Building Engagement With Technology-Enhanced Local Learning

Publications

Drawing on a multi-year research and development program, the authors report on the promise of integrating locally-focused student investigations with ubiquitous access to advanced technologies. By doing this, students are better able to see the relevance of STEM skills and knowledge as they work to improve their local communities. Specific program examples cited show the paradigm as it has been implemented with upper elementary and middle school students. Contrasting examples show challenges in implementation. A four-part framework of essential program elements is offered to guide further

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Women, Gender, and Science: New Directions

Publications

What do research on women in science and research on science and gender have to do with each other? This volume brings together prominent historians and philosophers of science to examine women's participation in science, gender and science, and the potential for interaction between these two pieces of a larger puzzle. The eleven chapters included here explore a number of interrelated topics: the experiences of individual women working in science; the demographic patterns of and support for women in specific fields; the gendered construction of scientific education and terminology; the impact

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Gender and Science Digital Library (GSDL)

Publications

The Gender & Science Digital Library (GSDL) is a cutting-edge, collaborative project between the Gender & Diversities Institute at Education Development Center, Inc (EDC) and the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) at Ohio State University. It is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF has established the National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Digital Library program (NSDL) – a massive, international initiative which will result in a network of learning environments and resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM)

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Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing

Publications

Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing examines the gender gap in computer science. Women, by and large, are underrepresented in all segments of information technology, from enrollment in courses in high schools and colleges to the numerous employment opportunities associated with the discipline. Authors Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher detail the findings of over 100 interviews with computer science students at Carnegie Mellon University. These interviews, of both male and female students, document the various challenges faced by females pursuing career opportunities in computer science

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ASU program fosters interest for women, minorities

News

The National Science Foundation recently gave Tirupalavanam Ganesh, assistant dean for information systems at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, a $1 million grant to pilot the ITEST Learning through Engineering Design and Practice project at two junior high schools in the Mesa Unified School District. Ganesh and his team hope the students will get hooked on technology by using it in innovative and socially relevant ways, he said. Their

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Contest helps boost math, science skills

News

The Global Challenge, a Vermont-based contest and ITEST project aimed at improving American high school students' math and science skills, brings together 58 teams of American students coupled with students from China, India, and Japan to tackle technological solutions to global warming during the school year. Teams chat online, divide jobs based on skill, consult with advisers, and in the final grueling weeks, write a professional business plan.

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Congratulations to Sarita Saju: student in ITEST-Nano program wins science award 

News

Sarita Saju, student from George Washington High School involved in the ITEST-Nano program (also known as Nanotechnology and Bioengineering in Philadelphia Public Schools), recently received top awards at science fairs for her nanotechnology project, titled "Polymer-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes as Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors." Her project was based on work during her internship with expert scientists from the School of Engineering and

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World’s busiest Web site headquarters hosts, mentors PV youth

News

ITEST project the Girl Game Company took its 40 middle school girl participants on a half-day field trip to visit Google headquarters. The girls were able to interact with elite computer engineers, check out what it's like to work in a corporate environment, and present their software creations to Google engineers. Field trips and partnerships like this are important in helping youth understand the real-world application of the skills they

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Exploratorium sponsors tech outreach program

News

The ITEST X-Tech program's goal is to foster critical thinking among its participants. Drawing from local, underserved populations, this program requires its participants to commit for two years, including summers--90% of participants stick with it.

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WHS girls earn national recognition for their tech knowledge

News

Watsonville High School freshmen Idzel Cano and Brianna Flores are students participating in “Tech Teach,” part of Watsonville TEC (also known as ITEST project Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia), as high school instructors who teach middle school students computer operation and webpage design. Years prior, as middle school students at Lakeview Elementary, Cano and Flores were part of an after school program called the Girl Game Company, in

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