Prof. Justin Reich speaks with New York Times reporter Matthew Haag about the integration of educational technology tools, including AI, in schools. “Historically, when we try to guess the best ways of using new technologies, we’re often wrong,” explains Reich. “There are lots of people who are out there who will say, ‘This is what we need to do, this is best practice,’ and they’re making stuff up.”
MIT has launched a new effort aimed at helping high schoolers across the U.S. tackle calculus, reports Juliet Schulman-Hall for MassLive. The new program, called the MIT4America Calculus Project, pairs trained MIT undergraduates and alumni with school districts across the U.S. to tutor high school students from Montana to Texas in calculus. The program “was created last year with an in-person summer calculus camp,” Schulman-Hall notes. “Since then, it has grown to include 14 school districts.”
Writing for The Conversation, Prof. Justin Reich offers insight into the integration of educational technology in schools. “It takes years for educators to develop new practices and norms, for students to adopt new routines, and for families to identify new support mechanisms in order for a novel invention to reliably improve learning,” writes Reich. “But as AI spreads through schools, both historical analysis and new research conducted with K-12 teachers and students offer some guidance on navigating uncertainties and minimizing harm.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Christoph Irmscher reviews “The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and Live,” a new book by Prof. Alan Lightman and Britain’s former Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees. In their new book, Lightman and Rees assert that: “The pursuit of scientific knowledge is beautiful,” Irmscher notes. “Science is important, they explain, it is fun, and, if you’re a scientist, it might just hand you the keys to the deepest mysteries of the universe.”
WBUR reporter Amelia Mason spotlights MIT Visiting Scholar Wasalu Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) and his work exploring “the creative possibilities of site-responsive music.” Jaco “calls the process of making these songs ‘ghotiing,’ which is confusingly pronounced “fishing” – a phonetic joke in which the “f” sound is drawn from the “gh” in ‘rough,’ and so on,” explains Mason. “Fiasco uses ghotiing as a teaching tool, sending his MIT students on outings to various public art pieces across campus to ‘fish’ for musical inspiration. He ultimately hopes to make a song for every piece of art on MIT’s campus.”
Working with the List Visual Arts Center, MIT Visiting Scholar Wasalu Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) has created GHOTIING MIT: Public Art, “nine original compositions using ghotiing, a term of his own invention, which proves that rap is a reactive form of expression,” reports Candace McDuffie for The Boston Globe. “Ghotiing (pronounced “fishing”) encourages students to engross themselves in different art forms and environments to devise original work,” explains McDuffie. “According to Fiasco, inspiration is taken from appreciating the landscape and outdoor painting as opposed to a recording studio. The result is usually music that feels deeper and more organic.”
The Guardian reporter Veronica Esposito spotlights GHOTIING MIT: Public Art, a collection of raps inspired by seven of the Institute’s public artworks developed by MIT Visiting Scholar Wasalu Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) in collaboration with the MIT List Visual Arts Center. “The nine-track effort (seven of which are currently available) is a cohesive collection of music with a distinct jazz flavor that feels like a throwback to the Native Tongues era of hip-hop,” writes Espositio. For Jaco, “these tracks are an emanation of the environment that he fished them from.”
CBS News reporter Chris Tanaka spotlights the 20th anniversary of the Catalyst Collaborative – a collaboration between MIT and two non-profit theater companies aimed at creating and presenting plays that deepen public understanding of science and technology. "I think some of the scientists gave ideas, stories of science to the theater people, some of which later became plays,” says Prof. Alan Lightman on the Catlyst Collaborative. “And I think the scientists learned the way that artists think.”
In a letter to the editor of The Boston Globe, Lecturer Chloe Garcia Roberts spotlights the important role of books and literature in general in the greater Boston area’s culture and community. “If you throw a pebble in a crowd here, you are likely to hit a practicing, lauded, or aspiring writer,” writes Roberts. “A number of the area’s treasured bookstores survived, albeit shakily, the onslaught of the chains and Amazon. It is part of our culture here that many of us go out of our way, trudging through the wintry mix if necessary, to attend author events and buy books at these independent stores. When they go, they won’t be replaced.”
Prof. Alan Lightman speaks with Boston Globe correspondent Kate Tuttle about his new book, “The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature,” in which Lightman “celebrates the phenomena that inspire awe.” Lightman explains: “I think the humanities are even more important now in a period of exponentially advancing technology. We really have to think hard about what makes us human. Like having compassion for other people. The ability to fall in love, the ability to appreciate beauty.”
The New Yorker shares “The Books of Losing You,” a short story written by Prof. Junot Diaz in their Flash Fiction category.
Prof. Junot Díaz’s book, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” has been named one of the 100 best books of the 21st century in The New York Times Book Review. The Pulitzer Prize-winning debut appears at number 11. “Díaz’s first novel landed like a meteorite in 2007, dazzling critics and prize juries with its mix of Dominican history, coming-of-age tale, comic-book tropes, Tolkien geekery and Spanglish slang…but the real draw is the author’s voice: brainy yet inviting, mordantly funny, sui generis.”
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Emeritus Marcia Bartusiak reviews “Accidental Astronomy: How Random Discoveries Shape the Science of Space,” a new book written by Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott. The book touches on the field’s familiar history, notes Bartusiak, but “more fun are the lesser-known stories” of amateur astronomers and unexpected findings. “Mr. Lintott conducts this breezy tour with an engaging voice, a diverting sense of humor and a humble awe for the wonders of the universe,” writes Bartusiak.
STAT lists “The Exceptions: Sixteen Women, MIT, and the Fight for Equality in Science,” by Kate Zernicke as a “best book on health and science to check out this summer.” The book focuses on Prof. Nancy Hopkins’ “career, which culminates in not only numerous scientific successes but also a collaborative effort with 15 other women faculty demonstrating evidence of gender discrimination at MIT,” explains STAT. “This work led to studies to address gender equity at nine other universities.”
Brandon Hanks, a software developer with MIT’s Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Sarah Needleman about how Gen Z is putting their own spin on the heart sign. Hanks notes that “it looks more difficult” to master than the Millennial version—“and it is!”