Obama’s STEM Initiative and Beyond: Cognitive Science and Immersive Media
On November 23, 2009 President Obama launched the STEM initiative for excellence in science, technology, engineering & math education. The initiative is aimed at improving the science and math skills of American children, and calling on professionals in the fields of science, math and technology to help motivate and inspire youth to enter these professions. Imagined Communities responds to the STEM call by making basic concepts of math, engineering, and technology meaningful and relevant.
Advances in technology have radically changed the types of work and careers available to all youth. We are moving from the information age to the conceptual age. The ability to manage data and other linear-based skills are no longer in high demand, and are increasingly vulnerable to outsourcing. The conceptual age demands creators, pattern-recognizers, synthesizers, innovators, and designers. For today’s youth, it is not enough to acquire technical skills and information. We believe that to create opportunity and build a sustainable career path, students must develop these conceptual and creative capacities. Imagined Communities operationalizes this approach by integrating emerging technologies, 3-D environments, and problem solving.
Imagined Communities weds the best of cognitive science with new visualization and digital media technologies to prepare youth with the essential skills for career success in the conceptual age. Until recently “virtual environments” were the domain of professional 3D artists and created at staggering costs. Recent introduction of inexpensive and easily adoptable tools makes it possible to put powerful design solutions into the hands of high school students. In this program, students develop marketable technical skills while engaging in spatial problem solving, project management, and applied mathematics. The result is an educational experience and cognitive outcome that, contrary to standard beliefs about educational curriculum, are not dependent on a student’s educational, economic or social background.
