geekosystem

In 1954 Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent which said comic books were the cause of juvenile delinquency in America. They aren't, but the idea that comics are dangerous keeps popping up. This time it's showing itself in the form of a preschool that has banned "Super Hero play." What's really offensive, though, is what they've asked parents to do.

As everyone probably guessed, adding technology to the classrooms has its advantages and disadvantages. Sure, it allows for students and teachers to interact with subjects and lessons in entirely new ways, but technology can also prove just how inept we truly are when it comes to gadgets. At Highland Middle School in Anderson, Indiana, four boys have been suspended after viewing a "partially-clad" photo of their teacher on a school-issued iPad. Their teacher had apparently not realized that her phone had synced with the device.

Good news and bad news from the world of grade school harassment today. The good news: The dramatic uptick in cyberbullying may not be the scourge of today's youth that it is sometimes made out to be, according to a just released study. In fact, even with all their newfangled Internets and Facebooks, kids these days are still more likely to be pushed around by their peers in person than they are online. The bad news? They are still pretty likely to be bullied in the traditional manner, facing name-calling, locker stuffing, and all the other myriad pleasantries that consistently made junior high the best time of anyone's life ever.

We all know how good GLaDOS is at articulating physics concepts in simple words - "Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms, speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out." Now that Portal 2 is headed to classrooms complete with lesson plans, she's going to be so good with children!

We've seen some nifty Portal turrets in real life before, but not one that actually shoots. A Penn State University student created this currently frameless turret for his Advanced Mechatronics class' final project. The turret, like in the game, tracks its victims via an IP webcam, as well as shoots at them, though luckily for said victims it only shoots Nerf bullets. He's working on a frame so the thing looks more like the iconic white turret we've all come to love and fear, and yes, the turret also talks in that sing-songy, haunting voice. Check out a video of the thing in action after the break.

16-year-old Rain Price's high school's bus routes changed and he found that his bus would be passing by his house each morning. His dad, Dale, took this opportunity to dress up in a different costume each day and stand outside, waiting for the bus to pass by so he could wave to it. The first day of school, Dale was dressed normally for his wave. The second day, he wore a San Diego Chargers helmet. The third day, he wore an Anakin Skywalker helmet. The fourth day, he followed the Star Wars tribute by wearing swim trunks and a snorkel mask. Luckily for Rain, his peers on his bus didn't take the easy opportunity to ridicule him for his wacky dad, but instead found the morning wave and change of costume fun.

These kids today. Back when I was in school, simply having a cellphone in the school could be enough to land you in hot water. Now, the New York Times is reporting that a growing number of teachers are using Twitter and other digital communication systems as a "back channel" through which students can ask questions and engage in discussions. Educators who have embraced the new approach say that it brings more people into class discussions. From the NYTimes:

Nicholas Provenzano, an English teacher at Grosse Pointe South High School, outside Detroit, said that in a class of 30, only about 12 usually carried the conversation, but that eight more might pipe up on a backchannel. “Another eight kids entering a discussion is huge,” he noted.

Some students seem to echo this belief. One 17 year old interviewed by the Times said that he never felt the need to speak up during discussions. He adds that when typing, however, he feel like he can better express himself. Beyond boosting participation, some educators say that modern children respond better to more modern teaching methods. Again, from the Times:

In Exira, Iowa, Kate Weber uses the technology for short periods almost daily with her fourth graders. “You’d think there’s a lot of distraction, but it’s actually the opposite,” she said. “Kids are much quicker at stuff than we are. They can really multitask. They have hypertext minds.”

Bold changes to traditional teaching like this are bound to beg the question of whether or not they work.

Armenia is a country mad for chess, having won a number of world chess competitions in recent years. Now, the country will impart a love of chess to the next generation, committing $1.43 million to an educational program that will see chess taught as a school curriculum subject for children six and above, who will study chess in classrooms for two hours per week. While the country is framing the program in terms of Armenia's world competitiveness in chess, it's fair to expect that there will be broader educational benefits: Education ministry official Arman Aivazian said that chess lessons would "foster schoolchildren's intellectual development" and teach students to "think flexibly and wisely." (news.com.au via Neatorama. pic via Shutterstock.)

I had my share of school assemblies when I was growing up, but nothing like this. Maybe some guy explaining how electric cars work, or trying to convince me to sell lots of chocolate and nuts on behalf of the school. Not once did someone in a giant T-Rex suit making shockingly life-like movements show up to make us giddy with a mixture of delight and pants-wetting fear. Those are some lucky kids. (via The Daily What)

Toothpaste for Dinner aptly describes at least one person that you probably know from school (via TfD)