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In celebration of the 2012 theme, Greening STEM: The Environment as Inspiration for 21st Century Learning, EE Week is highlighting five organizations from around the country that are connecting STEM to the environment in unique and creative ways. One of these projects is ITEST's own SENSE IT, highlighted for its flexible instructional modules that can be used in many educational contexts and for a range of youth.

Amid its sea breezes, stately oaks and softly-treading deer, Ossabaw Island has seen an unusual amount of student activity this summer, a situation that will help bring this singular environment into classrooms across the state. Located just seven miles from Savannah, yet accessible only by boat, this barrier island is the host for OssaBest, an ITEST project that brought 40 students and 30 teachers from Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools

Launched in 2007 by ETR Associates, a Scotts Valley-based nonprofit focused on health, education and social service issues, Watsonville TEC (also known as ITEST project Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia) has grown from a small program serving middle school girls (known as the ITEST Girl Game Company) to include video game programming classes for middle school boys, separate computer skills tutorials for fifth graders and for parents, and

The Virtual Hall of Science has the potential to extend those lessons well beyond the New York Hall of Science’s brick-and-mortar walls and reach students all over the world. Built by NYC middle and high schoolers over the course of two years, this ITEST project not only provides interactive installations to the general public, but also cultivated the teamwork, illustration, and programming skills of its builders.

The under-representation of Latinos in fields like computer science and engineering troubled Watsonville TEC director Jacob Martinez and led him into a career where he teaches technology to students as early as the fifth grade. Watsonville TEC (also known as ITEST project Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia) is an after school program that will be in 14 Watsonville elementary and middle schools this year.For his efforts, Martinez will be

At the five-day Energy for ME Summer Institute students and teachers from six middle schools are gaining skills by working with Maine Energy Education Program (MEEP) instructors data literacy skills, geographic information system (GIS) and ethnography educators. The skills they learn from this ITEST project will help them develop projects in their communities to lower energy costs. Progress will be monitored by analyzing electricity usage in four

ITEST PI Tirupalavanam Ganesh has partnered with Kyrene Aprende Middle School to advance his educational outreach program, ITEST project Learning through Engineering Design and Practice, and enhance students' learning through STEM education by using real-world, hands-on experiences. Using inquiry-based methods, Ganesh's curriculum will expand to two other after school programs and also is used during school at a fourth middle school.

Watsonville High junior Stephanie Barraza won a national award for Aspirations in Computing from the National Center for Women and Information Technology in December. Barraza was one of 35 young women selected for the honor from more than 1,110 applicants, and she is just the next in a long line of Watsonville TEC graduates to garner accolades. Watsonville schools are quietly becoming a stronghold of young computer programmers, thanks to a small

RI Gov. Carcieri announced a $1.2-million grant from the National Science Foundation that will train 100 high school science teachers to use computer simulations as tools in the classroom, advancing the governor’s “Physics First” initiative. The molecular modeling software used as part of the RI-ITEST professional development requirements will be used to implement the new curriculum.

Led by UM Paleontology Center Director George Stanley, UM geologist and sediment specialist Marc Hendrix, and other university researchers, student-teacher teams from across Eastern Montana found, unearthed, photographed and recorded their discoveries as part of the Paleo Exploration Project, an ITEST project based out of the University of Montana.