Cohosting a #MSFTEduChat on October 15

I am so excited to be a part of the October @TweetMeet about STEM and NASA. If you have seen any of my previous posts, well, those two areas are fairly prominent. My teaching career was transformed through a hands-on real-world experience with NASA. You can get a little preview with the Flipgrid video below. I hope you are able to join us on October 15 for the live @TweetMeet at 11:00 am MT or check out the discussion afterwards.

Identifying Possible Resources

After going through standards and curriculum to find good connections for integrating primary sources, I next wanted to look at the different resources I have accumulated over the years, especially the new resources I have learned about during my time as an Einstein Fellow.

I am organizing materials for the upcoming school year within a single document with sections for resources. I am interested in uses ranging from digital portfolios to coding to associations and professional development opportunities. This document will then be used as a reference during project and lesson planning to maximize implementation for expanded student learning experiences with real world connections. Below are some of the various resources, pd, etc. that I am considering for my classroom. These do not include the resources that can be found at the various associations.

Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/

Primary Sources - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

HABS/HAER/HALS - https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/

YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

TPS Teachers Network - https://tpsteachersnetwork.org/

TPS Consortium - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/consortium/

National Book Festival - https://www.loc.gov/events/2019-national-book-festival/

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/science/resources.html

Seesaw - https://web.seesaw.me/

Ecology Project - https://www.ecologyproject.org/

Scratch - https://scratch.mit.edu/

Minecraft - https://education.minecraft.net/

Raspberry Pi - https://www.raspberrypi.org/education/

The National Academies of Press - https://www.nap.edu/

IEEE Reach - https://reach.ieee.org/

BreakoutEDU - https://www.breakoutedu.com/

Globe - https://www.globe.gov/web/elementary-globe

Digital Harbor Foundation - https://www.digitalharbor.org/ https://www.digitalharbor.org/whatwedo/projects/fabslam/

Code/FWD - https://techprep.org/codefwd/ https://www.sphero.com/education/codefwd/

Newseum - https://newseumed.org/

Smithsonian https://learninglab.si.edu/ https://www.si.edu/educators

NASA - https://www.nasa.gov/stem https://www.nasa.gov/education/materials/ https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/All_Alpha.html http://ymiclassroom.com/categories/language-arts/

PBS - https://www.pbs.org/education/ https://pbskids.org/

AEOP - https://www.usaeop.com/

ORISE/ORAU Opportunities - https://orise.orau.gov/stem/k-12/index.html

ESRI - https://www.esri.com/en-us/home

Invention Education - https://www.lemelson.org/our-programs/us-programs/education

USPTO - https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/outreach-and-education

3D - https://www.tinkercad.com/

City X Project - http://www.cityxproject.com/

Civil Air Patrol - https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education

National Geographic - https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/

Space Station Explorers - https://www.spacestationexplorers.org/ambassadors/

ShareSpace Foundation Giant Mars Maps - https://sharespace.org/education/mars-maps/

Idaho STEM Action Center - https://stem.idaho.gov/

AIAA - https://www.aiaa.org/home/get-involved/students-educators

Share My Lessons - https://sharemylesson.com/

NASA OPSPARC's New Missions

I participated in an ITEEA webinar this week on Optimus Prime for K-12 students.  NASA OPSPARC has three sets of missions beginning with learning about spinoff technology from NASA's extensive work. It is amazing how many things we can find around our homes and communities that began with engineering designs at NASA. Next, students can create their own spinoff technology form existing NASA projects to solve a problem. This mission is where the engineering design process kicks in.  Finally, the third mission has students share their new spinoff technology in a virtual world where they can interact with NASA engineers and other professionals.  This challenge is a great way to work on real-world challenges without leaving the classroom.  I look forward to giving it a try when I return to the classroom.  https://opsparc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 

NASA offers a variety of educational outreach through their various campuses in a variety of formats.  You can also attend educator conferences at Space Center Houston and the Kennedy Space Center.

@NASAedu NASA for Educators Pinterest Board NASA Students on Facebook NASA STEM Engagement YouTube Channel

Visit NASA STEM Engagement on the Web:  NASA's Office of STEM Engagement: http://www.nasa.gov/education For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids' Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

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.

 

2018 Space Exploration Educators Conference

A team of teachers from our school wrote grants to attend the 2018 Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC). We had all taken part in the NASA Microgravity University for Educators (#NASAMgUE) last year. During that experience, we traveled to NASA Johnson Space Center for profressional development and testing of our students' deployment device (https://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/about-mgue.cfm). During that amazing week, we did not have any time to visit Space Center Houston, but we did learn of the SEEC conference. We quickly made plans to return to Houston and attend the conference as a team. We all took part in writing grants for travel and scholarships for registration costs. In the end, we had enough funds to fully cover the costs of the trip.  Our school district supported us by providing substitutes for the team to have time to attend the conference. Our school supported us by managing the grant funds and helping us secure all the necessary travel arrangements. The PTA was even ready to cover our registration costs; however, that wasn't necessary because we had additional grant funds come in to cover those costs as well.



In January we were able to register for sessions. We were all amazed and excited about the fantastic sessions offered and the tours available at NASA Johnson Space Center.  It really was difficult to choose. Nevertheless, we complete our session choices, reserved our hotel and rental car, and before we knew it, it was time to board the airplane to Houston. After not having any time to visit Space Center Houston, our entire conference was based in the museum. It was amazing! Session were taught by knowledgeable and experienced educators, as well as, industry professionals who have worked in the space industry. Gina Kwid and I presented for one session sharing about our NASA MgUE experience, the robot components we used in the deployment device, and teaching educators how to code those same robots using C++.  The entire conference was an amazing individual experience, team-building experience, and something I will never forget. 

 

 

 

I also became part of the Space Educator Expedition Crew on team Destiny which is a phenomenal opportunity for educators. "Educators from around the country are collaborating to prepare students for 21st century science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers through Space Center Houston’s inaugural Space Exploration Educator Crew.  Space Center Houston launched the program in 2017 to help meet a nationwide need to prepare students for STEM careers and an equal need for extraordinary teacher leaders to inspire students. The crew aims to empower teachers to build leadership competencies by creating innovative STEM programs for their students, schools and communities." For more information or to apply for next year visit https://spacecenter.org/teacher-programs/space-exploration-educator-crew/.

Amazing opportunities await all attendees at Space Exploration Educators Conference (https://spacecenter.org/teacher-programs/teachers-seec/)!