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Hackathons
White House "game jam" lures top video game developers (USA Today)
If you need any more proof that video games are becoming an accepted part of our culture, consider that the White House just brought 100 top game designers to town to show off their skills. Over the weekend, Obama administration science and technology advisors fed the group pizza, coffee and Red Bull in a two-day, red-eyed effort to develop a batch of cutting-edge educational games. The developers showed off their designs at the White House. The weekend "game jam" was part of a broader effort by the administration to get technology companies interested in investing, even experimentally, in education.
The Moms Behind MIT�s Breast Pumping Hackathon (Boston Globe)
The breast pump needs hacking. There are too many parts, which are easy to forget. They often aren�t the right size and need routine cleaning. Not to mention that pumping sound. It �reminds you that you are somehow a cow,� said Catherine D�Ignazio, one of the organizers of MIT�s Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon, and a research affiliate in the Civic Media group, a partnership between the MIT Media Lab and Comparative Media Studies at MIT. D�Ignazio, who has had her art work displayed at the ICA Boston, Eyebeam, and MASSMoCA, has breast pumped for each of her three children. Her youngest, at 14 months old, hung out at the Media Lab for the first 6 months of her life. 
Industry
Microsoft Will Acquire Minecraft For $2.5 Billion (Fast Company)
Microsoft has announced that it will buy Minecraft creator Mojang, as predicted by rumors swirling around last week. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and will cost Microsoft $2.5 billion. In a blog post, Xbox head Phil Spencer wrote that the iconic video game would diversify Microsoft's portfolio and help bridge the distance between platforms: "Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms � including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC."
EverFi partners with NHL, hockey players on STEM program (Washington Post)
District-based EverFi scored a deal last week with the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players� Association to bring [STEM] instruction to students in cities with hockey teams across the United States and Canada. The online education company develops programs to teach grade school and college students about a variety of topics, such as financial literacy, civic engagement and alcohol safety. It partners with corporations, foundations and other large entities who foot the bill. Hockey and STEM studies may be an odd pairing, but the online program, called �Future Goals,� will use the sport to teach such concepts as acceleration, thermodynamics and geometry, said Jon Chapman, co-founder and chief strategy officer.
Higher Education
SIUE gets $846,000 grant to boost STEM interest (St. Louis Business Journal)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been awarded a three-year, $846,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to help support middle school students looking to enter the STEM fields. The money will go toward developing �Digital East St. Louis,� which SIUE officials are using as a hook to attract young peoples� interest in computing and IT. The three-year program will teach underserved middle-school students about careers in computer science and give them a skill set in a variety of digital fields, including file management, HTML and web development, database management, video editing and writing for the web.
Rutgers offers competitive research opportunities for STEM undergraduates (Daily Targum)
Rutgers received $302 million in externally sponsored research grants and contracts in 2013, according to the University�s research website. It is not surprising then that more than 60 percent of undergraduates conduct collective or independent research during their time at the University, according to Rutgers admissions� website. It is also the only New Jersey member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a premier higher education consortium of top-tier research institutions. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is the academic conglomerate of the universities in the Big Ten Conference as well as its former conference member, the University of Chicago.
Diversity in STEM
$600k grant helps USD hire women STEM profs (U-T San Diego)
Hoping to boost the number of women who decide to major in STEM fields, the University of San Diego has hired eight new female professors in [STEM] with the help of a $600,000 federal grant. The hiring of the professors, who were among 17 faculty added for the fall semester, reflects an effort by USD to become a model for undergraduate institutions seeking to increase diversity and boost the number of women in STEM. The grant money was used to help with recruiting and will support them in their new jobs. �This is a very exciting development for the university,� President Mary Lyons said in a statement.
STEM education for kids from underrepresented communities (Plant Engineering)
9-year-old Melvin Slater, holding the "Pen Blaster" he created by using a one-dollar pen, tried to explain all the mechanical parts: the spring, the screw, and the rubber telescope, during the first fundraiser for the Chicago Pre-College Science & Engineering Program (ChiS&E), an innovative STEM program serving grades K-5 on Sept. 11, 2014. Melvin Slater, who wants be a mechanical engineer when he grows up, was one of the many participants of ChiS&E's Summer Lab Programs that engages both K-5 students and their parents in hands-on math and science projects. Founded in 2008 by Kenneth Hill, the mission of ChiS&E is to promote pre-college engineering education among kids from underrepresented communities.
How GoldieBlox Went From A Scrappy Kickstarter To Making Important Toys For Girls (Fast Co.Exist)
It's not too often that a toy--not a video game, but a physical toy that small children play with--is greeted with rapturous excitement by adults. But when Debbie Sterling, a Stanford-educated engineer, decided to create a series of engineering-inspired toys for girls, the Internet exploded. When Sterling launched her GoldieBlox Kickstarter campaign in 2012, she was armed with little more than a prototype toy set and book that she made herself. Now, GoldieBlox is a full-fledged company, with a line of toys, a spot on the shelves of Toys "R" Us, and many thousands of customers. Here's how Sterling grew her company from scratch, overcoming countless obstacles along the way.
MomsEverday Sponsors STEM Scholarship Program in Association with Miss America Organization (KWTX)
When you watch the Miss America pageant this weekend you'll see a familiar KWTX feature as a sponsor. MomsEveryday is a proud sponsor of Miss America and the STEM scholarship program. This year, five young women pursuing education in STEM, science, technology, engineering and math related fields will be awarded $5,000 scholarships each to further their education. MomsEveryday Representative, Jason Effinger will be presenting the scholarship on stage during the broadcast on Sunday night.
Pennsylvania
STEM Competition for PA Students Unveiled (WESA)
The Corbett administration is hoping that a statewide competition to allow students to showcase their skills in STEM will further spark interest in STEM learning and related jobs. �STEM jobs are the jobs of the future, and that will be what our economy will be based on, so it�s important that we train the workforce to be ready for the new jobs,� said Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq, who unveiled the competition Friday. The competition is open to public, nonpublic and private school Students in grades 9-12 in public and private schools are eligible. Interested schools will each select a team of five students who will explore STEM opportunities in their communities.
Tennessee
Former IA principal hired by Tennessee STEM Innovation Network (Kingsport Times-News)
Former Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee Principal Sandy Watkins has joined a new program to train principals and other school leaders. The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, a public/private partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle Education, announced Thursday the first annual Innovative Leaders Institute. Watkins, who before IA was STEM or science, technology, engineering and math coordinator for the Sullivan County school system, has joined the network as a principal-in-residence and will oversee the Innovative Leaders Institute.
South Dakota
Governor: Science, math key � and so is writing (Sioux Falls Argus-Leader)
High school graduates in South Dakota looking at $25,000 in debt for a college degree should do the math first, Gov. Dennis Daugaard says. "I'm not trying to tell people what to do, what to major in," Daugaard said. "I just want them to have their eyes open about it. I think it's a fact that it's harder to get a job with a bachelor degree in philosophy than it is with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering." The governor insisted that he simply is trying to make two points. One, his state needs skilled science and technical workers, and so he's pushing for more of them. But two, he said he's simply cognizant of the incredible amount of loans South Dakotans are taking out to educate themselves.
New York
BOCES gets $150,000 for STEM programs (Star Gazette)
Greater Southern Tier BOCES has received a $150,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to be used for STEM education, according to U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. When combined with local funding, the project will total $317,452, according to the senators. The federal funding will be used to bring more science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, programs to seventh and eighth grade students as part of the BOCES� STEM Deployment Project. The federal funding will be used to purchase 72 STEM instructional modules and provide training for teachers on how to properly operate the modules. |
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 STEMconnector�
Higher Education Forum 2014: From The Economist - September 30, 2014 in NYC
 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 leaderstoday 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. Rising costs, new business models driven by disruptive technologies and a broad political imperative to rethink the purpose of higher education are forcing schools today to face a make-it or break-it moment. In order to stay competitive, schools must innovate beyond the traditional framework of providing educational services. Meanwhile, organisations are rapidly adapting to the changing nature of work. This, combined with global economic uncertainty, is threatening a once-predictable applicant pool. Graduates find themselves wedged in the communication gap between institutions of higher education and the private sector about the skills and talent needed to succeed in today�s innovative and productive workplace. How can both parties collaborate to make talent accessible and boost economic competitiveness as a result? The Economist�s Higher Education Forum will bring together top decision-makers from private companies, leaders from institutions of higher education, as well as policy-makers, to chart a path for closing the ever-widening global skills gap. Chaired by The Economist�s US business editor and New York bureau chief, Matthew Bishop, this event is designed for a wide range of senior-level decision makers from the field of higher education, public policy makers and private sector stakeholders that have a vested interest in accessing a skilled and competent workforce for the foreseeable future.
Toshiba and National Science Teachers Association Announce 23nd Annual ExploraVision Competition
 The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision program is kicking off its 23rd year of the world�s largest K-12 science competition with registration now open. Sponsored by Toshiba and administered by NSTA, the ExploraVision program builds problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills that are central to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students have a chance to win $10,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bonds (at maturity) and other great prizes. Registration is open until January 30, 2015. Encompassing specific science and engineering practices found in the NGSS, the competition works towards the vision of the standards by inviting K-12 students to think ahead 20 years into the future and propose an idea for a new technology based on a challenge or limitation of what exists today. �At Toshiba, we believe that creativity is crucial to the scientific process, and we are proud to sponsor Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision for the 23rd year as part of our company�s commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators,� said Mr. Masaaki Osumi, Toshiba America Inc.�s Chairman and CEO, and Toshiba�s Corporate Representative for the Americas.
Watch or Re-Watch our STEM Into Communities TownHall with Earthforce!
 Thank you to everyone who joined us today for our 1st TownHall Google+ Hangout of the school year this afternoon. We'd especially like to thank Earth Force for co-collaborating with us on today's discussion and all of our speakers Caitlin Olson from Tata Consultancy Services, Staceylyn Machi from WestEd, and Julie Smith from Earth Force. The video is now on our YouTube page and linked above, as are all of our TownHall videos! |
