Calendar | Submit News | Archives | Join ITEEA | Advertise/Sponsor/Exhibit

November 6, 2012 Vol. 4, #4

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

BORN TO DESIGN: Franck Muller

NEWS FROM HQ

ITEEA Board of Directors Election Results

ITEEA?s professional and life members have completed a balloting process to elect a new President-Elect and Directors for Regions I and III.

Congratulations to the following individuals who will be joining the ITEEA Board of Directors in March during the Columbus conference:

• President-Elect ? James Boe, DTE, Chair of the Department of Technology at Valley City State University in Valley City, ND.
• Region I Director ? Jan F. Stark, technology teacher and department chair at Port Jervis High School in Port Jervis, NY.
• Region III Director ? Don Fischer, Technology and Engineering Education State Supervisor in the North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education in Bismarck, ND.

Also joining the ITEEA Board of Directors in March are:

• CSL Director – Steve Parrott of the Illinois State Board of Education.
• TEECA Director – Jerianne Taylor of Appalachian State University (NC).
• CTETE Director – Ed Reeve, DTE of Utah State University.

Sincere thanks are extended to the new board members for taking on this leadership role, and to the other candidates for bringing such a wealth of experience and talent to the balloting process. By being part of the ballot, each of the candidates has demonstrated leadership in the field.

Celebrating ITEEA's 75th Anniversary Conference in Columbus

ITEEA’s 2013 conference in Columbus from March 7-9 marks the 75th annual meeting of the association and offers a unique opportunity to reflect on decades of activities, reconnect teachers with former students, and focus on the challenges of the future.

The conference theme, Improving Technology and Engineering Education For All Students: A Plan of Action provides numerous opportunities to showcase our field, and in this feature we’ll focus on the K-16 students who are the primary focus of our educational efforts.

In the 1800s, an educational program was developed in the Scandinavian countries called “Slöjd” (which, in Swedish, means handicraft). During the dark and cold winters of the region, students would stay indoors building small projects or repairing home and farm instruments. Hand and tool skills were developed while young students fashioned projects of wood, metal, or natural materials. Noted educator Otto Salomon popularized the Sloyd Movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Obviously, project-based learning developed into a technique that was both educational and engaging, and is common even today. Modern technology and engineering teachers use this same project method when covering current technologies with today’s students.

At one time, projects were the exclusive evidence of successful practice in industrial-based programs. A tour of any high school included looking at student handiwork in a showcase or checking out furniture and similar artifacts on laboratory benches or in storerooms. A school’s program was deemed valuable—even “excellent”—when the students produced quality projects (with impressive examples available for others to see).

In the era of academic standards, the focus on “achievement” has expanded to include student knowledge and abilities. Projects are still popular, but the intellectual growth of individual students and small teams is most important. Students who excel in TSA events or a FIRST robotics competition have ribbons, plaques, and trophies to show for their “outstanding” work. Artifacts are often replaced by headlines in local media, and successful learning is recognized later when each student becomes an effective problem solver or creative designer in a modern career. 

Every technology and engineering teacher should be able to identify former students who are now working in a field related to modern technology. These students have fulfilled the mission statement of your school and program, as they are better prepared to excel in a global society. They display the knowledge, laboratory proficiency, and confidence to contribute at home and work. 

The ITEEA conference in March will involve teachers who also developed into outstanding educators from a variety of backgrounds. Plan to attend the 2013 conference in Columbus to see, among many other offerings, these former “projects” (i.e., students) and learn of their many successes in life.

Source: Rich Seymour, CTETE Director

NOTE: Be sure to check out ITEEA's new 75th Anniversary Conference video at http://youtu.be/DJVjrXgMo-0

ITEEA Has an APP for the Columbus Conference, March 7-9, 2013!

December 1 is the Deadline for ITEEA Grants, Scholarships, and Awards

Are you an ITEEA member who is integrating a quality technology and engineering education program with the school curriculum? Are you a technology and engineering education teacher or supervisor who seeks professional development? Are you an undergraduate student majoring in technology and engineering education preparation? Are you a technology or engineering teacher who is continuing your education? Do you know of an exemplary teacher or program that you would like to nominate for one of ITEEA’s Professional Recognition Awards? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should explore ITEEA’s grants, scholarships, and awards opportunities at www.iteea.org/Awards/awards.htm. ITEEA’s grants, scholarships, and awards support the advancement of technological literacy.

NEWS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Showcase Your Best Practices!

Apply today to be a part of the Teaching Technology and Engineering Showcase at the ITEEA Conference in Columbus! The Showcase is an exhibition of best practices in the teaching of technology and engineering education. Showcasers include but are not limited to K-12 technology and engineering teachers, teacher educators, administrators, undergraduate and graduate students, and informal educators. Apply today at www.iteea.org/Conference/conferenceguide.htm.

Star of the Month for November – Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson teaches Tech Ed-STEM at Gateway Regional High School, Woodbury Heights, NJ. Chris is leading the way in New Jersey by both playing an active role in NJTEEA and serving as a Pilot Teacher and Director of Engineering byDesign™ ? a New Jersey Initiative at The College of New Jersey. Chris hosts a variety of STEM-related workshops throughout the year and a week-long summer training session ? all to further the Technology and Engineering portion of STEM.

 Nominated by: William Schlupp, ITEEA member from New Jersey
wschlupp@wtps.org

Affiliate Representative Corner

Special thanks to all of our Affiliate Representatives who consistently work hard to get the word out and sign up members. This month, we recognize the following:

• Creighton Alexander, DTE
• Mohamad Barbarji
• Bob Behnke
• Jim Boe, DTE
• Nate Brubaker
• Charles Corley, DTE
• Gregory Kane
• Joanne Trombley

Thanks for all you do for ITEEA!

Paper Engineering Contest for PreK-6 Students

ITEEA’s Children's Council is sponsoring a paper engineering contest for all PreK-6 students in the United States. The contest supports two of the Children’s Council’s goals: to promote children’s creativity, ingenuity, and design-based problem solving skills and to promote the study of technology and engineering as a vital aspect in every elementary school. For guidelines and additional information, go to www.stemiselementary.com/Newsletters.html

2012 TEECA Midwest Regional Competition Results

Teaching Lesson Contest
* CHAMPION: Indiana State University (Colby Boyer and Cody Eaves)
* RUNNER-UP: Illinois State University

TEECA Technology Challenge
* CHAMPION: Ball State University (Reed Beery, Tommy Kompier, Cale Rauch, and Chris Townsend)
* RUNNER-UP: Illinois State University

Problem Solving Contest
* CHAMPION: Illinois State University (Jose Cisneros, Matt Emberson, Jerry Kroll, and James Sullivan)
* RUNNER-UP: Ball State University

"Live" Communication Contest
* CHAMPION: Ball State University (Reed Beery, Wesley Ford, Justin Pemberton, and Chris Townsend)
* RUNNER-UP: Illinois State University

Transportation Contest
* CHAMPION: Ball State University (Wesley Ford, Tommy Kompier, Justin Pemberton, and Cale Rauch)
* RUNNER-UP: Illinois State University

Palestine to Begin Using STL

Palestine is new to using ITEEA's Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL) to provide the mandated content for all students in their curriculum. The World Bank is funding the project for the quality improvement of learning, teaching, and curriculum development in Palestine. With cooperation from the Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York City as well as an organizing group of faculty from three Palestinian Universities, the team was introduced to ITEEA's technological literacy standards through study visits to the Teacher's College at Columbia University and Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The goal is to adapt STL to the Palestinian curriculum for the required study of technology.

William Dugger, DTE, Senior Fellow at ITEEA, attended a conference in Palestine on October 21-24, 2012 and gave a keynote presentation on STL. Also, he conducted a workshop on developing curriculum units on biomedical technology for students in Palestine.

There is a required subject in Palestinian schools from Grades 5-12 called TECHNOLOGY. Also, at Palestine Technology University - Kadoorie, An-Najah National University, and Palestine Technical College-Arroub,  the undergraduate (BA) programs of Technology Education are being updated to focus on preparing pre-service teachers for this subject. The challenge for the team is how to prepare a teacher of TE (not educational technologies) to teach a wide variety of topics and fields (IT and related topics, Environment, Biomedical Technology, Design, Electronics Educational skill, and technologies, Pedagogy and methodology, Agriculture, etc).

It is very exciting to learn that Palestine has adapted ITEEA's STL as the content basis for their mandated curriculum in the study of technology in Grades 5-12. 

For membership, visit www.iteea.org/Membership/membership.htm

OTHER STEM NEWS

The Journal of STEM Teacher Education is Back!

The Journal of STEM Teacher Education has been reintroduced. The next issue will be Volume 49, Spring 2013.

The Journal of STEM Teacher Education promotes excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher education from early childhood through university level education. All manuscripts accepted for publication address the integration of at least two STEM disciplines but may focus on issues about which STEM teachers (at any K-20 level) should know or upon issues of how to better educate integrated STEM teachers (at any K-20 level). The Journal of STEM Teacher Education is an open access journal with a vigorous peer-review process and high standards for publication.

We are actively looking for ?

For more information, you are invited to visit the website at JSTEMEd.org or contact:
Editor  Dr. William Hunter, Illinois State University, whunter@ilstu.edu.

Apply Now for the 2013-14 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 Fellowship Year. The Einstein Fellowship Program is available to current K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators with a demonstrated excellence in teaching and leadership.
 
Selected teachers spend 11 months in Washington, DC, sharing their expertise with STEM program directors or policy makers. Einstein Fellows may serve in a Congressional office or in one of several government agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Fellows receive a monthly stipend and an allowance for professional travel and relocation. The fellowship year begins in late August 2013.
 
The goal of the Einstein Fellowship Program is to provide an opportunity for teachers to inform national policy and improve communication between the K-12 STEM education community and national leaders. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, be currently employed full time in a public or private elementary or secondary school or school district, and must have been teaching in one or more STEM fields full time in a public or private elementary or secondary school for at least five of the last seven years.
 
For more information about the program and to learn how to apply, visit www.einsteinfellows.org. Applications for the 2013-14 Fellowship program are due by 11:00 pm (EST) December 5, 2012.

Knowles Foundation Looking for 2013 STEM Teaching Fellows

The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation in Moorestown, NJ is now accepting applications from those interested in its 2013 Teaching Fellowships. The fellowships?which could be valued at as much as $175,000 and can be renewed for up to 5 years—are open to exceptional new teachers who make a commitment to teaching STEM subjects at the high school level.

Those who make it through the highly competitive selection process will also have access to expert support and professional development opportunities aimed at improving their instructional skills and developing their leadership qualities. Dr. Nicole Gillespie, Director for Teaching Fellowships, says that an ideal candidate would be driven, hardworking, innovative, and passionate about his/her chosen profession while seeking to become one of the best STEM teachers in the country.

Massachusetts STEM Council Endorses Gateway Project as a Learning Model

The Massachusetts STEM Council has endorsed the Museum of Science's Gateway to Technology and Engineering project as a scalable model for the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. The STEM Council is an initiative of Governor Deval Patrick.

Created by the Museum's National Center for Technological Literacy®, Gateway helps school districts develop strategic action plans to implement rigorous, engaging K-12 technology and engineering programs while introducing educators to resources supporting standards-based curricula and assessments. Now replicated as a model in Maine and Texas, the Gateway community has involved 85 Massachusetts districts, serving 430,000 students and 428 K-12 educational leaders. Originating in Massachusetts, the Gateway strategy is unique in guiding STEM-based educational reform through district-wide systemic change. For complete information, go to: www.mos.org/nctl/news_article.php?r=5689.

Applications for the 2013-2014 InvenTeams Are Now Open!

The InvenTeam initiative, created by the Lemelson-MIT Program, offers an unparalleled opportunity for high school students to cultivate their creativity and experience invention. InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors that receive grants of up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. Each InvenTeam chooses its own problem to solve.

InvenTeam students rely on inquiry and hands-on problem solving as they apply lessons from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to develop invention prototypes. Interactive, self-directed learning coupled with STEM curricula are essential for experiencing invention.

To apply, go to: http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html

RealWorld-InWorld NASA Engineering Design Challenge

The RealWorld-InWorld NASA Engineering Design Challenge encourages students in Grades 8-12 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.

RealWorld Phase ends: January 31, 2013. To be considered to move to the InWorld phase, all RealWorld work must be submitted by this deadline.

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. Participation is limited to U.S. citizens. 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: February 9, 2013.
InWorld Phase ends: April 26, 2013.

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

Other NASA Opportunities

2013 RASC-AL Lunar Wheel Design Challenge
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2013 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts- Academic Linkage, or RASC-AL, Lunar Wheel Design Challenge. The challenge is aimed at multidisciplinary teams of university-level engineering students. The RASC-AL Lunar Wheel Design Challenge invites student teams to design and build a lunar wheel prototype and demonstrate its capabilities while mounted on a utility vehicle during the “Roll-Off” (field tests at NASA's Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard) in July 2013. Teams are challenged with developing a wheel that needs little maintenance, can travel at higher speeds needed for human rovers and can withstand several years of harsh temperature swings, abrasive regolith, intense sun radiation, and lack of an Earth-like atmosphere.

Interested teams are encouraged to submit a notice of intent by November 18, 2012, and teams must submit a project plan proposal by December 16, 2012. Based on a review of each team’s proposal, up to eight teams will be selected to compete at the “Roll-Off” in July 2013.

The challenge is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. For more information about this competition, visit https://www.nianet.org/RASCAL-wheeldesign2012/index.aspx. If you have questions about this competition, please contact Shannon Verstynen at shannon.verstynen@nianet.org or Shelley Spears at shelley.spears@nianet.org.

2013 RASC-AL Robo-Ops Competition
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2013 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage Exploration Robo-Ops, also known as RASC-AL Robo-Ops, competition. This design competition is aimed at university-level engineering students.

The RASC-AL Robo-Ops contest challenges participants to build a planetary rover prototype and demonstrate its capabilities in field tests at NASA's Johnson Space Center’s (JSC's) Rock Yard. Up to three members of the team (plus the faculty advisor) may travel to JSC for the onsite testing. The remaining team members will stay behind at the local university to conduct mission control tasks. The prototype rovers will be tele-operated by the university-based team members and must negotiate a series of obstacles while accomplishing a variety of tasks. The only information available to the rover controller to perform the required tasks will be information transmitted through onboard rover video camera(s) or other onboard sensors.

Teams will be required to do an education and outreach activity for their rovers that demonstrates participatory exploration approaches for future NASA missions. Interested teams are encouraged to submit a notice of intent by November 18, 2012, and teams must submit a project plan for their proposed project by December 19, 2012. The RASC-AL Robo-Ops Steering Committee of NASA experts will evaluate the project plans and select as many as eight teams to compete against each other at the Rock Yard in June 2013.

The RASC-AL competition is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. For more information about this competition, visit www.nianet.org/RoboOps-2013/index.aspx. If you have questions about this competition, please contact Stacy Dees at stacy.dees@nianet.org or Shelley Spears at shelley.spears@nianet.org.

2013 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships
NASA is seeking applications from current and prospective graduate students for the agency's third class of Space Technology Research Fellows. Applications will be accepted from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing or planning to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees in relevant space technology disciplines at their respective institutions beginning in fall 2013.

The fellowships will sponsor U.S. graduate student researchers who show significant potential to contribute to NASA's strategic goals and mission in the area of space technology. NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and the Space Technology Program sponsor the fellowships with the goal of providing the nation a pipeline of highly skilled engineers and technologists to improve America's technological competitiveness. Fellows will perform innovative space technology research today while building the skills necessary to become future technological leaders.

The deadline for submitting applications is December 4, 2012.

For more information on the fellowships, visit www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/stp/strg/nstrf13.html and www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/stp/strg/nstrf13_video.html.

All material related to this fellowship opportunity, including eligibility requirements and detailed instructions on how to submit an application, may be accessed from http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId=%7b67565659-36F8-8888-A19E-6DC271DA6ED5%7d&path=open.

Please email any questions about this opportunity to Claudia Meyer at hq-nstrf-call@mail.nasa.gov.

Source: NASA Education Express Message — October 25, 2012

Registration for Future City Extended to November 9th

Future City, the national, project-based learning experience where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades imagine, design, and build cities of the future, has extended the deadline to register. Register today or learn more at www.futurecity.org.

FEATURED SPONSOR