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ERIK EMERY HANBERG: BEYOND "MATH AND SCIENCE" >>>
It seems like everyone wants more “math and science†education these days. Echoing a long list of politicians, last week President Obama called math and science education “vital†and noted that “we're falling behind other countries on that front.â€
Our community doesn’t only have to worry about falling behind other countries, we don’t want to fall behind other counties. Math and science education that prepares students to use, interact with, and create technology is critical to the long-term prospects of Tacoma and Pierce County.
Fortunately, our colleges and universities are up to the task.
Andrew Fry, an instructor at the Institute of Technology at University of Washington, Tacoma, said that they are seeing “record enrollment.â€
Mary Jane Kelly, one of his former students, didn’t know the first thing about computers when she started at the Institute. “When I started my first programming class, I was clueless,†she said. “I had no idea about anything computer-related except that there was a magical box that would run MS Word and Excel and if you did things right you could get on the Internet.â€
After some initially difficult classes Kelly eventually hit her stride. She became interested in cyber security--the art of defending against hackers and ne’er-do-wells and keeping computers safe--and joined a cyber security club on campus. Eventually she became its president. She landed an internship at a cyber security company and turned it into a job in the field.
Kelly, who has since moved on to another security consulting job, loves what she does so much that she volunteered at her alma mater this past weekend, helping with a “Cyber Defense Competition,†where a team of students attempts to hack into the website and servers of another team of students. The days of thinking about her computer as a magic box are long gone.
Perhaps just as important as teaching students to be programmers or computer experts are classes that use technology to teach other subjects.
Andy Duckworth, Director of eLearning for Tacoma Community College, told me about some of the creative ways TCC faculty is bringing technology into the classroom.
One beginning level English class created video reports instead of writing final papers. (Those reports have been uploaded to iTunes U, where they are free to the public.) One group reported on public opinion about gay rights; another about celebrity and media influence over consumers. Duckworth said that the students were truly engaged with the project. “These are skills they will be able to use later,†he said. “It’s about more than just editing video.â€
Duckworth told me about another instructor who set up an emergency room in the online world Second Life. He programmed a virtual patient to display symptoms for nursing students to observe, diagnose, and treat. It might not be the same as being in a real ER, but it’s a good way to test a student’s knowledge before he or she sees a flesh-and-blood patient.
Listening to Fry, Kelly, and Duckworth, I was heartened to hear that “math and science†education was about more than just calculus equations and chemistry labs. It’s about taking math, science, and technology and applying it in ways that will help students with future jobs and careers.
ABOUT HAZARDOUS BUSINESS: Erik Emery Hanberg's Hazardous Business column - which looks at the business of technology and the environment in Tacoma and the South Sound, and how it will shape our future, appears every other Tuesday here on Spew. For previous Hazardous Business columns, click here.
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