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STEAM Newsletter – Friday, September 1, 2023
STEAM Newsletter Vol. 33
Fall Engagement Opportunities!
Get set for a stimulating September with an array of engaging events in the world of education and STEAM! Organizations across the state will ignite a passion for STEAM careers through exciting initiatives such as the Peoria Career Spark on September 28-29 in Peoria, the Northern Illinois University STEM Fest on September 30 in DeKalb, and the University of Illinois Vet Med Open House on October 1 in Urbana.
This newsletter includes a series of enriching online and in-person workshops and discussions as examples of opportunities to expand your knowledge and spark new interests. On September 8, join the Library Media Specialist Networking Meeting for insightful exchanges. On September 11, dive into the realm of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT for educators. Also on September 11, connect with fellow CS & STEM educators to enhance your lessons. On September 12, engage in a discussion addressing social media, current events, and tech in schools.
On September 14 and 15, explore digital literacy during a two-day conference. On September 21, press "Start" on your district's esports program with LTC's Holly Kelly. Lastly, mark your calendars for October 14, when Science Works presents a museum-wide career celebration spotlighting thrilling careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) during Hispanic Heritage Month at the Museum of Science and Industry. These events promise to spark inspiration and open doors to boundless opportunities!
Let off some STEAM with these fun activities!
Recent News on STEAM
“Students interested in designing, developing, building, and testing rovers for Moon and Mars exploration are invited to submit their proposals to NASA through Thursday, Sept. 21.
The complete details on how to participate in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge are available online. To learn more, challenge experts are hosting two webinars at 10 a.m. EDT, and again at 6 p.m., on Thursday, Aug. 24. The virtual sessions will outline the proposal processes, and requires pre-registration.
"Our Human Exploration Rover Challenge will focus on an immersive story based on proposed NASA-use cases for crewed and uncrewed rovers during upcoming Artemis missions, including exploring permanently shadowed regions, positioning to recharge batteries, power and data exchange with other surface assets, and storing collected samples,” said Vemitra Alexander, challenge activity lead for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. “Students must determine why an autonomous rover exploring the shadowed regions has gone out of contact and, if possible, attempt to repair the robotic rover.""
"With funding from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) and other NIEHS programs, researchers at the Oregon State University (OSU) SRP Center developed a simple, non-invasive approach to monitor personal chemical exposures using silicone wristbands. The highly sensitive wristbands can be used to measure exposure to low levels of hundreds of chemicals, offering a unique tool to better understand the complex mixtures people may be exposed to throughout daily life.
“The wristbands have many advantages compared to traditional personal monitoring approaches,” said Kim Anderson, Ph.D., an OSU SRP team lead. “They are small and lightweight, and people can wear them all day as they go about their various activities, commuting, working, cooking, exercising, and sleeping. The wristbands can answer questions about personal exposure to a range of chemicals that we hadn’t been able to address at the individual level in the past.""
Upcoming Events
Fri. Sep 8 | 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Online
“Join the LTC’s Holly Kelly for a monthly virtual networking meeting explicitly geared to the needs of today’s library media specialists. These meetings will allow attendees to connect and discuss shared experiences, ask questions, and share ideas with other library media specialists from around the state. This will be an excellent opportunity to receive professional development hours while collaborating with your peers to solve today’s most pressing library media challenges.”
Mon. Sep 11 | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | Online
"Join us as we delve into the fascinating realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and its incredible potential in education. This workshop offers educators a comprehensive exploration of AI’s fundamentals, advantages, and limitations, along with invaluable insights into leveraging AI tools to elevate teaching and learning experiences in the classroom.
In addition, participants will have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with ChatGPT3, discovering its impressive capabilities and recognizing the boundaries it operates within. This groundbreaking, state-of-the-art language model will be showcased as a powerful tool for generating captivating and innovative educational content."
Mon. Sep 11 | 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm | Online
"During this month’s meeting, we’ll talk about all the standards you can use to guide your CS and STEM lessons while also highlighting overlapping concepts woven into other core content standards. This is a great opportunity to make your CS and STEM program even more relevant and applicable to students by discovering how your fellow educators align, plan, and assess activities related to STEM and CS in their classrooms.
Calling all K-12 computer science and STEM educators! Join your peers from across the state each month for an informative, engagement-rich networking meeting centered on topics that matter most to you."
Tue. Sep 12 | 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm | Online
Addressing Social Media, Current Events, and Tech in Schools
"Every day, students are flooded with social media posts, comments from friends, changing tech trends, and a variety of societal pressures. Schools try to support student well-being throughout all of this, but the task is vast, complicated, and nuanced. In some cases, educators find themselves working in a space that’s not just new to them, but also rapidly evolving.
How can teachers and education leaders stay ahead of this curve while supporting their students’ mental health? Join us for an empowering and interactive discussion geared toward helping K-12 educators understand these challenges and implement proven strategies already in use in numerous innovative school districts.
During this discussion, attendees will learn:
- 5 best practices for modernizing life skills and social media education
- The latest research behind why schools are adopting a positive approach to social media that empowers and equips students, rather than scares and restricts
- The role of social media and technology in student mental health across several age groups
Illinois educators who attend live can earn 1.0 PD credit."
“Join education stakeholders from around Illinois for a two-day conference centered on digital literacy, with presenters offering their views on how to best integrate this new literacy into instruction across subject areas and grade levels. With this knowledge, educators will be better able to guide their students toward becoming productive, ethical, and empathetic digital citizens – both as consumers and as creators.”
Thu. Sep 21 | 9:00 am - 11:00 am | Online
"Join the LTC’s Holly Kelly for a primer on kickstarting an esports program in your district. This multi-hour session will focus in on the background knowledge needed to initiate a successful esports program, including:
- Game and league options
- Current trends in esports
- Coaching tips and strategies
- Hardware/software needs and recommendations
- Streaming and broadcasting options
- Potential costs
This session will cover information relevant to elementary, middle, and high school program, too, so all teachers and administrators curious about esports in education are encouraged to attend.
Already have a fledgling esports program in your district? Join us for the opportunity to share your experiences and learn the latest best practices for maintaining a successful program across multiple grade levels."
Sat. Sep 30 | 10 am - 4 pm | NIU's Campus (NIU Holmes Student Center) DeKalb
"STEM Fest is a celebration of all things science, technology, engineering and math. This free event is held each year in the fall on the campus of Northern Illinois University and features more than 100 exhibits, speakers, and demonstrations designed to inspire and engage guests of all ages with opportunities for STEM learning. It is one of the largest free family events in northern Illinois."
Sun. Oct 1 | 10 am - 4 pm | Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building, Urbana
"Come to learn about the superheroes who save animals and advance science, but don’t wear capes.
Thousands of people attend Open House, which has informative booths and exhibits throughout the veterinary campus, including in the Large Animal Clinic, the Basic Sciences Building, and the Clinical Skills Learning Center. Most booths are open throughout the day, from 10 am to 4 pm. Please check the program at the Welcome Booth when you arrive."
Oct. 14 | 9:30am to 2:30pm | Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago
"Learn about cool jobs and hot careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) straight from the professionals at our Museum-wide career celebration.
In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, Science Works will feature dynamic speakers, hands-on activities and one-on-one discussions. Youth and their families can discover what interesting jobs the STEM fields have to offer, see how to turn their passion into a career, and get advice on pursuing a future in STEM."
Educator's Corner
STEAM resources for in-person, hybrid, remote learning, and professional development
STEAM Resources Spotlight
"During summer, we receive the maximum flux of photons from the sun due to the Earth’s slight tilt in its direction. At roughly the latitude of Chicago, the flux of photons is three times greater at midday in the peak of summer than during midwinter.
The sun emits photons in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, but the majority are from the visible, infrared and ultraviolet segments. Ultraviolet radiation plays an essential role in maintaining plant and animal life, but it has also consistently been identified as a cause of skin cancer. Understanding why is the first step to understanding how sunscreen protects us from it."
Credits: Claire Malone
"The Illinois Student Invention Convention is a free invention education curriculum and competition that is now available to K-8th grade classrooms across the state. To learn how to bring invention education to your classroom, register on their website to attend a training session. All attending educators will receive PDHs towards their licensure. Register today!"
Training Announcement (Fall Training Dates)
- Thursday, September 7th 4:30-6:30pm (Virtual)
- Thursday, September 14th 4:30-6:30pm (Virtual)
- Tuesday, September 19th 4:30-6:30pm (Virtual)
- Tuesday, September 26th 4:30-6:30pm (Virtual)
- Tuesday, October 3rd 4:30-6:30pm (Virtual)
The 'A' in STEAM
"Arts foster scientific success" -Dr. Temple Grandin
This series is dedicated to showing how art and creativity play a crucial role in our society within the STEM fields.
"As we enter a new era of technology and creativity, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the landscape of art and design education.
AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and advanced generative AI systems, such as Midjourney, Dall-e and Stable Diffusion, have raised concerns about AI’s potential to facilitate plagiarism in educational settings. But what about the impact of AI on the creative process itself? Many worry that the integration of AI in art education will diminish the role of human creativity and innovation.” Credits: Nikhil Ghodke
Credits : Kimberly Goff
Please submit STEAM ideas, comments, or questions using our contact us form.
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