Posted on August 29th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Computer science has the highest pay for new college graduates, twice the national average job growth of more than double the national average, and applications that stretch from rock music to medicine. Yet 9 in 10 schools don’t teach programming. Code.org hopes to change that with a host of free resources to get kids as young as four creating websites and apps.
The answer is computer programming, and advocates from Microsoft founder Bill Gates to former president Bill Clinton are pushing to include it in the K-12 curriculum.
Far from being complicated algorithms only a geek could master, code writing can be learned by just about anyone — even four-year-olds. Code.org has compiled a host of websites, courses, and other free resources to help students hone programming skills from building websites to creating phone apps. There also are tips for using code writing and programming projects and activities in math or science classes to cover content standards.
Read More
Filed under: For Teachers, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Lesson Plans, Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on Code Calling
Tags: code writing, code.org, Computer Programming, Computer Science, Curriculum, Internet Resources, Lesson Plan, Resources for Teachers, STEM education, Teacher Resources, Technology for Learning, Website
Posted on August 29th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Can MOOGs – massive multiplayer online games – help teach students to think like scientists and engineers? MIT researchers think so, and they have developed a game based on the Next Generation Science Standards and common core mathematics standards to teach high school biology, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics.
Read More
Filed under: For Teachers, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs, Web Resources | Comments Off on MIT Unveils Multiplayer Online STEM Game
Tags: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Common Core State Mathematics Standards, education technology, gaming, massive multiplayer online game, MIT, MMO, NGSS, online game, Radix Endeavor, STEM, STEM education
Posted on August 13th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Designing a prosthetic arm and egg drops are among the MESA (math, engineering, and science achievement) Day contests for California middle and high school students this coming school year.
Read More
Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs | Comments Off on MESA Day 2013/14 STEM Contests
Tags: Competitions for Students, MESA, MESA DaY
Posted on August 9th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Few senior design projects ever go further than the classroom. Not so for four Calvin College civil and environmental engineering students. Their capstone project – a disaster shelter – took top honors in a national contest.
Read More
Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Students Win Disaster-Shelter Design Contest
Tags: Civil Engineering, Competitions for Students, Contest, design competition, design contest, disaster shelter, engineering students, environment, Environmental Engineering