STEM web application for families

STEM app for families of 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders

What: The Wheelock College Aspire Institute STEM Activity App
How: Sign up to start receiving a STEM activity three times a week for 10 weeks

The Wheelock College Aspire Institute welcomes anyone to sign up for their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Activity App. All you have to do is click on the link here and sign up to start receiving your STEM Activity 3 times a week for 10 weeks, starting this week! Activities will come to you via email with a link to a web application on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. If you miss a day, don't worry -- you can see past activities in the “All Activities” section.

The STEM Activity App is a web application that provides accessible, engaging activities in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to families of third, fourth, and fifth graders. The activities are easy and meant to encourage family-student engagement. In addition to receiving the activity, here are some of the other features of the application:

• Click on the “Who Studies This” tab to find out which STEM careers are interested in these types of activities
• Click on the “Take Away” tab and find out how this activity could affects your daily life
• Rate the activity – did you like it?
• Submit a response – what result did you and your student get after doing the activity?

NASA Exploration Design Challenge

Become part of space history

What: NASA learning challenge for K-12 students
Information: For details, see the Exploration Design Challenge website
Deadline: The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is March 14, 2014.

In March, NASA launched an exciting new partnership with Lockheed Martin to engage students in America's next phase of human space exploration. The Exploration Design Challenge (EDC) invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to learn more about one of the biggest challenges NASA faces before sending humans beyond low-Earth orbit: space radiation. Through a series of age-appropriate activities, participants will learn about radiation and its effects on humans and hardware destined for asteroids, Mars or other deep space locations. Orion is the vehicle for these space destinations and will make its maiden test flight in 2014.

The youngest explorers (K-4) will complete NASA education activities related to radiation. Upon completion, a teacher or other adult may submit the students' names to be flown on the 2014 Orion flight as honorary virtual crewmembers.

Those same opportunities are open to students in grades 5-8, but they also will design and develop a radiation shield prototype. Instructions, guidebooks and related content are provided on the EDC website.

High school participants have an even greater challenge – and opportunity! In addition to the activities listed above, teams of students will design a radiation shield prototype that meets established criteria and constraints. Teams will submit their designs, and the top five designs selected will be tested in a virtual radiation simulator. The winning team will travel to Florida for Orion's launch and have its design flown aboard the spacecraft!

This is an exciting, hands-on way to get students inspired and interested in what NASA does now and the grand plans ahead! All the details for the EDC and information on how to participate are on NASA's website.

Science inquiry for out of school time

Online module in Science Inquiry for Out of School Time Professionals

Event: Aspire Institute at Wheelock College - two-week module in science inquiry for out of school time professionals
Date: Monday, August 12th – Friday, August 23rd (total of 12 hours)
Audience: OST teachers, site leaders and curriculum developers
Rate: $89 (1.2 CEUs) or $59 (no CEUs) + $10 registration fee; contact for group rates
Information: Register at www.wheelock.edu/ost. Registration closes Thursday, August 8. See flyer and syllabus for further information.

Through NASA Funding, the Aspire Institute at Wheelock College will be rolling out a two-week online module in Science Inquiry for Out of School Time Professionals. This module will help out of school time teachers, site leaders and curriculum developers better understand how to integrate science inquiry in the out of school time setting and model inquiry through science activities. Students will learn both content and instructional strategies through engaging videos, interactive online discussions with professional peers, and relevant readings and assignments.

Pilot study of STEM summer programming

Using PEAR Common Instrument & Dimensions of Success Program Observation Tools

Program: Pilot study of STEM-related summer programming available to middle schoolers in Boston, Northeast, MetroWest, and Central Regional STEM Network areas
Due date: Friday, May 24, by 4:00 P.M.
Applying: Download the application here. Applications should be submitted to each program's local regional STEM network; for programs in Boston, Lynne Powers is the contact.

You’re invited to participate! The Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership (MAP) has partnered with the Program in Education, Afterschool, and Resiliency (PEAR, a joint venture between Harvard University and McLean Hospital), the Boston Private Industry Council, and the Boston, Central, MetroWest, and Northeast Regional STEM networks to administer the study. This pilot study will provide valuable detailed information on students’ interest in STEM subjects and on the range of summer programming available to them.

Eligibility: Any community- or school-based program that provides STEM summer programming to middle school youth (rising 5th through 9th graders) is eligible to apply. Programs or partners must serve at least 20 youth for a minimum of 4 hours per week, over the course of 4 weeks or more. Programs that are shorter in length (1-2 weeks) but offer more STEM-intensive experiences are also encouraged to apply.

Benefits:

• Free two-day training for one staff member to become adept in the use of the PEAR evaluation tools
• Access to individual program results that will help organizations better understand the impact of their programs on youth interest in STEM
• Stipend of $1000, awarded upon successful implementation of all required aspects of the pilot study (see below)
• Long-term access to the PEAR tools, allowing programs to self-sustainably continue their use after the pilot program ends

Requirements:

• Send one staff member to the PEAR two-day training, June 5 & 6
• Administer the Common Instrument survey to youth twice: once within the first sessions of the summer program, and once at the conclusion of the program
• Participate in two observations utilizing the PEAR Dimensions of Success evaluation tool
• Enter data from Common Instrument & Dimensions of Success tools into PEAR database
• Participate in Fall 2013 learning forum on pilot study’s results

Summer learning opportunities: computing & robots

Put computing in your summer

The Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education (CAITE) has collected and posted summer learning opportunities for students and teachers to engage more with computing and robots! Note that summer teacher professional development programs may not be full, even if the deadlines have passed, so please contact the organizers if interested.

Summer Camps for Students

• across Massachusetts and beyond
• for middle and high-school students
• web design, robotics, gaming, and more!

Professional Development for Educators

• workshops in June, July & August for teachers
• for middle, high-school, and community college educators
• programming, app development, and more!

STEM Education Learning Tours

Boston STEM Network Out-of-School Time Task Force

Tour: Incorporating Environmental Literacy in OST: ReadBoston and the Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy Extended Day Program
Date: Friday, May 10, 2013
Time: 10 A.M. - 12 P.M.
Participants: This tour is open to STEM education professionals interested in learning from each other how programs address skill building, program implementation, and quality of training for frontline staff.
Information: To register and for more information, please email Emily Shaer, Education Program Coordinator for the Boston Youth Environmental Network.

As part of our approach to building the capacity of the field and strengthening the community of practice, the Boston STEM Network's Out of School Time Task Force is coordinating a series of STEM Learning Tours. Space is still available for the May 10th tour with ReadBoston and the Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy Extended Day Program.

Click the jump for more information on ReadBoston and the Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy Extended Day Program!

Get Energized in two weeks!

Get Energized! Powering the Future with Green STEM Education

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Time: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
Registration: Register here

Get Energized is rapidly approaching! There's still time to register -- attendance is free and open to informal science educators, after-school program providers, program directors, green industry professionals, and interested parties. It's going to be a fascinating afternoon of hands-on demonstrations and lively discussion about collaboration on Boston-focused green STEM education initiatives, connecting young people to pathways into green careers, and crafting innovative approaches for bringing green concepts into STEM education efforts.

Following demonstrations by exhibitors, the keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Director of the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts, Mt. Holyoke College. Dr. Packard studies the transition from high school to college or work, emphasizing diverse pathways into STEM fields, and was a 2005 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The afternoon will close with a series of targeted breakout sessions, affording attendees the opportunity to tap each others' rich knowledge and brainstorm together about the future of green-related STEM education in Boston.

Boston STEM Network members: this event will take place in lieu of the regular May meeting.

Partners and sponsors include: the Boston Youth Environmental Network (BYEN), the Boston STEM Network, Boston After School & Beyond, Afterschool Works, the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC), the New England Board of Higher Education, Boston GreenFest, Green Schools, New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE), and the Harvard University/McLean Hospital Program in Education, Afterschool, and Resiliency (PEAR).

Afterschool STEM Impact Award - Application Invitation

Afterschool Alliance & Noyce Foundation $10,000 Afterschool STEM Impact Award 2013

Check out the Afterschool Alliance website for a full list of eligibility requirements, additional guidelines, and the application. The submission deadline is May 15, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The Afterschool Alliance and the Noyce Foundation are currently inviting applications for one of two $10,000 Afterschool STEM Impact Awards! The STEM Impact Awards aim to recognize programs that are clearly demonstrating their impact on participants and are highlighting the power of afterschool programs as key partners in STEM education reform.

In addition to the cash award, winners and other notable applicants will be promoted nationally through a variety of opportunities — they will be featured in a special series of Afterschool Alliance issue briefs, invited to participate in webinars, co-present at national and state conferences, and generally highlighted as model programs.

Applications for this year are invited for one of two award categories:

1. Afterschool programs that represent a strong partnership between an afterschool provider and a STEM-rich institution(s), OR
2. Afterschool programs that have a strong computing and/or engineering component

STEM Spreadsheet Contest

What if Math announces $1,000 in prizes to be given out to the best Spreadsheet Math Experiments on sustainability. The contest is open to all K-12 students in the United States. What if Math is a revolutionary math program built by students for students using spreadsheet-based-projects to help students learn math. It treats spreadsheets as laboratories to experiment on interesting problems, to build models, organize data, and to ask “what if…” The top five Spreadsheet Math Experiments on sustainability developed by students will be published on the What if Math website for other students to perform. Their authors will receive a $200 cash prize!

Join us in developing this new way to learn the math that everyone uses in business today and that every student must learn to prepare for the future. We welcome you to http://www.whatifmath.org as a student and as an inventor. Go to the website to learn more.

What if Math is part of Sustainablearning, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to revolutionizing math education. See website for contest rules.