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Government
Community Colleges: The Secret Sauce (U.S. Department of Labor)
Motlow State Community College in Tennessee is working with Bridgestone Tire Company and other employers to expand their mechatronics program, creating a training facility on-site at Bridgestone to prepare students to move quickly into high-skill jobs. Estrella Mountain Community College is leading a consortium of five Arizona colleges to develop the workforce and talent pipeline required by the region�s energy and mining industries. Bellevue College in Washington state, together with eight other schools, is launching a program to train veterans and their eligible spouses in the high-demand, high-wage field of health information technology. All three of these efforts � and many more � are the result of a bold, unprecedented investment the Obama administration has made to expand job-driven training at community colleges nationwide. 
Diversity in STEM
GoDaddy Supports SWE Annual Conference With Sponsorship (Society of Women Engineers)
The Society of Women Engineers is pleased to welcome support from Corporate Partnership Council member GoDaddy at WE14, SWE�s annual conference for women engineers. GoDaddy, the world�s largest technology provider dedicated to small businesses, provided $30,000 supporting the premiere event for women in technology and engineering. �Our annual conference is the foremost event for women engineers around the world and it�s through the generous support of our partners that we can ensure it�s a fantastic event year after year,� said Karen Horting, executive director and CEO of SWE. �With our increasing focus on supporting our members around the world, we look forward to working with GoDaddy to enhance this year�s conference.�
Silicon Valley is a �twilight zone� for women, but it�s shifting (MarketWatch)
The boys club of Silicon Valley finally may be starting to take dues from women. There are still just 51 female CEOs in all of the Fortune 1000. Yet female chief executives like H-P�s Meg Whitman and Yahoo�s Marissa Mayer have paved the way for more women leaders, and the biggest tech companies are beginning to open up about their workforce diversity -- or lack thereof. �There�s something strange in this ecosystem,� tech consultant and activist Vivek Wadhwa said in a recent interview with MarketWatch. �Women really are absent from tech conferences and in leading roles in tech companies, there are almost no women on boards. It�s like a twilight zone.�
Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts Geek is Glam STEM Expo will feature astronaut Sunita Williams and Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn (Boston Live)
Nearly 600 girls, 45 presenters and 20 panelists will convene on Oct. 18 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute,to celebrate [STEM] at the Geek Is Glam STEM Expo. The day-long interactive conference for girls is hosted by the Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts and WPI with over 100 area education and adventure collaborators. Astronaut Sunita Williams and Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn will be among the featured speakers. Girls will be exposed to some of the area�s top scientific and engineering minds as they engage in the hands-on aspect of exploration and discovery while they build, explore, assemble and imagine.
STEM Startups
Kano Ships Its First 18,000 Learn-To-Code Computer Kits, Fueled By $1.5M Kickstarter (TechCrunch)
Kano Computing, a startup that plays in the learn to code space by adding a step-by-step hand-holding layer atop the Raspberry Pi single-board microcomputer to make hacking around with code and learning about computational thinking child�s play, has shipped all the hardware kits in its first batch of crowdfunded orders and pre-orders. That�s around 18,000 kits in all, co-founder Alex Klein confirmed to TechCrunch. �They are all in the wild, they are out of our hands. About 1,000 have arrived already � the early bird kits. And the rest, the general release, will be arriving [shortly],� he said late last week.
Underserved Kids Learn A Year's Worth Of Math In 6 Weeks, Thanks To New App (HuffPost ImpactX)
In a developing country where nearly half the population is under 14 years old, one-on-one teaching can be near impossible -- a 90-student classroom is actually more the norm. But some children in Malawi are reaping the benefits of a tech tool that is pushing their schooling forward. Onebillion, a nonprofit that builds and designs educational tools, created an app that personalizes curricula in math, reading and English. The app, which is currently being tested at a primary school in Malawi's capital city of Lilongwe, engages students through playful yet demanding school lessons, the BBC reported. Each day, children are provided with a tablet to complete roughly 30 minutes of assignments in the app.
Higher Education
Piner High School, SSU team up to promote science education (The Press Democrat)
Ashley Rydberg didn�t have much interest in science until she started attending Piner High School three years ago. But after getting inspired by a hands-on chemistry teacher, she became passionate about it and now plans to pursue the discipline in college and beyond. That�s why Rydberg was excited this year when Piner announced a new partnership with Sonoma State University that will recognize her and other students who commit to an intensive science education program by guaranteeing them early consideration for admission to SSU�s science and engineering department. They�ll also earn a certificate at graduation that reflects their specialty in [STEM].
Ohio college starting major to train oil and gas landmen (Columbus Business First)
A college in eastern Ohio is seeking to be the first in the state to offer certification to be an oil and gas landman. Marietta College�s new major, Land and Energy Management, is designed to make new landmen who act as do-everythings for energy companies and are best known for seeking out and negotiating mineral right leases with landowners, the Marietta Times reports. Landmen are also the people who flood records offices to try to determine mineral rights ownership. Marietta College, which runs a well-respected petroleum engineering program, launched the new major to give another avenue to students who want to get into the growing business boom spurred by shale oil and gas development, the paper said.
'MythBusters' host working with Villanova students on capstone project (Philadelphia Business Journal)
At the start of this semester, five Villanova University engineering students were hit with a big surprise upon walking into their senior capstone class. They learned they would be partnering with Jamie Hyneman, a co-host and executive producer for Discovery Channel�s �MythBusters.� Hyneman, also owner of San Francisco-based visual effects company M5 Industries, is mentoring the students with their project that uses solar thermal energy to heat water for residential heating use. They will specifically be looking at unique ways to manipulate the water in the receiver to be most effective. The five mechanical engineering students will work on system design and materials testing this fall semester, and build and test a prototype in the spring.
Maker Movement
Makerspace Operations Bootcamp (MAKE)
The Makerspace Operations Bootcamp is a 5-day, intensive course on the systems and documents that Maker Works uses for smooth, safe, and sustainable operation of their makerspace. These tools have been drawn from Lean Manufacturing, Training Within Industry, Open Book Management, and other sources. As an owner, Tom has personally tested and used them over the last ten years at Zingerman�s Mail Order , a highly-seasonal $14-million mailorder business which is part of the Zingerman�s Community of Businesses. Whether building cars at Toyota, shipping artisanal food at Zingerman�s, or training makerspace members to operate machinery, these are essential, useful tools.
Documentary 'Print the Legend' Goes Inside the World of 3D Printing (Mashable)
The genesis of and challenges to the 3D-printing revolution are subjects that take center stage in a new documentary called Print the Legend. From directors Clay Tweel and Luis Lopez (Freakonomics), the film sets out to act as a "'time capsule' of a nascent industry," Tweel told Mashable. "The result is both a look inside a compelling new technology, and hopefully, a story about the challenges of growing any type of business, and facing the moral dilemmas our marketplace presents." That it is. The 90-minute Netflix Original documentary delves headfirst into major issues facing the 3D-printing industry, including 3D printed-guns, which is addressed in the above clip.
California
Calif. Gov. Brown signs Computer Science Bill for California Students � SB 1200 (California Newswire)
SB 1200 by Calif. State Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) was signed by Governor Brown on Saturday. The bill calls on the UC and CSU to provide guidelines for high school computer science courses that would satisfy an advanced math subject matter requirement for purposes of undergraduate admissions. Currently schools must submit a proposed course curriculum to the UC and CSU for consideration. SB 1200 would request that the UC and require CSU to develop the guidelines for advanced computer science courses. Clear guidelines will help high schools establish advanced computer science courses in a manner that is consistent with admissions standards. The legislation goes into effect on January 1, 2015. |
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 STEMconnector�
100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM - Byron Jones of Apollo Education Group
 Byron Jones was appointed Chief Financial Officer of University of Phoenix in 2013, after joining Apollo Education Group in 2012. Byron leads the finance functions for the University, working closely with Apollo Education Group leaders to provide clear oversight of its financial operations, an area that is essential to the University�s success. Byron has more than 20 years of experience in corporate and divisional finance in industries spanning from airlines to technology. "I have a personal passion for the extensive work we do with minority youth who are working hard to overcome economic disadvantages. While our company is a large supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, I personally volunteer my time to serve on the local board of directors for the Phoenix Boys & Girls Clubs, and mentor young adults who need access to role models to help define their path in life. Our company funds programs to provide academic support to Club kids in a few academic areas including STEM. For example, we are piloting a math tutoring program for Club kids who don�t have access to afterschool support in this academic area. I believe that if we can help these youth achieve success in math; they are more likely to graduate high school and pursue STEM degrees in college. Also, University of Phoenix is actively developing partnerships with Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) to strengthen the success of science and engineering students. The program design will provide 24/7 tutoring, math labs, and continuous access to content to provide resources to students at HBCUs."
The Economist's Higher Education Forum
 Are universities truly preparing today's students for tomorrow's workforce? STEMconnector is proud to be a supporting association of the The Economist's Higher Education Forum. The Economist�s inaugural Higher Education Forum will address the major human capital challenges facing university and business leaders today and ask what role each stakeholder should have in improving the outlook for post-secondary schooling, its students, and the learning-to-earning pipeline in America and around the world.
Twitter Chat - #disrupttheclassroom
 We're very excited to host our very first Twitter chat with the Mobile Learning Partnerships (MLP) Initiative from Innovate+Educate and the Verizon Foundation (@verizongiving)! Please join us from 11:00 AM ET to 12:00 PM ET on Thursday, October 2, 2014 to talk about the role of technology and mobile learning both in the classroom, and how it relates to STEM. While @STEMconnector will be chatting with @MLPExp, we want you to join in the action! Use the #disrupttheclassroom hashtag to let us hear your opinions and to ask questions. |
