Much of the technology around us has been designed for persons with different needs. We can now set an alarm just by asking a device to do so. We can enter stores without touching doors, and read captions for the news on television while listening to music on earbuds. Online curriculum needs to mirror this type of access to give all students the ability to engage with content. Can the visually impaired student in a biology classroom use a microscope? Where are videos with captions for hearing impaired students? Can a student with limited dexterity independently access interactive slides? Deliberate planning of online lessons and selective use of virtual resources can help foster your students’ independence and alleviate barriers. Come learn from the experts.

TAKEAWAYS:
All students have unique needs in regards to online learning. Deliberate planning of online lessons and selective use of virtual resources can help foster your students’ independence and alleviate barriers.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Like (Iowa Department of Education: No City, No State), Jennifer Bliss (Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Council Bluffs, IA)

We share a free online toolkit based on our recent experiences building community partnerships intended to support development of STEM career pathways for youth in a rural mountain community. Learn how you might use these tools and strategies in your own community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to build a network of community partnerships that can support efforts to increase youth interest in STEM careers. This toolkit provides strategies and tools that you can use to develop a STEM partnership program that brings together students and STEM professionals from your community.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel (UCAR Center for Science Education: Boulder, CO)

In this session, you will learn about how the Iowa Governor's STEM Council, CSTA Iowa, local area education agencies, and business partners came together to bring a collaborative approach for CS Education week to all sectors, not just educators, because CS Education week is about being all in!

TAKEAWAYS:
How to leverage partnerships to bring a collaborative, high quality computer science resources and professional development to educators as well as activities for students.

SPEAKERS:
Corey Rogers (Grant Wood Area Education Agency: No City, No State), Mauree Haage (Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council: No City, No State)

Are you looking for creative ideas to stimulate the minds of your students in grades K-12? Listen to Middle-School STUDENTS present and demonstrate some of the coolest projects around! These students, along with their teacher Mike French, will amaze you with some spectacular PBL ideas for any grade!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be amazed at the presentation/demonstration by middle school students, and their teacher Mike French. Each attendee will walk away with ideas on how to create an exciting learning environment in ALL of your school's classrooms through projects designed to enhance any lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Mike French (Northview Middle School: Newbern, TN)

How could the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge have been prevented? How can we ensure electronic devices hold up to everyday use? Developing well-defined criteria and constraints is critical to successful engineering. Experience ways to help your students plan and evaluate solutions like pros!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the importance of well-defined criteria and constraints, and will experience activities to share with students to help them develop and evaluate successful solutions to engineering challenges. Everyone leaves with access to a Mi-STAR NGSS aligned OER lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Tubman (Michigan Technological University: Houghton, MI), Chris Geerer (Mi-STAR: , MI)

Our FlyGirls program was developed to introduce young women in grades 4–8 to aerospace using drones. The Cobb County School District has partnered with Lockheed Martin, FTW Robotics, female drone pilots from across the U.S., and other informal educators to offer our FlyGirls program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn how to cultivate a dynamic partnerships between multiple agencies; 2. receive step-by-step guidance to start your own local chapter of FlyGirls; and 3. receive access to the resources we developed and used with our FlyGirls group.

SPEAKERS:
Alana Davis (Cobb County School District: Marietta, GA)

Designing the solution that solves a real-world problem requires the application of knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines, as in STEM practices. Through the exploration of STEL and EDP, students learn how to evaluate their design solutions on identified criteria and constraints.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to use performance tasks to apply STEL and engineering design process to STEM integration, measure students' application of the knowledge, and to assess individual student performance.

SPEAKERS:
Denise Clarke-Mayers (East Orange STEM Academy: East Orange, NJ)

Partnerships between museums, PD providers, and coaches can catalyze partners' expertise and networks and build trust and buy-in to create positive change in STEM learning. NYSCI and NYSCATE will share lessons learned from a research-practice-partnership to improve middle school physics instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about forming and maintaining partnerships with different stakeholders involved in the professional learning process, catalyzing specific networks based on organizational expertise, and how to establish trust, shared leadership and ownership throughout complex partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Michaela Labriole (NYSCI: Corona, NY), Linda Brandon (Consultant: Croton on Hudson, NY), Antonio Scordo (Coordinator Technology Integration and Curriculum Development: , NY)

Engage in an interactive panel discussion exploring the importance of English language arts skills for STEM career success, and strategies for building English language arts skills through K-12 science and engineering practices in a sensemaking model.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave the session with ideas for using K-12 science and engineering practices to enhance student acquisition of communication and media literacy skills necessary for success in STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Martinez (Curriculum/Professional Development/Assessment: Escondido, CA), Elizabeth Allan (University of Central Oklahoma: Edmond, OK), Loris Chen (Science Education Consultant: Fair Lawn, NJ)

Did you know that using gamification and game-based learning can create a more engaging and interactive learning environment? Learn the difference be gamification and game-based learning. Explore ways that each method can be used in your classroom (with any content). Try both technology-rich examples as well as non-tech or low-tech options. Learn about the research supporting gaming models in the classroom and how it can be used in a way to support learning content, building collaboration, and supporting socio-emotional skills. Come and join us for some learning and of course some fun games! Walk away with ideas you can use immediately with your learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore in an interactive manner how gamification and game-based learning supports collaborative learning, builds intrinsic student motivation, and even supports socio-emotional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Williams-Clermont (Science Teacher), Nikki Gutierrez (Science Teacher: No City, No State)

This session will explore the application of online interactive laboratory simulations in secondary science courses. The presentation will overview different approaches and best practices to introduce virtual labs in blended learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to implement virtual labs into their daily classroom lessons and apply different instructional practices.

SPEAKERS:
Giancarlo Perez-Flores (Teacher)

Often authenticity and authentic audience is a barrier to planning project based learning. Authenticity can extend beyond an authentic audience. By providing students with authentic tools and lessons, project based learning can be inspirational and engaging.

TAKEAWAYS:
You don't need an authentic audience for authentic project based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Brandt Boidy (MS Math and Science Teacher: Charlotte, NC)

Participants experience three different digital design challenges using branching scenarios that provide student choice and data sets involving wind energy, electromagnetism, and the greenhouse effect. Each challenge is done in a different Google platform - Sites, Forms, and Slides.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in three digital design challenges to test the efficiency of wind turbine blades, the strength of electromagnets, and the greenhouse effect on different land surfaces (polar region, water, and desert) using Google sites, forms, and slides.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Tonkinson (eesmarts: Hartford, CT), Sharyon Holness (eesmarts: No City, No State), Kathleen Brooks (CREC: No City, No State)

Bring your creativity and learn how to implement game-based learning in your science classroom. We will explore using hands-on techniques to make science fun.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. create a science-based game to use in their classroom; 2. develop an understanding of game-based learning; and 3. embed game-based learning in their current content/curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader (Level Up Education: No City, No State)

Discover how you can use a free, global science classroom created at Harvard University to promote student sensemaking. Experience how to tailor learning using LabXchange, a powerful, interactive, online learning platform as students explore their ideas about phenomena and design problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how LabXchange can be used in a classroom as a mechanism for sensemaking and three-dimensional learning aligned with the NGSS. With LabXchange, attendees will learn how to implement world-class content from a variety of Harvard vetted resources and digital assets.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Frank (LabXchange, Harvard: No City, No State), Kenneth Huff (Williamsville Central School District: East Amherst, NY)

Explore how communication systems encode and transfer information via digital signals, from texts to images from space. Hands-on activities will introduce signals, binary, and ASCII.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will deepen their understanding of digital signals and information transfer. Attendees will walk away with an overview of a complete unit including hands on activities for both in person and distance learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jayne Kerner (F.A. Day Middle School: Newtonville, MA)

This session presents an activity using the popular “escape room” format in which students solve clues using science knowledge to complete the challenge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience and explore ideas to enhance in-person learning through competitive activities and gamification using and adapting a digital escape room format with an energy focus or their existing curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Tonkinson (eesmarts: Hartford, CT), Sharyon Holness (eesmarts: No City, No State)