למידה, אינטרנט ... ומה שביניהם

In fact when we are summarizing, we are zipping through the whole content, homing in on the important chunks. The summaries give us a feel for the whole article. The summarization works like a powerful filter to save time and effort.

With the ability to summarize web pages everybody can become an instant speed reader. With just a click of a button, WebSummarizer extracts the most relevant keywords and sentences!

You instantly see what the web page is about. The key points are highlighted. This brings your view into focus. You can view any part of the text that contains your favorite keywords. You can rapidly take notes and create mind maps complete with references to the sources.

You get more done in less time.

When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated. … There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental simulation in your brain.

The researchers found that the initial duplication process mattered a great deal. When children had drawn a letter freehand, they exhibited increased activity in three areas of the brain that are activated in adults when they read and write: the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior parietal cortex.

By contrast, children who typed or traced the letter or shape showed no such effect. The activation was significantly weaker.

The origin of the cursive method is associated with practical advantages of writing speed and infrequent pen lifting to accommodate the limitations of the quill.

The invention of reading led to the mutation of our cerebral circuits into a reading device. We gained a new and almost magical ability - the capacity to "listen to the dead with our eyes". But reading was only possible because we inherited cortical areas that could learn to link visual graffiti to speech sounds and meanings. (ע' 302)

We were never born to read. Human beings invented reading only a few thousand years ago. And with this invention, we rearranged the very organization of our brain, which in turn expanded the ways we were able to think, which altered the intellectual evolution of our species. Reading is one of the single most remarkable inventions in history; the ability to record history is one of its consequences. Our ancestors' invention could come about only because of the human brain's extraordinary ability to make new connections among its existing structures, a process made possible by the brain's ability to be shaped by experience. This plasticity at the heart of the brain's design forms the basis for much of who we are, and who we might become. (ע' 3)

Two sixth grade math classes lost an entire week’s worth of instruction taking a trial run of a new test and now they want payment for their time.

"I thought it was unfair that we weren’t paid for anything and we didn’t volunteer for anything," said Beaulieu. "It was as if we said, ‘Oh we can do it for free.’"

Beaulieu used his math skills in the letter, determining that the two classes would collectively earn $1,628 at minimum wage for their 330 minutes of work. He then went on to figure out how many school supplies that amount could buy: 22 new Big Ideas MATH Common Core Student Edition Green textbooks or 8,689 Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils.

Shanghai does not need so-called ‘#1 schools.... What it needs are schools that follow sound educational principles, respect principles of students’ physical and psychological development, and lay a solid foundation for students’ lifelong development.

The new evaluation system deemphasizes the significance of test scores. Instead of being the sole measure of educational quality, test scores become one of 10 indicators Shanghai (and China) will use to evaluate schools. The new evaluation system will measure student motivation and engagement, student-teacher relationship, and physical fitness.