Maker Faire: The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth

There are Maker Fairs all over the world, and they are all about innovation. According to Maker Media, Maker Fairs are filled with the excitement and energy of a county fair. They are our school science fairs and innovation conventions expanded with the minds of all ages and subject areas such as science, engineering, art, performance, and crafts. Maker Fair participants are given the opportunity to show how they created their idea or product and what their creation can do. If there’s a Maker Fair coming to your community, encourage your students to attend and perhaps even participate.

The Maker movement promotes a DIY (Do It Yourself) attitude. It’s about practical learning and creativity. For the many students who don’t find school subjects interesting, the concept of creating brings action into STEM studies. Students become inventors, developers, designers, programmers, mathematicians, and scientists while still in school.

3D Printing: A New Mindset

T.H.E. Journal offers a complimentary download of a white paper on the advantages of 3D printing.  Information is included on bringing 3D printing into the classroom “to accelerate more effective design” and to reduce costs.  To access the paper, you’ll need to be logged in to the T.H.E. Journal; logging in is easy and free.

Inspiring Girls in STEM

The Huffington Post article, “This Is What Inspires Girls in STEM”, includes answers to the question, “What inspires you?”, which was asked of over 1000 who were interested, aspiring to, or engaged in STEM careers.  Their answers included the ability to: make a positive impact on people’s lives, be involved in research to find a cure for diseases, move society away from “misunderstanding and ignorance”, learn how to sustain life, give students memorable scientific experiences, discover what we do not know, make the most of my abilities, protect the natural surroundings I love, explore all things “bizarre”, learn about the power of the human mind—the list goes on.  The answers are enough to inspire, aren’t they? A 19-year-old biology researcher and scientific writer answered with this phrase, “The sensation of beginning to understand something which cannot be comprehended, like the size of the universe.”

Grow Teen Enthusiasm for Science

Spartici.org is a place for teens to enjoy excellent content related to the STEM subject areas. The site is a project of Twin Cities Public Television and 3M and is designed as a mobile destination complete with “articles, videos, games, and hands-on activities from hundreds of sites, all vetted by a team of experts who scour the Web for quality teen-appropriate content.” At Spartici, students interact through social and game features. They can also share, rank, and comment on content. Students who have used the site say that it is great for papers and reports, and they appreciate that it is both fun and educational.

ALA Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2013

The American Library Association, always a trusted source for recommendations, provides a list of apps that it considers “of exceptional value to inquiry-based learning . . .”  These are apps that encourage students to be innovative and creative as they engage in collaboration with others. Categories on the list include: Books, STEM, Organization & Management, Social Sciences, and Content Creation. A few of the apps on the ALA Best App List are: Shakespeare in Bits, Got to Have Music, Operation Math, SimplePhysics, Tinkerbox, Dropbox, Evernote, Socrative, News-O-Matic: Daily for Kids, GarageBand, and Educreations. There are links to all the apps on the list.

STEM Jobs by 2018

We hear so much about future job opportunities for students who excel in STEM subjects, but exactly what types of careers in these areas are predicted to be the most promising? According to data from US-BLS Employment Projections, 2008-2018, 71% of jobs will be related to computing, 16% in traditional engineering, 4% in life sciences, 2% in mathematics, and 7% in physical sciences. When the Computer job area is segmented, it looks like 27% of jobs will be available in software engineering, 21% in computer networking, 10% in systems analysis, 2% in database administration, 7% in computer support, 1% in research, and 3% other.

Considering these statistics, schools would be wise to offer both introductory courses in computer science as well as Advanced Placement courses.

Coursera Has 80 New Courses

The best teachers are always learning, be it on their own or through credit courses. One of the most convenient ways to learn what you want when you want at the right price (free) is through Coursera. Maybe you or your students want to jump into songwriting, explore digital signal processing, take on quantum physics, learn about comic books, or discover if plants have senses. You’ll find courses on these topics and more in the new Coursera catalog.  Check it out because you won’t believe how much is there for you and your students—cryptography, nanotechnology, Common Core, Surviving Your Rookie Year of Teaching, genetics, critical thinking, bioelectricity, Latin American Culture, Malicious Software, English Composition . . .

Miss Humblebee’s Academy

Miss Humblebee’s Academy for Pre-Kindergartners, Preschoolers, and Kindergartners offers a safe online learning environment free from pop-ups, advertisements, and links. Designed for young children, the Academy features hundreds of lessons, mobile access, and progress reports. Using the program, students study topics in core subjects such as math, science, social studies, language, art, music, and literacy with Miss Humblebee and her four “amazing” friends”.

Family and educator memberships are available as a free one-week trial.  Songs and albums are priced at $.99, $8.49, and $8.99. Classroom licenses ($299) are available as are monthly memberships ($7.95 first child; $5.00 for each additional child) for families. You can preview Miss Humblebee’s delight songs without signing up.

Blended Learning for Young Children

Vinci Learning features digital devices and programs for early childhood learning. The devices are 7” Android tablets specifically designed for our youngest learners. Apps for the tablets include Play and Learn studies in mathematics, science, and language arts & literacy. While playing with Vinci apps, student profiles are developed; learning activities are recommended based on the assessment. Information about the suggested activities is sent to teachers and parents, and teachers can adjust the program, as needed. This cloud-based analytical tool follows a blended learning approach that is structured to differentiate learning to fit individual needs.

Is Algebra II Algebra II?

According to a piece by Erik Robelen (09-04-13, Education Week), what is called Algebra II in today’s American schools doesn’t have the rigor of Algebra II of the past. Robelen focuses on a study by Dr. Tom Loveless of the Brooking Institute, which says that the good news is that more students are taking Algebra II today, but that the bad news is that scores are declining. Loveless doesn’t know the reason for the problem but suggests that it could be that more low performing or poorly prepared students are taking the course, that the quality of the materials used has declined, and/or that teaching is less effective. It was found that, while students are not failing Algebra II courses, they are failing in Algebra II testing.