Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.“The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.“Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.“Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”“Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”
Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.
A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.
“The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.
Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.
“Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”
Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”
The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.
“Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”
Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”
Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”
Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”
“Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”
One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”
In early literacy, the goal is simple but urgent: Help students become independent readers and writers. Every instructional decision we make either moves them closer to that goal or keeps them circling the mountain instead of climbing it. As literacy researcher Timothy Shanahan reminds us, “If a mountain is high, we should help children to climb that mountain. With appropriate supports and scaffolds it can be done.”
As an early literacy coach specializing in pre-K to grade five, I work with teachers and districts to accelerate access so all students can become independent, empowered readers. I focus on the most efficient, research-supported strategies to help children learn to read with confidence.
Unfortunately, many traditional literacy approaches treat third grade as the finish line for learning to read, leaving too many students stranded on the mountainside.
The phonics code introduced in K-2 doesn’t disappear as texts become more complex. In fact, upper grade reading places even greater demands on decoding as vocabulary grows longer and more morphologically complex. While many teachers want to support students through this shift, they often lack the training, tools, and time needed to continue explicit instruction in word recognition.
The danger of a slow rollout
Time is of the essence. One longitudinal study found that first graders who are behind in reading have an 88 percent chance of still being behind in fourth grade. This pattern reflects what researchers call the Matthew Effect: Students who fall behind early tend to fall further behind over time unless instruction accelerates their progress.
This is why students who are catching up still need regular opportunities to engage with grade-level text. Students need rigor paired with intentional scaffolding–not simplified reading assignments that limit access to the language, ideas, and vocabulary found in complex texts.
There is a common belief that, after enough reading lessons, a switch will flip and reading will simply click. But learning to read is far more nuanced. While phonics instruction is typically organized across a K-2 scope and sequence, students who miss or only partially master early skills often carry those gaps forward. By third or fourth grade, these unresolved gaps can block access to grade-level text.
A brain-based, research-aligned approach
At any age, when students understand the logic behind the code, reading stops feeling random. They begin noticing patterns, decoding unfamiliar words, and approaching text with genuine confidence.
English is a morphophonemic language, which means our spelling system represents both morphology (meaning) and phonology (sound). When instruction reflects this, everything changes for students. That’s why I advocate for teaching how sounds, spelling patterns, and meaning work together, rather than relying on rote memorization or delaying access to key phonics patterns. It’s also important to introduce morphology and etymology early, giving students access to the meaningful building blocks of complex words.
Here’s what this brain-based approach looks like in practice. While working in a district implementing a systematic, research-aligned literacy framework, I began tutoring a student at the very end of second grade. He had little confidence in his reading ability and regularly said things like, “I’m a terrible reader.”
To accelerate his literacy development, I focused on three priorities: identifying his precise gaps, closing them efficiently, and ensuring he could access grade-level text with support.
To understand where he was struggling, the first step was administering a universal literacy screener, Acadience Reading. His results showed he was well below benchmark in oral reading fluency for his grade.
From there, I administered a phonics diagnostic to pinpoint his specific needs. I used the Intervention Placement Test from UFLI Foundations, which placed him at a lesson within the program’s scope and sequence and clarified exactly which skills still required explicit instruction. I then began targeted, systematic phonics instruction using UFLI Foundations.
But assessment and phonics instruction alone weren’t enough. Decodable texts are essential, but they must be paired with supported access to grade-level text. Because this student was moving into third grade, I selected grade-level texts from ReadWorks around a topic he was interested in.
To accelerate his progress beyond the limits of a traditional scope and sequence, I integrated Secret Stories–an ESSA Tier 1 supplemental phonics resource with an average effect size of 1.62 that helps students quickly learn and apply complex phonics patterns through brief, brain-based stories.
I used Secret Stories within UFLI phonics lessons to teach tricky patterns, and outside of phonics instruction to unlock words in grade-level texts he was not “supposed” to be able to read yet. Because most Secret Stories take under 30 seconds to teach, they can be embedded anywhere in the day. For example, when the calendar shows the month of August, teachers might pause to review why AU makes the “aww” sound. Once learned, those explanations become tools kids can immediately apply during reading, writing, and content instruction.
To further prepare him for these grade-level texts, I pre-taught key vocabulary and explicitly introduced relevant morphemes–prefixes, suffixes and root words. I also used The Writing Revolution, a book with resources for teaching writing and sentence syntax, and Brainspring, a morphology resource my district had just started using for third grade and up to teach new prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
Putting this set of literacy “mountain-climbing gear” in place took intentional effort, and I worried it might be too much. Instead, he leaned in. With the right supports and someone beside him, he embraced the challenge and began to see himself as a capable reader. The rigor didn’t overwhelm him. It gave him confidence.
Achieving the peak of independence
Many older students face the same struggles as the second-grader I supported. They never fully mastered the early phonics sequence, and those gaps accumulate over time. By the time they encounter texts filled with multisyllabic words, unfamiliar morphemes, dense syntax, and academic vocabulary, reading can feel overwhelming.
But when those patterns are reintroduced through clear, brain-based explanations, older learners often catch on quickly. Words that once felt confusing begin to make sense. They experience the same “aha” moments as younger learners with an even deeper sense of relief and empowerment–and without feeling remediated. For students who felt stuck below grade level for years, this shift is transformative.
Today, that same student, now halfway through third grade, is confidently reading grade-level text, with a renewed sense of competence and joy. In just eight months, his oral reading fluency moved from ‘well below benchmark’ to ‘at benchmark.’
Each successful mountain climber is a reminder that the end goal of literacy instruction isn’t mastery of isolated skills like phonemic awareness or sight words. In isolation, these skills move students sideways or, as Shanahan describes, “walk students around the mountain rather than up it.” Instead, the goal is upward progress, toward independent reading and writing. Every instructional decision, assessment, program and resource we choose should point students efficiently up the mountain, helping them reach the peak with confidence and purpose.
Leah Ruesink, Early Literacy Coach
Leah Ruesink is an early literacy coach, tutor and adjunct professor based in Michigan. She supports K–3 teachers in implementing research-aligned reading instruction and provides science-backed literacy guidance to educators, coaches, and families. Through her work in schools, writing, and online as @theearlyliteracycoach, Leah helps bridge the gap between literacy research and the everyday classroom.
Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)
In the era of vibe coding, when even professionals are pawning off their programming work on AI tools, Microsoft is throwing it all the way back to the language that launched a billion devices. On Wednesday, the company announced that it would make the source code for Microsoft BASIC for the 6502 Version 1.1 publicly available and open-source. The code is now uploaded to GitHub under an MIT license (with a cheeky commit time stamp of “48 years ago”).
Microsoft called the code—written by the company’s founder, Bill Gates, and its second-ever employee, Ric Weiland—”one of the most historically significant pieces of software from the early personal computer era.” It’s pretty simple, clocking in at just 6,955 lines of assembly language, but that simplicity was key to its becoming so foundational to just about everything.
The MOS 6502 processor, which ran the code, was inexpensive and accessible compared to contemporary alternatives, and variations of the chip would eventually find their way into the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Commodore computers. In fact, the story goes that Microsoft licensed its 6502 BASIC to Commodore for a flat fee of $25,000, which turned out to be a great deal for Commodore, which shipped millions of computers running the code.
Per Microsoft, the company’s first product was a BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080, which was written by Gates and co-founder Paul Allen. The version the company dropped on GitHub is actually an updated version of BASIC, which contains bug fixes implemented by Gates and Commodore engineer John Feagans. While it’s called 1.1 on GitHub, Microsoft said it initially shipped as BASIC V2.
It’s kind of a big deal for Microsoft to finally open-source the entirety of the code, which was previously only available in bits and pieces. Without Microsoft’s official blessing to make this code public, it was possible that the original documentation, as well as the legal permission needed to use the code, would have been lost to history. Now it’s possible for the code to be preserved, played with, and better understood.
As Ars Technica points out, the assembly code can’t be run on modern devices directly, but is still functional in emulators and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementations that allow researchers and programmers to explore old code and mine it for everything from just understanding how it works to understanding how programmers of the past approached efficient design practices.
BASIC 5502 joins GW-BASIC, MS-DOS, and the Altair BASIC on the list of code that Microsoft has open-sourced in recent years.
Blue Bell has issued a recall after a packaging mix-up resulted in the wrong flavor being placed in the wrong container—specifically, Moo-llennium Crunch ice cream being packed inside Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half-gallon cartons. The problem: Moo-llennium Crunch contains tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) that aren’t declared on that Cookie Dough carton, which is a serious hazard for anyone with allergies.If you’re looking at a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half gallon with a Moo-llennium Crunch lid and the code 061027524 is stamped on top, you’ve got a problem. An employee caught the error while restocking, and the company promptly removed the affected product. No illnesses have been reported.The mix-up reached retailers across parts of 16 states, including Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, and portions of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia. Undeclared tree nuts can trigger severe reactions in people with allergies, and shoppers rely on labels to make informed choices. If your carton matches the description, don’t eat it. Return it to the store for a refund or toss it if returning isn’t possible.A few more notes for the detail-oriented: the affected ice cream was produced at Blue Bell’s Brenham, Texas, plant. The recall targets the specific half-gallon described above—not the entire Cookie Dough line—and Blue Bell says no other incorrect packaging has been found to date.One code check, one quick swap, and you’re back to stress-free scoops. If you have questions, Blue Bell’s consumer relations team can assist you during business hours. However, the fastest solution is to bring the matching carton back and trade it in.
Blue Bell has issued a recall after a packaging mix-up resulted in the wrong flavor being placed in the wrong container—specifically, Moo-llennium Crunch ice cream being packed inside Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half-gallon cartons. The problem: Moo-llennium Crunch contains tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) that aren’t declared on that Cookie Dough carton, which is a serious hazard for anyone with allergies.
If you’re looking at a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half gallon with a Moo-llennium Crunch lid and the code 061027524 is stamped on top, you’ve got a problem. An employee caught the error while restocking, and the company promptly removed the affected product. No illnesses have been reported.
The mix-up reached retailers across parts of 16 states, including Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, and portions of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia.
Undeclared tree nuts can trigger severe reactions in people with allergies, and shoppers rely on labels to make informed choices. If your carton matches the description, don’t eat it. Return it to the store for a refund or toss it if returning isn’t possible.
A few more notes for the detail-oriented: the affected ice cream was produced at Blue Bell’s Brenham, Texas, plant. The recall targets the specific half-gallon described above—not the entire Cookie Dough line—and Blue Bell says no other incorrect packaging has been found to date.
One code check, one quick swap, and you’re back to stress-free scoops. If you have questions, Blue Bell’s consumer relations team can assist you during business hours. However, the fastest solution is to bring the matching carton back and trade it in.
Online scammers continue to dupe a majority of American adults as they infiltrate virtual calendars and security systems meant to defend users against the poaching of personal information.
A recent survey of more than 9,000 U.S. adults by the Pew Research Center found that approximately 73% experienced at least one or more online scams or attacks.
The most common virtual cons were credit card fraud, online shopping scams and ransomware attacks — a type of malicious software that prevents you from accessing your computer files or system until a ransom is paid.
About 24% of those surveyed said they had received a scam email, text message or call that tricked them into giving away personal information.
An estimated 32% of respondents said they were victims of a scam within the last year.
It’s often said that older adults are more vulnerable to online fraudsters. However, in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission reported that Gen Z adults, millennials and Gen Xers, collectively between the ages of 18 and 59, were 34% more likely than adults who are 60 and older to report losing money to fraud.
These generational groups are getting tricked by online schemes that originate from a social media ad, an investment scam or fake job opportunities.
The latest phishing attacks, or attempts to acquire sensitive data, are happening through your online calendar, (Google or Outlook calendar), multi-factor authentication app and HTML attachments.
Evading online scams is proving to be a challenge, but cybersecurity experts say there are steps you can take to protect yourself.
Unsolicited calendar invites
Scammers are constantly finding new ways to lure you into unknowingly giving up your personal information and the calendar connected to your email account is one of them, said Iskander Sanchez-Rola, director of artificial intelligence and innovation for Norton.
Unlike traditional phishing scams such as an unwanted text or call that requires your engagement, this invitation automatically appears on your calendar without you approving or denying it.
Anyone can easily be fooled by this because it can confuse you into thinking you accepted the invitation at some point, Sanchez-Rola said.
The scam happens when you click on the invite to get more information.
A link in the invitation can lead you to a phishing webpage that is masquerading as a Zoom link, or it can prompt you to download malware that is disguised as a software update.
This con often targets work-related email accounts and corresponding calendar apps.
The warning signs of this scam include:
The calendar invite is unsolicited.
There are misspellings in the link or sender address associated with the calendar appointment.
The invite is associated with work, but you’re the only person to receive it.
What you can do: Change the settings in your online calendar to prohibit automatic updates. Microsoft Outlook users can follow these online instructions to change their calendar settings; Google users can limit which invitations appear on their schedule by following these online instructions.
If you have any suspicions, don’t reply directly to the invite, said Derek Manky, chief security strategist and global vice president of threat intelligence at Fortinet.
“Instead, send an email to your trusted contact from that organization asking if they have confirmed the meeting and request further details,” Manky said.
Multi-factor authentication scam
A multi-factor authentication app, also known as a “two-step verification,” is an application on your phone that provides you with a code or a “yes or no” prompt to verify that you’re accessing an account that’s linked to the authenticator.
“Multi-factor authentication attacks have been happening for well over a decade,” Manky said. “They just frequently take on new forms, or target new platforms such as the authenticator app.”
A scam occurs when you’re receiving multiple notifications from the authentication app even though you didn’t request verification.
“This scam is all about wearing you down to the point of clicking an unknown notification and accidentally providing your personal information,” Sanchez-Rola said.
The warning signs of this scam include:
The authentication app is requesting verification or providing you with a verification code you did not request.
The authentication app is sending you several notifications in a row even though you did not prompt the app.
What you can do: If you’re getting a string of authentication app notifications, pause before you click.
“Approving a login you didn’t request is like handing your keys to a stranger,” Sanchez-Rola said. “You just don’t do it.”
A safer way to use an authentication app — such as 2FAS, Aegis Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Stratum or Google Authenticator — is to use one that provides you with a verification code. Don’t use an app that sends a notification because that’s how a scammer can pressure you into providing your login information.
Another step in protecting yourself is changing your passwords frequently, as it reduces the shelf-life for the ones that are stolen and sold, Manky said.
Emails with unknown HTML attachments
An email with an unknown HTML attachment can redirect you to a phishing webpage or prompt you to download malware.
It’s the oldest technique in the book but it’s still commonly used today, Manky said.
“HTM/HTML files contain code that can be used in a variety of ways, including executing malicious scripts, for example Javascript, that could drop an information stealer on the system,” he said. “Likewise, they could be used to launch a phishing page to harvest credentials.”
Fraudsters will try to use trusted names or services that are of daily use to you.
“If an email is unsolicited, the end user should always question the identity of the emails being sent,” Manky said.
The warning signs of this scam include:
The sender of the email is an unknown contact.
The attachment within the email is unsolicited and looks suspicious.
What can you do: Always exercise caution before opening any attachments in an email, Manky said.
Look for typosquatting in the URL of the attachment. Typosquatting is when domain names on the URL have a small variation from the legitimate one, Manky said.
TeachAI, an initiative led by Code.org, ETS, the International Society of Technology in Education, Khan Academy, and the World Economic Forum, announced the launch of a groundbreaking resource for education leaders and policymakers around the world – Foundational Policy Ideas for AI in Education. The development of this resource was led by AASA, CCSSO, Code.org, CoSN, COSSBA, Education Commission of the States, ExcelinEd, ETS, InnovateEDU, NASBE, NSBA, NEA, SEAMEO, and SETDA. It is designed to help education leaders and policymakers navigate the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
The resource, which has been informed by over 70 organizations representing industry, government, non-profits, and educator associations, offers policy ideas, informational briefs, talking points, and a customizable presentation. These materials propose five key policy ideas essential for the safe, effective, and responsible use of AI in education.
Foster Leadership: Establish an AI in Education Task Force to oversee policy development and implementation.
Promote AI Literacy: Integrate AI concepts and skills into existing curriculum and instruction.
Provide Guidance: Equip schools with guidance on the safe and responsible use of AI.
Build Capacity: Provide funding and programs to support professional development on AI.
Support Innovation: Promote the research and development of safe and effective AI in education practices, curricula, and tools.
“These tools serve as practical resources, aiding leaders in understanding AI’s implications for education,” says Michele Blatt, State Superintendent of Schools, West Virginia. “It is critical that we ensure appropriate supports and guardrails are in place for our teachers and students to effectively use generative artificial intelligence. We must remember that AI is an additional technology tool that can increase productivity and support innovation while recognizing the importance of the teacher in the process.”
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in society and the workforce, education systems across the globe recognize the opportunity and the challenge posed by these advancements. From enhancing student engagement and addressing learning loss to transforming and redefining the essential skills of the workforce, AI offers possibilities for improving educational and career outcomes. This potential hinges on the responsible and ethical use of AI, taught through a framework that addresses critical concerns such as bias, misinformation, and the preparation of students for a world transformed by AI.
Nicolás Cataldo Astorga, Minister of Education, Chile, notes: “As educational systems, we must act swiftly to address a world where artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging. For public policy, this entails collaborating with communities, particularly educators, to creatively, critically, and safely harness these tools for learning, equity, and inclusion.”
“Artificial Intelligence will soon augment nearly every sector of our workforce, and our education system must prepare our students for that future,” says Chris Reykdal, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Our mission is to embrace AI in our classrooms to enhance student learning; centering student inquiry, student reflection, and critical thinking.”
TeachAI invites education leaders and policymakers to explore these foundational policy ideas as a step towards embracing the transformative potential of AI in education while also addressing its challenges with foresight and responsibility.
Catherine Truitt, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, says: “By equipping educators and students with the knowledge and skills of AI, we are ensuring they are better prepared for their future. This valuable resource can help create policies and practices to responsibly incorporate AI into education.”
Digital Moment, in partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, announced the launch of Experience AI, an educational program designed to support teachers in the fascinating but rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI), and to spark the curiosity of young people about the subject. This partnership will enable teachers across Canada to offer ethical, quality AI training to their students. Digital Moment was one of the first international partners to join this rapidly growing global program and holds the unique position of sole partner in Canada.
The unveiling took place on Friday, April 26th, at Google’s offices in Montreal. Hugo Larochelle, Associate Professor, Université de Montréal, Google DeepMind, Chaire en AI Canada-CIFAR, and Doina Precup, Associate Professor, McGill University, Google DeepMind, Chaire en AI Canada-CIFAR, seasoned experts in the field, took part in the program launch.
A Partnership Aligned with Provincial and Federal Priorities
In addition to positioning youth at the heart of Quebec society’s actions and priorities, this program is a response to one of the 12 main recommendations (RP) of the “Prêt pour l’IA” report published by the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec last February.
Specifically, RP-4 emphasized the importance of “[…] strengthening the digital literacy and AI literacy of children, pupils and students, particularly in order to increase their ability to use AI effectively, and to exercise critical thinking with regard to it.” The launch of Experience AI thus coincides with the beginning of a new era in digital education in Quebec. Indeed, from the 2024-2025 school year, the mandatory implementation of the new Culture and Citizenship in Québec program in schools will require the assessment of digital competence among young people.
At the Canadian level, Experience AI will help advance the “Canadian advantage in AI” by preparing young Canadians for the future of work through a greater understanding of the societal impacts of AI.
An Interactive Program Rich in Educational Content
Experience AI offers a series of six lessons and additional educational resources in French and English, which are tailored to high school teaching and enable students to explore the basics of AI, understand its practical applications and acquire essential AI and computational thinking skills. The program also offers fun activities and stimulating challenges, designed to engage young people and encourage their curiosity about the field of AI.
“We are delighted to launch Experience AI in partnership with Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind,” said Indra Kubicek, President and CEO of Digital Moment. “This innovative program represents a unique opportunity for young Quebecers and Canadians to explore the exciting field of artificial intelligence, while meeting a major societal need: ensuring that they are ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities.”
For more information on the Experience AI program or to request training, Digital Moment invites the media, teachers, academic advisors, policy makers and all other stakeholders to contact us at experienceai@digitalmoment.org.
About Digital Moment: Digital Moment is a Canada-wide non-profit organization dedicated to digital education and the promotion of digital skills among youth of all backgrounds. Founded in 2013, the organization is committed to providing innovative and accessible educational resources to prepare young people for success in an ever-changing digital world. To date, more than 850,000 young people and 31,500 teachers have benefited from these educational activities. Digital Moment is a leader in AI education for Canadian teachers and youth, and is helping to advance AI education nationally and internationally.
About Experience AI: Experience AI is an educational programme that offers cutting-edge resources on artificial intelligence and machine learning for teachers and their students. Developed in collaboration by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, the programme supports teachers in the exciting and fast-moving area of AI, and gets young people passionate about the subject.
About Raspberry Pi Foundation: The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based computing education charity with the mission to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. Our vision is that every young person develops the knowledge, skills, and confidence to use digital technologies effectively, and to be able to critically evaluate these technologies and confidently engage with technological change.
About Google DeepMind: Google DeepMind is a unit within Google that brings together parts of Google Research – including the Brain team – and DeepMind to build AI responsibly to benefit humanity. Google DeepMind’s groundbreaking accomplishments include AI technologies to power Google products and infrastructure, AI tools to advance scientific discovery, and advances in the field of AI research.
Study.com announced the launch of its free Praxis Core Prep, a comprehensive AI-enabled preparation and diagnostic resource for aspiring teachers, in partnership with ETS’s Praxis Program. This launch represents the next step in an ongoing partnership between Study.com and Praxis, the leading provider of teacher licensure assessments, announced earlier this year.
At a time when district and school systems across the country continue to struggle with teacher shortages and a need to broaden diversity within the profession, the free Praxis Core Prep is an innovative tool that provides teacher candidates with an accessible, personalized study resource to strengthen their reading, writing, and math skills to pass the certification exam.
“We know that teachers are at the heart of learning which is why we are excited to join forces with Study.com to offer aspiring teachers even more free resources to be successful,” said Paul Gollash, Vice President of K-12 Solutions at ETS. “This AI-powered offering leverages best-in-class research from both Study.com and ETS to build a dynamic and personalized prep offering in order to best serve the teachers of tomorrow.”
Drawing on two years of research, Study.com, an award-winning learning platform has developed a high-quality offering to address the diverse needs of aspiring educators. Key features of Study.com’s free Praxis Core Prep include:
Personalized learning plans tailored to individual strengths and weaknesses.
Video-based micro lessons cater to various learning styles, including visual, auditory, and reading-based instruction.
AI-powered diagnostic tools that identify areas for improvement and guide test takers through targeted study sessions.
Multi-module options for differentiated learning, accommodating diverse learning styles, English Language Learners (ELL), and translation.
Interactive quizzes with instant feedback to reinforce learning and save educators’ valuable time.
“Too often, the financial and preparation barriers prevent outstanding teacher candidates from entering our classrooms. We are thrilled that partners like ETS are mission-aligned with our strategic efforts to strengthen and support a more representative K-12 workforce,” said Dana Bryson, Senior Vice President of Social Impact at Study.com. “Through findings from Study.com’s Keys to the Classroom program with non-traditional and diverse teacher candidates, we have identified key strategies that lead to success on licensure exams and integrated them into our Praxis Core Prep to empower and ensure every child has a well-trained, high-quality educator in their classroom.”
With a 92% pass rate, Study.com is trusted by thousands of teacher candidates every year and is the official ETS Praxis® test prep partner helping increase the teacher pipeline and support the educators of tomorrow. The partnership began as part of Study.com’s Keys to the Classroom Initiative, a coalition committed to deploying what’s working to develop a more diverse and representative educator pipeline and help prepare aspiring educators in the classroom.
Study.com partners with state education departments, school districts, colleges of education, and education-focused nonprofits to help aspiring educators prepare and pass their credentialing exams. Keys to the Classroom is currently in 20 states, and Study.com has donated over $4 million in test prep materials. Across the nation, hundreds of teacher cadets are enrolled in Keys to the Classroom, including 50 percent who identify as people of color.
Kevin is a forward-thinking media executive with more than 25 years of experience building brands and audiences online, in print, and face to face. He is an acclaimed writer, editor, and commentator covering the intersection of society and technology, especially education technology. You can reach Kevin at KevinHogan@eschoolnews.com
This month, TeachAI, an initiative led by Code.org, ETS, the International Society of Technology in Education, Khan Academy, and the World Economic Forum, launched an AI Guidance for Schools toolkit to help education systems globally address gaps in AI guidance and policy. This resource was co-authored by Code.org, CoSN, Digital Promise, European EdTech Alliance, and PACE with input and review from policymakers, school leaders, teachers and leading tech organizations.
A recent global survey by UNESCO found that only seven percent of schools worldwide provided guidance on the proper use of AI in classrooms. The toolkit provides a framework for incorporating AI in education, real-world policy examples, sample guidance language, and resources aimed at staff, parents, and students.
Create your Free Account to Continue Reading
eSchool News is Free for qualified educators. Sign up or login to access all our K-12 news and resources.
Please confirm your email address
More News from eSchool News
A new survey of K-8 teachers and students from LEGO Education found that nearly all (98 percent) of students say purposeful play helps them learn and the majority (96 percent) of teachers believe it’s more effective than traditional methods
Teacher burnout is a real and growing challenge for US K–12 schools. Last year, school district leaders reported a 4 percent increase in teacher turnover according to a nationally representative survey from RAND.
Anthony Salcito, Chief Institution Business Officer at Nerdy, touches upon the impact of the pandemic on education, the role of teachers, the evolution and challenges of tutoring in the education landscape, and, of course, the potential of AI in education.
Tom Lamont is the painting and design technology instructor at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (BVT), in Upton, Massachusetts. Mr. Lamont offers his vocational high school students a unique hands-on opportunity to learn about the design industry and to prepare for jobs in the workforce.
While some of the recent efforts focused on recruiting more teachers of color have paid off, keeping those teachers in our schools and classrooms is an urgent challenge.
You’ve heard all the news about kids using ChatGPT to cheat, but there’s another side to this story. Just as the internet revolutionized education, AI will be the next game-changer.
Education is changing because the world is changing. During the pandemic, teachers and students rapidly adopted new tools to pivot to remote and hybrid learning.
Now in his 10th year of teaching, John Arthur’s students have gained national recognition as champions for children and immigrants like them through music videos and other digital content they create and share across platforms.
I believe that the low supply of STEM professionals can be attributed to significant barriers to entry originating in educational settings–this is to no fault of teachers and administrators, but how the educational system is structured.
The benefits of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education are numerous, and one would be hard-pressed to find a school district that doesn’t have a project, initiative, class, or lesson with the acronym in its title.
This image of a flyer promoting “liquid weed” is captured from an online community of Hongik University. Yonhap
Another flyer advertising suspected marijuana sales was found at Konkuk University in Seoul on Monday, prompting the police to search for the distributor.
According to officials at the university, a business card-sized flyer promoting “liquid weed” was found tucked into the window of a car parked in the basement parking lot at the schools’ Arts & Design Building earlier in the day.
“Do you need inspiration? We prepared a innovative product for you ‘liquid weed,’” the card reads, claiming the substance is “totally legal.”
“Contact me while it’s still legal!” it says, bearing a QR code on its backside.
Konkuk University issued an emergency notification warning students not to access the QR code if they find the flyer, while the Gwangjin Police Station in the district launched an investigation to track down the distributor through CCTVs.
The incident came after the same flyer was found recently at the art school’s building at Hongik University in Seoul, prompting the school to urge its students to be cautious and notify the police.
Under the drug control act, exporting, importing, producing, selling or advertising marijuana is illegal unless specifically authorized by the chief of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. (Yonhap)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Tynker, the leading game-based coding platform that has engaged over 100 million kids, proudly introduces “Tynker Copilot.” Leveraging the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs), Tynker Copilot empowers young innovators aged 6-12. It provides a seamless interface for these budding developers to transform their ideas into visual block code for apps and games. Additionally, when exploring existing projects, kids benefit from the tool’s ability to explain block code fragments, ensuring a deeper understanding. Tynker Copilot allows children to build confidence as they work with AI, laying a solid foundation for their future. With this launch, coding education takes a significant leap forward.
Large Language Models (LLMs) have excelled in text-based programming languages like Python and JavaScript. However, their application to visual block coding, the primary introduction to programming for many kids, had yet to be explored. Tynker is the first to bridge this gap. Our latest integration lets children quickly convert their ideas into block code, streamlining their initial coding experience.
Create your Free Account to Continue Reading
eSchool News is Free for qualified educators. Sign up or login to access all our K-12 news and resources.
Please confirm your email address
More News from eSchool News
Mentorship is an essential aspect of professional growth and development for early childhood educators, but for many training programs, mentorship components are either not well supported or are missing altogether.
Educators face myriad dilemmas in the wake of ChatGPT’s explosion, with some of the most popular including teaching with ChatGPT and how to address student use of AI chatbots in assignments.
Belonging is a fundamental human need. We are all searching for a sense of connection with the people and places in our lives. Students and school staff are no different.
School models are, for the most part, outdated–and very overdue for replacement. When students reach high school, research shows that close to 66 percent of students are disengaged.
Our students’ belief that everything they need to know is online can, without the right skillset, leave them prey to misinformation. So how do we teach our students to steer through the online ocean of data to be both effective researchers and responsible digital citizens?
In early September, CISA announced a voluntary pledge for K-12 education technology software manufacturers to commit to designing products with a greater focus on security.
Every teacher hopes to ignite, empower, and engage the students who walk through their classroom door. Ample research has shown that student engagement is crucial to overall learning and long-term success.
Incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) throughout the school day has risen in popularity over the last few years, especially to counteract the increasing rates of anxiety and depression in students.
With so much publicity, it is reasonable to assume that all students from middle school through post-secondary are aware of ChatGPT’s power. Whether you like it or not, we have a new partner in the classroom.
Student bullying is a nationwide problem. Parents are outraged and demand that school administrators evaluate their campus security protocols to keep all students alive and safe.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES, July 14, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — In his revolutionary new book “Cracking the Code of Life – How to Unlock Your Door to Heaven on Earth,” transformational author Brian Christopher Brown shares a practical guide for self-discovery and dream manifestation. This book provides the keys to unlocking one’s deepest desires and achieving genuine fulfillment through its powerful and innovative approach.
In “Cracking the Code of Life,” Brown discusses the universal desire for emotional satisfaction, financial security, love, freedom, and other desires that define the human experience. By drawing on his journey, he examines why so many individuals fail to reach their desired destinations despite their unrelenting efforts.
Through presenting an enthralling combination of scientific analysis, spiritual insight, and evidence-based soft skill techniques, the author reveals a unique code that can alter the rules of manifestation.
He challenges conventional beliefs about manifestation and discloses the existence and workings of an ancient, hidden, and infallible system for receiving what you wish. Through his techniques, he enables readers to take charge of their lives, dismantling the notion that they are at the mercy of destiny or luck.
The core of Brown’s code is a three-step manifestation system based on the Judeo-Christian Bible’s profound teachings. He reveals the true origins and missing connections within the…
After burning in direct flames for more than three minutes, wood treated with Fire Terminator … [+] maintains its integrity.
Fire Terminator
There is no shortage of media coverage on the housing industry right now. Most of it points to rising prices and the lack of affordability. Missing from most of those stories are the escalating costs and ever increasing requirements to build homes.
There are hundreds of inputs into the cost of a home, including land, labor, regulation, and materials. However, in the age of climate crises, there is more focus on finding the perfect, protected land, the right materials, and following the regulations that hopefully are written to keep the home and owner safe in the advent of a climate event.
While all of that sounds incredibly rational, pressure is on for builders to lower costs. The National Association of Home Builders doesn’t have average construction cost increases for housing, but offered average construction values instead.
The group’s chief economist Rob Dietz shared with me that US Census permit data shows that the average construction value, which does not include land, increased 78% since 2015 – going from $166,276 to $295,965 in 2021.
Dietz added that values have been increasing due to rising regulatory costs, rising material costs, limited lot availability, and skilled labor shortages among other factors.
“Moreover, it is an average, so if entry level homes are simply not built, it rises as an average,” he said. “And that has happened.”
Burning Up
Wildfires are just one climate event adding pressure to the housing industry. USA Today reported that in 2022 there were 65,000 wildfires in the US, adding up to more than 7 million burned acres.
Nonprofit research organization First Street Foundation reports that more than 20 million properties across the US are threatened by at least “moderate” wildfire risk, or have up to a 6% chance of being in a blaze at some point in the life of a 30-year mortgage.
During these fires, homes are destroyed, and at the same time, building codes are revised and become more complicated to navigate. Plus, surrounding land becomes more expensive, all adding to the costs to build again.
PolicyGenius reported on the risks in the most fire-prone states and the meanings of the risk. For instance, Colorado has 2.2 million homes and the number of those at risk sits around 17%. In 2021, the state’s worst year for wildfire losses that were tracked by insurance, it added up to $450 million. At an even higher risk is Idaho, where 26% of homes are at risk.
Even though this data shows the significant risks to homeowners, Colorado’s legislative efforts to require fire-resistant construction materials have not been successful. At the same time, the number of homes being built in the wildfire prone areas is growing, and in Colorado has more than doubled between 1990 and 2020.
There continues to be a snowball effect. The more wildfires that occur, the more land is susceptible to the burning, the more homes are at risk, the more costs increase for finding land and building homes.
The US Fire Administration shows that the amount of the wildland urban interface, or the zone between development and wildlife, is growing by nearly two million acres per year. The group also reports that homes in 70,000 communities worth $1.3 trillion are now within the path of a fire event.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, adopting and carrying out building codes is the most effective mitigation strategy. In 2019, the National Institute of Building Science published a report underlining this finding. The report showed that implementing the International Code Council’s 2015 International Wildland Urban Interface Code saved $4 for every $1 invested and that bringing existing buildings up to that code could provide up to $8 in benefits for each dollar spent.
Blazing Innovative Solutions
A hand with FireGuardia core compound withstands the heat from a blow torch blasting more than 3452 … [+] degrees Fahrenheit.
Idalma R. Vicente
Former fire chief and now chief scientific officer at FireGuardia, Oscar Dominguez, is working to commercialize a fireproof plastic he invented in 2002 to bring the 100-year-old fire detection and suppression techniques used today up to date.
“Many insurance carriers are refusing coverage or won’t renew policies when homes are built in fire prone zones,” said Heather Towsley, president and chief executive officer at FireGuardia. “The demand for greater smart home construction technology could accelerate homeowner insurance incentives for using more sophisticated home fire suppression technology – much like water conservation and solar panel rebates.”
She shares that the FireGuardia solution can retrofit without driving up costs. The product can be applied to a number of construction materials to make them fireproof.
The company has a focus on bringing the solution to scale with an incredibly affordable coating product, targeting between $50 to $60 per 5-gallon bucket where other solutions land between $180 to $600, and hopes to be available later this year after an investment round.
The FireGuardia home fire suppression system integrates detection, suppression and a software tool. It also is nontoxic, sustainably sourced, and has low VOC output, taking out the poisonous materials that have historically been used in fire retardants, so there would be no hazardous material to clean up post fire.
Towsley shared an example of the product’s performance. In the first 20 seconds of a piece of Kevlar subjected to fire, it rose to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. A FireGuardia-coated piece of paper only reached 100 degrees in that time.
Another similar solution is from Singapore-based Fire Terminator. Judah Jay is the founder, inventor and scientist behind this plant-based, liquid technology that provides an aerodynamic shield on each molecule of a combustible material, like the wood and drywall used to build homes.
Jay’s technology comes from work on combustion research for aerospace applications that he did in the 1980s with Russian, Bulgarian and other Eastern European scientists.
“Once you introduce heat to our product, free radicals are produced that negate the combustion molecule that fuels the fire,” Jay said. “Without combustion, the fire cannot start or spread. That is how we can prevent and extinguish any fire. The higher the temperature, the more free radicals are produced, therefore, the better the performance of our product. Once the fire is extinguished, it can no longer be reignited.”
Jetfire Xin is the company’s business developer and is working on ways to commercialize the innovation across North America. Fire Terminator’s goal is to provide every homeowner with a home protection product. The product will be sold by the liter, retailing at $20. After mixing, one liter can cover 172 square feet.
In addition, treating wood with Fire Terminator makes it incombustible and protects it against insect infestations and mold. A coating process over the wood can also be done, which would substantially increase its resilience against fire damage.
Finally, Xin points out that homes and buildings that are equipped with sprinkler systems can add Fire Terminator into the water in the system to prevent a fire from spreading, putting it out quickly.
Home Design to Minimize Risk
California builder Connect Homes incorporates design features to minimize fire risk while also … [+] helping owners feel connected to the natural landscape.
Connect Homes
California builder Connect Homes has been focused on thoughtful design meant to minimize the risk of fire damages. Its homes are designed without eaves, which prevents flying embers from blowing up into the attic and starting a fire. The roofs also have a specific rating to be effective against severe fire exposure.
Plus, the builder also sources non-combustible exterior sheathing and finishes for the most dangerous areas. Connect Homes selects dual-pane glass exterior doors and windows to reduce the chance of breakage that typically occurs due to the extreme heat of a wildfire.
Gordon Stott, co-founder of the home building company, underlines the value of creating defensible space with limited landscaping.
“For me, it’s that balance of knowing that lovely landscaping could turn into a liability,” he said. “Another feature of our prefab system is the extensive use of floor-to-ceiling glass. I’ve been impressed with how floor-to-ceiling glass can sometimes overcome limitations of more limited landscaping. Standing in a modern house, feeling connected to the outdoors often still feels pretty great, even with limited landscaping and if the plant action is far away.”
Bottom line is that building and rebuilding isn’t the answer. Neither can any solution live on an island. There has to be industry-wide collaboration for the right regulations, the most innovative designs and products, along with ways to reduce the costs to bring these solutions to reality.
In August, we shared the news that Unity, our longtime partner and a global leader in real-time 3D technology, had selected Azure as its cloud partner for building and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) experiences from the Unity engine. This strengthening of our partnership builds on our shared commitment to expanding the creation and distribution of 3D content, to bringing relevant tools and technologies to a wider range of developers, and to making it easier than ever to bring games to players.
Recently, Microsoft Game Dev Editorial Director N’Gai Croal had the opportunity to virtually sit down with Marc Whitten, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Unity Create Solutions, to talk about how we’re working together to make it easier than ever for game creators around the world to publish to Xbox consoles and PC so they can better reach their existing communities and build new ones. You can watch the full video of the chat below or
view it here on YouTube.
The discussion was wide-ranging, touching on everything from the ways that the game industry and Hollywood are alike (and how they differ) to Unity’s addition of Weta Digital and Ziva Dynamics to the Unity Create Solutions toolset. Naturally, the lion’s share of the chat revolved around how the movement to the cloud has changed game development and how Unity’s partnership with Azure will allow them to provide developers with even more impactful tools and greater flexibility.
Here are some relevant quotes from the discussion, lightly edited for clarity.
Marc Whitten on whether games or movies put a bigger demand on technology:
I believe that game creators and game players have typically been on the leading edge of pushing what is possible with any technology forward, and then that typically filters back in through a lot of other use cases. I think as humans we like to be entertained and we like to play games. And so, if you give any piece of technology to a creator, they’re going to make a game out of it. And if you give that to a player, they’re going to ask that creator to make it a little bit better.
Marc Whitten on the importance of making cloud-native game development tools:
Undeniably, in a hybrid world, creators themselves, when they’re in teams, are going to be more and more in different locations. So making it easy for them to collaborate together, to work on assets that are in the cloud, to be able to access hardware regardless of where that hardware is, is pretty critical to the creation experience.
Marc Whitten on why Unity chose Azure as its cloud partner:
In talking to Azure’s leadership and some senior engineering talent, we saw a shared vision. They were very helpful in helping us understand some potential blind spots and were as excited as we were about the potential of the partnership. They’re a great partner for us as we look at how to accelerate how we can add value through the cloud and increase the impact of products and technologies like this.
For some, the journey into the games industry takes years of persistence and career building in another field before networking and passion lands them that job in gaming. This month, we’re featuring the stories of Xbox employees that started their careers in Retail and explore how they transitioned into their current roles in Xbox. Last time, we met Albert Dankwa III, a Content Program Manager for Xbox Support. Today, we’re happy to share the journey of Chris Douglas, a Business Program Manager for Xbox Game Studios (XGS) Game Camp.
Backstory
Chris grew up playing video games with his family, and from a young age was intrigued by how they worked. He remembers playing his first video game and thinking, “I don’t understand what’s happening. When I move these arrows or press this button, the character on screen moves and jumps, but how? What is going on between the controller and the system and the screen to make all these things happen? That started my journey and got me excited about technology and gaming.”
When he began talking to advisors and teachers about his plans after high school, Chris remembers being told “there’s no money in technology and video games, you won’t be able to do that.” As he got closer to graduation, Chris told his parents that he wanted to be part of the gaming industry, whether that was in development or marketing or some other capacity. He remembers them telling him “I don’t believe that is something for you. We don’t see a lot of people of color, especially black men, with these jobs.” Chris knows his parents weren’t trying to kill his dreams but rather wanted to protect him from failure. Growing up in a black household, Chris says “you don’t have the ability to fail. You don’t have the same privileges as other people and you only get one shot.” Now that he has learned more about the importance of having a growth mindset, Chris understands the benefits and opportunities that come from learning from your failures. Still, he acknowledges that the experiences of other black people often match his parents’ expectations.
After graduating high school, Chris began attending Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, the only historically Black, Catholic university in the United States. Still, many of the computer science professors were white men. Chris continued to meet adversity, but with the recent launch of Xbox from his dream employer Microsoft, he was determined to continue his pursuit of a career in gaming. Shortly after, Chris’ personal life took a turn when his mom found out she had breast cancer. Chris realized he could not work two jobs, support his family, and attend school.
After a series of warehouse and retail jobs, Chris became a store manager at GameStop, where he was promoted several times. While he enjoyed learning about new gaming features, in particular the Xbox 360, Chris realized that brick and mortar stores were not the future of retail. He left GameStop for AT&T, and after 5 years there had almost given up on his dream of gaming and working for Microsoft. Then Microsoft began opening retail stores.
As soon as they announced the store in New Orleans, Chris applied and became a learning specialist working with schools. As he worked with K-12 schools, he realized that many of the students had never seen a computer, so he started working with community development specialists and other groups in Microsoft to bring Surfaces, Minecraft Education, and coding workshops to local schools.
Chris says “the best moment of my entire life was when I walked into a school, and I was wearing my colorful Microsoft shirt, jeans, and Jordans, and this kid said that he had never seen anyone from Microsoft before – he didn’t think Jordans and working at Microsoft could even go together. That’s when I realized these kids were seeing themselves in me and it was incredibly humbling. I have a big responsibility to the kids in my community to help them get to where they want to be.”
Chris began bringing gaming into the outreach programs, inviting streamers and others to talk about games, marketing, and esports. Word got around the city that if you wanted to do something gaming related, talk to Chris at Microsoft.
Near the beginning of the pandemic, Chris was approached for help with a new project called XGS Game Camp, which focused on finding new ways to reach underserved communities interested in creating games. His managers were very supportive and let him split his time between retail and volunteering with XGS Game Camp, and when Microsoft decided to permanently close the retail stores Chris was offered the job of production assistant at inXile Studios, one of the local XGS Game Camp partners.
Chris spent a year learning about production, which touches everything from audio to animation to engineering, and had a great experience in his first real gaming role. But he felt like something was missing without the chance to regularly give back to his community. When Xbox Game Studios decided to further invest in XGS Game Camp and wanted Chris to join the team full time from his home base in New Orleans, he knew it was a perfect fit.
Big Dreams: Basketball or Gaming?
Around age 12, Chris started playing basketball, football, and track. As he focused more on athletics, he discovered a real talent for basketball and his family and friends began encouraging him to pursue a career in the NBA. Chris says, “There are 15,000 Men’s Division 1 NCAA athletes in the United States but only 60 people get drafted into the NBA. That’s a .004% chance, but my family believed I had a better chance of making it to the NBA than of working in the gaming industry!” Not convinced a basketball career was realistic, Chris continued to keep his other goals of being a chef or a game designer in mind as he went into high school. He cut grass and washed cars to pay for games and gaming magazine subscriptions and read everything he could about emerging industry and technology trends. Still, his family and friends urged him to continue playing basketball through high school and college, convinced a career in the NBA was more attainable than a job in gaming.
Chris reflects, “I love basketball more than anything, I really do. It’s one of the most exhilarating things to watch or play. When I used to play basketball, everything else stopped. There is this poetry about it when it’s happening. But there is something even more magical about being able to connect to a character in a game and go through that world and feel connected to the narrative, music, and environment. It’s a surreal experience. If you allow yourself to be open, games will transport you to a different place. You can experience a different reality and for a little bit you can forget about everything that’s happened and be focused on this other moment. For me it’s therapeutic.”
Despite the pressure from his community to give up on gaming, Chris says that “growing up I had to realize that sometimes even the people who love you the most don’t support you because they are trying to protect you, not because they don’t love you. You can’t allow anything to stop your dream.”
What a Business Program Manager does
Chris says that “Xbox Game Studios Game Camp is a program that’s built to prove that extraordinary talent resides everywhere. We try to meet people and talent where they are and help any budding game creators from traditional and non-traditional backgrounds. We want to add diverse voices to gaming – people of color, women, people from underrepresented communities and tough socioeconomic backgrounds. Our goal is to reach everyone interested in making games and demystify the gaming industry and help them with tools and resources. We want to help them realize their dream by building a network of subject matter experts inside Xbox they can learn from.”
As the Business Program Manager for XGS Game Camp, Chris’ job is to strategize the delivery of tools and resources for campers while building a rapport and getting to know them on a personal level. He maintains relationships with marketing, media, brand management, legal, mentors, engineering, non-profits, and more to stay on the bleeding edge of creation tools, engine advancements, and knowledge sharing to empower campers to deliver their vision.
Chris shares, “I really have an ability to change people’s lives. I get to be the person that I wanted to have in my life, to believe in them and their dreams when others don’t. I am thankful I can be that encouragement to keep people from giving up on their dream.”
Gaming History
Chris grew up playing games and he remembers the first Nintendo his parents bought clearly. “I was 7 or 8 and we had just come back from a family vacation at Disney World, which was a really big deal. When we got home, I wanted to play with my friends who I hadn’t seen in a week, but my dad told me I needed to come inside and spend more time with the family. I went to my room and lay on my bed, upset, and he came in and put a Nintendo on my bed – and suddenly it was the greatest day again. We hooked it up immediately and started playing together.”
Chris is currently playing Destiny 2, Deathloop, Overwatch 2, Moonscars, Prodeus, and Halo Infinite.
Xbox Game Studios Game Camp is a two-to-four-month program that is hosted in different cities around the world. Learn more at Xbox Game Studios Game Camp.
An accessible way for kids to start learning coding and engineering and even create wearables
Press Release –
Nov 24, 2021
ARLINGTON, Va., November 24, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– Boolean Girl announced the launch of its newest version of the Boolean Box, an interactive tool kit for kids to build their own computer and learn to code, build, invent and animate. The new Boolean Box micro features a programmable circuit board called a Bluebird so kids of all ages can invent mechanics using gears and blocks they control with code.
“You can open the box and start creating – that’s what’s so remarkable,” says Brian Moran, co-founder of Boolean Girl. “There are so many ways to use the Bluebird. You can create wearables like a step counter, a pushup tracker, or a mood indicator for your jacket. You can add it to Lego projects and create musical equipment like a piano or guitar or even your own remote control robot.”
The Boolean Box micro is a fast and easy way for a child to start learning coding and engineering while getting their feet wet with STEM. With free courses on Boolean U and the simple instructions in the box, it’s fun and educational right away.
“Have you ever bought your kids a package of bricks only to have them build the thing once and leave it lying on the shelf? Now they can connect a computer to their creations and make things come to life,” says Boolean Girl co-founder Sarah Eastman.
The new Boolean Box micro is available on the Boolean Girl Tech website (booleangirltech.com) and Amazon.
More than a decade ago, Austin Pets Alive! stepped forward to provide support to the City of Austin in order to improve, and eventually fix, the Austin Animal Center, which at the time was killing more than 14,000 pets annually. Our goal was to teach AAC to implement best practices in No Kill sheltering and transfer animals to APA! that were at imminent risk of dying. We have since partnered with the city to advocate for policy changes and budget growth while offering free consultative and educational services. Then and now, this has a direct cost to APA! of millions of dollars annually. APA! has provided all of this to the city at no cost to them, but at great cost to us. Through our 501c3, we spend millions each year on the animals we pull directly from AAC. In addition, a 2017 study conservatively measures the annual economic impact of the No Kill movement in Austin at more than $157 million.
While we’ve made tremendous progress as a community, becoming the largest No Kill city in America, today we find ourselves at a crossroads.This summer, AAC intakes, adoptions, the number of pets returned to owners, and volunteer hours are at historic lows. Austin Animal Center is headed in the wrong direction and the City of Austin needs to take corrective action. We are fully committed to maintaining Austin’s status as the safest place in the country for homeless pets. Now we need our colleagues at AAC to do their part.
The above graph shows June data for the past five years, indicating that the burden of animals is at a historic, pre-COVID, low. We collected data in several key areas, including volunteer hours and adoptions, to share with you here. While these charts show performance metrics at the Austin Animal Center are on the decline, AAC’s director is threatening to euthanize animals who have been safe in Austin for more than six years. Foster placements are down and APA! is still having to rescue pets from AAC who should be adopted from AAC, simply because the leadership at the shelter refuses to follow best practices or to adhere to either the No Kill Implementation plan or the 95% resolution passed by City Council in 2019.
While we have long been the City’s largest transfer partner, we also do so much more than simply transfer animals to APA!. We provide food and supplies to homeless pet owners and respond in crisis situations like the recent winter storm. We also have an online community of more than 15,000 individuals known as the PASS program. Through this innovative mutual aid platform, APA! helps thousands of pet owners annually who are faced with having to give up their animals due to housing loss, medical issues, or temporary crises. We also provide hundreds of jobs, offer endless volunteer opportunities to Austinites – both groups and individuals, and offer free consulting and operations support to Austin Animal Center through our Maddie’s Fund Learning Academy.
In addition to all of this, we have helped pass the No Kill Resolution/Implementation Plan, Animal Code Amendment Ordinance, 95% Live Release Ordinance, advocated for AAC to receive 10 million dollars in increased funding, shared protocols and training with AAC management to help them implement best practices, and donated countless hours of peer-to-peer training.
The Austin Animal Center, now one of the most highly resourced government shelters in Texas, has the ability to permanently solve the problems that lead to preventable, seasonal overcrowding.
Here is what we are asking AAC to do now, in order to build a sustainable, public-private partnership with Austin Pets Alive!:
Submit the data required in the Animal Code Amendment Ordinance. Transparent, monthly reporting will clearly illustrate to the public and the Animal Advisory Commission that areas of performance that need immediate improvement, including number of foster placements, number of adoptions, and the number of animals returned to their owners.
Implement emergency space protocols and AmPA!’s other proven protocols in order to avoid future, recurring capacity issues. APA! provides support and guidance to hundreds of shelters around the nation. As we offer our transport triage services and transfer-in help, we ask our shelters to do their part to minimize the number of pets APA! has to get out of the shelter.
Remove bottlenecks to outcomes. Currently, adopted pets cannot go home for days or weeks longer because they are awaiting sterilization surgery. These pets have families waiting for them but are taking up valuable kennel space because AAC procedures are inefficient and proven programs have been eliminated, like the VIP adoption program. This is just one example of where AAC needs to work with both the Animal Advisory Commission and the expert team at American Pets Alive! to improve operational efficiency to avoid capacity issues.
Join the hundreds of animal shelters around the nation who are participating in the Human Animal Support Services Project and learn how other successful large organizations, including several large municipal shelters in Texas, are reducing shelter intake, serving more pets and people in their communities, and keeping families together through pet support services.
