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President Obama to Hold White House Science Fair
Tweet Share on Facebook January 31, 2012 CommentThe White House announced Tuesday that President Obama will host the second White House Science Fair on February 7.
"At the fair, the President will view exhibits of student work, ranging from breakthrough research to new inventions, followed by remarks to an audience of students, science educators and business leaders on the importance of STEM education to the country's economic future," according to a White House press release. "The President will also announce key steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to help more students excel in math and science, and earn degrees in these subjects."
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Industry Experts to Discuss STEM Crisis Thursday Evening
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2012 Comment (1)If you're new to the STEM world or want to hear from some of the industry's brightest minds, tune in Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST to listen to some of the country's brightest minds talk about the STEM crisis with The Future of Science Education, a 30-minute video that will focus on the future of science education in America and the consequences of not raising a STEM-literate society.
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Solar Decathlon Contest to Move to California in 2013
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2012 CommentThe biennial Solar Decathlon competition, which challenges students from universities around the world to design and build a sustainable, solar-powered house, has been a fixture on (or near) the National Mall in Washington, D.C., since the competition was started in 2002.
Until now.
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Obama Pushes STEM in State of the Union
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2012 Comment (3)President Obama once again put the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) crisis front and center in his State of the Union address.
"Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs," he said.
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Lenovo to Launch App Programming Class
Tweet Share on Facebook January 24, 2012 CommentStudents with smartphones spend plenty of hours playing Angry Birds and checking Facebook, so it makes sense that they'd want to learn to create apps themselves. A new pilot program launched by computer manufacturer Lenovo and the National Academy Foundation will teach teens to design, program, and market their own Android apps.
The 12-week program will launch in five high schools this spring, Lenovo announced today. This fall, the program will expand to 70 schools nationwide.
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Congressman Proposes STEM Education Office
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2012 CommentU.S. Congressman Michael Honda is Silicon Valley's representative. Honda is a member of the House Appropriations and Budget Committees, chair emeritus of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, co-chair of the Democratic Caucus' New Media Working Group, and the original author of the Equity and Excellence Commission now housed in the US Department of Education.
Co-author Peter Cleveland is vice president of Global Public Policy at the Intel Corporation.
Fulfilling the American Dream begins with a great education. The American public school system must be the equalizer of economic opportunity throughout the United States, elevating each child's creativity, skills, and thought—inspiring her to dream, equipping her to succeed, empowering her to be a force on the world scene.
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Innovate+Educate Launches STEM E-Magazine
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2012 Comment (1)Today, U.S. News partners Innovate+Educate launched the first issue of their quarterly e-zine dedicated to STEM, The Innovation Intake.
Gracing the cover is U.S. News Editor Brian Kelly. In an interview with the magazine, Kelly says that "STEM is the key to the next generation economy and whether America will prosper or not. It's about understanding why we need to shift our education and job training to adapt to an increasingly technological world."
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American Students Are Taking Harder Math, Science Courses
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2012 Comment (2)American high school graduates are taking harder math and science classes, according to a recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In September, Tom Luce, former CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative, said that the United States needs a "STEM-literate population" that starts by "convinc[ing] the entire country that every child must conquer Algebra II." America has made steady progress toward that goal—in 1982, just 40 percent of high school graduates took Algebra II; in 2009, more than 75 percent did.
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The Education Gap, Technology, and the Economy
Tweet Share on Facebook January 17, 2012 Comment (1)Roy Gilbert is the CEO of Grockit, a social learning company.
A seatback TV on a cross-country flight is not always a great thing. In the middle of one of the most turbulent swings in the stock market this fall, I spent six hours on a flight with two thirds of the TV screens tuned to financial news. Just about everyone was watching the ups and downs of the market, and as expected, the flight attendants were busier than normal with in-flight drink service.
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Rethinking AP Biology
Tweet Share on Facebook January 12, 2012 Comment (1)David Knuffke is an AP biology teacher at Deer Park High School in Deer Park, N.Y.
I have been teaching AP biology for 6 years and initially, my students' lab experiences revolved around a dozen prescribed, highly scripted activities. These activities, which many of my colleagues in the world of AP Biology commonly referred to as the "dirty dozen," provided students with a range of laboratory experiences that are, barring instructional error, essentially guaranteed to succeed. And what could be wrong with that?
