Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Learn to leverage freely available global data visualizations using NOAA’s SOS Explorer mobile application (available on Apple and Android devices and Chromebooks), and an observational technique used in art museums to increase critical thinking and time spent on visual and group thought analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Russell (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Hilary Peddicord (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory: Lyons, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Milestone C & STEMI

This essential Foundations of Tech will provide an introduction to areas of new-age tech that are embedded in Industry 4.0, including design, robotics, and AI. Let's work together to make students developers, instead of consumers, of tech and STEM for their future and ultimately, career choices.

SPEAKERS:
Dave Conelias (Milestone C LLC: Shelton, CT)

Participants will become knowledgeable about the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, member benefits, and the professional learning community that can help them enhance their knowledge and improve their teaching practices. Numerous live events are offered to educators of science every month to enhance and extend their content and pedagogical knowledge -- many of them free to NSTA members and guest users of the NSTA website. Participants will also learn how to engage with other educators of science and grow their network of like-minded individuals. Join us and learn about NSTA's discussion forums and profile page. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become knowledgeable about the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, member benefits, and the professional learning community that can help them enhance their knowledge and improve their teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: Milestone C & STEMI

Bring AI tech to your classroom in an engaging way!  Visit this workshop to learn about how this technology is influencing and controlling our lives and how educators can teach your students so they are prepared and connected to the jobs of the future that are waiting for them.

SPEAKERS:
Dave Conelias (Milestone C LLC: Shelton, CT)

Discussion boards and class discussions can tend to become routine, unproductive, and often frustrating to both teachers and students. After participating in a NGSS Twitter Chat, I began to wonder how I could replicate this experience in my course. Using the structure of Twitter and the function of the Twitter Chat, I reimagined facilitation of a class discussion that promoted increased engagement and learning for all my students. Using the stream format in Padlet and intentional questions for reflection, I replaced a typical reading response and class discussion. To my surprise, it was one of my students’ favorite strategies and continues to be each semester. Participants will engage in a Twitter chat simulation to support their understanding of the simulation and how students participate. Directions for creating the Padlet will be demonstrated and participants will have time to design their own Twitter chat simulation padlet and chat questions to use with upcoming content.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will use the structure and function of social media experiences, understand how they can be safely simulated in our classrooms using tools like Padlet, and leave with a Twitter Chat simulation they design around their upcoming content. (No Twitter account needed.) Upper Elem-PostSec.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Pesnell (Kansas State University: Manhattan, KS)

We outline an integrated STEM program implemented across multiple schools in a large urban district. The program presented an engineering design challenge using computer-aided design, computational modeling, and 3D printing, as a way to fully integrate the “T” in STEM. We engaged students in solving a real-world problem: optimizing a prototype of a Soap Box Derby Car by using CAD software, virtual and physical wind tunnel testing, and 3D printing. Students investigated the factors that impact the performance of a gravity racing car in order to optimize its performance, using concepts they learned about aerodynamic forces. The students then used CAD Software and virtual simulation testing to design and test a car shell. We will share integration strategies, highlights of the curriculum implementation in several middle school classrooms, and research results from student assessment and teacher interviews to discuss the impact of the curriculum on students’ learning and engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to effectively integrate technology, engineering, and science in a STEM curriculum that focuses on engineering-specific technology tools and computational modeling, and uses science and engineering practices.

SPEAKERS:
Johnna O'Neal (Instructional Specialist: No City, No State), Katrina Halasa (Akron Public Schools: Akron, OH)

Sponsoring Company: BIOZONE Corporation

Discover BIOZONE WORLD - a new platform bringing all our digital resources together for easy access and delivery. Incorporating BIOZONE’s eBooks with our rich collection of presentation slides, 3D models & curated videos, it provides powerful options for delivering your high school science programs.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Allan (BIOZONE International Ltd.: Hamilton, New Zealand)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

A decomposing corpse is found in a field. Four possible missing persons fit the description. But who is it? Using clues near the scene will help determine identity. Forensic anthropologist Diane France helped to develop this free middle school and high school forensic science lesson.

Sponsoring Company: Visible Body

Lab time and access to specimens can be limited, expensive, or sometimes entirely out of reach. Visible Body’s 3-D content and Courseware platform provide a digital alternative to wet labs and 2-D textbook images and diagrams, allowing students to “cut” as many times as they need.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Buchanan (Sales Director: , SC)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

Bring a friend with you to attend, "Zombie Apocalypse!" Just make sure you can run faster! Zombies provide an excellent way to get students interested in understanding how diseases move through a population. Great for middle and high school students.

The session will give teachers an opportunity to see examples of the rich and meaningful three-dimensional assessment that are called for by the NGSS. This session, as a result, will include 20 minutes of audience participation in student hat and 20 minutes for examining student responses in order to make sense of student thinking. Participants will leave the session with access to a library of high-quality instructional 3-D assessment that they can use in their own classrooms. The agenda for this session is: • A discussion of what makes assessments useful for teaching and learning (5 min) • A discussion of the difference between 3-D, 2-D, and 1-D assessments (5 min). • An opportunity for participants to experience an example of high-quality 3-D assessment (20 min) • An overview of a tech tool that teachers use to access and use a library of these assessments (5 min) • Questions (5 min)

TAKEAWAYS:
Characteristics of high-quality three-dimensional assessments include: (1) can be used to examine how students use a DCI, CC, and SEP to figure something out, (2) easy to administer and take, and (3) include tools that lead to useful insights about student thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Todd Hutner (The University of Alabama: Del Valle, TX)

Outline: (5 Minutes): Initial engagement KWL chart activity about creating accessible spaces: both physical and digital (15 minutes). Presentation about the importance of digital accessibility and some essential things to know (15 minutes). Educators will engage in discussion groups to brainstorm ways to bring accessibility culture to their STEM classroom using the HOW MIGHT WE design thinking protocol (5 Minutes). Closure: educators will go back to the KWL chart and fill in the L, what they learned during the session. Katie Fielding is a STEM Coach in Price William County Schools, Virginia. She is passionate about accessibility and creativity in the classroom. https://www.katiefielding.com/

TAKEAWAYS:
Removes barriers in your STEM classroom for all learners with an understanding of digital accessibility and universal design for learning.

SPEAKERS:
Katherine Fielding (Prince William County Schools)

The NGSS emphasizes practices including: 1) analyzing/interpreting data, 2) constructing explanations, and 3) obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Passive learning will not help middle school students practice these skills. But by giving students agency, ChatGPT, and proper scaffolding, teachers can incorporate such practices. This workshop will support teachers as they navigate through a scaffolded learning experience with ChatGPT. Attendees will discover that ChatGPT can be used to offload lower-level thinking skills and advance students into higher order thinking. For example, MS-PS1-3 reads: Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. Students could use ChatGPT to gather the information and then analyze, evaluate, and construct explanations to make sense of the information. After one hour, attendees will have developed an NGSS-aligned activity using ChatGPT that they can confidently use!

TAKEAWAYS:
To be successful with ChatGPT in the science classroom, we need to give students agency. In this workshop, attendees will control their learning. They will develop a valuable idea for using ChatGPT in their class AND witness a fully different way of managing their class…by giving students agency.

SPEAKERS:
Walter Ryan (Retired Educator), Chris Turner (Chief of Staff: Rockaway, NJ), Denise Bressler (Chief Ideologist: Liberty Corner, NJ)

Sponsoring Company: Anatomage, Inc.

The Science Table by Anatomage provides a library of biology, chemistry, and physics experiments with realistic-quality visuals and an interactive touchscreen experience. The workshop will focus on incorporating the Science Table into middle school, high school, and college-level classrooms.

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

The King of all sensors in most science departments is the temperature probe. Probes make it easier for students to quickly and reliably collect data so they can spend more time making sense of it. Come to this hands-on session and interact with, "The Lord of the Probes!"

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

Graphs are great ways to illustrate patterns/trends in data, but many students do not understand how to use them. By using a motion detector and calculator, students are challenged to "Match a Graph" by changing their position and speed. Come give it a try!

Explore tools you can use with students to help them visualize and create their science content. With Canva, Adobe Express, and Book Creator, you can allow students choice in the action and expression of their science content knowledge, supporting UDL in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Bring creativity into your 5'E classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Katherine Fielding (Prince William County Schools)

Digital notebooking is a tool that can support both teaching and learning and can be utilized for a variety of purposes. The time during this 60 minute session will be split between the presenters sharing information including examples of various ways to implement digital notebooks that align with research-based best practices and participants having time to plan and prepare usage for their own setting. Teachers will leave with ready-to-use takeaways to assist them in empowering students to not only learn content more independently but also reflect on their learning path and level of understanding to gear up for future success. Teachers will also be able to explore how the notebooks provide quick access to each student's progress in learning and the ability to give feedback when and where it is needed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave this session with a digital notebook template and the knowledge and resources to create and implement one successfully, as well as a framework that coicides with the use of a digital notebook and fits any curriculum to allow for students to have influence on their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Vera Hayslip (7th grade Science: Cincinnati, OH), Kelly Hartings (Indian Hill Middle School: CINCINNATI, OH)

Virtual reality is an emerging technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach. As a tool in education, VR can create immersive and interactive experiences that engage students in ways that traditional methods cannot. VR can be used to create virtual field trips, simulations, visualizations, and collaborative environments that allow students to explore, experiment, and learn in ways that were previously impossible. VR as an educational tool has the potential to improve student engagement, understanding, and retention. The immersive and interactive nature of VR can help students to better understand complex concepts and retain information more effectively. As the technology continues to evolve, it is likely that VR will become an increasingly important tool in education, providing new opportunities for learning and teaching. ClassVR (the platform we will use)can be used as an educational tool that not only engages the students but helps the educator teach!

TAKEAWAYS:
Virtual Reality as a teaching tool is a great way to engage and immerse your students and can help fill any gaps they may have from their personal experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Ashish Vadalia (Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

Learn how to use Pivot Interactives as a source of phenomena to quickly bring data analysis into all parts of the learning cycle. Unlock the science practices with your ready to go data and easily implement into your instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Friberg (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

Sponsoring Company: Plasma Games

It's all fun and games but does it work? Dive into the difference between gamification and game-based learning to innovate your classroom, and engage and excite students to learn Chemistry. Bonus: Leave with an all-inclusive access code to a 3-D game-based platform.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Baker (Lead Curriculum Specialist: Raleigh, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Plasma Games

It's all fun and games but does it work? Dive into the difference between gamification and game-based learning to innovate your classroom, and engage and excite students to learn Chemistry. Bonus: Leave with an all-inclusive access code to a 3-D game-based platform.

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

What do hands-on labs do well? What not well? Are you open to considering a paradigm shift? Come see how Pivot Interactives expands the options to implement phenomena, the science practices, feedback, and scaffolding easily across the learning cycle.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Friberg (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

Although most people do not know a programming language, nearly everyone can read and write. The exposition of plain English text forms a critical part of logically explaining a set of operations and instructions, which are foundational to computational thinking and coding. The learning of programming concepts, such as cause-and-effect, abstraction, logical reasoning, etc., will be explored through each example exercise during the session. We will write a number of games together, guided by artificial intelligence, where each can be completed in just 10 minutes or less! The platform will automatically convert the text into a playable game. Games are engaging learning tools and are perfect for teaching many subject areas. The session will be divided as follows: 1. How to describe a game in English via Setting and Plot. 2. Basic game construct. 3. Pong-like games. 4. Space Invaders. 5. Mario-like games. 6. More complex variables/attributes. 7. Debugging. 8. Sharing games. 9. How to use Online Tutorials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to: clearly articulate programming concepts, think like a programmer, relate various aspects of each sentence to computational concepts and constructs, apply lessons to various subjects.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hsiao (Virginia Tech: Blacksburg, VA)