NGCP Updates |
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On
July 19th, 2010, a group of people who know the research and practice
on women and girls in science and engineering met in Washington, DC.
Their goal was to pick best strategies for increasing the numbers of
girls pursuing STEM careers and recommend them to the Educate to Innovate Campaign launched by President Obama in 2009.
The goals of the Educate to Innovate Campaign are to increase science
literacy, improve the performance of American students in science and
math, and expand opportunities for underrepresented groups in order to
build a larger and more diverse future workforce.
To identify best strategies in one month with limited and volunteer
resources, the conveners invited up to 20 lead organizations to a
meeting, and invited up to 8000 individuals to participate in electronic
brainstorming. All considered 39 educational strategies known to
recruit more girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics
by some increment. About 350 participated in brainstorming online. The
two groups found concurrence on five top strategies to recommend at
this time. One attendee wrote a blog post about the meeting.
What's the use? The "July 19th Collaboration" offers a refreshed
list of 39 focused areas that describe current work as a systemic
effort to change and correct for historical biases and exclusion. Every
strategy can be tied to root causes for the low numbers of girls and
women identified in research, and pilot programs with results. The Memo
and a Report on the meeting are available as free PDFs at www.stemcollaboration.org and printed at cost from LuLu.
NGCP
will host a webcast about the meeting and the report on Wednesday,
November 3, 2010 at 9:00 AM Pacific time. Register for the webcast
here: Webcast Registration Link
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Regional Collaborative Events |
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STEMfest - Celebrating the Science of Our Lives
Northern Illinois University Convocation Center, DeKalb, IL
Saturday, October 23, 2010
10 AM - 5 PM
The Midwest Girls Collaborative is co-sponsoring STEMfest,
a celebration of innovations in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM). The goal of the event is to increase awareness of
the critical role science and other STEM fields play in our everyday
existence through
- hands-on activities like navigating a laser maze,
- exhibitors such as NIU's storm chasing team,
- demonstrations of technologies and intriguing science phenomena
including our popular Creepy Chemistry and Haunted Physics Labs.
STEMfest is a satellite event of the USA Science & Engineering Festival.
Learn more; http://stemfest.niu.edu/stem/fest/
Maine Girls Collaborative Project Annual Conference
Wells Conference Center, University of Maine
Orono, ME
November 5, 2010
8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
The Maine Girls Collaborative Project Annual Conference
is an opportunity for individuals that are committed to informing and
encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics to connect with one another and learn from each other
and experts. This conference is also a way for the Maine Girls
Collaborative Project to demonstrate overall collaborative success thus
far and provides an opportunity for mini-grant recipients to showcase
the work completed by their projects.
Register: http://www.ngcproject.org/events/register.cfm?eventid=181
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Featured Mini-Grant |
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Girls 'Get' Tech in Maine
Through a collaboration between the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
at the University of Maine and the Northeast Surgery of Maine,
middle-school girls aged 11-14 from the greater Bangor, Maine area
participated in hands-on activities including manipulating robotics and
software that assist in diagnosing and treating medical conditions.
Taking place at Eastern Maine Medical Center, the girls discovered
acoustic analysis and how software is used for research and treatment of
communication. A highlight was a workshop focused on hands-on robotics
and how software, technology, and engineering are used for complex
surgical robotics.
The girls enriched their knowledge of the roles of current technology
and robotics in medicine and how these tools are used in the diagnosis
and treatment of physiological conditions. They also learned about the
range of career options for women in these fields.
http://www.ngcproject.org/mini-grant/grants.cfm?grantid=276
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Upcoming STEM Events |
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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity Includes People with Disabilities
Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment
Awareness Month (NDEAM). This effort to educate the American public
about issues related to disability and employment actually began in
1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October
each year "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In 1962,
the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs
and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In
1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to
"National Disability Employment Awareness Month."
http://www.dol.gov/odep/
7th Annual sySTEMnow Conference, "Making STEM Work"
Milwaukee, WI
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
7:30 AM - 3:30 PM (CT)
Since 2004, the sySTEMnow Conference has been the cornerstone of STEM awareness and the catalyst for STEM action in southeastern WI.
- Raising awareness of STEM-related issues
- Exchanging best practices from existing STEM programs
- Developing, promoting and implementing education-workforce partnerships
- Providing networking opportunities for STEM stakeholders
Conference features include:
- Keynote address by a nationally eminent speaker
- Timely, applicable STEM learning presented in general and breakout sessions
- Exciting project demonstrations by our Generation STEM students
- Presentation of the annual Excellence in STEM Awards, The Stemmys
Register: http://systemnow2010.eventbrite.com/
Worldwide IBM Service Jam
October 10-12, 2010
The Service Jam virtually gathers non-profit organizations,
corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies to discuss
how social innovation can help solve the world's largest problems. The
event aims to generate the kind of ideas needed to redefine service and
social innovation. Topics will include Quantum Leaps in Service:
Groundbreaking innovations fueling the service movement; The Digital
Revolution in Service: Transforming the service sector through
technology; Empowering the Individual; Increasing Value and Impact of
Service, and more.
Special guests include 41st President George H.W. Bush, US Senator Harris Wofford (PA), and IBM President and CEO Sam Palmisano.
IBM's Jam technology enables participants around the world to
collaborate virtually, logging in to the Jam whenever it's most
convenient at any time during this three-day event.
Register for Service Jam
USA Science & Engineering Festival
Festival Dates: October 10-24, 2010
Partner Spotlight: Department of Energy
The Department of Energy (DOE) will sponsor 11 highly informative,
interactive exhibits in the Festival's Expo this October at the National
Mall in Washington, DC. The exhibits explore how physicists are
harnessing energy from the sun to make clean and renewable energy. See a
car that can run on water and sunlight, and much more.
Students and teachers are encouraged to stop by the Department of Energy's Office of Science exhibit to see and use ScienceEducation.gov, a new search tool for browsing thousands of free and reliable science education resources.
http://www.usasciencefestival.org
Invent It. Build It.
Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
10:30 AM - 4:00 PM
We are thrilled to announce Invent It. Build It. - a Society of Women Engineers, Girl Scouts, Design Squad
collaborative event, sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation. This
unprecedented partnership will combine the strengths of all three
organizations to create a hands-on engineering experience for high
school Girl Scouts at the SWE Annual Conference (WE10).
Register: http://aspire.swe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=141
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Resources |
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Offer Computing Workshops and Camps: They Benefit Both Students and the Teachers Who Offer Them.
This printable PDF card (and
its accompanying Web site) is a resource for computer science teachers
that offers ideas for partnering, existing curriculum, and materials for
implementation. The curriculum offered can be used in many settings
other than camps or workshops and could be used by community partners as
well. This is the time of year for informal education organizations and
teachers to form partnerships and start planning workshops or camps for
Summer 2011.
http://www.ncwit.org/summercamps/
Dinosaur Train Geocaching
The Jim Henson Company has enlisted the help of PBS stations, museums,
zoos, and aquariums nationwide to hide Dinosaur Train themed geocaches.
Geocaching is a family friendly outdoor adventure that blends
technology, gaming and environmental discovery. Each geocache features
one of the dinosaurs found on the online Dinosaur Train Field Guide and
contains educational information related to that dinosaur.
With the help of a GPS enabled device, each geocache will lead you to a safe, easy-to-access location. Visit www.geocaching.com
and use keywords: PBS; Dinosaur Train; or station call letters to
access an
up-to-date list of Dinosaur Train geocache locations. Can't find a
Dinosaur Train geocache in your viewing area? Stay tuned as we update
the Dinosaur Train Geocaching Web page with instructions on how to make
and hide your own Dinosaur Train geocache.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/dinosaurtrain/geocachingchallenge/
Women with Disabilities in Science Radio Series Available Online and on Free CD
Northeast Public Radio's Access to Advancement series about the
opportunities for, and achievements of, women with disabilities in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is now
available online and on free CDs in time for National Disability
Employment Awareness Month in October. Part 1 of the series provides
five fascinating stories that describe the latest practices, programs,
and tools for supporting students with disabilities in their pursuit of
STEM careers. Part 2 tells the compelling stories of five successful
women with disabilities who are studying or working in STEM fields.
Listen online at www.womeninscience.org and request a free CD.
New Digital Library Offers Informal Learning Fun in Science and Math
The University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) today announced the launch of howtosmile.org,
an online collection of thousands of hands-on interactive science and
math activities dedicated to making learning exciting and engaging for
everyone. Howtosmile.org
activities take many forms, from downloadable lesson plans, to field
trip activities, how-to videos and online interactive games, like one
that allows learners to do virtual surgery. All activities are freely
accessible, and never require a registration or subscription.
Funding Opportunities for Gender Equity from the Myra Sadker Foundation
Applications for the Myra Sadker Foundation 2010 funding awards are now available. The Foundation sponsors four funding programs to promote gender equity:
- undergraduate scholarships
- doctoral dissertation awards
- teacher grants for classroom projects
- grants for student projects.
Descriptions of each award as well as application requirements can be found at http://www.sadker.org/awards.html.
NGCP Program Directory - Register your
Program
Today!
The online Program Directory lists
organizations and
programs that focus on motivating girls to
pursue
STEM careers. The purpose of the directory
is
to help
organizations and individuals network, share
resources, and collaborate on STEM-related
projects
for girls. When you sign up for the Program
Directory
you will enter your program description,
resources
available within your organization, program
and/or
organizational needs, and contact
information.
Program Directory
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Global Resources |
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International
Visitors Experience "A New Beginning: Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math Education" Across the United States
A new initiative is bringing 25 science teachers from other countries to
the United States for an International Visitor Leadership Program
called "A New Beginning: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
(STEM) Education," September 27 through October 15.
The teachers will examine the building blocks of STEM education at
primary and secondary schools in seven cities across the United States.
Read more about this initiative and the International Visitor Leadership Program.
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American
Association of University
Women
(AAUW) members across the
country are serving as
Regional Liaisons for the National
Girls
Collaborative Project. These
Regional
Liaisons help the people involved
in the NGCP
to make connections - to one
another, to
resources on gender equity, and to
AAUW.
AWE
is the Assessing Women and Men
in
Engineering
Project, which provides exportable
assessment
instruments, literature resources,
and methodologies
for Women in Engineering and
similar programs. AWE is developing
resources for
use by K-12 STEM programs as part of
NGCP
services.
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The goal of the National Girls
Collaborative Project
is to maximize access to shared
resources within
projects and with public and private
sector
organizations and institutions
interested in
expanding girls' participation in
STEM.
Find out more....
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