STEM BLOG POST

     STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, focuses on the teaching and application of these specific subjects in schools. Many schools internationally have been increasing the focus of their curriculum to focus more on STEM fields, because 1) job markets in the future will be strongly tided towards STEM careers, 2) STEM teaches students valuable skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. 

     Larry Edmonds, in "Are We Shifting Too Much Focus to Stem", writes that STEM is important for our current and future curriculums, and a benefit to our students. However, Edmonds brings up the important point that the direct increasing of our focus on STEM is inversely proportionate to the decreasing focus on the humanities in our K-12 education. Edmonds is an advocate for the importance of STEM, but writes that STEM shouldn't replace these important humanity subjects, but work hand-in-hand alongside them. His final opinion was that we are placing too much focus on the curriculum of STEM, and we must equate it with all the other important subjects of study. 

     Cindy Moss, in the same article as Edmond, states that we are not focusing too much on STEM. She writes that the motivation we have right now is the right amount, because STEM is a benefit for our students. As a a past Director of STEM in North Carolina, Moss found that STEM was creating life-long learners in her students, and test scores for rising - which Moss believed directly correlated with STEM studies. 

     While there are many opinions over the topic of our national focus towards the field of STEM, it's important to highlight that not all teachers are exactly familiar with the new foundational switch our schools are developing. Sharleen Nelson, in "You Don't Have to be a Scientist to Incorporate STEM", explains her story and approach to including STEM topics in her classroom. With a favorable background in technology, Nelson found a strong motivation to include STEM subjects in her classroom, but finding how to integrate it into her elementary education was the question. Her answer - read the classroom a book, "Sheep in a Jeep", which brought them a foundational learning of force and inertia. Through her article, Nelson illustrates how you don't have to be an expert on STEM to teach it, but an attitude of exploration and innovation will enable a teacher to actually "learn" more while educating their classroom on STEM.

     STEM is becoming more and more important on the national level in the United States. Not only does it have an important stress on the applicable fields of all the technical subjects, but it truly does benefit our students with important analytical skills. While it's important that we maintain our focus and strides on these important subjects, we shouldn't deviate our focus away from the equally-important subjects of the humanities. As Edmonds wrote, STEM & humanities should go hand in hand for our students, because a wholesome learner is the best learner we could possibly have. 


Larry Edmonds, Cindy Moss "Are We Shifting Too Much Focus to Stem"
Sara Hunter "You Don't Have to be a Scientist to Incorporate STEM"

Game-Based Learning

     Game-based learning is an advancing theory that comes hand in hand with the modern age of technology. Video games are one of the most popular avenues of technology regarding children & teens, but educational video games are also at a rise at mobile learning and the use of technology is becoming more and more widespread. While video games are noticed for their recreational purposes, they may play a large role in new ways that our students are able to tackle educational subjects.

     For instance, in "Teach Your Budding Scientists to be Gamers", Timothy Barko and Troy Sadler created an educational biotechnology game - "MBt" - that put students in the role of scientists. Students would learn basic information such as beginning laboratory skills and objects to advanced curriculum like the causes for viruses and outbreaks. The video game platform of "MBt" is able to teach students various amounts of information on biotechnology, and Barko and Sadler explained that students and teachers responded well to the video game in their classrooms. Teachers were surprised at the way "MBt" was able to connect with and inspire students.

     Video games are an interesting platform for educational purposes, but the use of gaming tools improves student engagement in school. While traditional classrooms may not be the most exciting or interesting to some students, game-based learning is a modern interactive tool that is able to create excitement about learning. In "Build Engagement & Knowledge One Block at a Time with Minecraft", Peter Tromba creates a small class os students that learn educational subjects through the open-world sanbox game of "Mindcraft". Tromba reported that parents were finding that their students had more excitement for school, and were more engaged in educational tasks because they were interested in learning through the game.

     In this day and age, children and teenagers are usually the highest demographic of video game players. It is important that our schools are able to connect with students, so advancing mobile learning and game-based learning is a simple way for schools to connect with students. Using technology also bridges an even stronger connection with students. It provides them with an abundance of resources to promote successful learning, and game-based learning is another platform that would be beneficial for so many students out there. Barko & Sadlers' "MBt" is a strong example of how games can bring various knowledge to students in a fun and informative way, and future research and attempts at integrating game-based learning in schools will possibly correlate with higher engagement and successful students.

"Teach Your Budding Scientists to be Gamers" - Timothy Barko & Troy D. Sadler
"Build Engagement & Knowledge One Block at a Time with Minecraft" - Peter Tromba

   

Mobile Learning

     Modern life has reached new bounds with technology. Technology has already transformed the life of students, but now we have even more personal technological devices - such as laptops, tablets, and cellphones that might possibly transform the styles of teaching in schools and the lives of students and teachers at a national level.

     Helen Crompton, in "The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning", explains the numerous benefits that mobile learning brings to schools. Mobile learning adds a new platform that connects well with the students, and by offering academic lessons and tools through personal devices - such as tablets, phones, etc. - the opportunities for success are sure to rise for students. Crompton describes mobile learning as "learning through multiple contexts". Traditional classrooms can go so far in transferring knowledge, and adding the context of learning through mobile devices may correlate with student success by giving them another way to educate themselves.

     Mobile technology also offers stronger educational resources for students with special needs. In "Mobile Technology Opens Doors-and Eyes-for the Blind", Sharleen Nelson explains how the use of the mobile device, iTouch, motivated a blind student - Val Bernal - to finally stick to learning brail. The device was able to give positive voice reinforcement, which motivated Bernal further, and now he's brail-literate. Mobile learning seems to have many opportunities to advance learning in all aspects of our classrooms. It is a platform that is able to help students learn in different ways.

     Although mobile learning does add another context of learning subject material, Crompton also highlights the fact that the price of mobile learning programs are also a critical restraint in school's abilities to provide their students with mobile technology. This is the biggest impediment facing mobile learning advocates, but they also face changed in the traditional pedagogy that educators have held on to. Welcoming new technology means educators must learn new ways to integrate mobile learning into their classrooms, while also making sure the new devices don't put students off task. All in all, mobile learning would be a huge change for classrooms - meaning the traditional way of classrooms would surely change.

     With the continuing rise of technology, it would be ridiculous if schools didn't look for a way to integrate it into their curriculums. However, I find it hard to mix the use of mobile learning with the attention spans of the students today. I feel that with a rise of technology in classrooms will mix with a rise of distractions, so I think it'll take awhile for administrators/educators to find the right way to assimilate mobile learning in their classrooms. I think the idea is well worth it, but implementing it will be harder due to the cost of the programs and the consequences of creating distractions for students.



"The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning" - Helen Crompton (Sept/Oct 2013)
"Mobile Technology Opens Doors-and Eyes-for the Blind" - Sharleen Nelson (Sept/Oct 2013)