Author Archives: Googlefor Edu

Google Expedition of 9/11 Memorial Museum Helps Students to ‘Never Forget’

Posted by Sal Puglisi, Emergency Management Teacher

“Where were you on 9/11?” has become the question of my generation. I can proudly answer by saying I was responding to the calls for help as an emergency medical technician in New York City. When my partner and I pulled up to the World Trade Center site, we looked up to see the second plane crash into the South Tower.

But for future generations, the memories of Sept. 11 will primarily be secondhand stories. That’s why the statement “Never Forget” has become central to my career.

In 2007, with the transition of a new teaching career, I entered my first classroom as a special education teacher in a Bronx middle school. I was standing just a few miles from Ground Zero on the 6th anniversary of 9/11 and realized this generation of students didn't really understand what transpired on that day. From that anniversary forward, I have made it my mission to teach about the events of that day, tell my personal story to students, and share information about the four coworkers I lost that day.

In 2011, my personal campaign of “Never Forget” came to life with the opening of the 9/11 Memorial, and later, the opening of the 9/11 Museum in 2014. Students could now experience the multitude of emotions and artifacts firsthand.

Now, on the 15th anniversary of 9/11, the 9/11 Memorial Museum has partnered with Google Expeditions to allow students and adults from around the world the opportunity to experience the Museum and its artifacts in an immersive, virtual journey.

The moment I put on the virtual reality viewer, I was in awe. I really felt like I was standing in the 9/11 Memorial Museum. As you navigate the space in virtual reality, nothing gets lost. All the feeling and emotions you would feel standing in the large spaces and exhibitions are translated to scale. As a teacher, I really found the program easy to use. The format outlines discussion questions grouped as beginner, intermediate, and expert. As an educator, I know students will want to look around and may get off task, but the program has a great way of redirecting students with arrows that bring them back to the lesson objective. There are several resources available for teachers on the Museum’s website that help scaffold pre and post lessons and highlight potential cross-content experiences for students.

As a first responder and survivor of 9/11, Google Expeditions has done a wonderful job of bringing the 9/11 Memorial Museum to life, and in doing so has allowed future generations to do what I hope, to “Never Forget.”

Teaching the teachers: the new Google for Education Certified Trainer Program

Posted by David Chen, Education Program Manager

While teachers are hard at work planning lessons and engaging students, they’re simultaneously learning new tools and methods. By teaching the teachers, education trainers play a critical role in schools, especially today when education technology is changing so rapidly.

For the last few years Google has provided a program for people who wanted to earn an official training certification from Google for Education. Today we are announcing the launch of the new and improved Google for Education Certified Trainer Program.
The new Certified Trainer Program
The new program still aims to equip people to provide training and support to teachers using Google tools to transform their classrooms. However we’ve made three major changes from the past program:

  • New Trainer Course: 7 new units of curriculum that help trainers improve their skills 
  • New membership benefits: updated resources and perks for Trainers 
  • More development opportunities: Stronger connections with Trainer community and exclusive look at new product launches

The Certified Trainers
There are already 1,800 Google Certified Trainers around the world who offer a range of professional development. For example, in Taiwan, Certified Trainer Mike Jung leads small after-school workshops to help teachers use Forms to conduct formative assessments. In the United States Certified Trainer Chris Walsh works closely with district leaders to plan and design professional development. Trainer Donna Teuber from South Carolina loves being able to work with educators over longer periods of time. She shared, “I love helping educators move from where they are to the place that they want to be. I love hearing the success stories from teachers and seeing their students’ work.”
Google for Education Certified Trainer Donna Teuber
A global community
Although Trainers are often leading the teaching, they’re simultaneously supporting each other. Certified Trainer Allison Mollica shared, “I live in New Hampshire -- a relatively small part of the world -- and now work globally. Just recently I have worked with Trainers from Thailand, Czech Republic, UK, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Philippines, Australia, and all over the US. I am always learning and creating new materials to share with them and help adult learners.”
Google for Education Certified Trainer Allison Mollica
Organizations around the world look to Certified Trainers for professional development. Luis Hernandez, from the Secretary of Education's office in Baja California, Mexico has employed Certified Trainers to support the teachers of the millions of students in the state. Hernandez said that the Trainers help teachers learn Google tools but, “most importantly, transmit their passion and motivation.”
Luis Hernandez, the Project Manager for the Baja California Secretary of Education
Get started
Join the community of Google for Education Certified Trainers. Visit the Certified Trainer website to learn more about the program and apply. Use the hashtag #GoogleET to share your ideas on social media.

Below are the key application dates:

  • October 12- Membership application open 
  • December 5- Deadline to apply 
  • End of December- notifications

Taking learning beyond classroom walls with new features for Back to School

Posted by Dina Kachintseva, Classroom Software Engineer and Felix Wang, User Experience Designer

As any teacher would tell you, the classroom isn’t the only place where learning happens — it’s just the tip of the iceberg. From parents who help students with homework, to extracurriculars, field trips and more, there are so many ways students can learn beyond the walls of the classroom. This is why today we’re announcing new features to help teachers inspire learning for students, regardless of place or time.

Parents and guardians stay informed with Google Classroom email summaries


Parent participation has a major impact on student learning. Today, we’re launching a new feature in Google Classroom that will automatically share summaries of student work with parents. Once invited by a teacher, parents and guardians can receive automated daily or weekly email summaries of student work and class announcements, making it easier to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the classroom.
“I enjoy helping my children prepare for assignments that they have coming up – and the earlier I know about them, the better,” says Michelle Barrette, a mother of five Medfield, Massachusetts students and pilot user of the new Classroom feature. “This way I can prevent them from missing deadlines and see if they need help brainstorming topics or solutions.”

Annotations help students color outside the lines — and the classroom


When teachers want to help students understand complex math or science concepts, visuals — like drawings on a whiteboard — can help. But how does this work when students and teachers aren’t in the classroom together? Today, we’re announcing the ability to annotate documents in the Google Classroom mobile app.

Using annotations, students can complete assignments, sketch out math problems or even create visuals of creative ideas directly on their devices. This gives students a portable classroom whiteboard on which they can easily draw and sketch. Now, thinking through complex homework challenges from home, school or on the bus is even easier. 

Teachers can use annotations to quickly grade assignments by writing directly on the student’s work, or highlighting the most important passages in a text or novel. Anne Farrahar, an English teacher in the Medfield Public Schools district, explains how her lessons benefitted from her high school students annotating a critique of Shakespeare’s "The Merchant of Venice." “They highlighted all the ideas they thought were convincing arguments in one color, and all the ideas they disagreed with in another color,” says Farrahar. “This gave me the chance to assess students' individual understanding and, based on their responses, gather ideas for future lessons.” 


More Expeditions thousands of miles away or inside the human body


Have you ever wondered what it would be like to visit the White House Kitchen Garden or what it would be like to travel inside the human body? Today we’re announcing new Expeditions that bring students far beyond the usual places they can travel. With these adventures, like a visit to Bhutan or an exploration of the human vascular systems, teachers are able to deeply immerse students in lessons, creating vivid and memorable learning experiences.
In addition, the Expeditions app is coming soon to iOS. More teachers, including those who use iPads, will be able to share Expeditions with their students by using full-screen mode on the devices in place of a VR viewer. With over 200 Expeditions available, we’re excited for them to experience these virtual field trips on more devices. 

More Google for Education features for busy teachers and curious minds


 In celebration of the new school year, we’re excited to share more new tools for teachers and students to break down traditional barriers within the classroom: 
  • A more organized Classroom. To make Classroom even easier to use, teachers can organize the class stream by adding topics to posts, and teachers and students can filter the stream for specific topics. Plus, users can now preview documents, PDFs, images and videos, all without leaving Classroom. 
  • Share your screens wirelessly at school. With the latest Chrome update, Cast for Education is now available to all teachers and students. This free Chrome app carries video and audio across complex school networks and has built-in controls for teachers — no new hardware required. Look out for updates including support for secondary domains coming soon. 
  • Google Forms get an upgrade with images. In Forms, teachers can now add images to questions or as multiple choice answers. This is perfect for subjects like math when students need to show their understanding of diagrams and graphs. 
  • Inbox by Gmail for the classroom. Inbox by Gmail is rolling out to Google for Education users. Coming soon, email notifications from Classroom will be intelligently grouped in Inbox, making it easy for teachers and students to find important updates and highlights. 
Whether students are at home or in the classroom, teachers can continue to inspire and support their curiosity with Expeditions, Classroom, Apps and Chromebooks. Stay tuned this week on Google+ and Twitter for more details on these exciting new tools. 

Majoring in CS and mentoring along the way

Posted by Natalie Ang, Student, California State University, Fullerton

Editor's note: Natalie Ang is a student at California State University, Fullerton, majoring in Computer Science. She started a Google igniteCS mentorship program with her ACM-W chapter, and led the effort to introduce younger girls in her community to the world of programming.

My journey in computer science began in a computer systems class I took my freshman year of high school. Due to the many times I had to compile my program just to receive an error warning, I soon learned that programming takes much patience and effort. I found myself ready to throw the school computer out of the window, but the hours of frustration melted away the instant my program worked smoothly. That moment would become the reason I chose computer science as my major.

During my college orientation, I was told that girls make up 15% of the engineering field. The truth behind that shocking statistic became a reality when I experienced my first programming class where only 6 girls enrolled out of 40. Rather than be discouraged, it made me excited to represent the potential of women in engineering and lead me to join the Association for Computing Machinery Committee on Women (ACM-W) club. Like me, their goal is to increase the number of girls in engineering.

After becoming president of ACM-W, my club came across a program called Google igniteCS where groups can receive funding for their mentorship program. I knew that this opportunity would expand the club’s collaboration with the Girl Scouts of Orange County, so my team quickly applied with high hopes. When we found out that our club received funding, all of us were overjoyed and ready to put this money toward exposing young girls to the world of programming. For the next few months, the ACM-W hosted five events, each of them focused on teaching young girls scouts the countless possibilities involved with programming and where it can lead.

It wasn't easy creating the lesson plans from scratch or keeping everyone in the club organized, but we did it. Google not only gave us funds, but also the tools and suggestions to make our events successful. I'm fortunate to be a part of igniteCS and having the opportunity to share my passion for programming with other girls. Whenever I see their eyes light up from completing a task by themselves, I know that I am working towards the first step in increasing passion for engineering.
Another mentor and I set up Google Cardboard to use during a Google igniteCS session

Two of our mentees enjoying their Cardboard experience
igniteCS has allowed me to spread my passion for computer science and make a difference in the lives of girls in my own community. Through working with Google and the igniteCS team, I had the resources and support I needed to create a mentorship program that had the most impact. I am glad that I applied to igniteCS, and you should too!

igniteCS is accepting applications August 22nd - September 18th, 2016. To learn more, please visit our website at g.co/igniteCS. For more information about the application process, participate in our Hangout on Air on August 17th.

Sixteen science and engineering projects that could make the world a better place

Posted by Andrea Cohan, Google Science Fair Program Lead

Editor's note: Today, we’re announcing 16 Global Finalists for Google Science Fair 2016. One of these top projects will become the Grand Prize Winner, announced live at the sixth annual Awards Celebration in September from Mountain View, California. To follow the final stages of this year’s competition, visit the Google Science Fair site, and follow along with us on Google+ and Twitter.

Thousands of projects. Hundreds of countries. Months of anticipation.

Please join us in celebrating the 2016 class of Google Science Fair Global Finalists!

From a breathalyzer test that could predict lung cancer to a carbon filter that may significantly decrease styrofoam waste, these top 16 projects from 9 countries around the world, represent the brightest ideas to make things better through science and engineering.

Meet the finalists 
Please join us and our partners — LEGO Education, Scientific American, National Geographic and Virgin Galactic — as we welcome the 2016 Global Finalists and their incredible ideas.

Lactose-free milk for everyone!
Maria (16) - Brazil
Maria (16) of Londrina, Brazil, wanted to solve a stomach-upsetting problem: around the world, most communities have a high percentage of people who don't produce the enzyme needed to properly digest milk, and in Brazil, at least 50 million people are affected. Buying lactose-free milk and non-dairy alternatives like soy or almond milk can be extremely expensive and difficult for most people to afford regularly, and while food manufacturers can produce lactose-free products fairly easily, the final product can reduce the quality and nutrient value of the milk in production. So Maria set out to create an affordable capsule that anyone can add to milk directly to neutralize its lactose in the comfort of their own home. After multiple experiments, she produced a reusable capsule that works from fridge temperatures to up to 37 degrees Celsius, and it performs equally well in both low-fat and regular fat milk. Her capsule can be reused to effectively neutralize the lactose enzymes in milk for up to seven days, and costs just pennies. Maria is excited to make her solution for removing lactose from milk easily accessible to anyone.

Fighting foam waste with recycled filters
Ashton (14), Julia (14), Luke (14) - United States
Ashton, Julia, and Luke (14) were stunned to learn how much expanded polystyrene waste (like disposable foam cups) littered the beaches of Central America. Back at home in Columbus, OH, the group were also dismayed to find that the US alone produces millions of pounds of polystyrene foam annually. This material takes up a quarter of America's landfills, and can take hundreds of years to degrade. Hoping to find a solution for recycling the material, the group's research showed that polystyrene foam is so difficult and expensive to recycle that most communities don't even make the effort to include it in their recycling efforts. Since expanded polystyrene consists of over 90% carbon, these young scientists put their heads together to see if they could find a cost-effective way to convert the material into something useful: carbon filters that can remove contaminants from polluted water. After testing several chemicals to break down the waste into an effective filter, the trio hit the jackpot, producing a carbon filter that could not only decrease polystyrene waste from any landfill, but also make water safe to drink.

Malaria monitoring on the go
Nikhil (15) - United States
Nikhil (15), a student living in New Jersey, had a serious family health scare when his aunt nearly died of a particularly resistant malaria strain in 2015. Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide annually, mainly in less developed countries like Africa and India. Nikhil's aunt lives in a rural part of India, and while she was able to receive basic diagnosis and treatment, her doctor did not have access to laboratories that could determine how much of the malaria parasite she had in her blood, and to what degree her medications were working to remove them. His aunt almost didn't recover because of this, so Nikhil was determined to create an affordable solution to test for more than just whether or not a patient has malaria. Expanding on the basic principles of enzyme analysis used in immunology, he built an app and device that can analyze malaria parasite levels in the blood that requires no lab and minimal power: all you need is a photo from a smartphone camera to analyze the light and $50 worth of materials. Nikhil is currently in talks with the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and hopes to share his malaria testing solution with the world.

No more thirsty crops
Kiara (16) - Johannesburg 
Kiara (16) lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, which like other nearby countries, is suffering from the worst drought the region has seen in over 20 years. Kiara believes that a critical solution to long term water needs is a special material that can hold hundreds of times their weight in water while stored within soil. Typically, these materials are man-made and filled with harmful chemicals that are both non-biodegradable and too expensive for local farmers to afford. Through her research, Kiara found the ideal material in a simple orange peel, and created a way to turn this everyday waste into soil-ready water storage with help from the avocado. Kiara hopes this low-cost material can reuse food waste while helping local farmers save both money and their crops.

KeepTab: never lose your things again!
Shriank (16) - India 
In Bangalore, India, Shriank (16) enjoys engineering and coding applications to build innovative solutions that can help people in his community. He noticed that as we get older our ability to keep track of items we use on a daily basis deteriorates. This can make life particularly stressful and difficult for people with memory-related illnesses like dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or amnesia. So Shriank created a wearable device that can keep track of static (non-moving) objects in the world around you, as well as objects you may pick up and move yourself. While wearing the device, you can use Google Now to easily find out where you left everything from your medicine to your keys. With the ability to track objects with over 90% accuracy in ambient light, the KeepTab app relies on only your smartphone and your wearable device, making it easy to use and afford. Shriank hopes his invention can help people struggling with memory loss to improve the quality of their everyday lives.

Powerful Paint: the next generation battery 
Marion (18), Joy (18), and Sonia (18) - Singapore 
Marion, Joy, and Sonia (18) live in Singapore and specialize in three different scientific fields: biomedical research, chemical engineering, and chemistry. These students decided to improve the design of the modern supercapacitor: an energy storage device that outperforms batteries significantly. It also lasts for over a decade, requiring less frequent replacement versus chemically-based batteries that can harm the environment as waste. Today, supercapacitors are physically created and mounted onto the surface of a device (like a smartphone). But, given their rigid shape, it can be difficult to apply them to non-standard shapes and they can be easily damaged. The trio of scientists created a paintable supercapacitor design: completely flexible, their design can adhere to a wide variety of surface types and still retain a significant amount of energy even when damaged. The group hopes their new design will be used throughout the electronics industry to improve devices like smartphones and even hybrid electric cars, making renewable, portable energy easily accessible for everyone.

Keeping farms alive on a budget 
Mphatso (18) - Zambia
 
In Lusaka, Zambia, family involvement in local politics has made Mphatso (18) keenly interested in reducing poverty in his community. As Southern Africa struggles to recover from its worst drought in decades, farmers are seeing their crops destroyed due to El Nino weather changes, leading to famine for millions. Without crops, farmers can't make a living, making it harder than ever for them to pay for the farming supplies they need to keep their farms fertile and their families thriving. To help local farmers find low-cost, affordable solutions for pesticides and fertilizers, Mphatso investigated alternative ways of generating the supplies farmers need. He created a simple, portable production station that requires basic cooking materials like charcoal and local plant leaves from the ground. Based on his methods, Mphatso believes farmers can save hundreds of British Pounds in costs, saving ~50% on fertilizers and ~80% on pesticides to help them produce better, more abundant crops.

Smart wound care for the future 
Anushka (13) - United States 
Anushka (13) lives in Portland, Oregon and she really enjoys chemistry. Inspired by Marie Curie, whose work contributed to major advances in modern medicine, Anushka wanted to find a solution for a commonly overlooked medical problem: chronic wound care. In the US there are about 165 million injuries a year, and many of those patients suffer from chronic, larger wounds that require more complex care. Recent science shows advanced wounds need a wet environment to heal, and if dressings are changed too often, these wounds can take weeks or even months to heal. This leaves many patients susceptible to recurring infections and pain for unnecessarily long periods. Anushka wanted to create a sensor that could help doctors analyze the state of a wound without removing its dressing, and after multiple iterations on her design, she created an ideal sensor design that is cheap to build and biocompatible. Anushka believes her solution can help people suffering from chronic wounds heal more quickly, so they can get back to living life.

Flawless cars through the power of light
Nishita (13) - United States
Nishita (13), of San Jose, California, loves coding, physics, and biology. Fascinated with how cars are produced in vehicle manufacturing plants, she was surprised to discover that human specialists perform random visual tests to subjectively determine whether a car's exterior has any defects later in the car production process. This can mean expensive corrections, slowing car production down and lots of extra metal waste late in the process. Nishita was inspired to design an automated scanning system that can accurately find defects in metal sheeting at the beginning of the production process. Her system analyzes light reflection to detect dents, scratches, and other defects that aren't easily seen by the human eye. Nishita believes her system can easily be implemented via robotic arms in automated car production lines, and she hopes that her work can help reduce factory waste, improve car quality, and keep car costs low.

Saving our breath: detecting lung cancer early 
Xin Yong (18) - Malaysia
Xin Yong (18) of Seremban, Malaysia, was shocked and worried when he heard that his mathematics teacher, a non-smoker, had suddenly developed advanced lung cancer - the most common form of cancer in the world. Whether or not smoking is the cause, patients’ breath contains similar chemicals once they have the disease. As a young scientist particularly interested in nanotechnology, Xin Yong used his skills to create a sensor that can detect the progression of lung cancer by analyzing their breath. He tested his device on patients formally diagnosed with cancer, as well as patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (who were yet to be diagnosed), and finally patients who were non-smokers and not diagnosed to have pulmonary disease. Xin Yong's device costs only $1, is easy for anyone to operate, and it can provide test results within 10 minutes. Given that the device only requires the patient to breathe into it, it's an easy test to administer. Xin Yong believes his device can help doctors and patients to catch lung cancer early enough to treat it easily and potentially eliminate the cancer entirely.

Beating breast cancer with better tests 
Anika (14) - United States
As a young woman, Anika (14) of Cupertino, California is acutely aware of the health problems facing women around the world. In particular, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for women with cancer, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Curious about how current medicine predicts the likelihood of breast cancer, she researched testing methods and was disturbed to discover that more than 1/3 of the predictive tests using digital mammograms are inaccurate, relying on a 64% Area Under the Curve (AUC) accuracy that is too low to be useful. So, Anika set out to create a more accurate testing model, designing software that analyzes digital mammograms with 84% AUC accuracy. Anika is excited to offer a solution for predicting breast cancer that could eliminate costly and painful invasive procedures for women while helping them enjoy healthier, longer lives.

Smart Snapshots: storytelling with smartphones
Ryan (15) - United States
Hailing from Arlington, Virginia, Ryan (15) loves programming and building apps. With his smartphone always by his side, he found himself wondering if the camera on his phone could be used to analyze a substance and immediately recognize that substance. After heavy research and experimentation, he coded a software program that analyzed images taken with and without the infrared smartphone camera setting to test them for color and shape to identify the exact substance. He used common items like food scraps, cotton cloth, aluminum foil, and a leaf for his tests, and his application correctly identified the substances in every case. Ryan hopes infrared imaging smartphone technology can be used by the health industry along with his program to identify substances like cancerous cells quickly at a relatively low cost or hazardous substances to protect scientists without the use of lab equipment.

Avoiding landfills with sreshto pads 
Saliha (15) - Bangladesh
Growing up in Pakistan and Bangladesh opened Saliha's (15) eyes to the sheer volume of waste being generated by these densely populated areas, leading her community to host some of the world's largest landfills. Determined to find a solution to cut down on non-biodegradable waste, Saliha turned to a common personal hygiene item: sanitary pads. With the local economy booming with the sanitary industry, she knew it was only a matter of time before landfills would become overwhelmed with these products, which contain plastics and harmful chemicals. So, Saliha created a safer, chemical-free option made entirely of plant materials that will degrade in just two year's time. She hopes her new "Sreshto" pads will help more local women feel comfortable while also making the environment safer for everyone.

Streamlining rockets for space
Charlie (16) - United States

Charlie (16) lives on Martha's Vineyard Island, Massachusetts and he's fascinated with aerospace engineering, particularly rockets. Rockets are used in everything from exploring space to environmental research and the global positioning systems that help us figure out where we're going with our smartphone map apps. He's been building his own rockets since 6th grade, and Charlie was recently inspired to find out if he could make jet rockets even more efficient. Typical jet performance is controlled by fins built with complex mechanical pieces that can weigh down a jet and lead it to perform at lower speeds and altitudes. After experimenting with multiple fin types, Charlie determined that Synthetic Jet Actuators offer the best aerodynamic control for rockets. The more efficient rockets are, the less fuel they'll use, keeping costs low. Charlie believes that if the Synthetic Jet Actuator is used in the production of all rockets they'll be even more effective at performing their various missions on Earth or in space.

More rice with less water 
Mansha (15) - India
 
In India, over 50% of people in India depend on agriculture, including rice cultivation, to make a living, but many farmers do not have the resources or knowledge to efficiently manage these crops. Even more alarmingly, many rice crops waste high volumes of water due to this problem, and farmers often over-water their crops, negatively impacting their own rice yields. Eager to find a solution, Mansha (15) of Hyderabad, India, wanted to create a low-cost way to monitor water levels in rice paddy fields as well as automate water levels for the best possible crop yields. She designed an automated irrigation system that waters crops based on their age, with the potential to save 30% of the water normally used per hectare of land as well as increase rice crop yields by up to 13%. Mansha looks forward to seeing her system conserve significant amounts of water while improving crops and minimizing financial stress and labor for farmers.

ExoHeal: Retraining your brain with robots 
Zain (16) - Saudi Arabia
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Zain (16) became interested in robotics at a young age and wondered how he could help the 200 million people living with disabilities worldwide. Many of these people suffer from lost motor function, and while some rehabilitation centers do offer robotic exoskeletons in recovery therapy, the equipment is often bulky, expensive, and focused only on assisting patients with regular exercise. Zain had a question: could an exoskeletal robot retrain a patient's brain to develop new pathways and completely recover or improve their motor skills? Using the human hand for inspiration, Zain designed an exoskeletal robotic glove that mimics the movement of a sensor hand in parallel. After testing, he found that his own motor skills in the "learning" hand appeared to be improved after use. Featuring a design that's lightweight and completely customizable to the wearer's hands, Zain believes his "ExoHeal" device can help physically disabled patients around the world navigate more easily through life.

What’s next for the Global Finalists? 
This is just the beginning. We can’t wait to welcome these 13-18 year olds to the sixth annual Google Science Fair Awards Celebration in California for the chance to win one of our awards including a $50,000 scholarship. Here, an esteemed panel of judges will review the 16 finalists and announce the much-anticipated winners. Don’t miss the Awards Celebration, livestreamed on our website, on September 27th.

Introducing Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets

Posted by Saurabh Gupta, Product Manager, Google Apps

Students and teachers use the Docs and Sheets apps to get schoolwork done on the go - whether they’re putting the finishing touches on a research paper or working with classmates on a science fair project. Today, we’re introducing Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets, new tools created by third-party developers with students in mind to help make completing schoolwork even easier.

Get more done, no matter where you are

These Android add-ons give students and teachers the ability to accomplish more in their documents and spreadsheets.

EasyBib: Quickly and easily add citations when you’re working in Docs on your Android with the EasyBib add-on. Automatically format citations by URL, title, or simply capture a book bar code with your Android’s camera. Read more here.

Google Classroom: Easily turn in your Classroom assignments from Docs on Android with the new Classroom add-on.

You can find these add-ons and many more, including Teacher Aide, DocuSign, ProsperWorks, AppSheet and Scanbot in our Google Play collection as well as directly from the add-on menus in Google Docs or Google Sheets.
Try them out today, and see how much more you can do.

Introducing Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets

Posted by Saurabh Gupta, Product Manager, Google Apps

Students and teachers use the Docs and Sheets apps to get schoolwork done on the go - whether they’re putting the finishing touches on a research paper or working with classmates on a science fair project. Today, we’re introducing Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets, new tools created by third-party developers with students in mind to help make completing schoolwork even easier.

Get more done, no matter where you are

These Android add-ons give students and teachers the ability to accomplish more in their documents and spreadsheets.

EasyBib: Quickly and easily add citations when you’re working in Docs on your Android with the EasyBib add-on. Automatically format citations by URL, title, or simply capture a book bar code with your Android’s camera. Read more here.

Google Classroom: Easily turn in your Classroom assignments from Docs on Android with the new Classroom add-on.

You can find these add-ons and many more, including Teacher Aide, DocuSign, ProsperWorks, AppSheet and Scanbot in our Google Play collection as well as directly from the add-on menus in Google Docs or Google Sheets.
Try them out today, and see how much more you can do.

Congratulating the 2016 Google Science Fair Community Impact Award Winners and Regional Finalists

Posted by Andrea Cohan, Google Science Fair Program Lead

This year, the Google Science Fair invited students from around the world to use science and engineering to make something better. And they did not disappoint. From creating more eco-friendly fuel to making our water safe to drink, we were so impressed with the creative and thoughtful solutions to big world problems that students shared with us. Out of the thousands of projects from over 107 countries, we're excited to share the Top 100 ideas selected by the judges.

Check out the full list of the 100 Google Science Fair Regional Finalists.

These 100 Regional Finalists are all in the running to become one of the 16 Global Finalists, who will join us in Mountain View on September 27 for our sixth annual Awards Celebration.

In addition to these regional finalists, please join us in congratulating the five Community Impact winners! From 25 finalists, the judges had the tough choice of choosing five winners; one for each top project that focuses on fixing a difficult problem across North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. From a water filter made from seashells to using food waste to combat drought, you’ll want to check these out so read on to find out more about these incredible projects.

North America: Sea Shells for Water Safety

In 2014, Alex (15) was disappointed to see how difficult it was for the average inner city family to access lead-free drinking water during Flint, Michigan's water crisis in 2014. Eager to create an affordable lead filter option for people to use, he began researching the issue and found that water served to over 6M people across the US contains lead levels that can cause serious illnesses in children and adults. His experiments showed that you can avoid using traditional filters that require a dangerous and environmentally unsafe acid bath, and instead use simple products like sugar, water, a heating mechanism -- and, surprisingly, seashells. Highly absorbent and cheap to create, Alex's new filter lasts for at least 30 days, reducing both lead and iron levels by over 60%. Alex hopes this new solution can be used in his local community and around the US to remove lead from their local water supply until lead pipes can be replaced with safer options.

More about Alex: Alex was excited to discover the world of science with help from his dad, who's an engineer. Alex is inspired most by scientists who think outside the box to make radical discoveries that help society, like Nicola Tesla and Albert Einstein. Alex looks forward to attending college to further his education so he can continue to solve problems through science.

Latin America: Better Water for Brazil with Seed Magic

In November 2015, a mining dam failure in Brazil led to an ecological disaster when 62M cubic metres of iron-rich mud contaminated 500 km of the River Doce, polluting drinking and irrigation water for 500K people. João (15) and Leticia (18), have been affected by multiple water pollution crises like this one alongside thousands of other people across Brazil. With limited access to advanced treatment resources for restoring local water supplies, particularly when in the middle of an environmental crisis, these students wanted to find an affordable and accessible way for Brazilians to easily treat their water. It was also important to João and Leticia to find an answer that would not introduce even more pollution to the environment. They were excited to discover that the local moringa plant seemed to be a perfect solution: already plentiful in the region and popular to the local diet, the seed cakes left over in local food processing work as biodegradable water filters. João and Leticia look forward to introducing this filtering system to their local community of Fortaleza and across all of Brazil.

More about João and Leticia: João enjoys math, physics, and chemistry, which led him to meeting scientific Olympiads while in high school. They inspired him to pursue science more seriously in his studies, and he now looks forward to helping society and making a real difference through his studies. Leticia comes from a low-income family that values education, and she grew up testing scientific theories for fun. She dreams of using her talents to help people in a way that really matters for their lives, and hopes her upcoming enrollment at Stanford University, California, will help her make that dream come true.

Asia: Keeping Fishermen Safe at Sea

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Advay (14) was dismayed to hear how often local Rameswaram fishermen were captured and arrested for long periods of time due to making a simple mistake: crossing an International Maritime Boundary line it was impossible for them to see. Given the high penalties and impact to fishermen's livelihoods, Advay wanted to create an easy-to-use GPS system to send alerts when sailors approached maritime borders or when better fishing was available in another area. The system can also alert fishermen to dangerous weather conditions, so they can steer clear. Advay's invention is designed to work on any type of handheld mobile device, and he hopes that with it more local fishermen can avoid financial hardship and stay safe at sea.

More about Advay: Advay particularly likes math and science. He hopes to study engineering at a top college so he can work for a tech company one day. Advay is also very active in sports, and he enjoys playing soccer and cricket.



Africa: No More Thirsty Crops

Kiara (16) lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, which like other nearby countries, is suffering from the worst drought the region has seen in over 20 years. Kiara believes that a critical solution to long term water needs is a special material that can hold hundreds of times their weight in water while stored within soil. Typically, these materials are man-made and filled with harmful chemicals that are both non-biodegradable and too expensive for local farmers to afford. Kiara found an ideal material that won't hurt the budget in the simple orange peel, and through her research, she created a way to turn them into soil-ready water storage with help from the avocado. Kiara hopes this low-cost material can reduce juice manufacturing waste while helping local farmers save both money and their crops.

More about Kiara: Kiara's love of chemistry, physics, and food have led her to dream of becoming a scientist specializing in agricultural science and molecular gastronomy. Kiara's scientific inspiration comes from M.S Swaminathan, who shares her belief that sustainable agricultural practices are critical within India and throughout the world.

Europe: Making Turkey Earthquake-Ready with Recycled Cans
İlayda (15) and Ezgi (15) live in Turkey and attend school together. The 7.1 earthquake that hit Turkey in 2011 claimed over 600 lives, and local scientists predict that the next decade could bring even more damage as tension continues to build along the North Anatolian Fault line. Given that many of Turkey's buildings are older, scientists have appealed to officials to help the country retrofit its buildings and train city workers to handle a potential earthquake disaster that could claim thousands of lives. Inspired to help, İlayda and Ezgi sought an affordable way to retrofit local buildings in their community with an easily available material: aluminium cans. The pair designed a solution that can be used to fill traditional concrete walls, increasing their ability to absorb impact damage from 32% to 61%. The students hope to keep their community safe from earthquakes with their new design.

More about İlayda and Ezgi: İlayda dreams of studying biology abroad and teaching in her field. Her scientific heroes are Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking because of their courage, open-mindedness, curiosity, and patience. As a lover of both art and science, Ezgi hopes to follow Leonardo da Vinci's lead. She's also inspired by the inventors Tommy Flowers and Benjamin Franklin, and she hopes to study mechanical engineering abroad.

Thanks to the generous support of our partners — LEGO Education, Scientific American, National Geographic, and Virgin Galactic — Community Impact winners will receive mentoring and educational scholarships to help them make the world a better place through science, math, and engineering. They’ll also be joining our Global Finalists at Google HQ for our Awards Celebration.

To find out who the 16 Global Finalists will be, check out the Google Science Fair site on Aug 11, and keep up with news about the fair on Google+ and Twitter.

Meet the 2016 Google Science Fair Community Impact Finalists

Posted by Andrea Cohan, Google Science Fair Program Lead

Editor's note: Tune into the Google Science Fair website on July 18th to find out which five young scientists below will win their regional Community Impact Award! With the generous support of our partners, these winners will receive mentors and scholarships to help them further their education and inspiring projects. To keep an eye on the competition, visit the Google Science Fair site, and follow along on Google+ and Twitter.

Through the Google Science Fair, we've invited today's brightest young minds to answer an important question: how can they make the world better through science, math, and engineering? We received thousands of extremely impressive answers to this question from over 107 countries this year, and we can’t wait to announce the winners later in September.

But before we get there, we want to first recognize the projects that aim to solve tough community challenges like providing clean drinking water, keeping people safe from natural disasters, and fighting droughts. This year, we'll be giving not just one, but five regional Community Impact Awards: one for each top project that focuses on fixing a difficult resource problem across North America, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa, Asia & the Pacific Islands and Europe.

Please join us and our partners — LEGO Education, Scientific American, National Geographic and Virgin Galactic — in celebrating the top 25 global Community Impact Award finalists below:


NORTH AMERICA

Keeping Shores Sparkling with the Trusty Mangrove Oyster
José Luis (16) has a passion for protecting the environment and regularly volunteers for beach clean-ups in his hometown of Gurabo, Puerto Rico. Inspired to protect the beaches he loves so much, José Luis set out to find an environmentally safe way to preserve the beauty of the shore's ecosystem. He found the answer in a surprising resource: mangrove oysters! While this delicacy found on Caribbean and South American Atlantic coasts is a popular dish with locals, José Luis discovered that they're also highly efficient organic filters. With the ability to quickly process ~15L of contaminated water within 2 hours without any negative impact on the environment, José Luis believes the mangrove oyster is a safe, cost-effective way to restore and maintain the Gurabo shoreline for years to come.

Saving the Day with Energy-Smart Windows
Naveena (16) wants to solve the problem of global warming, and was on a mission to find a way to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions that cause this phenomenon. With buildings contributing up to 40% of today's global energy consumption, Naveena concluded that simply making buildings more energy-efficient could reduce that consumption by as much as 100 quadrillion BTUs. Her additional research showed that while installing "smart windows" is the quickest and most-recommended solution, they can be too expensive for most people to install. Her answer? Even smarter windows! With help from a cheaper glass coating technology called SEAS-LIR, Naveena believes her Richland, WA community can save thousands of dollars on installation and energy costs, while significantly reducing its overall carbon footprint.

Sniffing Out Chemical Danger in the Air
Eeshan (14) was horrified to discover how harmful poor air quality can be to expectant mothers and young children. It turns out that typical carbon monoxide and smoke detectors can't identify some of the more common chemicals in the air, and that simply opening a window can drastically reduce complications from these pollutants. After surveying mothers in his community, Eeshan also discovered that many people have no idea if or when the air quality has reached a dangerous level around them. He devoted himself to creating a solution: an app that monitors the air around you and sends an alert with specific air improvement instructions based on the level of chemicals it finds. Eeshan hopes his device can help people keep the air safe for their loved ones at home.

Sea Shells for Water Safety 
In 2014, Alex (15) was disappointed to see how difficult it was for the average inner city family to access lead-free drinking water during Flint, Michigan's water crisis in 2014. Eager to create an affordable lead filter option for people to use, he began researching the issue and found that water served to over 6M people across the US contains lead levels that can cause serious illnesses in children and adults. His experiments showed that you can avoid using traditional filters that require a dangerous and environmentally unsafe acid bath, and instead use simple products like sugar, water, a heating mechanism -- and, surprisingly, seashells. Highly absorbent and cheap to create, Alex's new filter lasts for at least 30 days, reducing both lead and iron levels by over 60%. Alex hopes this new solution can be used in his local community and around the US to remove lead from their local water supply until lead pipes can be replaced with safer options.


Growing Fruits & Veggies In Our Own Backyards 
For John (15) and Margaret Mary (16) of Milwaukee, WI, science is a part of everyday home life. With John's talents in Biomedical Engineering, and Margaret Mary's passion for medical and environmental science, the pair decided to see how their different fields could help tackle the same science challenge together. They set out to explore whether the soil in their own backyards could support a sustainable garden for their families, even when treated with common yard care chemicals. To their surprise, it turns out that organisms beneficial to gardening can still thrive in the average suburban yard, providing local families with a yard the chance to grow their own healthy vegetables and fruit. 



LATIN AMERICA

Better Water for Brazil with Seed Magic
In November 2015, a mining dam failure in Brazil led to an ecological disaster when 62M cubic metres of iron-rich mud contaminated 500 km of the River Doce, polluting drinking and irrigation water for 500K people. João (15) and Leticia (18), have been affected by multiple water pollution crises like this one alongside thousands of other people across Brazil. With limited access to advanced treatment resources for restoring local water supplies, particularly when in the middle of an environmental crisis, these students wanted to find an affordable and accessible way for Brazilians to easily treat their water. It was also important to João and Leticia to find an answer that would not introduce even more pollution to the environment. They were excited to discover that the local moringa plant seemed to be a perfect solution: already plentiful in the region and popular to the local diet, the seed cakes left over in local food processing work as biodegradable water filters. João and Leticia look forward to introducing this filtering system to their local community of Fortaleza and across all of Brazil.

Smart Farming with Volcanic Ash
Born and raised in the agricultural towns of Northern Patagonia, Félix (17), Patricio (17), and Jeremías (16) are particularly invested in helping farmers make the most of their crops, even in the face of natural disasters. When the Calbuco Volcano erupted in April 2015, nearby farmers were also dealing with a drought. The trio posed the question: could the farmers somehow use the volcanic ash left behind to grow crops? Their experiments showed this was entirely possible -- while volcanic ash doesn't itself have meaningful nutritional content for growing crops, it does a great job of retaining water. Given local water shortages, these students hope to help farmers in Argentina and Chile revitalize their crops with help from this unexpected source.

No More Head-Scratching: Recycling With Robots
Manuel (18) and Alejandro (18) are concerned about the growing landfill problem in Colombia due to overpopulation and a lack of recycling. They noticed that most people in their community of Bello, Antioquía, Colombia seemed overwhelmed with what to do when faced with multiple recycling bins, and most locals choose not to recycle because of this hassle. Recognizing that recycling can be a difficult good habit for people to adapt to, these students combined their talents in computer science and engineering to build an automated system to solve the problem. Their simple robot tells users which waste bin to throw trash into after a simple scan. Easy! These two look forward to helping Colombians adapt more quickly to recycling, and hopes their new invention leads to a significant decrease of landfill waste in Colombia.

Building Better Biofuels with the Elephant Ear Taro 
Elkin (18) of Medellin, Colombia, studies chemical engineering and is passionate about finding a way to stop global warming through alternative green methods. Given the tropical climate of his country, he wanted to find a plant that could be used to create gasoline sustainably without negatively impacting Colombia's agriculture or air. What he found was the large-leafed 'Alocasia macrorrhiza' -- originating from Southeast Asia, the plant has flourished around the world in tropical rainforests under names like 'Giant Taro' and 'Elephant Ear Taro.' After rigorous testing, Elkin determined it could work as a great biofuel that produces less pollution and actually improves car performance. This is because the plant grows rapidly and burns more efficiently leaving fewer pollutants behind due to its higher ethanol percentages. The plant has a high starch content that produces ethanol levels of 88-90%, while corn and sugar biofuels produce 83-85% ethanol. Elkin also found that you can produce more fuel with the same amount of this plant than you can with sugar cane. Given his research, Elkin is excited to introduce this new plant as a better alternative for an environmentally-friendly ethanol fuel.

Super Green Supermarket Packaging
While walking through the supermarket in Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil one day, Kemilly (17) saw just how much waste her grocery produced in one small, easy-to-overlook food display item: plastic and styrofoam food trays. Kemilly wondered if she could find an alternative solution that would be less harmful to the environment and avoid filling local landfills. Her research led her to a magically multi-purpose plant: the buriti palm. An indigenous tree, all parts of the palm are used by local riverside communities to produce products used in daily life, from beauty and health oils to desserts and snacks. The palm fronds are also used to produce a strong fiber that can be woven into baskets and other containers, which can last for decades while still being biodegradable. Kemilly hopes to introduce the buriti palm as an environmentally-safe alternative to throw-away packaging for her local community.


ASIA PACIFIC

Keeping Fishermen Safe at Sea 
In Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Advay (14) was dismayed to hear how often local Rameswaram fishermen were captured and arrested for long periods of time due to making a simple mistake: crossing an International Maritime Boundary line it was impossible for them to see. Given the high penalties and impact to fishermen's livelihoods, Advay wanted to create an easy-to-use GPS system to send alerts when sailors approached maritime borders or when better fishing was available in another area. The system can also alert fishermen to dangerous weather conditions, so they can steer clear. Advay's invention is designed to work on any type of handheld mobile device, and he hopes that with it more local fishermen can avoid financial hardship and stay safe at sea. 
Congo-ing Nuts: Making Dirty Water Clean
Like others in their local community in central Singapore, Tushmitha (15), Nagajothi (15), and Yan (15) come from diverse backgrounds. All too aware of how difficult it can be for people across India and Southeast Asia to access clean water, the trio wanted to create a safe, economical water filter. The students realized that while textile mills are a significant source of revenue for new economies in many developing countries in the region, they can also leave behind water contaminated with chemical dyes used to color fabrics. For their project, the group created a filter using the porous walnut shell to extract Congo Red dye, a common fabric dye, from polluted water. To their delight, their filter worked, proving that this biodegradable and common agricultural waste product just might be the perfect material to make local water safe to drink. 


Avoiding Landfills with Shresto Pads 
Growing up in Pakistan and Bangladesh opened Saliha's (15) eyes to the sheer volume of waste being generated by these densely populated areas, leading her community to host some of the world's largest landfills. Determined to find a solution to cut down on non-biodegradable waste, Saliha turned to a common personal hygiene item: sanitary pads. With the local economy booming with the sanitary industry, she knew it was only a matter of time before landfills would become overwhelmed with these products, which contain plastics and harmful chemicals. So, Saliha created a safer, chemical-free option made entirely of plant materials that will degrade in just two year's time. She hopes her new "Shresto" pads will help more local women feel comfortable while also making the environment safer for everyone.

Airin (17) hails from Kerala, India, a region known for beautiful tropical beaches and agriculture, specifically tea, coffee, and spice plantations. Given his community's dependence on farming, Airin was intrigued by a question: could he create a better greenhouse that could produce extra crops sustainably and remain safe for the environment? For his project, he created a greenhouse that recycles 100% of the carbon dioxide it produces. His design proved successful, quadrupling crop yields while also using less power, water, and money. Airin believes his greenhouse can help Kerala farmers increase their harvests and income while sparing the local air from pollution.

In Shanghai, where temperatures can drop severely in winter due to Siberian winds, pipes can often freeze and burst, disrupting the community's access to water for hours or days at a time. While identifying a frozen pipe before it bursts is one path to solving the problem, Ying (17) realized it was more important to identify a pipe that was about to freeze and adjust water temperatures before they become critical. She set herself the task of creating an engineering solution to monitor local pipes that can automatically send electrical currents to adjust water temperatures as needed. Ying hopes her design will help her local community avoid plumbing disasters during the coldest time of year.


AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST 
Rolin (15) of Cameroon is passionate about science and wants to modernize his rural community, which is located 20km from the capital of Yaoundé. In rural locations like Zamengoe, where he attends school, Rolin shook his head to still see so many people trekking miles to charge their cell phones. Even worse, many locals are still forced to rely on dangerous and expensive oil lamps to light their homes at night. Seeking a solution to keep his community connected to power without breaking the bank or causing fires, he built portable solar kits that are simple to construct and cheap to make. He even trained people in his town to create their own kits so they'll never go without basic power! He believes he can help more Cameroon communities enjoy energy safely while improving their quality of life with his new creation.



In Lusaka, Zambia, family involvement in local politics has made Mphatso (18) keenly interested in reducing poverty in his community. As Southern Africa struggles to recover from its worst drought in decades, farmers are seeing their crops destroyed due to El Nino weather changes, leading to famine for millions. Without crops, farmers can't make a living, making it harder than ever for them to pay for the farming supplies they need to keep their farms fertile and their families thriving. To help local farmers find low-cost, affordable solutions for pesticides and fertilizers, Mphatso investigated alternative ways of generating the supplies farmers need. He created a simple, portable production station that requires basic cooking materials like charcoal and local plant leaves from the ground. Based on his methods, Mphatso believes farmers can save hundreds of British Pounds in costs, saving ~50% on fertilizers and ~80% on pesticides to help them produce better, more abundant crops.



No More Thirsty Crops
Kiara (16) lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, which like other nearby countries, is suffering from the worst drought the region has seen in over 20 years. Kiara believes that a critical solution to long term water needs is a special material that can hold hundreds of times their weight in water while stored within soil. Typically, these materials are man-made and filled with harmful chemicals that are both non-biodegradable and too expensive for local farmers to afford. Kiara found an ideal material that won't hurt the budget in the simple orange peel, and through her research, she created a way to turn them into soil-ready water storage with help from the avocado. Kiara hopes this low-cost material can reduce juice manufacturing waste while helping local farmers save both money and their crops.

Himanshi (17) and Richa (17) of the science duo 'Higgs Bosons' live in Nairobi, Kenya. The pair know that like Nairobi, much of Africa is dependent on unreliable hydro-generated power. Alternative energies are expensive and hard to access, leaving many Africans struggling with a poorer quality of life and health care. Dedicated to careful research and answering life's problems with science, the students designed a new way to create power using an advanced 'periscope-derived energy device. A new take on solar and steam energy, this device channels heat from the sun through a convex lens, intensifying the energy received and using it to create steam in a nearby reservoir. Higgs Bosons believes this easy-to-assemble, affordable solution could be the answer to energy problems for communities across Africa.




In Cairo, Egypt, Sara (18), Nourhan (17), and Asmaa (17) were shocked to realize that a significant number of citizens suffer from disabilities yet receive little governmental support or resources to help improve their quality of life. In particular, people who are deaf and hard of hearing struggle to connect with the hearing community, who do not always have the patience to learn sign language. This trio worked together to create a glove that translates hand signals into letters and speech, helping the wearer to communicate more easily. The young women hope that their invention will be another powerful tool for people who are deaf and hard of hearing to navigate more easily through life.




EUROPE

Ilya (16) began exploring engineering and robotics at a young age in his home city of Moscow, Russia. When he saw a gap in affordable tools for people who are visually-impaired, he began creating a wearable 'radar' accessory that can identify nearby obstacles through vibration signals. After receiving feedback on his initial design from people who were blind or visually-impaired in his community, he created a second, lighter prototype that is even easier to wear. Embedded into a common baseball cap, this system alerts wearers to the specific direction of obstacles within 3.5m using gentle vibrations. This gives the wearer plenty of time to adjust their direction of movement, so they can safely reach their destination. Given its low production cost, Ilya hopes to see his device improve the quality of life for the visually-impaired in his community.

Tarik (17) and Amor (16), of Sarajevo, Bosnia, have seen first hand how massive floods throughout Bosnia in May 2014 caused harmful lead contamination in local soil and drinking water. Eager to find a cost-effective way to create clean water for growing crops using a cheaper material that's also close at hand, the pair discovered that the white mustard plant, which is native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, is especially talented at absorbing lead. The plant is also of course biodegradable, creating a simple and very accessible way for their community to make local water safe again.



A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Esra (13) was concerned about how difficult it can be for locals and visitors to access clean drinking water without worrying about lead contamination in highly industrialized areas. Most visitors are advised to drink bottled water, and to avoid getting tap water in their mouths when taking showers or brushing their teeth! Inspired to create a new filtering solution that can help people avoid this problem, Esra investigated the use of mussel shells as a filtering device. His work showed that mussel shells are ideally suited to absorbing lead from soil and water and plentiful. Luckily, they also cost very little. Esra hopes to introduce this filtering option to his local community to create clean water for everyone.





Alex (18) lives in Athens, Greece. Fascinated by the intersection between robotics, software design, and the internet, he wanted to create the ultimate solution to solving health problems "in the cloud." In thinking about who needs health care the most, he realized that many people can't afford to visit a hospital or are physically too far away to access quality health care. Particularly for critical situations where a patient needs surgical care urgently, Alex wondered: wouldn't the world be a better place if a surgeon could treat their patient safely from thousands of miles away? To solve this, Alex built a robot and manually coded software that could control the robot remotely from any internet-enabled device. Through software and mechanical engineerings, Alex has created a platform that enables medical professionals to help patients wherever they are in the world, at any time.



İlayda (15) and Ezgi (15) live in İzmir, Turkey. The 7.1 earthquake that hit Turkey in 2011 claimed over 600 lives, and local scientists predict that the next decade could bring even more damage as tension continues to build along the North Anatolian Fault line. Given that many of Turkey's buildings are older, scientists have appealed to officials to help the country retrofit its buildings and train city workers to handle a potential earthquake disaster that could claim thousands of lives. Inspired to help, İlayda and Ezgi sought an affordable way to retrofit local buildings in their community with an easily available material: aluminium cans. The pair designed a solution that can be used to fill traditional concrete walls, increasing their ability to absorb impact damage from 32% to 61%. The students look forward to helping their community stay safe should an earthquake happen in the future.

How ebooks can encourage reluctant students to discover the joy of reading

Posted by Andrew Caffrey, Assistant Headteacher at Streetly Academy

Editor's note: Today’s post comes from Andrew McCaffrey, assistant headteacher for data and technologies at The Streetly Academy in Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom. Caffrey, a passionate supporter of technology in classrooms, recently received the Inspirational Educator Award by the Worshipful Company of Educators. We invited him to talk about the value of ebooks in encouraging students to read.

As a teacher, I know what a gift reading can be — we all wish we had more time to tackle the books on our own lists — but not all of my students feel the same way. It can be an uphill battle to convince students that books will open up new worlds. Every day at Streetly Academy, we brainstorm ways to encourage students to find and read what they love.

To start, we set aside dedicated reading time for students so they learn the value of this fundamental skill. Reading time is scheduled into the school day, just like any other subject, which telegraphs its importance for students. During these sessions, some students bring in books from home, and some read them on their Chromebooks, which use the RM Books system so we can offer as many different titles as possible. For students who are resistant to reading, variety matters. These students often believe there’s nothing out there that they’ll enjoy, so access to different genres and topics can help pique their interest.

We’ve also noticed that reluctant readers will warm up to books on screen, since students are used to devices at home and in school. Research backs up our observation: a recent study from the UK’s National Literacy Trust found that boys in particular become more avid and confident readers when they have access to ebooks.

“A lot of students, normally boys, consider reading boring and don’t even want to attempt it,” says Rebecca Leason, an English teacher at our school. She’s seen the difference that ebooks can make with both boys and girls, as well as changing student thinking about how a “book” is defined. For example, Rebecca gives students excerpts from longer books.
Students at Streetly Academy have enjoyed the greater choice that reading with ebooks has brought them
“Students often think that reading must always involve a novel,” Rebecca told me. “The extracts give them the opportunity to look at a range of texts instead of focusing on just one. Sometimes they’re the beginnings of novels, but can also be nonfiction. A lot of students then go on to read the full texts for the subjects they enjoy.”

Greater choice of reading material is key to encouraging students to read more. Now that RM Books can be used with Google Classroom, we can select and share books even more easily with our students. We can also highlight the pages that we want to students to read so they know exactly how much reading to complete.

Along with offering students a wider range of reading choices, we also experiment with different ways to read. Rebecca, for instance, switches her teaching format depending on how students respond to a reading selection. In addition to giving students independent reading time, she’ll gauge whether small groups or a whole-class session would be more appropriate for a discussion. If students are struggling with a text, she might introduce an audio book option, or suggest that students read short articles on a subject before they move on to the full versions.

It’s heartening to see more students change their attitudes toward reading, and in some cases, to really embrace literature. One of Rebecca’s students started the school year with little interest in reading. After several months of reading short texts and discovering subjects she enjoyed, she grew so confident that she won the English award. Another reader on her way to a lifetime of discovering books!