Driven by scholarly work that promotes incorporating the study of social justice issues in the engineering curriculum, this work-in-progress paper focuses on teaching social and critical consciousness in engineering. The purpose of this study is to discuss and compare the implementation of social and critical consciousness in a first-year general education engineering course and a senior design engineering course.
This paper addresses the need for enhancing our awareness of user‐centered design in educational technology through a more explicit and systematic alignment between the needs of educational technology users (learners and educators) and the affordances provided by the technology. First, we define the term “affordance” and discuss it from the perspectives of cognitive psychology and user interaction design. Next, we propose a taxonomy of functional affordances that builds on prior research and reflects the current trends in the design of educational technologies. The paper is concluded with an
A new educational curriculum established by the University of Florida and the Florida Museum of National History is using 3D printing technology to bring kids closer to our pre-historic forebears. The program is known as iDigFossils, and a report in Paleontological Society Special Publications titled ''3-D Fossils for K-12 Education: A Case Example Using the Giant Extinct Sharkcarcharocles Megalodon’' suggests that it is having great success.
A recently conducted case study on the effectiveness of utilizing 3D printing technology to teach intricate subjects within science to young students showcases what researchers from the University of Florida have been working on in a National Science Foundation-funded program called iDigFossils that offers curriculum on intricate subjects such as evolution and climate change through the usage of 3D printed fossil replicas. The case study of the
A UF professor will help give 3-D printers and scanners to children in Florida and California. Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, a UF associate professor of educational technology, helped lead “iDigFossils,” a project awarded almost $1.2 million by the National Science Foundation. The funding to give students scanners and printers started Monday. The 3-year project will allow kindergarten through high-school students to develop skills and interest in
Computer science education researchers, leaders from colleges of education, teacher educators, and computer scientists from across the U.S. participated in a workshop to address critical questions related to the integration of computing education into schools of education. The National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored conference was held in New York City April 8 and 9 and focused on bringing computer science into colleges of education around
In this paper, we share our experiences implementing a professional development program in two school districts with middle school teachers who integrated an introductory computer science curriculum into their teaching. The 15 to 20–hour curriculum was based on students collaboratively creating mobile apps for socially relevant purposes with MIT App Inventor. Eleven teachers infused the curriculum into technology, math, engineering, library and art courses. We investigated how teachers modified the curriculum to fit their respective standards and students’ needs. We discuss the challenges they
MIT App Inventor has enabled middle school students to learn computing while creating their own apps-including apps that serve community needs. However, few resources exist for building apps that gather and share data. There is a need for new tools and instructional materials for students to build data-enbaled, community-focused apps. We developed an extension for App Inventor, called AppleVis, which allows app-makers to publish and retrieve data from our existing web-based collaborative data visualization platform.
Supported by the National Science Foundation as part of its commitment to preparing future generations for STEM-related careers and rapidly changing work environments, the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program at NYU Tandon centers on robotics and engineering design, as well as entrepreneurship, to help teachers develop their own technical skills and spearhead robotics curricula and after-school programs at
Going Green! Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World (MSOSW) focuses on students using energy monitoring equipment to assess the amount of standby power consumed by their home entertainment devices and appliances when not performing any useful functions. This program focuses on improving the STEM pipeline by preparing both teachers and students in engaging activities aimed at creating and increasing interest in STEM careers for students. Teachers who participated in this hands-on, real world curriculum project, that included professional development, project tools and resources, gained in their