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Some great lessons to use for science and Engineering week (in the UK but why not bring it over the pond) March 9-18th. If you are promoting STEM here are some fun lessons including the squashed tomato challenge.

This morning President Obama gave what I would call his 'We're-Going-to-the-Moon' speech at the 146th Annual Meeting of National Academy of the Sciences. Earlier today I wrote a post, Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Our Children, on a comment by Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan about the need to challenge the educational status quo. After listening to President Obama's speech, I realized it was a Part 2 to my earlier post so I retitled the post 'We're-Going-to-the-Moon:' Part 1 and titled this post Part 2. Please listen to the entire speech and read the full text, but here I quote the President's comments on STEM education.

Free! Minimal preparation required For kids in school or on summer vacation Appropriate for ages 9-17 (grades 4-12) Engaging (even fun!) project for students STEM integrated with language arts Cash awards, remote mentoring session with professional graphic artist

UKEd Magazine with educational articles on pedagogy and teaching ideas. This issue has a STEM theme.

"There's something about origami that really seems to capture children's imagination. In most of the classes that I have taught over the years, there has been at least one child with a real passion for origami. Many a show-and-tell has been dominated by incredible paper-folding creations, from water bombs to paper dragons. Think back to your own school days; which of these origami classics do you remember creating?"

"Teachers in England are being invited to join a professional development opportunity through EarthEcho International sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Foundation. The 'EarthEcho Expeditions: What's the Catch?' programme leverages the rich Cousteau legacy of exploration and discovery to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education alive for today's 21st-century learners and their educators. The free, expenses-paid opportunity is planned to allow secondary school teachers to participate as Expedition Fellows to learn first-hand from scientists and engineers the consequences of fisheries mismanagement and how this can be changed for the better with new technological approaches and discoveries."

"New research from Monash University has found that girls in single-sex schools are more likely to study chemistry, intermediate mathematics, advanced mathematics and physics in their senior years when compared to their co-ed counterparts."

World register of marine species. It is open data -you can download and use it. We are going to see a new world of open data where students are explorers. Do they know how to download and use it? Do you? The data divide will be there for kids who don't know how to analyze data on spreadsheets. This is part of the STEM future we should be moving towards. Why not start here?

I totally agree, students should learn programming and be exposed to it. I love Kevin Jarrett's STEM lab and what he's doing. Read this and discuss. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to code or if your teachers are afraid they are going to have to learn. Make it a priority. If you want to add volleyball, you find someone to coach it. If you want to add programming, find someone to teach it, it is that simple. I think this model of "everyone integrates" is great b/c everyone SHOULD integrate but to think or fantasize that technology integration is the same as teaching Computer Science is to think that a kind who can skate is ready to drive a car - not even in the same ballpark.

Free online educational magazine for teachers. This issue has a STEM theme.

"A talking mat to encourage reasoning in maths lessons through oracy. The mat features a range of sentence stems to guide children."

STEM Activities from NC State University

Fascinating article on design thinking and an attempt to catalog all of the schools using design thinking. I do predict that STEM, design thinking, and creativity are going to become increasingly valued by parents and many who are disenfranchised with a testing environment that is rapidly driving everyone involved to the edge - particularly the students. "Mapping a global movement. A global movement is unfolding, and in response to the overwhelming interest around design thinking in schools, IDEO and the d.school have created a new directory - Design Thinking in Schools - to highlight the network of institutions that are at the forefront of this movement. The directory, launched in mid-October, already features a wide range of programs and resources. There's a mix of learning environments, from charter and district public schools to museums and summer camps. The programs are diverse, including after school "lab" environments and schools that use design thinking as the basis for subject-matter courses. "

As a mother of a daughter who is applying to Georgia Tech in Computer Science, this is important. My daughter's life was changed when I had her use Kodu in class, write a program and win an NCWIT award. She was on a panel with Sylvia Martinez at ISTE about encouraging more girls into STEM and really realized that she liked Computer Science and would at least try it as a major. She said until she saw people talk about it and realized she could code, she had no idea that it was something she could do and like. Girls who code is a group that works to encourage girls to enter computing fields.

Hi Vicki. It's been my experience that students (boys and girls) who are exposed to programming in elementary school and then have it as part of the school IT curriculum are far more likely to stay the course through to high school and beyond. Some of my best programmers at Middle School have been Gr. 6 girls, a few of whom continued on to complete AP level programming, undergrad and graduate work in Comp Sci. Papert's work with LOGO pointed the way, ALICE and Scratch are there to play. Just need to keep programming in the curriculum so that students (boys and girls) know that it's a valued academic skill and not just a preserve for hobbiests and tinkerers.

Explain 3D has simulations explaining all kinds of machines and more. This is a 3D simulation built upon the "unity" platform, so you can move around the object in 3D. If you are teaching engineering, run a STEM lab, or work with physics, you'll want to check out what they've done on this site.

Receiving a Georgia award for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing changed my daughter's life. She could see herself in a STEM field and has applied to go to Georgia Tech and several other schools in Computer Science. If you have a girl in your school who has done some cool things with technology. APPLY!!! It is a great program. You can win $500 and a laptop if you receive a national award.