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America’s space agency, NASA, will of course go down in history as the organization that put the first humans on the moon, sent probes to Mars, Jupiter and beyond, and led the international coalition that built the International Space Station (ISS), among many other extraordinary achievements. But far less well known are its amazing educational programs, often involving college students, high schoolers and even kindergarten-aged kids.

In just one example, the agency has a program called High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH), in which high schoolers create machines and technology for actual use in space. For instance one team of students in New Jersey created a locker that will end up on the ISS:

The HUNCH Locker will provide containment for

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing a great many workplaces, thanks to applications ranging from robot assembly lines to driverless taxicabs to stock trading algorithms, but there is also huge potential for positively influencing the classroom.

Machine Learning algorithms, programs that glean patterns from data and provide insights and suggestions, help teachers to find gaps in their teachings and point to where students are struggling with subject matter.

Spotting struggling students is just one of many potential benefits offered by AI in the classroom. In time, AI may grade students, keep teachers on point and, incredibly, even provide tutoring:

AI-based tutoring systems are another interesting concept that use big data and machine learning to provide persona

The United States Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that could very well impact learning for disabled students across America. Currently, the law requires equal access, but not equal outcomes. Standard practice, therefore, leads schools to do little more than go through the motions when it comes to educating students with challenging disabilities. Parents of these students are left with few options -- either keep them in school where they are unlikely to get a proper education, or opt for costly private options.

The justices of the court, however, unanimously found that public schools must to better. This could potentially impact the lives of thousands of parents from coast to coast:

“The fact that it’s unanimous shows we know a lot more about educating kid

Doing well in school takes hard work. There are just so many skills involved. You have to know how to study, how to write papers, how to take notes -- the list is mighty long. But one skill that often gets overlooked is organization; just keeping everything properly sorted.

The good folks at WikiHow created a detailed how-to guide that will help every student. How detailed? Very detailed! It even includes a section on keeping one’s locker organized:

Clean out your locker. If you have a locker, it may get messy. See if the school will allow you to bring in a shelf. That way, you can put books, extra papers or supplies on one and keep them away from your other things. But before you install that shelf, rip up all the papers you don't need so they won't be copied

It’s not at all unusual for high schoolers to volunteer their time in their community. It’s a great way to contribute positively to the world, not to mention meet new people and explore career options. And of course it also looks great on a college application. But there can be so much more to volunteering than most people realize.

Just looking at the federal government, there are a great many volunteer possibilities. You can receive disaster training from FEMA, or at your local VA, or even with the Secret Service. There’s a handy search engine to help find opportunities.

Many professional associations, such as the American Dental Association or the many medical associations related to faith, speciality or local community, have opportunities. You can volun