International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Conference 2019

I am very excited to be attending my first International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) Conference in Kansas City this week!
https://www.iteea.org/ITEEA_Conference_2019.aspx During  my presentation about my K-5 engineering classroom experience and available resources, I shared a variety of resources that are available for both educators and students.  It still amazes me when I compile a list of resources, especially when I realize that there are so many more that I don't even know about.

If you would like to view some of the resources I shared, you can find them at https://tinyurl.com/y25sn9kq.  Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have or if you would like to share some of the great resources you have found.

And remember, there is strength and excitement by bringing others along.  Find those like-minded people and follow your passions!

Scratch Lesson and 3D Printing

The Scratch lesson Coding with Primary Sources is available at the TPS (Teaching with Primary Sources) Network. https://tpsteachersnetwork.org/album/46060-coding-with-primary-sources-scratch-30  The lesson includes student-facing instructions and the primary sources used for the sample Scratch program.  I would love feedback on the lesson and to hear about ways you may have adapted it for your classroom.

I have another project I have fallen in love with, kites.  It sounds so simple and yet the historical uses of kites and the advances they have facilitated are intriguing.  The project involves designing kites from measured drawings by Alexander Graham Bell's notebooks and more.  Designs could be made from recyclables, balsa wood and paper, and even 3D printed.  I'm having a great time developing this project.

I love the resources available at the Library of Congress!

i-STEM

i-STEM Summer Institutes started back in 2010 I believe. At least that was the first year my colleagues and I attended. Since that first amazing trip to North Idaho College with my grade level colleagues, I have participated in i-STEM Summer Institute as a participant or a strand provider, except for 2016 when  was finishing my dissertation. i-STEM Summer Institute is a week-long professional development that trains you on the particular materials for the strand you register for and provides you with $200 worth of those materials to take back to your classroom. So, just to recap, not only do you learn how to use the materials in your classroom, you also get to take those materials back with you.

This summer, the Idaho STEM Action Center took over the institutes and continued on the tradition of teaching educators how to use materials in their classroom and the materials.  The Idaho STEM Action Center opened up the opportunity to formal and informal educators and allowed educators from outside the state to participate. 

https://stem.idaho.gov/istem/

Below are pictures from the various years attending i-STEM at both North Idaho College and College of Western Idaho.