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Who Do You Think Should Be Person of the Year for 2020?

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Who Do You Think Should Be Person of the Year for 2020?

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

What person or group of people do you think best represents 2020?

Do you agree with Time magazine’s selection of President-elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as its persons of the year? Would you have made a different selection from the list of finalists, which included frontline health care workers along with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the racial justice movement and President Trump?

In “Biden and Harris Are Time’s Persons of the Year for 2020,” Neil Vigdor writes about Time magazine’s selection:

Time magazine on Thursday named President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as its persons of the year, citing the weight of the pandemic and racial injustice that will be shouldered by the history-making Democratic ticket.

Bruce Springsteen, who narrated a television ad for Mr. Biden during the campaign, revealed the magazine’s choice at the end of an hourlong television special on NBC.

Mr. Biden, 78, the former vice president under President Barack Obama, and Ms. Harris, 56, a U.S. senator from California who became the first Black woman and the first Indian-American elected to the vice presidency, will appear side by side in a portrait on the magazine’s cover on Dec. 21.

They edged out frontline health care workers (along with the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci), the racial justice movement and President Trump for the distinction.

The article continues:

The tradition goes back to 1927, when Time named the aviator Charles A. Lindbergh its first man of the year, as the honor was then called. The magazine, which began publishing in 1923, has bestowed the distinction on presidents, peacemakers, astronauts, popes and Queen Elizabeth II, on American women and the endangered earth. But some of the newsmakers chosen turned out to be infamous; Time selected Adolf Hitler in 1938 and Joseph Stalin in 1939, a distinction that was given to Stalin again in 1942.

Time has noted that its selection process is not a popularity contest, however. Its choice reflects “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill,” the magazine said in 2014.

Mr. Vigdor also lists other recent choices for person of the year:

Last year, Time named the young climate activist Greta Thunberg its person of the year, choosing her over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Trump, the Ukraine whistle-blower and the Hong Kong protesters.

The choice of Ms. Thunberg, who sailed across the Atlantic in an emissions-free yacht before her speech last year at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, rankled Mr. Trump. The president called the nod to Ms. Thunberg “ridiculous” on Twitter.

In 2018, the magazine selected a group of journalists that included the murdered Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi as its person of the year. The magazine said it wanted to underscore the threats faced by independent journalists at a time of so much disinformation. The journalists included the staff of The Capital Gazette newspapers in Maryland, where five people were shot dead in June 2018.

The previous year, Time recognized “the silence breakers,” a group of women who catalyzed the Me Too movement when they stepped forward to accuse powerful men of sexual harassment and assault.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • What person or group of people would you choose as person of the year for 2020? Why? Do you think that Dr. Fauci and frontline health care workers, the racial justice movement or Mr. Trump — Time’s other finalists — should have been chosen instead? Do you wish that any other people or groups had been included in Time’s final crop?

  • Imagine that you are in the meeting to determine who will be person of the year. What are the arguments for choosing Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris? What are the arguments against this choice? What message do you think the pick sends?

  • Time noted that it chooses “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill,” not necessarily whoever is most popular. What do you think of this criteria? What would your criteria be? Do you think that Time should select, and therefore draw attention to, someone who has made a positive difference in the world?

  • Among this year’s finalists are two groups: frontline health care workers and the racial justice movement. What do you think of Time’s willingness to recognize significant groups and movements? Does Time’s acknowledgment help those groups accomplish their goals, or is it simply symbolic?

  • Who is the person of 2020 in your own life? Is it a friend, parent, teacher or significant other? Why has that person been such a meaningful part of your year? If you think that person would appreciate the recognition, consider sharing it with them.

About Student Opinion

• Find all our Student Opinion questions in this column.
• Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it.
• Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

2020 in Pictures

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2020 in Pictures

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

“A Year Like No Other”: That’s the headline for the 2020 version of The Times’s annual “Year in Pictures” collection. The introduction to it begins this way:

Certain years are so eventful they are regarded as pivotal in history, years when wars and slavery ended and deep generational fissures burst into the open — 1865, 1945 and 1968 among them. The year 2020 will certainly join this list. It will long be remembered and studied as a time when more than 1.5 million people globally died during a pandemic, racial unrest gripped the world, and democracy itself faced extraordinary tests.

Take a look the whole collection, then tell us:

  • Which images stand out to you and why? Which ones do you think best represent 2020? Are there any events that you think are missing?

  • If you were to make a “Year in Pictures” of your own life, which moments would you include?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to read more of what Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times, has to say about this year’s selections.

About Picture Prompts

• Find all our Picture Prompts in this column.
• Have an idea for a Picture Prompt? Tell us about it.
• Teachers, discover more ways to teach with our Picture Prompts and learn how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Coursera Becomes Part of General Services Administration Listing

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Coursera Becomes Part of General Services Administration Listing

Now Any Federal Government Agency Can Easily Engage Coursera for Upskilling Projects 

By Kevin Mills, Head of Government Partnerships 

Approximately 400,000 Federal employees will need to be reskilled by FY 2021, according to the Office of Management and Budget. That’s nearly 20% of the government’s current workforce. 

Today, we are excited to announce an agreement with immixGroup to add Coursera to its General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract. Now, at a time when reskilling is mission-critical, federal agencies can streamline the deployment of high-quality online learning with Coursera. Qualifying state, local, and tribal governments can also sign up for Coursera through immixGroup’s MAS Information Technology contract, which provides agencies with innovative technology solutions from over 4,600 pre-vetted vendors. 

The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and automation, creating an urgent need for reskilling across public and private sectors. The need for upskilling is especially acute for government organizations, as technology adoption is now crucial to achieving mission outcomes. According to Gartner, 80% of government organizations are still at the initial or developing digital maturity stages. 

Coursera helps governments advance mission delivery with strategic, job-based learning programs that develop mastery in critical digital skills. Governments using Coursera have access to more than 3,800 courses from over 200 renowned university and industry educators including Google, IBM, Yale University, and the University of Michigan in cutting-edge skills like big data, AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity as well as soft skills like leadership and communication. 

Strategic upskilling, curated for job-roles with clear skill proficiency goals, will be key to building a competitive workforce in our “new normal.” This year, we introduced hundreds of job-based learning programs that match skill goals for a given role with a set of data-driven course recommendations. These SkillSets power Academies, which help governments drive skill literacy, upskilling, and reskilling in key areas such as Data Science, Software Engineering, and Cloud. Coursera can create custom learning pathways aligned to any organization’s mission requirements. Governments can track skill progress and measure proficiency against their organization’s goals as well as industry benchmarks. 

Panel Discussion: Crash Course on Digital Transformation and Reskilling for Federal Agencies

Over 380 governments and 2,400 companies use Coursera to reskill their employee and citizen workforces, including leading government agencies and 25% of Fortune 500 companies. 

Workforce development is now an urgent priority for governments worldwide. At the height of the pandemic, we launched the Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative to help governments provide impacted workers with free access to job-relevant training. Over the last seven months, governments across more than 100 countries and 30 US states and cities — including the states of Minnesota, Maine, Illinois, and South Carolina — have successfully implemented this initiative. Since April, more than 1 million impacted workers have enrolled in 8 million courses to gain in-demand skills. 

As the pandemic continues to rapidly reshape our working world, we are committed to helping governments build competitive workforces through scalable, data-driven learning programs. For more information about Coursera for Government, visit www.coursera.org/government.

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5 ways to prepare for your technical interview

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5 ways to prepare for your technical interview

This article was written by our friends at Career Karma.

For both new developers and seasoned engineers, the technical interview can be a daunting, overwhelming – and sometimes outright terrifying – process. No matter your professional experience, knowing how to prepare for the technical interview is a crucial skill. It will often be the difference between landing the job and being turned down. In this article we’ll explore 5 tips for preparing for your technical interview.

You have a technical interview. How should you prepare?

The technical interview can include conversations about many computer science and coding topics such as memory management, Big O Notation, data structures and algorithms, white-boarding or coding challenges, pair-programming, project walk-throughs, and take-home projects.

Aside from being properly rested the days leading up to your technical interview, there are a lot of preparation steps you can (and should) take to maximize how well you’ll do during your technical interview. Below are five ways to prepare.

1. Find relevant stories to tell

One of the best ways to portray your knowledge, understanding, and skills, is through interview storytelling. This is the opportunity for you to answer a question from the interviewer in a way that directly relates to the topic or experience being questioned. Telling relevant stories might also give you the opportunity to show understanding of the topic, even if you don’t have direct experience.

Here’s a short example of what that might look like when you don’t have direct experience with a topic:

Interviewer:  What is your experience using React?

Interviewee:  I’ve had to build several frontends, though I’ve typically used Vue and Angular. However, when I was starting my Movie List app, I did look at using React since it’s emerged as a widely-used framework. In fact, I cloned a project from Github and looked at the code and architecture of the app to get a better understanding of its use and took some time to read some of the docs. In the end, I did stick with Vue for my project, but knowing other frontend frameworks and from the small amount of research I did, I feel that I could comfortably step into building a frontend with React without any major challenges.

In this example, the interviewee is able to show knowledge and understanding of React even though they’ve not personally used it.  Then, the interviewee has the opportunity to finish answering the question by confidently saying they don’t feel as if they would struggle working with a new framework.

2. Take time to review past projects’ code

There are many benefits to reviewing code from your past projects. It’s often easy to forget a specific method you used, or the steps you took to solve a problem, twenty projects ago. Reviewing past projects gives you the opportunity to refamiliarize yourself with code solutions you’ve used in the past and allows personal reflection on how you’ve grown since.

It’s also common for an interviewer to ask you to walk them through a project or some code you’ve written. This is a great time to pick a good project out and get it ready for your interview. Be prepared to have a prior project accessible to walk through with your interviewer.

3. Learn data structures & algorithms

While spaghetti code can get the job done, understanding data structures and algorithms helps you write cleaner, more efficient code. Prepare for your technical interview by learning and understanding data structures and algorithms and best use-cases for each. Learning data structures and algorithms will help you have a better understanding of the how’s and why’s during your technical interview.

4. Do code challenges every day

Now that you’ve studied data structures and algorithms, practice putting them to use. Every day. At first, code challenges can be difficult to complete. It could take several hours to partially complete one. However, as you practice and start understanding methods used to solve a code challenge, you’ll be able to complete multiple code challenges in the time it used to take to solve one.

5. Learn to say, “I don’t know”…the right way

Saying “I don’t know” the right way is an art, and one that is definitely worth mastering. As an interviewee, not knowing the answer to a question can be the most terrifying scenario. Though, regardless of who you are, it’s impossible to know everything.

An interviewer knows this, and they’ll be paying particular attention to how you handle not knowing the answer to something. What you never want to do is say “I don’t know” or give an explanation that makes it clear you have no understanding of what you’re talking about.

Never look at not knowing as failure, rather opportunity. This is the chance to show off your critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Instead of blurting out, “I don’t know”, take a moment to collect yourself. Give yourself the chance to mentally work through what you’re being asked, and give an answer similar to:

“While I’m not sure it’s the best way, initially I’m thinking…”

And then you have the opportunity to follow up with a question to the interviewer like:

“What would you say is the best way to tackle that?”

This gives you the opportunity to show that you can critically-think about topics you’re unsure of and can also show that you’re open to others’ suggestions and feedback — which can be huge! Even before your interview, practice saying “I don’t know” the right way in everyday conversation. This will help it become second nature during the interview.

How Prepared Are You For Your Technical Interview?

You’ve spent those past years dreaming of the day you become a software engineer. The hiring department or tech manager has requested an interview (you’ve gotten the request, now what?), you’ve passed the phone screen/HR interview, and now it’s time for your technical interview. Preparation is everything. From learning and studying computer science concepts, to reviewing past code and projects, to knowing what to say and how to say it, each step will help you best prepare you for your technical interview.

After your interview, take time to reflect on your interview and how it went. Take time to make notes on questions asked, topics discussed, and think about how you can refine these steps for your next technical interview. And then after that, take a break and pat yourself on the back for a job well-done.

Word + Quiz: purport

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Word + Quiz: purport

verb: have the often specious appearance of being, intending, or claiming

verb: propose or intend

noun: the intended meaning of a communication

noun: the pervading meaning or tenor

_________

The word purport has appeared in 29 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Oct. 23 in “John Wilson Reveals the Absurd Poetry of New York” by Nathan Taylor Pemberton:

While “How To” is Wilson’s first TV series, it’s essentially an expansion of the offbeat “tutorial” videos he has been making on his own since 2010. Like his new show, these early shorts would purport to offer viewers insight into mundane tasks, inspired by the YouTube explainers that fascinated the filmmaker.

“I would watch them and want to know why this person became obsessed with air-conditioners,” Wilson said. “Was it a divorce, or something emotional?”

_________

Introduction to ‘Current Events Conversations’

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Introduction to ‘Current Events Conversations’

Thousands of students from around the world share their opinions and creative ideas by commenting on our daily writing prompts. Each week we round up some of our favorite student comments to spotlight in our Current Events Conversation.

Teachers tell us that this feature gets their students excited about writing in a few different ways. Our moderated comment section gives students an authentic audience for their writing. These weekly roundups can also serve as mentor texts for students as they hone their own writing skills. Plus, students get excited to see their names and writing celebrated in The New York Times!

Find all of our Learning Network tutorials in this video playlist.

What’s Going On in This Picture? | Dec. 14, 2020

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What’s Going On in This Picture? | Dec. 14, 2020

1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions:

2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

3. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

Each Monday, our collaborator, Visual Thinking Strategies, will facilitate a discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking to responses to help students’ understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.

4. On Thursday afternoons, we will reveal at the bottom of this post more information about the photo. How does reading the caption and learning its back story help you see the image differently?

How Much Do You Know About the Philippines?

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How Much Do You Know About the Philippines?

Can you find the Philippines on a map? What else do you know about this Pacific island nation with about 110 million people?

Do You Want Your Parents and Grandparents to Get the New Coronavirus Vaccine?

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Do You Want Your Parents and Grandparents to Get the New Coronavirus Vaccine?

In “First Coronavirus Vaccines Head to States, Starting Historic Effort,” Abby Goodnough, Reed Abelson and Jan Hoffman write about the hurdles of bringing the vaccine to the public:

At Novant Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., the new ultracold freezers are ready — enough to eventually house more than 500,000 doses of the first coronavirus vaccine approved in the United States.

In Los Angeles, the Cedars-Sinai medical center has installed extra security cameras to protect the secret location of its soon-to-arrive supply of the vaccine.

In Jackson, Miss., the state’s top two health officials are preparing to roll up their own sleeves in the coming days and be the first to get the shots there as cameras roll, hoping to send the message, “We trust it.”

The Food and Drug Administration’s emergency authorization on Friday night of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has set in motion the most ambitious vaccination campaign in the nation’s history, a challenge of staggering proportions choreographed against a backdrop of soaring infection rates and deaths. This weekend, 2.9 million doses of the vaccine are to begin traveling by plane and guarded truck from Pfizer facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin to designated locations, mostly hospitals, in all 50 states.

The article addresses the worries that some Americans have about the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety:

One of the biggest outstanding questions is how many Americans — even in the health care field — will hesitate to get the vaccine; a Pew Research Center poll conducted late last month found that 18 percent said that they would “definitely not” take the vaccine “if it were available today” and that 21 percent said that they would “probably not.”

Many health care workers have been hesitant about this vaccine because it is so new, and they are eager to see hard data before they decide whether to take it. Mindful of their cautiousness, Dr. Drees said that ChristianaCare was emphasizing to its staff that taking the vaccine is voluntary.

“While I know that the risk of getting Covid far outweighs the risk of getting the vaccine,” Dr. Drees said, “meeting workers where they are at is important.”

At Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System in South Carolina, Dr. Chris Lombardozzi, the system’s chief medical officer, said he did not anticipate much in the way of resistance from employees. “Our medical staff is completely on board,” he said, noting that he’d had discussions with leaders of several departments. To a person, he said, they say, “I want to be first.”

Their willingness reflects the reality of how hard the pandemic has hit their professions.

“We are so tired of this,” Dr. Lombardozzi said. “We are tired of watching people die. We are tired of not having a cure for an awful, awful virus. We want this to go away.”

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Are you anxious to have any of your family members get vaccinated? What about you: Are you looking forward to getting vaccinated?

  • Most teenagers and young adults will likely be last to receive the vaccine, after groups like health care workers, residents of long-term-care facilities and people with risk factors like diabetes or cancer. Do you support this distribution system that priorities certain groups over others based on perceived need? Do you think it makes sense that young people are near the end of the line? Why?

  • The article states, “One of the biggest outstanding questions is how many Americans — even in the health care field — will hesitate to get the vaccine.” Do you think this hesitancy on the part of some people is warranted? Do you think members of the public who are hesitant will feel reassured as more and more people get vaccinated without any major issues? Why?

Evolving Coursera’s Brand Identity

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Evolving Coursera’s Brand Identity

Today, we’re excited to share Coursera’s new brand identity, a reflection of our commitment to make transformative learning accessible, inclusive, and impactful for all. As we continue to serve our global community of learners, partners, and customers, our new identity expresses the power and potential of every learner—and every learning opportunity—on Coursera.  

Learning has the power to positively transform our world. It’s the reason Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng founded Coursera in 2012 with the mission to provide everyone, everywhere, access to the world’s best learning. 

Today, in partnership with more than 200 leading university and industry educators, Coursera has evolved into a global learning platform where over 75 million learners have come to learn job-relevant skills and earn career-advancing credentials. We’ve also expanded the way that we reach learners by helping enterprises, universities, governments, and nonprofits accelerate workforce transformation.

Coursera’s brand needed to reflect this growth. What started as an effort to enhance our brand before the pandemic, took on new meaning as we continued to introduce solutions to meet the urgent needs of our global community. Now, as we look ahead to a new year, we’re able to complete what we started and launch the next stage in Coursera’s brand evolution. 

We’ve sharpened our brand strategy to be clearer about who we are and why we’re here—for our learners, our partners, our customers, and the world.

To bring this strategy to life, our brand identity is guided by the following principles:

  • Provide clean, inviting points of entry into learning.
  • Celebrate the inspiring journeys and accomplishments of learners. 
  • Promote closer collaboration between learners, institutions, and employers.
  • Be globally accessible to everyone, everywhere.

We created a wordmark that brings people into the world of transformative learning and represents their successful journeys. The C is an entry point into the full span of learning opportunities on Coursera—from projects and free courses to Professional Certificates and degrees. The C spotlights a world of possibility and provides a path for learners from discovery to outcome.

Our new color palette draws on the natural world to create a calm, uplifting, and dynamic experience. Because Coursera is a gateway to some of the world’s most revered learning institutions, we also wanted a palette that sits in harmony with partners.

To best serve our global community, we selected Source Sans Pro and Noto Sans Pro as our typefaces. These typefaces support 582 languages and provide optimal upload and download speeds across devices and browsers for offline learning.

Our brand comes to life in the experiences of Coursera learners from around the world. While their backgrounds are unique, they share a common commitment to progress. The photography direction we established captures the impact of learning and authentically represents our global community. 



Coursera learners: Paulina M. (Ghana), Rayan B. (Brazil), Ehab B. (Germany), Wafa’ B. (Indonesia)

We designed a brand architecture that can encompass the full scope of our growing collaborations, while at the same time clearly communicating our relationship with each partner organization.

Learners come to Coursera to grow their skills, live their passions, and make a positive impact on the world.

As we ease our community into the new brand experience across our channels and platform, we want to continue to celebrate and inspire progress makers everywhere to learn without limits on Coursera.

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