STEM

NSF awards $19 mil in environmental ed grants

By Paul Katula •
The National Science Foundation awarded six organizations some very big grants in order to make education about climate change more effective in our schools. One grant recipient from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science noted that the subject was controversial, and he's right.

Environmental literacy summit in Allegany County

By Paul Katula •
A summit at a beautiful site in Allegany County, Md., brought more than 160 educators together to share ideas about teaching environmental literacy from every school system in Maryland. A time to learn and love the outdoors.

Voxitatis releases graphic demonstration tool: compare fractions on wheels

By Paul Katula •
Voxitatis has released a second hands-on "demo" in mathematics, aligned to grade 4 of the Common Core. This one is derived from the open-source version of an earlier demo about comparing fractions that may have unlike denominators. Use it as a demo in front of a classroom or study group, then let kids play on their own and explore fraction comparisons.

Voxitatis releases math manipulative for comparing 4 fractions using fraction bars

By Paul Katula •
Voxitatis has released the first of many hands-on learning tools to come, emphasizing our core belief that kids learn by doing and by exploring concepts in a trial-and-error fashion. This first one is about comparing fractions that may have unlike denominators, and it's a lot better than online drills and practice problems. The US Common Core puts this at about Grade 4.

Maryland 3rd-graders at a crime scene camp

By Paul Katula •
Students in Maryland attended a crime scene camp last month, and from this we can see why juries have noticed a "CSI Effect" and why students learn by participating in activities that put information into a context of something that's important to them.

Teachers build robots at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

By Paul Katula •
Teachers in Freeport, Ill., joined others from across the state at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to build a talented robot. This robot could even pick up trash around a shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Great learning experience.

Perseids meteor shower, one of the year's best, peaks this weekend

By Paul Katula •
This year, the Perseids meteor shower should put on quite a show, peaking in the early morning Sunday but, unfortunately, after sunrise in the US. Viewing should be awesome on Saturday night, though, before the moon rises just after midnight.

The Mars rover 'Curiosity' has landed safely

By Paul Katula •
Some of the first images are now available from Curiosity, the Mars largest and most advanced Mars rover ever sent into space, which landed successfully on a flat surface late in the evening on Aug. 5.

Kansas board candidates scrutinized about evolution

By Paul Katula •
In Kansas, where the whole creationism-evolution debate for our public schools began more than a decade ago, candidates for seats on the State Board of Education are being questioned about their beliefs and how they feel about changing the state's biology curriculum for the sixth time since 1997.