Engage Students in the Art of Listening This Fall

Looking for a great way to engage high school students in the art of listening this November? The Great Thanksgiving Listen, a new oral-history project from StoryCorps, is a powerful exercise for teachers looking to give students opportunities to use their digital, planning, research, and communication skills in the context of a social studies class, journalism course, extracurricular activity, or integrated unit.

StoryCorps, an organization whose mission is to record and archive the stories of Americans from all backgrounds, will work with high school students across the country to preserve voices and stories of grandparents and other elders -- in any language. Incredibly, these interviews have the option to become part of a lasting record in the StoryCorps archive at theAmerican Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Everything educators will need to enlist students ages 13 and over can be found in StoryCorps’ new Free Teacher Toolkit: guidelines, lesson plans, permission forms, and more. All that is needed to participate is a smartphone and the free StoryCorps mobile app, available from the App Store and via Google Play. (The activities can be adapted for students who do not have access.)

Classroom Activities

1. Students can listen to classic StoryCorps recordings to familiarize themselves with recorded interviews, such as this interview between Joshua Littman and his mother, Sarah.
2. As students prepare for interviews, ask them to consider the qualities of great questions as they review StoryCorps' "Great Questions." Two other resources that might help students prepare are The American Folklife Center's "Interviewing Tips for Oral History Interviews," and "Tips for Interviewers" from the Regional Oral History Office at the University of California, Berkeley.
3. StoryCorps' worksheet, available in the Toolkit Appendix, will help students write and upload archive-quality titles, summaries, and keywords for their recordings.
4. Teachers may involve students in follow-up and reflection activities using questions and suggestions from the Toolkit. To extend the project, find other potential activities in Edutopia’s "Living Legends: Oral-History Projects Bring Core Subjects to Life" and "Empowering Students Through Multimedia Storytelling."  

Source: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/engage-students-great-thanksgiving-listen-ashley-cronin

Nonprofit Creates Virtual Science Lab for K-12 Students

Students 2 Science, Inc., (S2S) has created a first-of-its-kind virtual science lab to bring hands-on science learning to K-12 students across the country.

Stepping Outside the Brick-and-Mortar Boundaries

It has launched the Virtual Laboratory Program (V-Lab), which is a "[w]eb-based, hybrid, distance learning program for K-12 students. It delivers high quality, standards-aligned inquiry-based, hands-on science education to students -- including those with special needs -- in classroom settings, as well as at hospitals and after-school programs," S2S said in a statement.

The V-Lab was conceptualized after S2S sought out ways to reach more students other than the ones in close proximity to the brick-and-mortar facilities it was previously providing.

Smart Partnerships Provide Network of Professional Scientists

Its partnerships with Connectivity, Inc and the American Chemical Society have helped it strengthen the content of its V-Lab program. Thanks to its partnership with the American Chemical Society, it has access to both use of its content and a network of professional scientists to act as mentors for participating K-12 students.

After a successful pilot program to over 500 participating students, a number with special needs, V-Lab will make its way into more schools this year.

Pilot Program Indicates Early Success

"Earlier this year, S2S piloted V-Lab in 11 New Jersey K-12 schools, as well as at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC). Based on its success and expressed demand, S2S's goal is to expand into an additional 10 to 15 schools with roughly 100 sessions, serving more than 2,500 students throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York," the statement said.

Hackensack University Medical Center was one of the participants of the pilot program; teachers at the center liked the program so much, they will continue using it for the next semester.

"The V-Lab experience was one the children won't soon forget," said Sarah Donnangelo, Coordinator of Educational Services, Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center. "It brought to them not only the fun and excitement of doing hands-on science experiments with real-live scientists, but also a sense of normalcy to their lives. We plan on hosting a V-Lab again this semester."

Read more about S2S and V-Lab here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/nonprofit-creates-virtual-science-lab-k-12-students-857695469#sthash.Xl6g66AE.dpuf

'Code Your Future' Webinar to Bring Awareness to the Importance of Coding in K-12

Coding is becoming a focal point in the STEM push for K-12 schools across the nation. PCS Edventures! will host a webinar in October to show why coding is an essential aspect of K-12 STEM education.

“PCS Edventures!, experts in hands-on educational products for classroom, after-school and home learning, has announced that registration is now open for the educational webinar – “Code Your Future: Why Programming is an Essential Part of STEM Education,” according to a recent press release.

“Code Your Future” is meant to shed light on a new phenomenon that is taking STEM learning by storm. If you ever questioned why, this webinar promises to answer that question and further prove why coding is necessary in grades K-12.

Unfortunately the program is limited to 1,000 registrations making it a limited event. Schools nationwide could benefit from the information, which includes, interactive game development, key skills coders should have and what it takes to be successful in the programming industry.

It’s essentially giving students who are interested in coding a glimpse into a very bright future and allowing them to see tech's real life applications.

“There is a growing movement nationwide that recognizes the gap in STEM education and this educational webinar will provide testimony of how early computer programming training can impact a child’s future,” said Robert Grover, Co-CEO of PCS Edventures.

“Computer science and coding remain central to defining the future careers of our children and we want to gain more support and participation from parents and educators to achieve results that will engage students in computer science topics at an early age.”

By preparing students for a future in a growing industry, administrators and educators will be able to give purpose to the added technology in the classrooms as well as bring diversity to the classroom in terms of overall interest in coding. The “Code Your Future” webinar is scheduled for October 14.

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