News From TechTerra
March 2017
NCTIES 2017, STEM and Making in North Carolina
By, Susan Wells, Founder
The 2017 NCTIES (the North Carolina Technology in Education Society) conference held in the Raleigh Convention Center was impressive. TechTerra hosted activities for the Maker Playground, in addition to sharing hands-on STEM tools in the expo space. Our mission blends perfectly with NCTIES’ overall goal of boosting digital learning.
Demonstrating our favorite digital tools allowed us to have many conversations with educators exploring STEM and Making. It is always great to see educators interacting with our tools and thinking about applying what they see in their own classrooms. An important part of what TechTerra offers educators is training to help them integrate the tools they see, hold, and use at a conference into their classrooms.
Hawai’i Middle School Students Win Regional Sea Perch Challenge with Student-Built Remotely Operated Submersibles
By, Dan Mawyer
This February, students from the Middle School Robotics program at Holy Family Catholic Academy (HCFA) in Honolulu, Hawai`i achieved First Place and Second Place awards in the Regional Sea Perch Challenge. The challenge was part of the national Sea Perch program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the United States Coast Guard. The program provides an opportunity for students from around the US to design, construct, and pilot their own fully submersible Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV’s), while engaging with a curriculum in physics and engineering. Competitions are held in regions all around the US each year.
HFCA students built their ROV over a series of build sessions and workshops, and then visited the U.S. Coast Guard base on Sand Island in Honolulu to test, observe, modify, and refine their creations in preparation for the Hawai’i Regional Sea Perch Challenge. As part of their preparations, the HFCA team welcomed Coast Guard professionals, including engineers, systems designers, pilots and others, into their school community to help them. Together they soldered circuit boards from scratch, drilled and cut pieces, waterproofed, and connected motors and propellers to their ROV. Captain Edward Sheppard from the USCG led the team in an exploration of the physics and forces which would influence the performance of their vehicle underwater, such as buoyancy, drag, thrust and hydrodynamics.
On competition day, the HFCA team piloted their ROV through a complex underwater obstacle course in a timed competitive setting against nearly 45 other teams from regional public and private schools. Next, the team was confronted with the Sea Perch Challenge course, where they were required to use their ROV to manipulate a series of rings and blocks underwater to complete variously scored objectives. At the end of the day, in their first year of competition, the team was honored to receive First and Second place awards in the Middle School Beginner division, logging impressive scores on both the obstacle and challenge courses.
USCG staff also provided tours of their facilities, various Coast Guard vessels, and aircraft, and even let students pilot real-life Coast Guard-deployed ROVs on base! The HFCA Robotics team was thrilled with their great showing, and can’t wait to enter again next year, this time in the advanced division where they will have a shot at achieving a spot at the Nationals in the Sea Perch Competition.
My First SXSWEdu 2017
By, Sharon Schlatterer Cock
TechTerra Education pulled out all the stops at South by Southwest (SXSW) Edu 2017. This major conference and festival, focusing on innovation in learning, was well attended and action-packed. This was TechTerra’s second year at SXSWEdu, and my first year helping TechTerra keep up with excited attendees’ questions and interests.
SXSWEdu, is part of the larger group of events hosted by SXSW. This multi-dimensional conference/exposition focused on innovative learning across many disciplines. The exhibition was a non-stop, two day experience. Many groups displayed, performed, spoke, and shared. TechTerra was one of the 100 plus booths that ran for both days of the expo.
Even before the doors opened the TechTerra booth was busy as other exhibitors in the hall came to visit and ask questions. Once the doors opened we did not slow down for a minute.
Attendees clustered around TechTerra’s booth trying innovative hands-on tools from the opening of conference until cleanup. They asked for information about TechTerra Training, Tools, Camps, and MakerSpace experiences. They were drawn to our in-depth demonstrations of the tools we had to show. Primo Toy's Cubetto garnered a great deal of attention. Attendees, and the students who visited on the Open to the Public Tuesday, asked to see and try everything. I enjoyed sharing with our visitors that my 5 year old learned to code this past summer using Cubetto and seeing the astonishment on many faces. Another TechTerra favorite was Future Makes’ new 3D cool ink pen, a hit with adults and children alike. This truly was an action-packed show for us and for all the attendees we had the pleasure of meeting.
On to California for CUE 2017
CUE (Computer Using Educators) is the largest and oldest edtech conference on the West Coast. We were first-timers for CUE 2017 and didn't know what to expect. We had heard that CUE attendees were very interested in learning and in finding new tools for their schools and districts. And indeed, we found that to be the case.
Arriving late Sunday afternoon we began setting up at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The beautiful convention center is surrounded by majestic mountains. Glass is everywhere to let natural light in. The setting, in and of itself, would be a good enough reason to attend CUE. The location combined with informed educators and many expo options promised full days ahead.
CUE lived up to its promise of involved and excited educators across levels. We started off with a crowd and the crowds didn't slow down until almost noon, two days later. Many attendees came to the TechTerra Education booth attracted by the full table of learning tools to explore - tools they had only read about or seen online.
We had our No Starch Press STEM library with us. All books on Coding, especially Scratch resources, were in high demand. Bluebee Pals - the bluetooth connected talking plush animal - was another of our tools that got a lot of attention. Educators across levels came to hold and explore the Bluebee Pals for classes ranging from K/1st grade, to therapists and special needs instructors, and all the way up to high school teachers who were exploring Bluebee Pals as a way to increase student engagement. The new PETS programming learning kit out of Japan was a big hit as well. PETS is currently in a kickstarter with 23 days to go. We enjoy sharing the wide range of curriculum and users for PETS.
As we ran out of brochures halfway through day two, we encouraged attendees to photograph the tool logos and boxes of these tools and companies we work with so they could remember what they loved. We were exhausted but delighted to have the opportunity to share our many tactile learning tools.
CAMP TECHTERRA SUMMER CAMPS 2017, FALL AND SPRING AFTER-SCHOOL CAMPS 2017-2018
Register online today for Camp TechTerra 2017 Summer Sessions! Registration is 0pen and Easy!
Space is still available in many of our Camp TechTerra Camps. Go to this link on our webpage: Camp TechTerra and scroll down the page to Camp Registration information. Or just go to our webpage: www.techterraeducation.com and find our Camp TechTerra page.
Do You have a Summer STEM Camp or Afterschool STEM Camp near you?
There are still limited opportunities to add additional camps at schools near you this summer. In addition we're scheduling for the 2017-2018 school year now. If you are a parent, a member of a PTA, a teacher, or an administrator, and you would like to know how to add a camp, please contact us. You can reach us by emailing camp@techterraeducation.com or by calling our office and contacting our programs director, Janey Hachmeister, at (919) 519-9097. We look forward to hearing from you!
In the News
➢ University uses STEM to plan for Environmental Cleanup
Drone Swarms Studied for Oil Spill Cleanups
➢ Makers– A 3D Printing Challenge You Can Enter to Help the Visually Impaired
Envision the Future 3D Printing Challenge
➢ A Drone Designed Not to Break in a Crash Landing
About TechTerra Education
The TechTerra Education curriculum, inspired and informed by Maker Education and Project Based Learning, was developed by Susan Wells, a national leader in mobile-integrated education and public school educator.
In addition to offering professional development training, school solutions, and tool solutions, TechTerra Education's Camp TechTerra, held during fall, spring, and summer sessions, offers programs for students ages 5 to 14 that bring together the seemingly disparate elements of technology and nature to help young people better understand their world.
Contact
TechTerra Education at:
(919) 519-9097
Follow TechTerra Education at:
www.facebook.com/camptechterra
@techterraed
Copyright ©2017 TechTerra Education, LLC.