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Computer Science
iRobot builds a vacuum-free Roomba for students to hack (Mashable)
Robotics developer iRobot launched its latest "hackable" robot for aspiring developers last week. The Create 2 might look like a Roomba � which iRobot manufactures too � but it's actually a lookalike, one that isn't necessarily meant for cleaning jobs. Roomba vacuums have the potential to be a good base for robots � because of the sensors that they use to maneuver around a room, for one thing. Unlike Roombas, the Create 2 is designed specifically with robot makers in mind.
Deciphering the Code: Why America�s Kids Need to Learn Computer Science (Newsweek)
Co-founder and CEO of Code.org Hadi Partovi: "I�m an immigrant to this country. I grew up in Iran and I lived through both the Shah�s regime and then when I was six years old there was an Islamic revolution and a war with Iraq, and it was not a good place to grow up. But my life changed when my dad bought us a computer and my twin brother and I learned computer programming. When we immigrated to the United States, our family didn�t have a lot of money, but this skill that we had learned on our own helped us get computer programming jobs to pay our way through college. Now I feel like I�m living the American dream, having had success in the tech industry. And meanwhile the skill that I learned and the opportunity that I had is still not being offered in the majority of our schools. So I started Code.org to get that opportunity to every student." 
STEM Holidays
Purdue makes the season bright for future engineers (BTN)
Still behind on your holiday shopping? Looking for good presents for children? And do those kids show any inclination toward building and designing things? If you answered �yes� to all three of those questions, then Purdue University�s College of Engineering Education has just the thing for you: a holiday gift guide that�s filled with toys, games and entertainment that make engineering concepts fun and accessible for pre-college learners. The gift guide actually has two parts: The first lists a range of toys, kits and media appropriate for children of various ages, and the second gives parents a number of tips for encouraging their kids� interest in engineering.
Higher Education
University of Hawaii college consortium hires new tech director (Pacific Business News)
Steven Auerbach has been named director of the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training and Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, a consortium of University of Hawaii Community Colleges. Based at Honolulu Community College, PCATT oversees industry partnerships and provides student training in advanced technology. The program also operates continuing education and lifelong learning programs, some of which can lead to credit-earning academic routes for continuing education students.
WPI gets $1.1M in grants for nuclear science and engineering program (Telegram & Gazette)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute has received four grants from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission totaling more than $1.1 million. The money will be used in WPI's new Nuclear Science and Engineering Program. WPI was one of 37 colleges and universities to benefit from $15 million in grants from the NRC. "WPI will use the majority of this funding to support the national objective for reinvigorating the nuclear power industry," Germano S. Iannacchione, head of WPI's Department of Physics, which houses the NSE Program
UTMB expands its early-stage life science program to all UT campuses (Houston Business Journal)
The University of Texas Medical Branch plans to expand its life science entrepreneurship programs next year to other UT campuses, as well as place a deeper emphasis within the Texas Medical Center. The program includes two courses, named Successful Entrepreneurship and BioVentures. Between the two, the programs expect to have roughly 60 different participants from various Texas colleges including the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Rice University and the University of Houston, as well as other TMC institutions, said Stan Watowich, an associate professor for UTMB who oversees the program.
MAC trustees OK $1 million STEM project (Daily Journal Online)
The Mineral Area College Board of Trustees approved the school�s participation in the fourth round of a Missouri STEM Workforce Innovations Network (MoSTEMWINs) grant totaling more than a million dollars. The go-ahead was given at the trustees' regular monthly meeting held last last week in the boardroom on the school�s Park Hills campus. �We�re here today to ask you to approve this college�s acceptance of the fourth round of the TAACCCT grants that Missouri has been awarded,� said Gil Kennon, vice president for College Affairs.
K-12 Education
Huntsville students using 'cutting edge' technology for advanced manufacturing, Greenpower USA programs (AL.com)
The engine parts on display Monday night at the Huntsville school board meeting didn't look like anything special, at least not at first glance. A closer look, which showed that each piece came from a 3D printer, gave the board and the public a glimpse at what students are learning in the district's advanced manufacturing academy and through Greenpower USA. This is not the manufacturing of the 1950s, said Mike Evans, the district's coordinator of advanced manufacturing, engineering and design and executive director of the Greenpower USA Foundation.
Local tech company working with JCPS to help students attend IT conference (Louisville Business First)
..the business community also has a role in encouraging students to pursue STEM careers. And that's why Ryan Deal is using a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for his students to attend a national information technology conference. Plus, it's a way to get businesses involved in supporting students. Deal is the business and IT career-theme specialist at Jefferson County Public Schools. He works with students from Eastern, Doss and Southern high schools � career-themed schools in business and technology � who participate in student organizations such as Future Business Leaders of America and SkillsUSA.
Reports
A Map Of Scientific Plagiarism Around The World (Fast Co.Labs)
For some, quantity trumps quality in scientific research. Countries that submitted the least papers to the online repository arXiv since 2011 tended to plagiarize the most. That�s what Science�s news and policy tracker, ScienceInsider, found when it asked arXiv to share data about the papers researchers submitted to it. Anyone can submit a manuscript to arXiv�pronounced "archive"�as long as it documents a study in the math or physics domains. And the documents don�t have to go through the orthodox peer-review process, which makes it relatively easy to get accepted.
Diversity in STEM
G.url power: Sue Decker charts the quickening pace of change for women (San Francisco Business Times)
I know the stats. And they are depressing: the gender gap both in compensation (good karma notwithstanding) and participation in executive roles is alive and well. This is especially true in the technology industry, where I self-identify. I have spoken on this topic on many panels and will continue to carry this message. Among the depressing numbers: For S&P 500 companies, women represent only five percent of CEOs, 15 percent of C-suite roles and 17 percent of board positions.
Wyoming
Bill would repeal controversial science standard ban in Wyoming (Casper Star-Tribune)
A Sheridan Republican plans to sponsor legislation that would allow the Wyoming State Board of Education to adopt science standards that were barred by lawmakers earlier this year. The bill would eliminate a budget footnote that prohibited the board from spending money to review or adopt the Next Generation Science Standards, in part because the guidelines indicate humans have contributed to global climate change -- controversial in Wyoming, where fossil fuels extraction dominates the state's economy. |
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The EdTech Weekly Report: December 15, 2014
 Top stories from this week's all-new edition of the EdTech Weekly Report include a study found that 80% of college students admit technology distracts them from school work, Common Core assessment products make up largest sector of K-12 tech market, MOOCs for budding social entreprenerus, visit museums through your mobile device thanks to Google, Baltimore City school wins $10K technology grant as part of Computer Science Education Week, Khan Academy founder has some revolutionary ideas for higher ed, and much more!
100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM: Patricia L. Kampling- Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Alliant Energy Corporation
 "I am most proud of our employees who feel strongly about engaging with diverse students and young professionals. We�ve played an integral role in developing the Women in EMS program at University of Wisconsin � Platteville and in mentoring engineering students at Iowa State University. We have women leading and encouraging new recruits for local chapters of the Society of Women Engineers. We have an engineer in a leadership role of a regional chapter of the Society of Hispanic Engineers. They recently hosted a science and math family night that proved very popular."
PwC Charitable Foundation Inc. Donates $50,000 to Covenant Prep and Grace Academy
 PwC US today announced that its Hartford office will donate $50,000 to Covenant Preparatory School and Grace Academy funded through grants from the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. The grants are a part of PwC's Earn Your Future, a $160 million commitment to advance youth education and financial literacy across the US. Covenant Prep and Grace Academy are tuition-free middle schools for underserved families and will each receive a $25,000 grant. The donations will be used for a variety of initiatives, including bolstering STEM programs, computer upgrades, laboratory improvements and professional development for teachers. PwC partners and staff plan to expand volunteer programs at both schools, engaging with students through tutoring, mentoring and teaching financial literacy lessons. |
