There was a conducted bus tour on STEM at the SITE conference, it was fully subscribed and we visited schools of STEM interest in Clark County, Las Vegas. The school system helped us share STEM practices in the US.
STEM?
STEM has become a common acronym, particularly among policy advocates and government officials, for the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, an on STEM education and competitiveness is Rising Above the Gathering Storm from the National Academies Press.
It was supported by the conference, the school system. SITE and conducted by me with help and resources from the George Lucas Educational Foundation, the National Academy of Science and resources from SuperComputing.. I had help from SITE friends. What a wonderful job they did with the logistics. All that was missing was the popcorn.
One film used on the bus was Two Miiiion Minutes, … and many of the participants were from those countries.
Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the eighth grade — they have just Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately a career.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS_QENuOYL8 – 104k
We were touring STEM schools and viewing the George Lucas Educational Foundation, project based learning initiatives and videos, as well as seeing some of the schools of Clark County on case study videos, from the Edutopia.org web site.
Here are the school photos taken by Iphoto. Other digital photos of the
Tour will be forthcoming.
These are the Iphone pictures..
I thought you would like to see something of the rich experience we had.
Elementary
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43472&l=c4e22&id=593996326
Career Academy High School
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43458&l=cc854&id=593996326
There was lively discussion on the bus, and at the schools. The tour participants wished that we had arranged a dinner or forum somewhere within the conference to continue the discussions and thoughts, to talk about the things they saw and to contrast and talk about practices in their own countries.
The concept of who pays for schools, and how various practices shape the student pathways in countries was vigorously discussed , as well as
The MDG goals of the UN.
It was fun to hear the participants discuss their thoughts about their own country and the preparations they went through to get an education.
They suggested more information from GLEF.org in the way of case studies for their teacher education information and they were especially interested in the professional development modules.
http://www.edutopia.org/instructional-modules
International visitors were very interested in the ideas of the Innovation Proclamation and Compete.org. and asked for these resources.
Project-Based Learning
Edutopia’s Project-Based Learning teaching module is designed for either a two- to three-hour class or session or a one- to two-day workshop, and is divided into two parts.
Part one, Guided Process, designed to give participants a brief introduction to PBL, answers the questions “What is PBL about?” “Why is PBL important?” and “How does PBL work?” The Guided Process also includes the Teaching About PBL section as well as a PowerPoint presentation (including presenter notes), which can be shown directly from the Web site or can be downloaded for use as a stand-alone slide show.
The Edutopia video Newsome Park demonstrates PBL in action at Newsome Park Elementary School, in Newport News, Virginia, and the Teaching About PBL section contains two additional video accounts of this teaching approach: Journey North and Mountlake Terrace High School.
Part two, Group Participation, assigns readings and activities for experiential PBL. Ideally, the tasks will be accomplished using group collaboration and with the use of technology.
Much of the information has been taken directly from Edutopia’s book Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age and from Edutopia.org. Elements I-IV of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, established by the International Society for Technology in Education, have been addressed in this module.
http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-module-pbl
Technology Integration
The technology integration module is meant for use either after completion of the project-based learning module or with participants who are familiar with project-based learning. The module is designed for a two- to three-hour class or session. It can be used in conjunction with trainings of software applications that are used in classroom settings.
Part One, Guided Process, is designed to give participants a brief introduction to technology integration. It answers the questions “Why is technology integration important?”; “What is technology integration?”; and “How do you integrate technology into the classroom?”
Part Two, Group Participation, guides participants in envisioning technology integration. It asks participants to visit various educational Web sites. The participants are then asked to brainstorm ideas for technology integration garnered from visiting and discussing these sites. The tasks will be accomplished using group collaboration and hands-on use of technology the Internet.
The PowerPoint presentation found in the Resources section can be used to introduce the module, or be used as a stand-alone presentation.
The following ISTE NETS Standards have been addressed in this module:
1. Technology Operations and Concepts
* Demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts related to technology (as described in the ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Students).
* Demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.
2. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences
* Design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
* Apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences.
* Plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.
3. Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum
* Facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.
* Apply technology to develop students’ higher order skills and creativity.
4. Assessment and Evaluation
* Apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a variety of assessment techniques.
* Apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students’ appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity.
http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-module-technology-integration
UN ICT Task Force Series 9:
Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Education – A Multistakeholder Approach
Education is the cornerstone of sustainable development. It contributes to building a modern and thriving society and empowers communities and citizens to fully participate in development and prosperity. While the right to education is recognized as fundamental for each citizen, access to it is not guaranteed.
In the developing world, the essential building blocks for education systems are suffering from deficiencies, ICT can help respond to these challenges and create the environment that is conducive for effective and quality education systems. “Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Education – A Multistakeholder Approach – Proceedings of the Dublin Global Forum of the United Nations ICT Task Force” contains key presentations and contributions from the event held on 13-15 April 2005.
It captures innovative ideas and initiatives on the use of ICT in strengthening education and communities and highlights the enabling role of all relevant stakeholders. It also introduces case studies of ICT-based projects at the grassroots level and efforts to create a national infrastructure that makes use of new technologies to improve teaching and learning habits. This book is a valuable reference for anyone seeking solutions or thinking about the use of technology in education.
E Book
* ict4education_ebook.pdf (2619.75 Ko)
http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?id=1570
Summary
There is a world wide need for more STEM career pathways to knowledge.
So much of what we do is International. So many of our countries benefit from those who are involved in STEM careers. Many countries are just starting to be involved in technology in meaningful ways.
Computational Science? Shodor.org. This is a treasure chest of resources !!
This was an out of the box touch to the reality of some specialized schools. There were so many questions and many answers were generated. We had a great time.
Bonnie Bracey Sutton