The Wasted opportunity to improve STEM

The White House has announced the 85 names of Outstanding Math and Science Teachers! Yes! This is wonderful.

No it isn't.

What it really is -- a missed opportunity to truly improve STEM education by networking. By letting you SEE what they are doing.

What they should have included? 
  1. A twitter list of those who twitter. Already made for you.
  2. Every name should be hyperlinked. Every name. We should be able to find their school and information and even their classroom without having to search.
  3. Links to their application and portfolio.
  4. An RSS feed that allows you to follow all of them with a click whether through a reader or something like Flipboard.
Dead Links Kill Progress
As it is, this lovely press release which is making the rounds is dead.

It is a list of names of living breathing teachers doing amazing work but dead because it has no living hyperlinks to enrich us.

I should think better coming from an administration that is so tech savvy.

And yes, I teach my students about dead text. Dead text where it should have useful, contextual links is irritating and rude. This list BEGS for more. As a matter of practice, all lists of people should include hyperlinks.

That is, of course, a person doesn't want to have a link and chooses to opt out.

Awards should be intended to reward best practice and disseminate it further.
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