Texas EcosySTEM Newsletter
Education Service Center Region 11 - December 2020
Texas EcosySTEM - Region 11
Newsletter Signup: From the dropdown, select TEXAS ECOSYSTEM!
Visit our Site: https://www.esc11.net/STEM
Vision: To provide quality solutions that build the capacity in STEM learning opportunities.
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STEM Showcase
Showcase Your Campus/District STEM
If you have a STEM event or program that you would like to feature in a Texas EcosySTEM newsletter, please send your information and a picture to Cheryl Bowden. We would love to help you show off the great things happening in your school!
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STEM Opportunities
NOAA Marine Debris Program
Marine debris is a constant and challenging threat to communities all over the world. As the school year begins, we are highlighting educational marine debris resources that highlight the problem in different locations and different languages. Whether you call it desechos marinos, ‘ōpala kai, or marine debris, we have resources for you!
Check it out here: Marine Debris Blog
Upper Trinity River Groundwater Conservation District
Teachers! Give your students interactive STEM sessions with the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. Learning about erosion, fossils, rocks, groundwater, human impacts, or conservation? Let our certified staff walk your students through a virtual activity trailer with six different exhibits, including a working 10’x10’ aquifer model! TEKS aligned for elementary and middle school levels, and all our services are 100% free to teachers.
Contact the District today to schedule your visit! Call (817) 523-5200, or visit uppertrinitygcd.com for more information.
Cyberstart America Promotes Cybersecurity Career Track for Texas High School Students
The online cyber games and competition, previously known as Girls Go CyberStart, is set to include a talent search sponsored by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation and the SANS Institute. In addition, they will be giving away two million dollars in scholarships. The games started Sunday, November 15th, but there is still time to register and complete the online cyber challenges to qualify for the games and scholarships in Spring 2021.
Your students do not need any prior experience! If they are interested in puzzles, games, online games (e.g., Fortnite, Sudoku, Rubix Cube, crossword puzzles, or chess), they would enjoy these free online cyber challenges!
There is also no requirement of your teachers, counselors, or staff to be advisors like previous years. However, if they would like additional educator resources, they can check out more free resources here.
Get the word out to your staff and get your students registered and playing today!
STEM 4 Innovation Virtual Conference
Contact Shelly Tornquist with any questions: stornquist@tamu.edu
OnRamps
OnRamps is one of The University of Texas at Austin’s signature initiatives designed to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities across Texas. It offers distance education through a dual enrollment model for high school students to engage in authentic college experiences and robust professional learning and development for their teachers to deepen their content knowledge and impact in the classroom. Serving tens of thousands, in partnership with districts and higher education institutions across the state, OnRamps helps reduce barriers to college readiness and increase the number and diversity of students who are on the path to postsecondary success.
There are 13 high-quality courses across STEM, Arts, and Humanities available. Learn more at onramps.utexas.edu.
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STEM Resources
NASA STEM Engagement for K-12 Educators
NASA’s journeys have propelled technological breakthroughs, pushed the frontiers of scientific research, and expanded our understanding of the universe. These accomplishments, and those to come, share a common genesis: education in science, technology, engineering, and math.
In NASA STEM Engagement, we deliver tools for young Americans and educators to learn and succeed. We seek to:
- Create unique opportunities for a diverse set of students to contribute to NASA’s work in exploration and discovery.
- Build a diverse future STEM workforce by engaging students in authentic learning experiences with NASA’s people, content, and facilities.
- Attract diverse groups of students to STEM through learning opportunities that spark interest and provide connections to NASA’s mission and work.
To achieve these goals, NASA STEM Engagement strives to increase K-12 involvement in NASA projects, enhance higher education, support underrepresented communities, strengthen online education, and boost NASA's contribution to informal education. The intended outcome is a generation prepared to code, calculate, design, and discover its way to a new era of American innovation.
For more information and to explore all of the options: NASA STEM ENGAGEMENT
National Family Code Nights
WeTeach_CS at the University of Texas in Austin wants to make you aware of an amazing opportunity for every elementary school in the state of Texas. We are pleased to invite every elementary school in Texas to participate in National Family Code Nights, a free live-stream family learning event for any K-5 school. Even when in-person school gatherings may be impossible, any K-5 school community can share this wonderful learning experience, in which each K-5 child pairs up with a parent or other older partner to do their very first hour of coding together! No experience needed! There is no cost to schools, and they will receive a Family Code Night set of materials to support getting information out to families.
It’s great fun, proven in thousands of schools nationwide, and now provided via a live-stream to any school. To get started, visit our UtakeIt site for information and then select your date at the CSisElementary.org link and distribute the provided invitation to families.
Contact Sheryl Roehl with any questions. sroehl@tacc.utexas.edu
Texas EcosySTEM Resources
The Texas Education Agency has developed tools to help districts engage with families through STEM Education programming and build awareness throughout the community by expanding learning beyond the classroom.
TEA STEM Toolkit
Planning Tools:
- STEM Model Identification Guide
- STEM Education Program Planning Guide
- STEM Leadership Roles and Responsibilities
- STEM Sustainability Tool
Implementation Tools:
U.S. Department of Education STEM & Computer Science
You can subscribe to the topics that most interest you. We encourage you to invite your colleagues and friends to sign up as well!
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What is STEM?
STEM is not a commodity to be bought, sold, earned, or awarded. It is an awareness, recognition, and acceptance of reality. A symbol of a way forward with confidence and hope!
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Contact Us! Region 11 STEM Lead - Cheryl Bowden
Each Education Service Center will provide free membership for districts to join the local STEM EcosySTEM.
EcosySTEM membership includes:
- Monthly STEM communication including information from the state and federal level
- Regional STEM goals developed by a local STEM Design Team and aligned to the local STEM labor market data
- Regular STEM ecosySTEM meetings to share local STEM opportunities and address local concerns
- All districts will have access to the free TEA STEM planning and implementation tools as well as family engagement tools
Email: cbowden@esc11.net
Website: https://www.esc11.net/STEM
Location: 1451 South Cherry Lane, White Settlement, TX, USA
Phone: (817) 740-7755
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esc11science/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @ESC11Science