By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. An Exact Value for the Planck Constant: Why Reaching It Took 100 Years
Michael Trott, Wolfram Alpha, 2016/05/20
This article could take you quite a while to finish but it's a terrific read on a subject you won't normally see in the media or on the web: standards of weights and measurements. The Treaty of the Metre was signed 241 years ago to this day (that's 51500 days) and in two years the most significant changes to le Système international d’unités (SI) system of measurement will be made since that day. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. You’re the Variable
Alfred Thompson, Computer Science Teaacher, 2016/05/27
Algebra has once again come under challenge and in response there have been the usual defenses, such as this article on why we need algebra. To me (as I do things like measure the amount of paint required to cover a four bedroom house) the answer is pretty clear. But people like Andrew Hacker argue it should be dropped from the curriculum because it's a leading cause of dropouts. More...