78/65/
Another great site on the web for NXT news and info is at bNXT.com. The site includes a blog, downloads, and even tutorials. One of the neatest parts of the site, though, is the list of recent posts compiled from all over the web. It’s in the lower-right corner of the main page, and can be a good way to find NXT bloggers and websites you may not have known about. Another feature is the NXT papers availiable, such as A Radar Style Display for the NXT. Although the site is geared to users with the retail NXT sets, there is still a lot of good information that can be adapted to work with the different parts available in the MINDSTORMS Education NXT set.
What will be next from bNXT? You’ll have to take a look and see!
The writers at the NXTasy site include this definition on their about page:
NXTasy - \Nec”sta*sy\ - n; A state of emotion so intense for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control; intense joy or delight for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Synonym - Ecstasy
They’re not kidding! Lots of enthusiasm and knowledge is crammed into this site, which includes a forum, a repository of user-contributes files (programs, blocks, etc.), and challenges in addition to regular blog posts.
Be sure to take a look at NXTasy.org and let their passion inspire you and your students!