STEM & MakerSpaces: Cheap or FREE!

Amy Farkas

STEM/Technology Educator

Seitz Middle School

Riverview Community School District

afarkas@riverviewschools.com

Link to this presentation at: https://goo.gl/LUjfEX

@FarkasSTEM #FarkasSTEM

What is STEM?

MakerSpaces in STEM LabsMakerSpaces are a great addition to any STEM Lab!

They give students places to engineer, explore and imagine!

Ask parents for a list of common household items to help stock

yours without breaking the bank $$$:

https://goo.gl/m3TeQr

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

MakerSpaces

The EDP

Engineering Design Process

Engineering Design Process

eGFI for EngineeringClick this link to access the Teacher Welcome page:

http://goo.gl/gtqaOg

Teaching Channel https://goo.gl/sQXw4E

Scratch (scratch.mit.edu)Scratch uses Block Style Coding with commands/properties for

each block. Scratch translates very naturally to LEGO

Mindstorms.

PBS Digital Media: NOVA LABShttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/

PBS Learning Media created 6 individual Labs that use

technology to learn about science.

NASA’s BEST (Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology)

http://goo.gl/nHbYMt

NASA's Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology, or BEST, activity guides

bring the principles of engineering alive to younger audiences. The content in the

guides can be used to supplement curricula during the school day or as activities for

after-school clubs. Educators may use the materials as a set or as individual activities.

NASA's BEST activity guides help teach students the engineering design process. The

guides accommodate three grade groups (K-2, 3-5 or 6-8), and all follow the same set

of activities.

NASA Opportunities for Educatorshttp://goo.gl/ty1nmQ

Khan AcademyKhan Academy partnered with NASA to explain

astronomy and space exploration:

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/nasa

Other STEM areas can be searched by topic, with

courses available for anything from Engineering

disciplines to Agricultural Science!

Energy.govClick this link for the Energy.gov Teach and Learn Page

http://energy.gov/eere/education/teach-and-learn

This portion of the site is searchable for lesson plans:

http://goo.gl/y2gf4S

Link Engineeringhttp://linkengineering.org/

http://www.teachengineering.org/

https://phet.colorado.edu/PhET Simulations

http://www.discovere.org/DiscoverE

http://www.eie.org/engineering-everywhereEiE - Engineering is Everywhere

Nat Geo Innovation Labhttp://education.nationalgeographic.org/innovation-lab/

Explore Learning: Gizmos ($)https://www.explorelearning.com/

Learning Gizmos are not free, but the 30 day trial is enough time to work through multiple simulations with your class if your timing is planned correctly.

InstructablesInstructables.com provides instructions on how to do or create just

about anything you can imagine! This is the MacGyver of websites,

it can give you instructions on how to design/make/engineer any

project you can think of!

Here is a link to an Educator’s Guide and helpful Student Rubric:

http://goo.gl/HTDeas

3D Design with Tinkercadwww.tinkercad.com with www.thingiverse.com

Teachers Pay TeachersWhile some STEM teachers may eschew the use of pre-paid lessons, I find that they save me formating time. Here are a few that I use and highly recommend:

The Nitty Gritty of Teaching STEM: https://goo.gl/BxKWQ6

Intro to STEM Critical Thinking: https://goo.gl/MvTUst

Mystery Design Box Challenges: https://goo.gl/LInfHU

STEM BuddiesWe meet once per month with 5th graders from Huntington Elementary School for STEM Buddies. The 8th grade STEM students foster a mentoring relationship, and they work together to complete an engineering design project.

Some Additional STEM Resourceshttps://goo.gl/zxPIz5

This link will take you to a document that I update periodically

with websites and projects for STEM classes.

@FarkasSTEM #FarkasSTEM

afarkas@riverviewschools.com