ITEEA Named "Essential Twitter Feed" for STEM Educators

ITEEA is pleased to announce that the association’s Twitter feed was recently named #11 on the list of “50 Essential Twitter Feeds for STEM Educators” by BestCollegesOnline.com. According to a BestCollegesOnline.com blog post, “While you may not have thought of Twitter as a source of STEM education advice, it can actually be a great source for learning more about the latest initiatives, finding lesson plans, watching videos, and even keeping up with engaging science and technology news you can share with students.” The blog post can be viewed at www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/12/14/50-essential-twitter-feeds-for-stem-educators/

Twitter is an online social networking or microblogging service, created in 2006, that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets." The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with over 300 million users as of 2011, generating over 300 million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day.

ITEEA’s Twitter feed shares tips, tools, and information for STEM educators. To follow ITEEA, go to www.twitter.com and search for “iteea”

Engineering Education Workshop From ASEE

Mark your 2012 calendar and share with your contacts! The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is pleased to hold its 9th Annual K-12 Workshop on Engineering Education, "Employing Engineering for STEM Learning," presented by Dassault Systemes, this June 9, 2012 at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

This day-long program for teachers and engineering educators from Texas and across the country will provide an energizing, interactive overview of successful engineering education instruction for the K-12 classroom. Attendees will discover innovative best practices, new contacts for collaboration and outreach, and the latest takeaway tools for engineering education.

Advanced online registration will be open March 15, 2012 through May 25, 2012. For details and to register, please visit www.asee.org/K-12workshop/2012. For further information, contact Libby Martin at k12workshop@asee.org

National Engineers Week Foundation - Engineers Week 2012

The National Engineers Week Foundation, a formal coalition of more than 100 professional societies, major corporations, and government agencies, is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers among young students and by promoting precollege literacy in math and science. Engineers Week also raises public understanding and appreciation of engineers' contributions to society.

• Engineers Week
  The Foundation’s signature program, Engineers Week, celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. Engineers Week is part of many corporate and government cultures and is celebrated on every U.S. engineering college campus. Engineers Week 2011 celebrates its 60th anniversary.
• Discover Engineering Family Day (February 19, 2011)
  Held each year at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, this action-packed event consistently draws 6,500+ attendees. Over 29 exhibitors and 300+ volunteers, kids, and their families build ziplines to safely deliver marbles, explore buoyancy via tinfoil boats, learn about waves via a giant wave tank, and much, much more.
• Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day® (always the Thursday of Engineers Week)
  Each year “Girl Day” gives thousands of women engineers, with support from their male counterparts, the chance to directly mentor more than one million girls and young women in grades K through 12. Girl Day celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
• New Faces of Engineering
  Recognizing the accomplishments of young engineers is the goal of this program. Established in 2003, over 450 engineers have been featured in print and online. These engineers, age 30 years or younger, have shown outstanding abilities in projects that significantly impact public welfare or further professional development and growth.
• DiscoverE Classroom Visits®
  More than 45,000 engineers work with 5,500,000 students and teachers in elementary through secondary school each year through classroom visits and extracurricular programs, using educational materials provided by the National Engineers Week Foundation.
• National Engineers Week Future City Competition® (www.futurecity.org)
  Operating in 35 regions, Future City works with 1,034 schools and reaches 33,000 students in a semester-long program. This engaging program challenges middle school students to design a city 150 years into the future. Starting with just their imaginations and SimCity software, teams of three students, supported by a teacher and an engineer mentor, come up with ingenious solutions they represent in three-dimensional scale models. Each January, thousands of students participate in regional competitions, presenting their designs before a panel of volunteer engineer judges. First-place regional teams win a trip to Washington for National Finals, held each year during National Engineers Week. The President of the United States recently recognized Future City at the first White House Science and Engineering Fair.
• Discover Engineering (www.discoverengineering.org)
  This dynamic website is designed to showcase the hows and whys of becoming an engineer to middle school students and educators. The site features an exciting video series and related hands-on challenges, career information, engineer profiles, and links to related educational, professional, and corporate sites.
• MyDiscoverE (www.mydiscover-e.org)
  The Foundation’s latest offering, this new site is a rich searchable database filled with engineering events, workshops, and camp programs that will become the go-to place for families looking for opportunities in their area.
• Sightseers Guide to Engineering (www.engineeringsights.org)
  Plan your next trip to visit some of these engineering marvels, or visit all 50 states—while not leaving your house. From the subtle to the spectacular, visitors not only learn more about America’s rich engineering feats but are encouraged to submit their own favorites.
• Global Marathon For, By, and About Women in Engineering® (www.globalmarathon.net)
  Imagine getting the chance to talk to women engineers from around the world for four hours each day over a 6-day period. Women (and men) from North America, South America, China, India, Middle East/Africa, and UK/Europe discuss universal topics—how to encourage girls and young women to consider engineering as a career, advice on career paths for young engineers, achieving a life/work balance, and benefits of networking. The Marathon happens each March via live Internet chats, telephone conversations, and Webcasts.
• Cyberchase (pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase)
  Cyberchase is a wildly popular action-packed math adventure for young children produced by WNET-NY (PBS). National Engineers Week Foundation coalition partners receive specially produced resource kits to “join the Cyberchase” and make the engineering connection with young children. Previous seasons and materials have focused on inventing, building, and engineering.
• Design Squad Nation (pbs.org/designsquad)
  Shifting away from the reality competition format of past seasons, coalition partner Design Squad Nation sends two new co-hosts, Judy and Adam, across the county and around the world to work side-by-side with kids to turn their dreams into reality—via engineering. The TV show, website, and extensive outreach campaign are sparking kids' inventive spirit to engage them in content-rich engineering challenges.
• Engineer Your Life (EYL) (www.engineeryourlife.org)
  The National Engineers Week Foundation is secretariat for Engineer Your Life. EYL is a groundbreaking messaging campaign that is successfully challenging high school girls', teachers', and counselors' outdated stereotypes about engineering. Based on the results of an extensive nationwide survey identifying what girls want—careers that are creative, collaborative, personally fulfilling, and most of all, socially relevant, EYL is making a compelling case to high school girls through a website, promotional materials, and national workshops for engineers and educators.
• Printed and AV Materials
  The Foundation prepares and distributes a variety of support materials, including student guidance materials, “how-to” instructions, promotional materials such as buttons and caps, a variety of DVDs and video products and, each year, a new poster to inspire excitement and pride in the engineering profession.

See www.eweek.org, email info@eweek.org, or call (703) 684-2852 for more information on each of these programs and materials to support them.

Real World Design Challenge Automotive Competition Now Open

The Real World Design Challenge has a new opportunity for students this year – the Surface Transportation Challenge, which will focus on bus design. 

The pilot program is limited to 50 teams and will kick off the week of January 16th. This is a great opportunity for students with an interest in automotive design. Teams will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Interested teams that missed the deadline for the Aviation Challenge can still apply for this Transportation Challenge. However, teams that are already participating in the Aviation Challenge cannot also do the surface challenge. But other students from a school or class that is doing the Aviation Challenge are welcome to participate.

For more details visit www.realworlddesignchallenge.org/pilot_program.php

Click here to Sign up now!  Space is limited, so sign up today!

"Investing in Innovation" Creates STEM Awards

The Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) competition provides funding to school districts and nonprofit organizations around the country to develop new approaches to longstanding challenges in education. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, recently announced the 23 applicants who will receive grants from the 2011 i3 competition. For the first time, STEM education was a priority of the competition. Five of the 23 awards will address that critical area and include programs devoted to:

• Expanding student access to STEM Advanced Placement courses.
• Creating an “innovation ecosystem” that identifies specific barriers to success in STEM courses and connects schools with instructional designers to help overcome them.
• Developing a robotics program to help reduce summer learning loss in middle school.

Other areas that i3 grants will address include teacher and principal effectiveness; high-quality standards and assessments; turning around low-performing schools; and improving rural achievement. More information about all of the 2011 grantees is available on the i3 website. Information about all applicants is available at data.ed.gov.

Inslee Introduces FUTURE STEM Act to Train Students for High-Tech Jobs

Recently, U.S. Representative Jay Inslee (WA-01) introduced H.R. 3703, the Fellowships for Undergraduate Training and Useful Research in Energy-Related Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields Act, or FUTURE STEM Act. This act would give opportunities to undergraduate students to expand both the breadth and depth of their education in STEM fields in real-world research settings like businesses, national labs, community colleges, and universities. This program would help address the need for a skilled STEM workforce in many of our nation’s fastest-growing industries. In our rapidly changing world, innovation equals jobs and economic growth,” said Rep. Inslee. “We have a golden opportunity to lead the world in innovation-intensive industries like aerospace, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology if we give our kids the STEM education and training they need to excel and compete for the jobs of the future. The FUTURE STEM Act does exactly that and will simultaneously boost R&D capacity and provide real-world workforce development for the next generation of innovators.” The FUTURE STEM Act establishes a pilot undergraduate student fellowship program to award competitive grants to partner institutions to provide student work experience that will overall improve education and training in support of STEM fields. Under the grants, students will engage in a ten-week fellowship and be placed in real research settings in community colleges, universities, businesses, and National Laboratories.

NASA News

• The 2012 NASA Academy Application is Now Open!
The Academies are intensive educational programs that emphasize group activities, teamwork, research, leadership, and creativity. The curriculum balances direct contact with science and engineering R&D with an awareness of the managerial, political, financial, social, and human issues faced by aerospace professionals. Included are seminars, informal discussions, evening lectures, supervised research, visits to other NASA Centers and facilities, group project/s, tours, posters/presentations, and assessment. Additionally, most weekends are filled with group activities, team building, and off-site trips. One free weekend is scheduled.

The Academy is not a 9-5 summer research internship program. It is a rigorous, immersive experience that will challenge you and push you outside of your comfort zones. It offers participants an intense learning experience that is either Space- or Aeronautics-based. All academy students will be immersed in a NASA environment where they will experience the agency from both inside and outside perspectives. Additionally, added interaction with NASA collaborators in industry and academia will provide a unique, exciting, and unforgettable summer experience designed to engage and capture students within the NASA family.

The Academies have separate focus areas: Space/Aerospace (NASA Academy), Robotics, Aeronautics, Lunar and Planetary Science, and Propulsion. The deadline is January 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST. You may access the application at http://AcademyApp.com.

From NASA Education Express Message – December 15, 2011

• Teach STEM? NASA Explorer Schools Can Help With That!
Teachers across the country, regardless of school size, type, or geographic location, have seen the benefit of participating in the NASA Explorer Schools project. These teachers have access to free NASA classroom materials and student engagement activities, as well as educator support resources, through the NES Virtual Campus. NES classroom resources are designed to help teachers increase student interest and achievement in STEM subjects.

Are you looking for fun, exciting, and interactive ways to connect your students to NASA? Designed for teachers in Grades 4-12, NES provides a forum for accessing free lessons, student engagement activities, and professional development opportunities centered on NASA missions and STEM topics and careers. NES also offers multiple pathways for you to connect with other motivated STEM educators across the country to share best practices and classroom implementation ideas. Visit the NASA Explorer Schools website to read firsthand stories from participating teachers about the benefits of joining the NES project and implementing NASA resources in the classroom! www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/recognition/profiles-index.html.

• Solving the Challenges of Space in the RealWorld and InWorld
The RealWorld-InWorld NASA Engineering Design Challenge encourages students in Grades 7-12 to explore and build skills essential for successful careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through two phases of project-based learning and team competition.

RealWorld (Phase 1): Teams of middle- and high-school-aged students, with support of their teachers/coaches/parents, work collaboratively as engineers and scientists to explore and design solutions related to the James Webb Space Telescope and Robonaut 2. To be considered to move to the InWorld phase, all RealWorld work must be submitted by January 27, 2012.

InWorld (Phase 2): Participating college students select teams of two to four middle- and high-school-aged students who have completed the RealWorld phase to build their InWorld teams. Teams work in a 3-D virtual online environment using 21st Century tools to refine designs and to create 3-D models of their design solutions. InWorld Phase begins January 28, 2012 and ends April 20, 2012. Participation is limited to U.S. citizens.

To learn more about the challenge and to register for online resources for this free and flexible project, visit www.nasarealworldinworld.org.

• 4th Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series
Join NASA for the 4th Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series taking place February 28 - March 1, 2012, in Charlotte, NC. This workshop series will explore engineering design challenges, problem-based learning activities, distance learning modules, inquiry-based lessons, and hands-on projects. Each workshop will be led by experienced educators and education public outreach specialists who will model pedagogical techniques and methods to foster problem-based learning, science as inquiry, technology integration, and best practices. Workshops target inservice, informal, and preservice teachers who serve the K-12 education community.

Registration is free. The deadline for registration is February 15, 2012. For more information and to register for the workshops, visit http://aesp.psu.edu/register/. Questions? Contact Brandon Hargis at Brandon.Hargis@nasa.gov.

• 2012 Jet Propulsion Laboratory Summer Faculty Research Program
Applications are currently being accepted for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 2012 Summer Faculty Research Program. This program provides opportunities for STEM faculty to engage in research of mutual interest to the faculty member and a JPL researcher. Non-STEM faculty will be considered based on available opportunities.

To be eligible to participate in the program, a potential fellow must hold a full-time appointment at an accredited university or college in the U.S. Special requirements for foreign national faculty members may apply. Fellows are required to submit a research report and present their work at the end of the session.

The program awards $13,500 fellowships for the 10-week session. A housing allowance will be offered for awardees who live beyond a 50-mile radius of JPL. Please note that stipend payments or salaries from other federal funding sources, including research grants and contracts, may not be accepted during the 10-week tenure of a JPL faculty research appointment.

The deadline for applications is April 27, 2012. For more information about this opportunity, visit http://jsfrp.jpl.nasa.gov/. Inquiries should be directed to the Petra Kneissl-Milanian at Petra.A.Kneissl-Milanian@jpl.nasa.gov.