[pn] annotated links

[Mark Warschauer]

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The 'Why' of Math
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-math28jun28,1,6039955.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials

A short editorial on why students in other countries do better than 
US kids in math.  This is not particularly new research, but it's 
quite interesting nonetheless.  There is the widespread belief in the 
US that kids here don't focus on the basics enough.  However, 
analysis of videos of lessons in Japan, Hong Kong, and other 
countries where students have higher math scores indicates that the 
teachers in those countries spend much more time helping students 
understand underlying concepts than in the US.  The problem in the US 
is thus the opposite of what most people believe--there is in fact 
too much emphasis on drills and not enough emphasis on concepts.  As 
the Times editorial interestingly (and surprisingly, given their past 
positions) points out, the same thing applies to reading--too much 
emphasis on phonics rather than on content and interpretation is 
counterproductive.  Not a surprise to most readers of Papyrus News, 
but interesting to read in a  major US newspaper.  Perhaps the 
pendulum can begin to swing away from the extreme emphasis on the US 
on phonics, decoding, math drills, etc.

Terror and Liberalism, by Paul Berman
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393057755/104-0539315-0872701?v=glance

An impressive treatise on why the left (broadly defined) should take 
a strong stand against Middle East terror movements.  Berman, a 
center-left journalist for a number of progressive publications, 
analyzes the history and ideology of the two wings of Middle East 
terrorism--the religious wing, encompassing groups such as Al Queda, 
Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the secular wing, centered in the 
Baathist regimes of Syria and (formerly) Iraq--and concludes that 
both have strong similarities to, and roots in, other totalitarian 
movements of the 20th century.  One interesting chapter comments on 
the links between Noam Chomsky's approach to linguistics and to 
politics.  This book is an important read, even for (perhaps 
especially for) those who won't agree with it.

Is Google God?
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/29/opinion/29FRIE.html

Google, in this sense, being short hand for ubiquitous computing, 
broadband, and wireless connections, all combined with powerful 
search capacity.  NY TImes Columnist Tom Friedman's view on how all 
this is changing the world

Mark Warschauer
http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/

My slightly updated Website, with description of current research 
projects (updated today), recent papers (updated about a month ago), 
books (updated about three months ago), and links to some other email 
lists (updated about three months ago.)