New BLOSSOMS Lesson Explores “First Rung” of the Distance Ladder
The latest MIT BLOSSOMS lesson, “Measuring Distances in the Milky Way”, was created by Roger Hajjar, an astronomer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Notre Dame University, Louaize, Lebanon. This lesson has four main learning objectives: 1) To explore, in practice, a means of measuring distances without what we most often consider the “direct” means: a meter stick; 2) To understand the limits of a method through the exploration of uncertainties; 3) To understand in the particular method used, the relationship between baseline and the accuracy of the measurement; and 4) To understand the astronomical applications and implications of the method and its limits. Professor Hajjar did his graduate study in Canada and returned to Lebanon, his country of birth, with the dream of reviving astronomy in the land of his forefathers. Watch his lesson here.

MIT BLOSSOMS to Help Pilot Innovative Approaches for a 21st Century Online Teacher Education Program in Pakistan
MIT’s Office of Educational Innovation and Technology (OEIT) will initiate a program designed to expand capacity building for education in Pakistan through a high quality and scalable online and blended teacher education program. BLOSSOMS, together with four other STEM-related programs at MIT, will participate in this year-long project. BLOSSOMS will build upon existing partnerships with the Virtual University of Pakistan and additional partner universities to extend BLOSSOMS in Pakistan for the Online Teacher Education program. The goal will be threefold: 1) To develop two new BLOSSOMS lessons in science or math; 2) To complete Urdu voice-overs for five existing BLOSSOMS lessons; and 3) To conduct a face-to-face professional development workshop for Pakistani teacher educators on the BLOSSOMS pedagogical approach to online learning.

MIT’s Education Arcade Explores Games that Promote Learning through Authentic and Engaging Play.
The mission of MIT’s Education Arcade is to demonstrate the social, cultural, and educational potential of videogames by initiating new game development projects, coordinating interdisciplinary research efforts, and informing public conversations about the broader and sometimes unexpected uses of this emerging art form in education. The Arcade’s research and development projects focus both on the learning that naturally occurs in popular commercial games, and on the design of games that more vigorously address the educational needs of players. Education Arcade projects have touched on mathematics, science, history, literacy, and language learning, and have been tailored to a wide range of ages. They have been designed for personal computers, handheld devices and on-line delivery. Read more.