The first Wednesday of October is National Walk and Bike to School Day! Even if you didn’t walk or bike to school with your students today, don’t worry – I've got you covered. Here are 3 activities you and your students can try today (and beyond):
Topics: STEM Lessons, Labdisc, STEM, MyStemKits
Meredith Williams, an 8th grade science teacher at Freedom Middle School (Orlando, FL), always tries to set her students up for success right at the start of the year by facilitating a discussion beginning with three simple words, “What is it?” To encourage her students to think critically and creatively about problems through science exploration, she incorporates a variety of manipulatives so that her students have something hands-on to observe, analyze, and form ideas around. With manipulatives and discussions – both in small groups and as a class – she shows her students that asking questions is a key component of science, as was the case at the start of this year. For the hands-on portion of the activity, she incorporates models printed using her 3D printer and MyStemKits lesson kits.
Topics: Case Studies, MyStemKits
A District Levels the Playing Field with Interactive Display Technology
South Allegheny School District (McKeesport, PA) promotes the pursuit of knowledge by helping foster communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, and personal responsibility. South Allegheny serves about 1500 students and district leaders recognized that a “level playing field” was needed. The district previously added interactive whiteboards and projectors to help teachers engage students in new ways, and even had six interactive displays for use with the intent of incorporating more technology to boost engagement. Unfortunately, there was a lack of use with this educational technology. The solution? A district-wide investment in interactive displays in each classroom.
Topics: Case Studies, ProColor, interactive displays
Boost Hands-On STEM Learning with One Simple-to-Use Tool
The drive for integrating more hands-on STEM activities and lessons that tap into and sharpen students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills is high. Educators are trying to find and/or design lessons that students will be motivated by and further their interest in STEM learning. But with limited time and resources, this can also be one of the bigger challenges, and STEM is often limited to what is ‘left over’ after language arts and mathematics has taken the bulk of the focus.
Topics: STEM Lessons, Labdisc, STEM, STEM education
"Technology changes so fast and when you finally get the hang of a platform, updates come along with new features!”
Topics: Professional Development for Teachers, Microsoft 365 for Education, Microsoft Teams
Take Teaching and Learning to the Next Level with MimioConnect®
The mission of NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education) is “to lead the transformation of teaching and learning through technology.” In their ongoing efforts to further the use of technology in schools, NYSCATE regularly offers workshops and webinars that show how educational technology can optimize teaching and learning.
Topics: Education Technology, webinar, MimioConnect
The Phoenix Union High School District (Phoenix, AZ) mission is “Preparing every student for success in college, career, and life.” To ensure focus on this mission, teachers and staff are trained and supported to meet student needs and celebrate accomplishments as they work to prepare and inspire their students. There are challenges including the impact of the pandemic on student learning and teacher practice. Boxlight-EOS Education, the professional development division of Boxlight, has established a strong relationship with PXU (in its ninth year) so when remote learning became necessary, EOS designed training and support to help teachers and staff.
There are countless rewarding moments in teaching, but we can agree that when we see students totally excited about a new topic, concept, or skill, we are as overjoyed as they are! This is what teaching is all about – seeing the spark of understanding in students’ eyes when they are actively involved in learning something new. We feed off that energy and look for ways to create more of these experiences. Excitement for learning is increasingly associated with educational technology that invites interaction such as a touchscreen or interactive displays.
Topics: Education Technology, ProColor, interactive displays
Believe it or not, this generation of young people is interested in data – likes, shares, comments. They sometimes use this data to create content, even apps, to address what they perceive as needs observed. How can this translate to STEM learning in the classroom? When problems are addressed within real-life contexts, this generation of students – digital natives who are accustomed to using technology to find answers and research information – are more likely to be engaged in the learning process.
Topics: Professional Development for Teachers, STEM Lessons, STEM, MimioSTEM