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Contact the STEM Hub
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Paul Gibbins
North Central Regional Manager
3630 4-H Extension Building
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50010
pgibbins@iastate.edu
515-294-0645 (office)
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Upcoming Events
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January 15
Society for Women Engineers University - ISU March 6-7
Application Deadline
January 16, 8:00-4:00
Code Iowa Studio Workshop (K-5)
Clear Lake
January 17, 9-5
FLL State Championship
Ames, College of Engineering
January 17
FTC League Championship
Humbolt
January 19 to March 2
Scale-Up Applications Open
January 24
FTC League Championship
Johnston
January 29, 8:00-4:00
Code Iowa Studio Workshop (K-5)
Marshalltown
January 30, 9:00-11:00
SC Advisory Board Meeting
Ames
February 19, 10:00-2:00
STEM Day at Capital
Des Moines
March 6-8
Iowa FTC State Championship
Coralville
3/14/15, 9:26:53
Pi Day of the Century
March 26-29
FTC North Super-Regional Championship
Des Moines
March 30, 8:30-4:30
State STEM Conference
Des Moines
March 31, 8:00-4:00
Code Iowa Studio Workshop (K-5)
Ft. Dodge
April 24-25 HyperStream - IT Olympics Hilton Coliseum, Ames May 28 STEAM Festival Mason City |
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by Kirsti Minion, Media Specialist
I am currently in my third year as an elementary media specialist. I love finding new resources to use with my classes, so when I first heard about the Hour of Code event, I was immediately excited about it! I began by getting onto the Hour of Code website and exploring it. Everything you need to participate in the Hour of Code is right there. They make it so easy!
With my principal's permission, I signed our school up as a participant. We were lucky enough to win a Google-sponsored award of $4000 to go toward technology for our building. We are exploring combining that with other funds to make more of an impact.
Over two weeks in December, I got all K-5 classes on a variety of coding activities. My 2nd-5th graders started out on Lightbot and then moved onto the Anna & Elsa or Angry Birds themed activities from code.org. 1st grade tried out beginner-level activities in Tynker and kindergarten (yes, even kindergarten) participated! I discovered The Foos which is great because it is wordless somy kindergarteners did not have to worry about reading anything in order to start learning about coding.
After winter break, many classes will continue on with coding and build upon what they have already learned. Code Studio has free courses for students, including prereaders, that we will begin. If you have Google accounts for your students like we do, it is easy for students to access Code Studio since they can login via their Google account. If you do not have Google accounts, you can still setup free accounts in Code Studio through the teacher dashboard.
I have loved watching my students get so excited about coding, and I am excited to see where this takes us!
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FREE Computer Science Workshop for K-5 Teachers
Code.org believes introducing computer programming to students all over the world (even for an hour) will change the statistics to meet the demand of a society that is dependent on the innovation and economic growth that stems from Computer Science and coding. "Code Iowa" partners with this effort to generate interest and participation by teachers, school districts, parents and students in Iowa with hopes of establishing a continued interest to incorporate Computer Science in Iowa schools' curriculums.
The North Central STEM Hub will host a FREE K-5 Computer Science workshop on March 31, 2015 in Fort Dodge, IA. The workshop will include additional professional development in the Code.org K-5 Computer Science Curriculum, leveraging the ways in which educators can integrate Computer Science and coding basics into their classrooms.
To register for this Code Studio workshop, click here. Other dates and locations are included in Upcoming Events column to the left.
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Executive & State Council Meetings Update
On December 9, STEM leaders from across Iowa met for the Executive and State Council meetings held at Vermeer Corporation in Pella. The two councils approved all six regional hub renewals, approved five CAPS proposals, discussed working group progress updates and made recommendations for the next big thing in Iowa STEM. If you're you're energized about STEM in Iowa, please consider contributing to one of the following working groups:
- STEM Support of Computer Science
- Broadband for All
- STEM + Counselors
- STEM Seal of Approval
- Active Learning Community
- Business Engagement
- STEM CAPS
Information about council meeting minutes and agendas can be found here.
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Scale-Up Window To Open in January!
It's that time of year again! As part of your New Year's Resolution, have you thought about participating in one (or more) of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council's exemplary Scale-Up programs? In case you haven't heard, the ten programs offered during the 2014-2015 school have been renewed for 2015-2016 and we are in the process of adding an additional 2-5 programs to the list.
Programs guaranteed to be offered next year:
- A World In Motion
- CASE
- Defined STEM
- Engineering is Elementary
- FIRST Tech Challenge
- HyperStream/VREP
- KidWind Renewable Energy
- SCI Pint Size Science
- Project Lead the Way: Engineering
- Project Lead the Way: Gateway
Additional programs will be announced in mid-January. The application window for scale-ups is January 19 - March 2, 2015. Details about each of these programs can be found here.
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Applications, both teacher and student, are now open for Summer 2015!
CBiRC's pre-college education strategic plan is to form long-standing partnerships with central Iowa school districts and school districts located in relative proximity to CBiRC partner institutions. The pre-college programs focus primarily on grades 6-12 with a mission to effectively impart in the next generation of students the relevance of engineering professions; the skills required to succeed and the value in our technological society. The technical content of the pre-college education program will include the broader biorenewables area including both chemicals and biofuels.
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Opportunity for High School Junior and Senior Girls Interested in Engineering
The Program for Woman in Science and Engineering (WiSE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the College of Engineering at Iowa State University are excited to announce a new opportunity, SWE University, for your female high school junior and senior students who may be interested in exploring engineering at Iowa State University.
SWE University is an opportunity for high school junior and senior females to experience college on Iowa State University's campus and takes place on Friday, March 6th - Saturday, March, 7th 2015. SWE University participants will explore campus, learn more about engineering, connect with current students and other SWE U participants, and stay overnight in an Iowa State residence hall. Apply Today!
An application and letter of recommendation are required to be considered for SWE University. Space is limited for this event. Applications to SWE U will be accepted until January 15, 2015. To view application instructions and requirements, access the application, and learn more about the event, please visit our website here.
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