5. What other acts of hatred does the author of the manifesto claim to have committed?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
The author of the related Opinion essay “Mass Shootings Have Become a Sickening Meme” refers to a message posted before the shootings by an 8chan user identifying himself by the same name as the suspect in the attack. The message is “strikingly similar to the 8chan post left by the man accused of shooting up a mosque in New Zealand before he killed 49 worshipers in March.” He continues:
As in New Zealand, the suspected Poway shooter appeared eager to win approval for his act of violence. In his post, the synagogue shooter cites the 8chan message board for indoctrinating him, urging others to take similar action. His manifesto not only refers to the online postings of the New Zealand shooting and of the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, but seems almost cribbed from past white nationalist rants.
Do you think 8chan has a responsibility to police the content posted by its users? Why or why not? Do you think the 8chan community has any such similar responsibility? Explain.
The Opinion essay also states:
Both white nationalist violence and mass shootings have long histories in America, yet the copycat nature of the recent sprees feels different — specifically, in the way they hail a very niche, very targeted audience, attempting to delight fellow extremists. As much as they’re meant to terrorize, these attacks seem designed to embolden the most unstable members of their community. Though these men are lone gunmen, they’re not alone — like the New Zealand attack, the Poway shooter’s actions were cheered on by an online audience of anonymous trolls. One of the first responses to the 8chan post suspected to be from the gunman was a user imploring, “get a high score.”
Perhaps most disturbing is the subtle iteration of the shooters’ posts. As is common on online message boards, they vie for eyeballs by attempting to outdo previous posts, constantly pushing the line of acceptable behavior to new extremes.
That’s not to suggest that the 8chan or message board culture is solely to blame for such horrific acts of violence. The medium by which a shooter is radicalized is only one component of a long path to violence, and mass shootings and anti-Semitic violence have a long, dark legacy.
And yet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore how online hatred and message board screeds are bleeding into the physical world — and how social platforms can act as an accelerant for terroristic behavior. The internet, it seems, has imprinted itself on modern hate crimes, giving its most unstable residents a theater for unspeakable acts — and an amplification system for an ideology of white supremacy that only recently was relegated to the shadows.
Do you think online communities have the power to “embolden” people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, whether it’s committing murder or anything else? Explain.
What, if anything, should be done about online communities devoted to or frequented by users who harbor extremist beliefs?
Each year the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)is held in Qatar. It’s the premier international platform that is dedicated to innovation and creative action in education.
The theme of the 2014 WISE summit was ‘Imagine-Create-Learn: Creativity at the Heart of Education,’ and one of the topics on the agenda was the future of classroom training. It’s an issue which we are very interested in, as we have already pointed out some of the main changes happening to classroom learning here and now.
To prepare for the event, WISE conducted a survey of over 600 experts – among whom were Professor Noam Chomsky and Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia – to establish what the future of classroom learning might look like.
The survey, ‘School in 2030,’ found that almost half the respondents believed that online content will become the number 1 most important source of knowledge by 2030, rather than a ‘brick and mortar’ school, which came in second. It also suggested that when it comes to classroom learning, the role of teachers will change drastically from that delivering knowledge to learners, to guiding and mentoring students through their individual learning journeys.
Interestingly, the survey also pointed out that most experts believe that classroom learning will evolve to encompass more personal, tailored learning content for learners, as opposed to the current standardised content.
We couldn’t be happier to read these findings, as they are things that we’ve believed in for the past few years! In our white paper, ‘Classroom Training Goes Tech: Bringing Technology into the Classroom,’ we explain that tutors will move on from their role of disseminating information to guiding learners, and will act as facilitators of learning rather than strictly keeping to a syllabus. We explain the importance of utilising all technology available to us to boost classroom learning, and emphasise how vital it is that learners are able to tailor their learning to their particular needs, and do so while working in teams and sharing knowledge.
“No more ‘teachers’, lectures or imposed curricula: henceforth, the brick-and-mortar school will no longer be a place where students are taught theoretical knowledge, but instead a social environment where they receive guidance, enabling them to interact with their peers and build a diverse toolkit that will better prepare them for professional life. Innovation, not only technological but also social and pedagogical, will help transform the traditional ‘classrooms’ into future ‘meeting rooms’ where cooperative learning takes place and students prepare for their working future.”
The use of online content as the main source of knowledge also fills us with joy: we’re passionate that online learning is the solution to a whole bunch of problems – a lack of learner engagement, poor recall, insufficient socialisation and accessibility problems to name but a few. Indeed, we suggest in the white paper that classroom learning needs to embrace technology in order to survive and flourish.
There are ways to combine online and offline learning and encourage social learning to really boost understanding, engagement, enjoyment and overall learning, as you’ll see in our white paper – just click the button below to find out how we suggest the classroom learning revolution will occur!
Author : Felipe Gomez Degree : Masters Major : Marketing and Advertising Country : United States Language : English
Buzz, buzz, buzz. Whether it’s the roar of motorbikes, the near constant opening of bars and restaurants, the chatty nature of its inhabitants, or the abundance of great coffee, there’s just something invigorating about , Vietnam’s largest metropolis.
5. What other acts of hatred does the author of the manifesto claim to have committed?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
The author of the related Opinion essay “Mass Shootings Have Become a Sickening Meme” refers to a message posted before the shootings by an 8chan user identifying himself by the same name as the suspect in the attack. The message is “strikingly similar to the 8chan post left by the man accused of shooting up a mosque in New Zealand before he killed 49 worshipers in March.” He continues:
As in New Zealand, the suspected Poway shooter appeared eager to win approval for his act of violence. In his post, the synagogue shooter cites the 8chan message board for indoctrinating him, urging others to take similar action. His manifesto not only refers to the online postings of the New Zealand shooting and of the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, but seems almost cribbed from past white nationalist rants.
Do you think 8chan has a responsibility to police the content posted by its users? Why or why not? Do you think the 8chan community has any such similar responsibility? Explain.
The Opinion essay also states:
Both white nationalist violence and mass shootings have long histories in America, yet the copycat nature of the recent sprees feels different — specifically, in the way they hail a very niche, very targeted audience, attempting to delight fellow extremists. As much as they’re meant to terrorize, these attacks seem designed to embolden the most unstable members of their community. Though these men are lone gunmen, they’re not alone — like the New Zealand attack, the Poway shooter’s actions were cheered on by an online audience of anonymous trolls. One of the first responses to the 8chan post suspected to be from the gunman was a user imploring, “get a high score.”
Perhaps most disturbing is the subtle iteration of the shooters’ posts. As is common on online message boards, they vie for eyeballs by attempting to outdo previous posts, constantly pushing the line of acceptable behavior to new extremes.
That’s not to suggest that the 8chan or message board culture is solely to blame for such horrific acts of violence. The medium by which a shooter is radicalized is only one component of a long path to violence, and mass shootings and anti-Semitic violence have a long, dark legacy.
And yet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore how online hatred and message board screeds are bleeding into the physical world — and how social platforms can act as an accelerant for terroristic behavior. The internet, it seems, has imprinted itself on modern hate crimes, giving its most unstable residents a theater for unspeakable acts — and an amplification system for an ideology of white supremacy that only recently was relegated to the shadows.
Do you think online communities have the power to “embolden” people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, whether it’s committing murder or anything else? Explain.
What, if anything, should be done about online communities devoted to or frequented by users who harbor extremist beliefs?
On the bottom of her running blade in the Sahara, Palmiero-Winters wore a scrap of Goodyear tire, three and a half inches wide, for traction. The prosthesis included an air chamber to cool its outer and inner layers. Then the leg was coated in a chalky color with paint used on the roofs of houses and buildings in the desert.
It was critical to keep sand from getting between Palmiero-Winters’s skin and the silicon liner of her prosthesis, said Schaffer, who fashioned the prosthetic leg. The rubbing would mercilessly abrade her skin, he said, not unlike trying to run a marathon in a bathing suit full of sand.
Most states in the United States and countries around the world have an animal that symbolizes their state or country.
Off the top of your head, do you know any of your official state or national animals? If not, take a look at this list of state animals in the United States or this list of national animals from around the world.
Have you ever seen one of these animals in the wild where you live? What do you know about their habitats, diets or other characteristics?
Why do you think this animal was chosen to represent your state or country? If you were to choose an animal emblem, would you choose the same one? Why or why not? If not, what animal would you choose instead and why?
1. Why did Pennsylvania’s governor think the eastern hellbender salamander, or “snot otter,” was worth recognizing as the official state amphibian?
2. For what reasons might states honor official animals?
3. Why did Virginia recognize the Virginia big-eared bat in 2005? What impact has this recognition had on the species since then?
4. The American paddlefish is Missouri’s official state aquatic animal. Why is the fish at risk in the state?
5. Why does the California gull hold a special place in the hearts of Utah residents?
6. What role did students play in the naming of the tarantula hawk as New Mexico’s state insect? Why did they decide on this species?
7. What significance does the common collared lizard hold in the state of Oklahoma?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
The article notes that students often play a big role in the designation of official state animals. If you were to choose a new animal to represent your state or country, which would you choose and why?
Do a little research. Which animals in your area are in need of protection? What dangers are they facing and how might recognizing them help the species?
Which animals are important to your area? Which ones hold a symbolic place in the hearts of your state’s or country’s residents? Which have played an important part in your region’s culture or history?
After you’ve researched and decided on an animal to represent the place you live, write a short pitch that you might give to legislators to convince them to designate that species as your official state or national animal. Be sure to explain why this animal is representative of your region or why honoring it could help protect it for generations to come.
Technology has impacted almost every aspect of life today, and education is no exception. Or is it? In some ways, education seems much the same as it has been for many years. A 14th century illustration by Laurentius de Voltolina depicts a university lecture in medieval Italy. The scene is easily recognizable because of its parallels to the modern day. The teacher lectures from a podium at the front of the room while the students sit in rows and listen. Some of the students have books open in front of them and appear to be following along. A few look bored. Some are talking to their neighbors. One appears to be sleeping. Classrooms today do not look much different, though you might find modern students looking at their laptops, tablets, or smart phones instead of books (though probably open to Facebook). A cynic would say that technology has done nothing to change education.
However, in many ways, technology has profoundly changed education. For one, technology has greatly expanded access to education. In medieval times, books were rare and only an elite few had access to educational opportunities. Individuals had to travel to centers of learning to get an education. Today, massive amounts of information (books, audio, images, videos) are available at one’s fingertips through the Internet, and opportunities for formal learning are available online worldwide through the Khan Academy, MOOCs, podcasts, traditional online degree programs, and more. Access to learning opportunities today is unprecedented in scope thanks to technology.
Opportunities for communication and collaboration have also been expanded by technology. Traditionally, classrooms have been relatively isolated, and collaboration has been limited to other students in the same classroom or building. Today, technology enables forms of communication and collaboration undreamt of in the past. Students in a classroom in the rural U.S., for example, can learn about the Arctic by following the expedition of a team of scientists in the region, read scientists’ blog posting, view photos, e-mail questions to the scientists, and even talk live with the scientists via a videoconference. Students can share what they are learning with students in other classrooms in other states who are tracking the same expedition. Students can collaborate on group projects using technology-based tools such as wikis and Google docs. The walls of the classrooms are no longer a barrier as technology enables new ways of learning, communicating, and working collaboratively.
Technology has also begun to change the roles of teachers and learners. In the traditional classroom, such as what we see depicted in de Voltolina’s illustration, the teacher is the primary source of information, and the learners passively receive it. This model of the teacher as the “sage on the stage” has been in education for a long time, and it is still very much in evidence today. However, because of the access to information and educational opportunity that technology has enabled, in many classrooms today we see the teacher’s role shifting to the “guide on the side” as students take more responsibility for their own learning using technology to gather relevant information. Schools and universities across the country are beginning to redesign learning spaces to enable this new model of education, foster more interaction and small group work, and use technology as an enabler.
Technology is a powerful tool that can support and transform education in many ways, from making it easier for teachers to create instructional materials to enabling new ways for people to learn and work together. With the worldwide reach of the Internet and the ubiquity of smart devices that can connect to it, a new age of anytime anywhere education is dawning. It will be up to instructional designers and educational technologies to make the most of the opportunities provided by technology to change education so that effective and efficient education is available to everyone everywhere.
You can help shape the influence of technology in education with an Online Master of Science in Education in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University Online. This accredited program offers studies in exciting new technologies that are shaping education and offers students the opportunity to take part in the future of innovation.
Author : Felipe Gomez Degree : Masters Major : Marketing and Advertising Country : United States Language : English
Viajar en el tiempo ha sido una de las fantasías del ser humano por siglos. Es una tendencia popular en películas y ficción. Ha inspirado novelas desde El cuento de Navidad de Charles Dickens, hasta la obra maestra El Planeta de los Simios de Charlton Heston. Con el estreno de Interstellar –no hay spoilers– vamos a fantasear acerca del tema mucho más.
Pero, ¿qué es lo más fascinante de todo esto? Que probablemente es posible.
Lo casi imposible
Empecemos con las malas noticias. Probablemente no podamos viajar en el tiempo para ver a los egipcios construir las pirámides. En el siglo pasado, los científicos construyeron un sinnúmero de teorías que sugerían que era posible dar un salto al futuro; viajar al pasado, sin embargo, es mucho más complicado. Pero no necesariamente imposible.
Albert Einstein sentó las bases para muchas de las teorías científicas actuales en la investigación de los viajes en el tiempo. Por supuesto, científicos como Galileo y Poincaré que llegaron después también ayudaron, pero las teorías de Einstein sobre la relatividad (general y especial) cambiaron drásticamente nuestro entendimiento del tiempo y el espacio. Y es a causa de estas teorías que creemos que viajar en el tiempo es posible.
Una de las opciones para esto sería un agujero de gusano, también conocido como el puente Einstein-Rosen. Junto con el físico Nathan Rosen, Einstein sugirió la existencia de los agujeros de gusano en 1935, y aunque no se ha descubierto alguno, muchos científicos han contribuidocon sus propias teorías acerca de cómo podrían funcionar. Stephen Hawking y Kip Thorne son, probablemente, los más conocidos. Thorne, físico teórico en CalTech, incluso ayudó a Christopher Nolan con la ciencia detrás de la película Interstellar.
Entonces, asumamos que los agujeros de gusano existen. A finales de los años 80, Thorne dijo que un agujero de gusano se podía convertir en una máquina del tiempo. Según la teoría general de la relatividad de Einstein, el agujero podría actuar como un puente a través del espacio-tiempo conectando dos puntos distantes con un atajo.
La teoría dice que ciertos tipos de agujeros de gusano permiten viajar en el tiempo en ambas direcciones, si pudiéramos acelerar una de sus bocas a (casi) la velocidad de la luz y, después, revertir el proceso para colocarlo en su posición original. Mientras tanto, la otra boca quedaría estática. Como resultado, la boca que se mueve envejecería más lento que la boca estática gracias al efecto de dilatación del tiempo – más de esto en un segundo.
Sin embargo, en el uso de este método hay bastantes limitantes. La principal es el simple hecho de que necesitamos un método para crear agujeros de gusano, una vez creado, este solo nos permitirá viajar al pasado hasta el punto en el que fue creado. Así que, definitivamente, nunca seremos espectadores de la construcción de las Grandes Pirámides en Egipto.
Otra de las limitantes es que necesitaríamos una manera de mover una de las bocas del agujero de gusano a casi la velocidad de la luz. En un estudiode 1988, Thorne y sus colegas asumieron que “los seres avanzados producirían este movimiento tirando de la boca derecha gravitatoriamente o por vía electrónica”. Nosotros no podemos hacer eso, todavía.
Lo que sí podemos hacer es viajar al futuro –pero solo un poco.
Lo que es casi posible
En años recientes, se han comprobando algunos aspectos de las teorías imaginarias de Einstein. La última y quizá la más emocionante, es el efecto, antes mencionado, llamado dilatación del tiempo. Aunque hemos basado la tecnología en la teoría por décadas, un experimento de este año finalmente probó que la dilatación del tiempo es un fenómeno completamente real.
La dilatación del tiempo básicamente se refiere a la idea de que el tiempo pasa más despacio para un reloj que se mueve que para uno estático. La fuerza de gravedad también afecta la diferencia en el tiempo transcurrido. Entre más gravedad y más velocidad, habrá mayor diferencia en el tiempo. Los agujeros negros, como el de Interstellar, por ejemplo, producirían una cantidad masiva de dilatación del tiempo, debido a su fuerza gravitacional extrema.
Gracias a los programas espaciales, ya hemos lidiado con este efecto por muchos años. Esta es la razón por la que el sonido del tic-tac de los relojes en la Estación Espacial Internacional se escucha un poco más lento que el de los que están en la Tierra. Considerando que la estación se mueve más rápido y no está afectada por la gravedad, el tiempo se mueve más rápido. Es también la razón por la que los relojes en la Tierra no son precisos, dado que el efecto de la dilatación del tiempo significa que este se mueve más despacio entre más cerca te encuentres de la superficie terrestre.
Un mejor ejemplo de este efecto tiene que ver con los GPS satelitales. El chip GPS en tu móvil funciona porque existen 24 satélites alrededor del planeta que triangulan tu ubicación basándose en el tiempo que tarda la información en viajar hacia y desde el dispositivo.
Sin embargo, al construir el sistema, los científicos aprendieron que los relojes atómicos en los satélites caminan un poco más rápido, ya que se están moviendo a 14.484 km/hr en órbita. Para ser más específico, pierden 8 microsegundos al día. Parece ser imperceptible, pero es suficiente para errar con la ubicación. Por esta razón, la tecnología GPS hace ajustes en los relojes para compensar los efectos de dilatación del tiempo. La ecuación que usan es un poco complicada, pero si te interesa la puedes consultar aquí.
Las implicaciones de todo esto son enormes. ¿Qué pasaría si llevamos esto al extremo? Si tuviéramos una nave espacial que volara súper rápido, el tiempo pasaría más rápido para las personas en la Tierra. Podrías dar una vuelta por la galaxia y regresarías a la Tierra en el futuro. Es básicamente lo que pasa en El Planeta de los Simios. De hecho, el personaje que interpreta Charlton Heston es un viajero en el tiempo.
Lo que es definitivamente posible (pero un poco raro)
Las preguntas aún son, ¿podemos llevar esta teoría al extremo? ¿Es posible viajar al pasado también?
Como mencioné, no lo sabemos. Las teorías de Einstein para viajar en el tiempo afirman que es imposible viajar al pasado, pero siguen siendo teorías. Es posible que un descubrimiento en el futuro las confirme o revoque. En cuanto a los agujeros de gusano, en realidad no sabremos cómo funcionan hasta que lo probemos y, por el momento, no tenemos un método factible para construir un agujero de gusano en el espacio.
Por lo tanto, la manera más fácil de averiguarlo es buscando a los viajeros en el tiempo que caminan entre nosotros. ¡Y sin necesidad de un laboratorio! Y es, exactamente, lo que muchos científicos han estado haciendo. ( Spoiler: Aún no encuentran uno)
Sin embargo, si eres un curioso de los viajes en el tiempo, ve a verInterstellar. La ciencia detrás de la película puede sonar de fantasía, pero es fantástica.
Author : Felipe Gomez Degree : Masters Major : Marketing and Advertising Country : United States Language : English
We’re delighted to announce a new shareholder today. SEEK, Australia’s top employment marketplace, is joining The Open University as 50/50 shareholders in FutureLearn. Our existing relationship with The Open University and its vision for the higher education sector has, and will continue to have, a huge impact on and benefit to FutureLearn.
This is big news for us but before we get into the details, we want to say thank you – you, our learners are incredibly important to us and we simply wouldn’t be the company we are today without you, so thank you. And now for those details…
SEEK is Australia’s top employment marketplace. The SEEK Group operates in almost 20 countries, with access to almost 200m jobseekers and almost one million hirers from organisations and recruitment agencies. You can watch a quick video about the group.
For FutureLearn, SEEK adds experience and expertise in the employment sector, a good fit for the education sector as more people look for a return on the time and money they invest in learning.
But there’s no change to our purpose of transforming access to education on a global scale. SEEK are investing in FutureLearn and its business strategy so you’ll keep seeing the FutureLearn you know, it’s not going anywhere.
It really is still business as usual for us. We will still be offering access to courses for free but the investment means we can do more, more quickly.
For example, we’ll continue to invest to ensure our platform remains extremely user-friendly and enjoyable to use on mobile, desktop and tablet. We’ll also remain focused on the courses we bring you so look out for more courses in terms of new subject areas, more degrees, and bite-sized stackable courses for learners keen to develop a particular skill for the workplace.
We’re delighted to be receiving this investment, obviously, but we’re really excited to be receiving it from a company like SEEK who understands and believes in our business and what we can achieve together. They are also a really good match to both us and our founding shareholder, The Open University, in their stated purpose to help people live more fulfilling and productive working lives and help organisations. You can watch how they bring their purpose to life.
They’re a great new investor for us and we can’t wait to start working with them. We hope you’re as excited as we all are for the future.
Simon Nelson
PS: We will do a round-up response to your comments later this week.
As the field of data science matures, a distinct specialization is emerging: data engineering. Tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, and Google are recognize the value of data engineers relative to data scientists. That’s why they’re targeting candidates with skills to build critical infrastructure like data pipelines and warehouses.
The best computer science degrees keep up with this trend by helping graduate students develop high-level data engineering skills. The University of Illinois Online Master of Computer Science in Data Science (MCS-DS) degree is one of these degrees: it offers a comprehensive full-stack data sciences education to add this fast-growing career path to the employment opportunities of its graduates.
Data science is one of the most in-demand career fields in computer science according to LinkedIn, job openings increased 56% over the past year. These big data detectives unearth valuable insights through analysis of massive datasets. At the highest level, their skills are essential for developing machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
However, in order to work their magic, data scientists need data. And not just any data — they need a clean dataset. That means they need raw and messy data converted to a consistent format that can be used with the data scientist’s analytic tools. As computer science students know well, this simple-sounding task becomes increasingly challenging and time-consuming as a dataset grows in scale. In fact, some data scientists spend as much as 80% of their time “wrangling” or “munging” data before it’s ready to be analyzed.
That’s where data engineering comes in. Data engineers evaluate, parse, and clean datasets, using programming languages like Python and R to build data pipelines and warehouses. This infrastructure efficiently delivers clean datasets at scale for data science to produce big data products. The data engineer’s specialized expertise becomes crucial to a company’s success as it grows; a startup that can only afford to hire one data scientist might have no choice but to direct 80% of their hours to data engineering. This inefficiency becomes a crippling as the company scales up.
Just as data scientists and data engineers can sometimes be distinct roles within a company, top professionals in these fields can sometimes come from distinct educational backgrounds. While a data scientist typically might focus on math and statistical analysis, data engineers are often system thinkers and programmers at heart. As the data industry continues to develop, it’s becoming apparent that specializing in data engineering early in your education is a significant advantage for your career.
The University of Illinois is one of the top-ranked computer science schools in the country, with an incredible history of pioneering research dating back to the 1940s. Its Online Masters of Computer Science in Data Science (MCS-DS) degree provides a top-tier advanced education for data scientists, and students that want to pursue a career in data engineering have the flexibility to choose courses that prepare them for that direction. The degree requires graduate-level coursework in data mining, cloud computing, data visualization and machine learning for all students, through courses such as Introduction to Data Mining, taught by Jiawei Han, author of the well-known textbook “Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques.”
Computer science graduate students that want to become data engineers have plenty of opportunities to dive deeper as they fulfill their degree requirements. Advanced courses include data engineering-centric classes such as Theory and Practice of Data Cleaning and Data Curation.
MCS-DS students with a data engineering focus can complete their education with a Data Mining Capstone Project. In this hands-on course, students learn the latest data mining research techniques in an online seminar. They also complete a major project that applies data mining techniques to solve a real-world challenge. This kind of interactive, face-to-face learning experience puts the MCS-DS on a higher level than typical online computer science programs.
The University of Illinois MCS-DS degree gives you excellent preparation for a data engineering career. Illinois’ highly-ranked computer science program is known for its track record of excellence, and Illinois alumni and faculty are responsible for companies that have created entirely new industries.
The 
The use of online content as the main source of knowledge also fills us with joy: we’re passionate that online learning is the solution to a whole bunch of problems – a lack of learner engagement, poor recall, insufficient socialisation and accessibility problems to name but a few. Indeed, we suggest in the 
