STEAM SYMPOSIUM: 5 Great Ideas to Bring Home
View sessions 1 and 2 on YouTube
View sessions 3 and 4 on YouTube
Ideas discussed that can help you at home or in your remote classroom.
We had an amazing symposium on STEAM learning at home. I want to thank my moderators Tom Igoe and Clay Shirky as well as my amazing panelists. We rocked it! We had 200 registrations, and between 40 and 60 individuals participating at all times. If you are interested, we will publish the video for you to review. Here are a few quick, yet very important takeaways.
Sometimes doing less can be doing more. Jaymes Dec, Technology Teacher, Marymount School and Adjunct Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University discussed how he is finding that with fewer technology options, students are actually coming up with deeper and more thoughtful projects, solving coding and building problems with more innovation and focus. We are finding this in our classes as well. Going slower but deeper can be an important positive of our current world.
You need to love what you are learning and be invested to really learn. If what we are putting in front of our children, has no relationship with their world, they are much less likely to engage deeply.
Social Social Social! We learned from Tess Harvey, Ryerson University and Ashley Jane Lewis about Nerd Night. They discovered that their college-age students wanted more time in social breakout rooms than in technical support rooms! We work hard at Robofun to keep our online classes both social and educational. Social engagement is needed to move the educational goals forward.
Teaching is about relationships and trust. This becomes even more important when teaching online. Learning is about exposing oneself in ways that make the learner vulnerable. If you don't feel a connection or trust, it is very hard to engage in learning.
The current state of our world is our STEAM curriculum. You can't fully engage with coding, robotics, or any class while neglecting the pandemic, racial injustices, and climate change. Our students need to talk about their experiences and make STEAM relate to their lives.
Please see above some of our amazing presenters!
Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday.
All the best, Laura Hart, CEO & Founder