10 June 2009
Youth Science Web Site Builds International Ties
Gifted students from 50 countries share ideas
Washington — Imagine being able to connect young people interested in science and math from around the world by means of a free, state-of-the-art Web site. This is the vision behind Cogito, a math and science site for gifted pre-college students.
Created by the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University with a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Cogito offers online forums and interviews with award-winning scientists and experts. Students can interact with each other as well as with experts, and find news of upcoming worldwide competitions and enrichment programs.
The Web site name was chosen by a focus group of students, said Linda Brody, the director of CTY’s Study of Exceptional Talent and Cogito.org. “It is taken from [17th-century French philosopher Rene] Descartes’ famous ‘Cogito, ergo sum,’ meaning ‘I think, therefore I am.’ It is intended to be a place where young thinkers congregate and share ideas.”
The goal of the Web site is “to spur students’ interest in aspiring to careers in scientific disciplines,” Brody said. “But the site interprets math and science broadly, and there is also much on Cogito for students with verbal interests and abilities.”
The site demonstrates how science interacts with the arts and literature, shows the relevance of science to many of the political issues and problems the world faces, and enables students to share their work and initiate discussions on a wide variety of topics, she said.
INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP KEY
Cogito’s approximately 5,000 young members from more than 50 countries can do things like submit questions to guest experts, such as mathematician Terence Tao, the Australian who in 2006 won the Fields Medal, considered the world’s highest honor for mathematicians.
Cogito hosts several experts for forums and interviews each month.
“The international membership is key to Cogito’s goals, as we seek to create a virtual international community of peers, thus encouraging bright teens to develop an appreciation for other cultures and to build relationships with students from around the world,” Brody said. “They share interests in intellectual topics and concerns about world events, and they enjoy solving problems together.”
In early June, students asked questions of Ainsley Seago, a post-doctoral researcher who is studying the evolution of beetle iridescence and working on the Beetle Tree of Life Project.
What is a Cogito forum like? One discussion thread focuses on synaesthesia — the blending of sensory experiences, such as the seeing of color and sounds. Several of the forum participants who have synaesthesia described their experiences. One associates colors with certain numbers and letters. Another also associates colors with certain numbers, but after both synaesthetes put colors with numbers, it was apparent each, for the most part, associates different colors with particular numbers. A third sees music in arrangements of color. A fourth associates “larger numbers with colors. 3,759 seems ‘green’ to me, while 6,027 seems ‘blue.’ 1,000,500 seems black and white with a touch of red in the middle.”
Other subjects under discussion include climate change, nanotechnology, science and art, and science and religion, Brody said. Members also talk about sports, books and music, and when there isn’t a discussion of interest, they start one of their own or suggest experts to be interviewed, she said. “Members take on leadership roles in the community.”
Cogito meets students’ intellectual needs in ways popular social networking sites such as Facebook don’t, Brody said. “Students who are passionate about learning are excited to be able to interact with other teens who share their interests.”
BUILDING A COMMUNITY
Cogito now faces three challenges, Brody said. The project needs volunteers. “We encourage volunteers, including the students themselves, college and graduate students, and practicing and retired scientists, to adopt Cogito as their own, and contribute content and ideas on a regular basis and/or interact with students in the forums.”
The project also needs more partners in various countries willing to take on the challenge of recommending students, experts and content from their home countries.
Finally, Brody said, the project needs to identify funding sources to keep the site going beyond the end of its original grant.
“We want to keep the site as a free service for the world’s gifted and talented students, and commercial advertising on the site does not seem appropriate,” Brody said. “For Cogito to continue, a long-term funding solution is needed, possibly with support from one or more corporate or private sponsors.”
The Cogito Web site and most of its features are available to everyone. Only participation in the forums requires membership.
