The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Policy (PCAST) met on November 12, 2013 and highlighted computing throughout the meeting.  The first agenda item was an overview of a soon-to-be-released letter report on Education Information Technology (EdIT).  There will eventually be three letter reports on this topic, with the first focusing on Higher Education, particularly Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs).  A variety of items were addressed during this session, with the highlights being that in this new era of Big Data, high bandwidth, and software innovation, opportunities to evolve pedagogical systems and personalize education are near.  You can view the discussion here.  Future EdIT letter reports will focus on […]

The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) in the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a new funding program called Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE).  It is a broader funding opportunity to support projects that address immediate challenges and opportunities facing undergraduate STEM (including Computing) education, as well as those that anticipate new structures and functions of the undergraduate STEM learning and teaching enterprise. From the solicitation: Recognizing that the preparation of a globally-competitive workforce, including future teachers, and a scientifically literate populace requires excellent STEM education, DUE supports the improvement of the undergraduate STEM education enterprise through funding research on design, development, and […]