Important Innovations

  New Tech Education Tools                             Source: Online Class During COVID On-Demand Learning Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are predicted to have a profound impact on how children and adults learn and absorb new information.  New research suggests the big benefit is that the new technologies have the capability to personalize from data analysis the specific educational content and needs for individual students. Experts say with the prevalence of virtual remote learning due to COVID-19,  artificial intelligence and virtual reality have the potential of disrupting the traditional models of both teaching and learning for the greater good. Big Data Driven With the help of big data, these new technologies can track individual and group learning patterns.  And based on the data and analysis, they can create customized tools to solve individual students' learning issues and opportunities for teachers to implement. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technolog

  Fully Functional Electric Car Created From Recycled Waste                           Source:  Technical University of Eindhoven   A Car Called Luca 22 students at the the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands have built a fully functional electric car from recycled waste.  The waste they used to build the car includes recycled PET bottles, ocean plastics and household waste.  Their purpose is to show the value of waste and how it can be recycled and used to create items of value like an electric car.  This was part of a University project to discover innovative ways that industries can find new uses for the 2.1 billions tons of waste the world generates every year.  The team that created Luca is led by a young woman, project manager Lisa van Etten. Luca The car is called Luca.  It's a two seat sports car that's totally electric.  The EV can hit 56 mph and has a range of 137 miles on a charge The chassis is made from flax and recycled PET bottles.  The interior i

New Research by Michigan State University Source:  Michigan State University Track Team Sports Lead to Better Grades and Retention Rates A new study by researchers at Michigan State University adds to the growing body of evidence that participating in recreational sports helps to improve grades and also helps students return to college for another year. 1800 Students Included The study included 1800 freshman at MSU.  The students who played intramural sports averaged 3.25 grad point averages versus 3.07 for those who didn't participate in sports activities.  Students who played sports also were 2.5 times more likely to come back to the university the next year. Right Number of Activities The findings are in the Journal of College Student Retention.  The researchers say the right number of activities are four to seven a year, ranging from intramural sports like ultimate frisbee and running to aerobics classes.

Breathe London Project - Kids' Backpacks With Sensors Source:  Breathe London Project In London, World's Largest Air Quality Study The massive, citywide air quality study is being spearheaded by scientists at Kings College London.  It's called the Breathe London Project and schoolchildren are part of the project.  Dyson has created backpacks for 250 students that contain sensors monitoring the air they are breathing during their daily routines.  The sensors are lightweight and show when and where the children are exposed to pollution.  For a news blog with more details on the project, go to Important Innovations Collection: World's Biggest Air Quality Study - London :  Breathe London Project - Kids' Backpacks Monitoring Air Pollution Source:  Breathe London Project  State of the Art Sensors in B...

Innovation's Core - STEM TF-X Biggest Jobs of the Future:  STEM At the core of innovation is expertise in science, technology, engineering and math.  Experts believe STEM will be the biggest job generator of upcoming decades.  A fascinating example of STEM expertise is the prototype flying car, the TF-X designed by a young MIT Ph.D in Engineering, Dr. Carl Dietrich.  The TF-X is a marvel of engineering.  It drives like a car and flies like a helicopter with vertical takeoffs and landings.  In about 5 years it will be on the market and enable you to take-off and land from your driveway. STEM Classroom Resource In order to excite the public and particularly students about the marvels of innovation being created by expertise in STEM, there's an e-book on Amazon's Kindle Select.  "Important Innovations:  Transportation".  It can be borrowed for free.  It's a great resource for the classroom and motivator for STEM.  It can be found in the Technology an