In recent years, STEM education--the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--has become a national priority. This focus has, in part, been driven by concerns over international competitiveness, dating back to Sputnik and the space race.
Young children are naturally curious about the world around them. They mix water and dirt to create mud, ask whether plants eat food like people do, follow ants marching along a sidewalk crack, and wonder about everything they see. With help from adults, these early experiences are key to developing the important thinking and reasoning skills that children will later use to explore increasingly complex questions about how the world works.
A technology revolution is now sweeping the world, and the countries that most effectively seize the opportunities it creates will dominate the 21st century. Nowhere is the revolution more transformative for lives, livelihoods, security and prosperity than in the field of artificial intelligence. AI will shift the balance of power in both the global economy and international relations, because the countries that master AI first will have a crucial strategic advantage in writing the rules for the next global order.
Today, the U.S. and Germany are dropping in ranks as innovation champions while Japan and China are rising. The survey also revealed that business executives are favoring protectionist policies as a way to keep jobs in their countries — but globalization is still viewed as a driving force for innovation.
More than 80 percent of Americans age 65-plus live in metropolitan areas,[i] and nearly 90 percent of older adults in the U.S. want to age in their homes and communities.[ii] Thus, the “Best Cities for Successful Aging” index is not intended to identify the locales to which older adults should retire. Instead, the index and report are designed to highlight the nation’s most livable metropolitan areas—those that enable an optimal quality of life for their aging citizens.
Cyberlearning researchers envision and investigate the future of learning with technology. As of summer 2017, the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies (CFTL) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) had made 279 research grant awards. In addition, several hundred other NSF research projects have cyberlearning themes. Many of these cyberlearning projects are in the exploratory stage or aim at capacity building, consistent with the goal of expanding frontiers. These projects typically do not aim to produce market-ready products or prove efficacy.
The survey findings indicate a clear opportunity to engage women to enter the field of technology at an earlier age, potentially making a significant impact on the widespread gender disparity in IT careers today. In fact, 69% of all respondents, which included 658 women and men, believe the key to getting more women in tech is encouraging females to pursue technology in high school or college.
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis, the world economy is showing encouraging signs of recovery, with GDP growth accelerating to 3.5 percent in 2017. Despite this positive development, leaders are facing major predicaments when it comes to economic policy. Uneven distribution of the benefits of economic progress, generational divides, rising income inequality in advanced economies, and increasing environmental degradation have heightened the sense that the economic policies of past years have not served citizens or society well.
As schools continue to foster 21st century skills in students in order to prepare them for the demands of a global workforce, K–12 will see the adoption of more makerspaces and research efforts to surface best benefits and practices. Furthermore, the report noted that “makerspaces were initially lauded for their role in stimulating interest in STEM fields,” but now they are often viewed as conduits to STEAM education with more emphasis on the humanities, visual arts, dance, drama and other areas of the arts.
Innovation is one of those words that can mean a lot of different things. Whether you’ve developed artificial intelligence software that can predict your schedule or just decided to put potato chips on a turkey sandwich (try it, seriously), innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. However, when it comes to the tech world, the word has a very specific meaning: your ability to disrupt your industry. And these cities house some of the most innovative people, companies, and attitudes in the entire world.
