Innovative Learning Concepts

Innovative Learning Concepts can help prevent college math anxiety

ILC Admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:14:22 +0000

Through our one-on-one tutorial support in mathematics, comfortable and relaxed setting, enthusiastic and highly trained tutors who place a premium on student support services, and a sculptured, detailed Individual Learning Plan (ILP) that includes qualitative components and performance metrics, students who receive ILC support in mathematics rarely enter college feeling high levels of anxiety or underprepared.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2011/11/just_over_half_of_community.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Why STEM Entrepreneurship?

iLearn Concepts — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:59:46 +0000

POWER-IT

(Promoting Our Worth as Entrepreneurs and Researchers in Innovative Technologies)

The power to transform lives: preparing students for the other side of the STEM workforce

“In 25 years of formal education, no one ever asked what I really wanted to do with all the science and math courses I’d taken. What they didn’t know was that in 8^th grade, I was selling candy for profit and that at 17 years old, I knew I would be a CEO. I also knew something about 95% of my teachers in K-12, college, and graduate school. I knew that I didn’t fit what they perceived to be CEO material. I wasn’t polished. I was very rough around the edges. Teachers didn’t expect of me what I expected of myself.”

~Angelicque Tucker Blackmon, Ph.D.

The “E” in STEM could easily represent entrepreneurship. In fact, at ILC, we also include entrepreneurship in our promotion of high quality STEM education. Why is an increased awareness of entrepreneurship in STEM critically important for Georgia students as we move through the first quarter of the 21^st century? Georgia is at the forefront of life science innovation and is the fastest growing bioscience and biotechnology in the country. Georgia’s bio-and life-sciences industry has a $7 billion impact on the state’s GDP and employs more than 60,000 people. Additionally, Georgia is an emerging U.S. leader in both number and diversity of companies and technologies focused on digital entertainment. Georgia is home to over 60 game companies and:

Engages over 2,000 students in interactive design classes or full videogame programs;
Offers more than a dozen colleges & universities with comprehensive interactive design career paths.

Yet, few of the individuals represented in the Georgia bioscience, biotechnology and digital entertainment workforce include students who are historically underrepresented in the sciences. And, no one is preparing students for the option of entering the STEM workforce on the other side– as entrepreneurs in the science or ICT enterprise–even though, in Georgia there are over 300 life science companies from small start-ups to established businesses located in the immediate Atlanta area. Further, the metro-Atlanta area has 60 gaming companies–many of which are individual start up companies reaching collectively over 10 million people. In an effort to provide much needed access to historically underrepresented students, the POWER-IT leadership team provides high school students science, information and communication technology (ICT) experiences along with STEM entrepreneurship awareness workshops.

The POWER-IT project explores creative, original, and transformative concepts in informal science education. Informal science based programs rarely include entrepreneurial and leadership development specifically for future engagement in the 21^st century science and technology workforce. Preparation of underrepresented students for early leadership and entrepreneurship in ICT and science is transformative primarily because these students are more often socialized to be end user consumers instead of as producers of knowledge and cutting edge technologies.

In POWER-IT, students are prepared to take on positions as leaders and producers of knowledge in the scientific enterprise. POWER-IT students will learn ICT in three categories–multimedia, communication, and research. Multimedia ICT activities include the creation of: webpages, podcasts, blogs, games using 3D Adobe, and digital stories using Photostory 3.0. Communication technologies include using Web 2.0 technologies and webconferencing. Research technologies include high school students using Genechip probe arrays and microarray data analysis software. As a part of learning about microrray analysis of gene expression at the MSM Neuroscience Institute (NI), POWER-IT students will use a suite of software that allow them to capture, manage, and analyze effectively data from DNA microarray experiments.

While students are engaged in research and attending entrepreneurship awareness workshops, the POWER-IT leadership team will be conducting research on the number of students who intended to major in STEM but decided to explore an entrepreneurial passion. We hypothesize that there are many more STEM competent and talented people than traditionally included in the STEM educational and workforce statistics.

Higher Education & Entrepreneurship

iLearn Concepts — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:28:57 +0000

STEM Entrepreneurship can catapult students’ interest in STEM after years of marginal engagement especially from students of color. ILC will soon be writing articles on this. In the meantime, check out this great article written by Daniel Margolis for Chief Learning Officer.

He quotes Cathy Ashmore, executive director of the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education: “There are only two kinds of people you can work for, someone else and for yourself, and we forget to teach people how they can create their own business and work for themselves.”

ILC agrees that we can apply this concept to STEM entrepreneurship as well. We will soon discuss more on this topic. Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for regular discussions and updates.

Morehouse School of Medicine Receives a National Science Foundation Award to Launch POWER-IT

iLearn Concepts — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:42:14 +0000

Morehouse School of Medicine in Partnership with Dr. Angelicque Tucker Blackmon Receives a National Science Foundation Award to Launch POWER-IT

We are excited to announce that the Morehouse School of Medicine recently received an award from the National Science Foundation to launch the POWER-IT project (Promoting Our Worth as Researchers and Entrepreneurs in Innovative Technologies). Dr. Blackmon is the Co-Principal Investigator and author of POWER-IT. She will join the Morehouse School of Medicine faculty to implement the project.

There is only one similar project in the nation–where urban youth will engage in neuroscience research, learn about and use Web 2.0 technologies and be exposed to using their science and IT backgrounds to set up their own STEM based companies–through the STEM entrepreneurship development component of POWER-IT.

POWER-IT at Morehouse School of Medicine is specifically designed to provide Georgia High School students with year round access to STEM based activities (neuroscience and information and communication technologies) and to teach them about launching their own STEM based companies.

e-Learning: The Internet & Education

iLearn Concepts — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:59:57 +0000

Via: OnlineEducation.net

ILC Launches YOUR Robo-TEAM

iLearn Concepts — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:50:30 +0000

ILC just signed a letter of agreement with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to launch a robotics program for urban high school youth. The project title is: Young Urban Roboticists: Robotics for Elementary, Teen, and Middle School Students (YOUR Robo-TEAM).YOUR Robo-TEAM is the intellectual property of ILC. All rights reserved.

Internship Opportunities

iLearn Concepts — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:36:09 +0000

Innovative Learning Concepts is hiring interns. ILC Interns as Program or Evaluation Associates. The intern would work directly with the CEO of the company.

Qualifications

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM–INNOVATIVE LEARNING CONCEPTS PROGRAM

AND EVALUATION ASSOCIATES

Senior in high school or college student with a GPA of 3.2 or higher;
Planning to major in a science discipline (chemistry, biology, zoology, etc), technology, engineering or mathematics)
Exemplary oral and written communication skills;
Submission of a writing sample;
3 strong letters of recommendation;
Work experience in a corporate or office setting;
Recommendation from previous supervisor;
Reliable transportation;
Availability to work from 10:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m. for 6 weeks and on some weekends;
Transportation;
Prior volunteer experience coordinating activities and events

If you are interested in an internship with Innovative Learning Concepts, please contact us today!

iLearn Concepts

iLearn Concepts — Sun, 15 May 2011 04:34:23 +0000

Want to know more about Innovative Learning Concepts? Stay up to date on ILC news by following Dr. Blackmon on twitter @atuckerblackmon.