Four robots that aim to teach your kids to code
Associated Press – Feb. 12
You’ve seen apps and toys that promise to teach your child to code. Now enter the robots. At the CES electronics show in January, coding robots came out in force. One convention hall area was packed with everything from chip-embedded, alphabet-like coding blocks to turtle-like tanks that draw on command. Of course, no one can really say how well these coding bots teach kids, or even whether learning to code is the essential life skill that so many in the tech industry claim. After all, by the time today’s elementary-school kids are entering the workforce, computers may well be programming themselves. But experts like Jeff Gray, a computer science professor at the University of Alabama and an adviser to the nonprofit coding education group Code.org, say kids can derive other benefits from coding robots and similar toys. They can, for instance, learn “persistence and grit” when the toys inevitably do something unintended, he says. So if you’re in the market for a coding robot that teaches and maybe even entertains, here’s a look at four that were on display at CES. But beware: None of them are cheap.
WSMV-TV (Nashville) – Feb. 12
Western Mass News – Feb. 12
The Sentinel (Carlyle, Pennsylvania) – Feb. 12
Quad City Times – Feb. 12
Daily Sun (India) – Feb. 13
Texarkana Gazette – Feb. 13
Alabama secures patent for sideline medical tent
NBCsports.com – Feb. 13
Nick Saban is making an impact in the NFL without even being there. Alabama’s sideline medical tent, which was adopted in 2017 by the NFL, has received a patent. The SidelinER was used not only by the NFL but by many college football programs this past season. Developed by engineering students at Alabama, the value comes from its ability to be quickly assembled and taken down, and from its portable nature. “It’s taken off because physicians and athletic trainers recognize the definite need for a product like this on their sideline,” University of Alabama director of sports medicine Jeff Allen said in a release. “It’s very easy to operate and easy to use, so people see it can be beneficial.” The patent gives Alabama the exclusive ability to market the device. Allen hopes that the device will continue to grow for both college and high-school sports. It also could be used bu first responders and the military.
AL.com – Feb. 12
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 13
Austin American-Statesman – Feb. 13
SEC Country.com – Feb. 13
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 12
UA holds Book Bonanza
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 12
If you would like to donate a book, you can visit one of the many donation sites on the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA’s campus. Bidgood Hall, Gorgas library, Smith Hall, and Nott Hall all have collection bins. You can also visit their office on 621 Greensboro avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa.
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) – Feb. 12
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 12
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 12
Autherine Lucy Foster speaks at Miles College
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 12
Autherine Lucy Foster was the first black student to integrate the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA in Tuscaloosa in 1956. Later, Foster later also attended and graduated from Miles College. Foster spoke today about breaking the color barrier at UA and her life experiences.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 12
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 12
UA winter graduates announced
Sand Mountain Reporter – Feb. 13
The University of Alabama awarded some 2,077 degrees during winter commencement Dec. 16. Among the recipients were: • Kathryn Victoria Anderson, of Guntersville, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering …
Achievers for week of Feb. 13
Taunton Daily Gazette (Massachusetts) — Feb. 13
The following students enrolled during the 2017 fall semester at The University of Alabama were named to the dean’s list: Katherine Middleton of Bridgewater, Keelin Lincoln of Lakeville, Annalea Ambraziejus of North Easton, Briana DiNicola of North Easton, Molly Jackson of North Easton, Paige Kelley of North Easton, Rose Joyce of Norton.
Times Sentinel (Zanesville, Indiana) – Feb. 13
Prosperity Fund teams with UA students to assist Walker County timber industry
Pressreleasepoint.com – Feb. 13
Southern Research’s Prosperity Fund is collaborating with students from the University of Alabama’s STEM Path to the MBA program to explore strategies to improve the fortunes of Walker County’s forest products industry. The UA students, working with Prosperity Fund Managing Director Steven Puckett on a yearlong research project, are investigating a wide range of ways to spur a comeback for the industry in a county already battered by the coal downturn.
UA assistant professor to perform at concert
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 13
A University of Alabama assistant professor of voice will perform at the Terrific Tuesday concert series at 1 p.m. at Shelton State Community College. Susan Williams has performed nationally and internationally in a wide range of leading opera roles and as a vocal soloist. Williams is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, earned a master’s degree at the University of Akron and a doctor of musical arts degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has been at UA since 2013.
UA Theatre & Dance opens ‘Vinegar Tom’ tonight
Crimson White – Feb. 13
UA Theatre & Dance is brewing up something entertaining this week through Sunday, Feb. 18. Starting tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 13, they’ll present “Vinegar Tom,” a play about the witch trials in 17th century England. The play will show at the Marian Gallaway Theatre in Rowand-Johnson Hall Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Inspired by the Women’s Rights Act of 1970, British playwright Caryl Churchill wrote “Vinegar Tom,” which is widely considered to be an exploration of gender and power during both the 17th century and the early and mid-1970s, when the play was written. The play follows primary characters Alice and Joan, a mother-daughter duo who are both accused of witchcraft. “Vinegar Tom” is the name of Joan’s cat. The plot thickens as Churchill’s feminist ideology permeates the story.