Around the time you read this, the popular Introduction to Arti­ficial Intel­ligence course at Stan­ford University, taught by Sebastian Thrun, director of the AI lab there, and by Peter Norvig, director of research for Google, will be under way. As usual, a couple of hundred Stanford students will be sitting in the room. This year classmates sitting at computers around the world will join them. The pupils who attend virtually won’t pay tuition (or get Stanford credit), but they will all watch the same lectures, read the same textbook, get the same homework and take the same tests. Software will help analyze their submitted questions, so that the professors can address the main themes each week.

I spoke to Norvig while attending the recent Sci Foo—an invitation-only “unconference” hosted by Google, the O’Reilly Media Group and Nature Publishing Group (Scientific American’s parent company). Just two weeks after he and Thrun announced the AI course, more than 57,000 students had enrolled (70,000-plus at press time). “We hope our automated systems hold up,” he joked.

Sci Foo hosts scientists and technologists from many fields, who create the session schedule during the conference rather than beforehand. This year finding exciting new approaches to improve education was a frequent theme—and those sessions were packed. (Linda Rosen, CEO of Change the Equation, and I ran one, on how to inspire kids about science.)

On the topic of education, here are three updates on Scientific American’s efforts to inspire by expanding the reach of science (for more, click on the “Education” tab on the www.­Scientific­American.com home page):

Bring Science Home. Following our successful weekday series of science activities for parents and kids ages six to 12, which ran through May, we will post more fun projects, starting in October.

1,000 Scientists in 1,000 Days. In May we invited scientists, engi­neers, mathematicians, doctors and others to volunteer to visit classrooms as part of our three-year (that’s the 1,000 days) Change the Equation program. More than 1,100 have stepped forward—in fewer than 100 days—and they are in a variety of disciplines and located all around the country. This fall we plan to offer a service that connects these scientists with educators.

Citizen Science. One of the best ways to appreciate science, of course, is to participate in it yourself. Working with Zooniverse and a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, we are launching a project that lets students and adults alike help study whale songs.

How else can we engage kids in science? As always, we welcome your thoughts.

This article was originally published with the title Back to School.

3 Comments

1. 1. Sinibaldi 11:46 AM 9/20/11

   After the peal.
   
   When a
   settled memory
   returns near
   a sensible
   meaning I call,
   in the sky,
   the light of
   a fine bird.
   
   Francesco Sinibaldi

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2. 2. Peter Cao 07:03 PM 10/1/11

   How do you feel when you learned the instructor of this 'Stanford course', Sebastian Thrun, had hyped this course to get you all in, in an effort to add his weight to rival ruling from authorities against his involvment into crimes, which had caused the murdering of an innocent student, for his sake to terrorize authorities and to threaten victim as I am, from his own school in Stanford?
   
   Stanford Computer Science Professor Sebastian Thrun had involved into multiple crimes in Stanford, including murder of an innocent Stanford student May Zhou during their fight with authorities from their own school in Stanford.
   
   Thrun's side had tried every effort to cover up the case from the public. His bosses from Stanford Computer Science department, e.g. Professor Ed Feigenbaum had constantly intruded my privacy and destroied all my private relations in this world, and he had abused his power in scientific world to hype Thrun in name of Stanford Computer Sicence Department and AAAI.ORG; Thrun's student, Mr. David Stavens, had lied to Stanford police on behalf of Thrun's side trying to prevent me from filing complain at authorities against their crimes.
   
   Sebastian Thrun had not paid for his crimes and he would have to.
   
   --------------------------
   Look-Inside_Dumbfounded [ http://tysurl.com/BsEnQ4 ]
   

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3. 3. Peter Cao 07:06 PM 10/1/11

   Stanford Computer Science Professor Google’s Eric Schmidt along with a Stanford Computer Science professor Sebastian Thrun had involved into crimes which had endangered human lives. Schmidt and Thrun’s side had murdered Stanford student May Zhou and they had plotted a murder on me as well, during their fight with Stanford to threaten me and to terrorize Stanford people. Schmidt and Thrun had not paid for their crimes so far. But this case is regarding to people’s lives, and when it regards to people’s lives, there should not be any compromise nor any dubious or obscure points left.
   
   more details Look-inside-dumbfounded [ http://tysurl.com/BsEnQ4 ] … and it did happen as Eric Schmidt predicted so far, that police did not find out who murdered Stanford student May Zhou, which is very scary … Schmidt side told me: if they can’t win the case at judicial authorities, they could take my life as easy as getting rid of a bug … it is problems in Stanford Computer Science Department with their Professor Sebastian Thrun’s case that led to May Zhou’s death … who actually setup order in Stanford Computer Science Department? … Thrun, Schmidt, Scheler, and Thrun’s bosses in Stanford Computer Science departmet are all in debt to Stanford student May Zhou’s death.
   
   — An unheard of sandal in history of college education.

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