I grabbed all the text from Research Digest, build Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic models, by RTextTools library in R.

It basically uses machine learning to classify the text. With these two packages in R, the topics are easily classified in a few lines of R code, but to clean the text, it takes a little tweak (since we store html in database), essentially some text wrangling to process the text. I wrote the script to automate the text cleaning step. (java apps are available upon request)

library(RTextTools)
library(topicmodels)
matrix <- create_matrix(cbind(as.vector(rd_topic$title),as.vector(rd_topic$text)), language="english", removeNumbers=TRUE, stemWords=TRUE, weighting=weightTf)
lda <- LDA(matrix, 30)
terms(lda)

Our top 30 topics are displayed in word cloud.

I remember not long ago I tried cloud comparison, and merely impossible? Check out this previous blog post.

Hi Ladies of EdLab! I joined Sehreen's EdTechWomen group on LinkedIn and highly suggest you do the same! Also, if you are free, the group is hosting their first event outside of SXSW in conjunction with General Assembly. See all details below... and as there is a cost, please check with Hui Soo before registering!

After a great inaugural dinner at SXSWedu, EdTechWomen, in partnership with General Assembly, is hosting an intimate evening of facilitated networking and discussion to foster a burgeoning local NYC community. This is not a huge edtech event; we'll cap attendance to 35 women to provide an informal environment conducive to substantive connections. Small bites/drinks will be served.

When: Monday, May 20th, 7-9pm

Where: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, New York, NY 10010

Cost: $10 (Please check with Hui Soo before registering!)

Event sign-up here.

YouTube just launch the Trends Map today. Videos are displayed based on the number of shares and views they receive in the past 12 - 24 hours.

Aim to "surface popular videos in real time, and provide context for trends" in the US.

Here are a map of video trend for female (true blood video) & a map for male (family guy video).

Ps. bigger images here -> female male
Try it out here.

Do we vision a Live Learning video discussion map too? What do you think?

Does this infographic and or the facts it shares offend you? If so, why? If not, why not? Perhaps the overwhelmingly pink and peach color scheme?

OR is the fact that female MBAs STILL earn $.93 cents (in 2013) on the male salary dollar? Regardless, what role does learning and the STEM divide play in these statistics? Should MBA programs offer separate learning tracks for the sexes? What is your take of the reason there are so few female leaders across industries?

Image source: www.besthealthcaremba.com

Interested in how to utilize Twitter to its fullest potential in the workplace? Young to Publishing is hosting a Twitter event featuring Penguin Press Marketing Director, Ryan Chapman, who will be sharing his insights on how to use Twitter to meet your needs. Whether you're new to Twitter or already a master user, come learn some tips and tools to better broadcast your message and generate discussion.

The event will be on Wednesday, May 22 from 6:30 to 8:30, location TBD. RSVP here.

Once again I have found a video from my favorite YouTube person. In this video, he talks about the now famous American Dream. How should we enjoy what we're doing and how should we live life? I agree with mostly everything he is saying about this topic. It is easy to start loving money but in the long run, if you cannot see yourself enjoying what you're currently doing, quit and follow your dreams. It is what I believe in. Can your level of education determine how successful you become in life? Is it possible to become what you without the education that is required?

For most high students, college is the next big step if not the most important step to take in their educational journey. However, college is not accesible to every student due to the drastic increase of college tuition. Most students tend to attend small and less expensive colleges as a result of being in massive debt after graduation. In this article, Jordan Goldman, CEO of the college resource site Unigo.com, makes it clear to future college students that they can negotiate the grant each colleges offer them, in other words, negotiate your decision to attend a specific college. This advice is very interesting and one all high school students should take into account when they start the college process.

The brain is responsible for numerous functions in our bodies. But how much do we know about it? Here are a few facts I thought some of you may find interesting.

How many times have you been told by a teacher to read aloud to yourself when studying? Reading aloud actually promotes brain development. Hearing yourself speak allows you to use the ability of memory through sound and thus makes it easier for you to understand what your reading. The environment we are in also plays a role in how much we are able to learn. A child in a stimulating environment has a 25% greater ability to learn. On the contrary, the effects in a less stimulating environment is reversed. Neurons in your brain make new connections every time a memory is recalled or when you learn something new. But out of all these facts, the most intriguing was the fact that the brain has no pain receptors. This is why neurosu

This article looks at current high school student college readiness and efforts being made to ensure their progress to higher education. A survey by the ACT states 89 percent of high school teachers think their students are prepared for college and 26 percent of college instructors say students are well prepared for entry-level courses. These percentages haven't changed from 2009 to 2012.

When you consider the Common Core State Standards, it presents expectations of what high school students should know before they graduate but notably two-thirds of educators aware of the standards say they need a slight change in the current curriculum, meaning not all students are learning at a college ready standard. Efforts have been made to bring high schools to college ready level by collaboration between K-12 and post secondary educators on curriculum and academic expectations as well as better computer technology in classrooms for digital assessments with higher standards content.

In a recent article by the NY Times, a nonprofit called NewSchools Venture Fund is donating a lot of funds to charter schools. With the rise of charter schools as an alternative in the educational system, it serves a good channel to help charter schools develop and grow in a positive manner. The nonprofit organization also invests a lot of its funds to different areas in the field of education. NewSchool Venture Fund is also partnering with a new venture capital fund who also have a growing interest in educational technologies.

NewSchool is known for funding many of the big charter programs such as Aspire, KIPP and Rocketship education. Moreover, they also fund Khan Academy, well known for creating online video lessons. NewsSchool is in part being supported by many foundations such as the Board Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Walton Foundation, who are highly involved in improving the field of education.