It’s time to replace pencils and notebooks with programmable robots and problem-solving courses that focus on interactively developing an unrelenting desire to improve creativity and inquiry-based knowhow. Strategies tend to differ as there are lots of different considerations to take into account, like grade level, affordability and other things.
College is traditionally considered to be the four years in which students are molded into the successful workers they will become and given the opportunity to practice their craft through hands-on classes, internships and co-ops. It’s becoming more and more common, however, that college is just the second stop on this train.
Makerspaces have burst onto the scene in recent years and they are only becoming more popular as time passes, including in school environments. Perhaps because their benefits are so impactful or maybe because they’re super affordable and fun, makerspaces have helped spur a storm of STEM stimulation—for everyone from kids to teachers and even grandparents.
If you watched the Olympics, you noticed a major difference in how the athletes competed relative to even just a few years ago. The revolutions in sports technology are astounding and, more impressively, still in their infancy. It’s a testament to both the advances in STEM innovations and the desire of athletes, coaches and team owners wanting to succeed.
Classroom design is one of those things we never really give our teachers enough credit for working on but there certainly is some strategy that goes into planning out all aspects of the school day and teachers certainly don’t overlook the value of creating these welcoming, accommodating, and even aesthetically pleasing classroom environments.
Innovations in technology, the ways in which we use technology and the tasks that technology helps us accomplish are constantly being updated and extensively innovated. With the Olympics finishing up earlier this week, we got to thinking of athletes being at the very top of their game and how exactly they are able to get there.
Back in December, President Obama proposed and helped pass this Every Student Succeeds Act. A more modern version of the No Child Left Behind initiative, the ESSA will aim to ensure that every K-12 student in the United States has equal access to the latest and greatest in learning opportunities and crucial STEM tools every time they step in the classroom.
If you haven’t given much thought to trying Open Educational Resources in education or maybe aren’t quite sure what exactly they are, the time is now for you to explore some basics of them! OERs are freely accessible, openly licensed documents and media for teaching, learning, and assessing your students as well as for research—and they’re all available for download.
Since most kids think of the summertime as a chance to get away from learning, school and pretty much all academic-related activities, it’s sometimes tough to make sure that the months before school starts back up are meaningful. Sure, teachers can assign summer reading or projects, but there’s no way to be certain that students will really engage.
The Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer about the size of a credit card. Its capabilities are astounding and it keeps getting more and more powerful as new models are released. What’s most impressive is the way it transforms complex projects into amazingly simple machines and helps shape future ready students through hands-on adventures.
