Archive for December 2015

Robot Gives Hospital-Bound Girl Continuity with School

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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">A unique piece of technology is helping a fifth-grade student named Peyton virtually attend school while she’s in the hospital for radiation therapy.</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">PAVS is an advanced robot that uses a camera-based monitor to feature Peyton’s face and voice and which allows her to attend her elementary class in Montgomery County, Maryland which is about 250 miles away from her hospital.the robot’s name, ‘PAVS’, stands for Peyton’s Awesome Virtual Self, and it makes sure she can attend all of her classes at Poolesville Elementary even if she physically cannot be in the classroom. The robot lets Peyton interact with her class, talk to her teachers and virtually move around the classroom.</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">PAVS is a rolling machine that’s four feet high. With an attached iPad screen, it shows Peyton in real-time while it lets her view her class and watch her lessons and other activities through the school day. Fellow students and teachers at Poolesville have warmly welcomed PAVS, The Washington Post reports.one of Peyton’s classmates who sits along with PAVS said the idea was ‘really cool’ and recognized how Peyton might feel lonely and bored in the hospital away from her friends, the Christian Examiner reports.</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">The 10-year-old Peyton is thin with blue eyes, and as The Washington Post says, she loves penguins, the color green, and sparkly fashion. Peyton also loves science and math, two subjects she can still engage in thanks to PAVS.many in the media, including The Washington Post, Food World News and the Christian Examiner, have pointed out that the advanced robot lets Peyton return to normalcy and participate in her classroom lessons and engage in activities her peers do. PAVS gives Peyton the chance to stay connected with her classmates and friends and offers her a sense that she can continue her usual activities despite her health issue.</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">According to Peyton’s mother, Lynn Schaeber, one significant success of PAVS is that it enables Peyton to retain her socializing activities and to maintain a level of continuity in her life:“We forget as parents that school is their life. They wake up preparing to go to school, and the last thing they do at night is homework.”</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">According to the district’s director of technology integration and school support, Kara Trenkamp, there’s currently a learning curve in integrating PAVS into the classroom, but she expressed her gratitude that the project so has had some very positive outcomes.</span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #741b47;">The robot has drawn the attention of more schools and districts, Maryland officials say. Teachers from Fairfax County in Virginia visited PAVS’ school to see firsthand the possibilities the advanced robot makes possible in terms of virtual learning for students who cannot attend due to health-related, geographical or other limitations.doctors are also seeing the value of robot technology, among them AeRang Kim, a pediatric oncologist at the Children’s National Health System, who says the potential of such technologies is immense and with multiple benefits for patients.</span></b></i></div>
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Robot Gives Hospital-Bound Girl Continuity with School

A unique piece of technology is helping a fifth-grade student named Peyton virtually attend school while she’s in the hospital for radiat...

Schools, Universities Largest Market for 3D Printers

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<i>Schools and universities are beginning to incorporate 3D printers into their curricula more often, and now make up the largest market for 3D printers under$2,500.educational institutions buy more 3D printers than individuals. The number of US schools that have 3D printers hasn’t been quantified, but 5,000 schools have MakerBot’s 3D printers, and they are only one of the major sellers. Others include Stratasys, 3D Systems, and Variquest.</i></div>
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<i>3D printer purchases are expected to double in 2016 to 496,500 shipments. By 2019, numbers could reach 5.6 million.these statistics come from a report by Gartner Inc., an independent technology research company.rapid quality and performance innovations across all 3D printer technologies are driving both enterprise and consumer demand, with unit shipment growth rates for 3D printers increasing significantly. The 3D printer market is continuing its transformation from a niche market to a broad-based, global market of enterprises and consumers.Lan Neugent, interim executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), said that technology and career faculty are often instrumental in school’s 3D printer purchases. He said:educators understand that when children have the ability to see the results of their theoretical thinking in a concrete form, it brings reality to the classroom. As schools are working on STEM and college and career readiness, it’s a natural progression that you would get a fairly inexpensive device to cut across those categories.</i></div>
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<i>Some schools are adapting remarkably quickly. The Oakwood School in San Fernando Valley, California, has an entire 3D printing program at the core of its STEAM curriculum, writes Bridget Butler Millsaps of 3DPrint.com. Two school districts in Rhode Island, North Cumberland and McCourt, are incorporating 3D printers into middle school curricula, according to Brittany Ballantyne of the Valley Breeze.Because of the 3D printer trend in schools, there is a growing demand for child-oriented computer-aided design (CAD) software that students can use to create 3D-printed objects, writes John Dogru of Tech Crunch.</i></div>
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<i><i>There are already a few options for students. Apps like Zotebook.io allow users to draw 2D designs and convert them into 3D models for printing. FormZ for the computer comes with student licenses that allow high school and university students to access it for free for a year, where they can use its tutorials to learn how to use the professional-grade software.Another app designed for young children is Dr. Fluff’s Robot Factory for Android. Users create 3D models of fanciful robots, and teachers who don’t have access to a 3D printer can send away for students’ models via mail.Much of the school market is outside of America, writes Alison DeNisco of District Administration. For example, China has made significant investments in 3D printing for schools, and the government plans to offer training to teachers so they can create 3D printing courses. The program will begin in elementary schools, according to a report from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology entitled “National Additive Manufacturing Industry Promotion Plan 2015-2016.”</i></i></div>
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Schools, Universities Largest Market for 3D Printers

Schools and universities are beginning to incorporate 3D printers into their curricula more often, and now make up the largest market for...

UK Children Do Better In Foster Care Than With Troubled Families

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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A joint study by the Rees Centre of the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol looked into student achievement for children in foster care settings, concluding that children in foster care do better at school compared to children who continue living with their troubled families and get social workers’ support.the study also found that the duration and stability of the child’s foster care placement contribute to the student’s educational success.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>For the study’s purposes, researchers examined the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results of about 640,000 teenage students in the UK. They found that vulnerable children living in foster or kinship care did as better as 6 GCSE grades higher than children living with their parents and receiving social worker support, the BBC reports. The researchers highlighted that the more stable and long-term the foster care, the better the academic achievement of the student. They argue in their report:</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“The earlier the young person enters foster or kinship care the better their progress, provided that they do not experience many short care periods interspersed with reunifications with their birth families or many placement and/or school changes.”this type of setting offers the protection and sense of safety students need to focus on their education, the researchers say. Children who remain in the same foster care placement for more than one year could achieve a total of 5 higher GCSE grades compared to children switching between birth family and foster family or other settings.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The study, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, a UK educational charity, included interviews with 26 young people apart from the GCSE grade analysis. Compared to students that are not in foster care or receiving social work support at home, both foster care groups lag behind. The research also reveals that parameters such as days of absence, school moves and type of school contributed to how successful or not a child’s education was.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Reporting on the study’s results, Community Care said that when a child’s final placement is in foster or kinship care then their GCSE results are better compared to students in at-home care.the education lead for the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, Ms. Debbie Barnes, said the findings will help the organization better understand and better serve children in need, the BBC reports. David Berridge, Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the University of Bristol, said about children in foster or kinship care:“[Y]young people said they could only do well at school once they felt safe and secure, that they mattered to someone and that their birth families were also being supported,” Caroline Mortimer reporting for The Independent says.for Josh Hillman, Acting Director and Director of Education at the Nuffield Foundation, the study provides a ‘clear agenda’ for anyone involved in care systems and education as to what steps to take next to improve the learning circumstances of children in need, Phys.org reports.finally, the Children’s Minister Edward Timpson emphasized the value of education and family support in a student’s academic and personal success</i></span>.</div>
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UK Children Do Better In Foster Care Than With Troubled Families

A joint study by the Rees Centre of the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol looked into student achievement for children i...

Most Parents Uncomfortable Talking With Kids About Mental Health

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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A poll in England has found that of over 1,100 parents surveyed, 55% had not spoken to their children about mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Of those parents, 20% said they did not know how to broach the subject.</i><i>The results of the poll were released as part of a program funded by the British Department of Health to attempt to eliminate the stigma that is often associated with mental health conditions.the BBC reports the poll of parents of children aged six to 18 was given by Opinion Matters, a market research company, on behalf of the Time to Change campaign and implemented by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.the poll revealed that 45% of parents believed they did not need to have a conversation about mental health because it “was not an issue.” But the campaign reports that one in 10 children will experience a mental health problem.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sue Baker, the Director of Time to Change, said this is the time to be the generation of change. At least three children in every classroom will experience mental health problems, she notes.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A different survey released last month suggested that 62% of young people have used the internet to search for the word “depression.” The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, said youngsters on their own accord do not have the confidence to ask their doctor for help with mental issues.kate Pickles of the Daily Mail said experts have warned that kids are under increasing stress, which includes social media pressure, cyber-bullying, school expectations, and even early “sexualization.” Cases of depression, problems in social settings, and anxiety have risen a fifth based on statistics that report the number of cases occurring.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Recent studies have also found that two-thirds of teachers are concerned about their students’ mental health. In some circumstances, young people have stopped being with friends, attending school, and having close relationships. In extreme cases, the stigma has driven children to consider suicide.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>As a result of the poll, teachers in the UK are scheduled to receive extra training on how to help students with mental health issues. Thanks to the Time to Change campaign, 60 schools in England, with help from the charity YoungMinds, will be given training and free resources to work with secondary school students (ages 11 through 18). Young people who have had mental health problems will also make presentations concerning their experience of living with the illness, writes Eleanor Busby of TES.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Two advertisements have been developed as part of the campaign aimed at 14-18-year-olds and their mothers and fathers. The first illustrates how young people should think before they judge a friend or classmate who is going through mental health problems. The second encourages parents to be prepared to have the mental health conversation with their children.nadine Peacock, a mother of a 19-year-old daughter, came to believe that the topic should be discussed in school and by parents after her daughter experienced mental health issues. Peacock said:“My biggest piece of advice, make mental health part of everyday conversation with your child. Even if your child isn’t experiencing any issues, if something does crop up further down the line at least then they feel like they can have an open conversation with you about it.“There also needs to be more education around the topic at school; the more openly this is discussed in the classroom, the less of a taboo mental health will be.”</i></span></div>
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Most Parents Uncomfortable Talking With Kids About Mental Health

A poll in England has found that of over 1,100 parents surveyed, 55% had not spoken to their children about mental health issues such as d...

California Legislature Moves on Requiring Vaccinations

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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">California is taking steps to require vaccines for schoolchildren even if parents state religious objections.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">California’s Assembly passed a strict new proposal this month requiring that parents have their children vaccinated regardless of religious or personal belief. The state Senate approved an earlier draft which bodes well for Senate approval on the new measure. After that, the bill will travel to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature, writes the Los Angeles Times.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Quartz’s Gwynn Guilford writes that the bill originated after a December 2014 outbreak of measles at Disneyland in Southern California, where a woman who had not been vaccinated started an epidemic that infected approximately 131 Californians and many from other states. Eighty-one patients from California had immunization statuses that were known, and of those 81, 70% had never been immunized.only Mississippi and West Virginia, along with California if the bill is signed, require immunizations in spite of parents’ religious or personal stances, reports the National Conference of State Legislatures. The only exception in the California bill is a physician-approved exemption because of medical conditions like allergies and immune-system deficiencies.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Associated Press quoted Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) in her presentation of the bill:“Do we wait until we have a full-fledged crisis to protect the most vulnerable?” the bill passed on a bipartisan 46-30 vote after significant opposition from thousands of parents calling their representatives and marching on the Capitol. Those in agreement were equally as fervent and stood by 7-year-old leukemia survivor Rhett Krawitt who, because he could not be vaccinated after chemotherapy, was nervous to return to school in the acutely under-vaccinated Marin County.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“We should fight for the liberty not just of those who don’t want to vaccinate their kids, but for those who cannot,” said Republican Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Pleasanton, during Thursday’s floor debate.still, opponents feel they are being bullied into making the decision to have their children vaccinated or to take their children out of school. Bill author Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician himself, and Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) said they have been targeted for recall by those against the bill. In Monning’s district, which includes Santa Cruz, there are a high number of parents who opt out of vaccinating their children. Monning says he has been forced to shut down his office because of safety concerns.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“If anyone can tell me where the line for medical necessity reasonably ends to justify a law, then I will vote for this bill,” Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) said. “Until then, this is a slippery slope.”</span></i></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL56npCPb9uOd9_yWSBDuJnJwXuK4zZIRr7zdevGciBCtc_fgFOdyyeqoOx6rk9igoHw-BS1SowTLT1xQ_IX4LD3vyPeNVLDpF-lVQwknfJIRMAGAH_boUiWdlA8coA-8LiJLM-18wX0Sa/s1600/images+%252837%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL56npCPb9uOd9_yWSBDuJnJwXuK4zZIRr7zdevGciBCtc_fgFOdyyeqoOx6rk9igoHw-BS1SowTLT1xQ_IX4LD3vyPeNVLDpF-lVQwknfJIRMAGAH_boUiWdlA8coA-8LiJLM-18wX0Sa/s1600/images+%252837%2529.jpg" /></span></i></a><i></i><br />
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<i><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One group opposed to the passing of the bill is Californians for Vaccine Choice. On their website they warn that the measure would “eliminate a parent’s right to exempt their children from one, some, or all vaccines, a risk-laden medical procedure.”  The group continues by stating that California parents will be forced to vaccinate children with more than 40 doses of 10 federally recommended immunizations or homeschool their children unless a doctor will sign a release, which 99.99% of doctors refuse to do under federal guidelines, report Michael Martinez and Amanda Watts of CNN.</span></i></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Denise Hassanzade Ajiri of The Christian Science Monitor writes that according to professor Mark Largent, a historian at Michigan State University in East Lansing who authored “Vaccine: The Debate in Modern America,” parents who are against vaccinating their kids are not anti-vaccine, but are vaccine-anxious.health professionals are of the opinion that the risks of vaccines are lower than the diseases themselves. They add that the study that linked the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella to autism has been discredited, but some parents are still wary.</span></i></div>

California Legislature Moves on Requiring Vaccinations

California is taking steps to require vaccines for schoolchildren even if parents state religious objections. California’s Assembly pas...