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June 12, 2013

STEM News for Educators

Education

How to get more students interested in computer science
Renaming "computer science" "digital-game creation" helped a Texas school double enrollment in its program. Other schools are taking steps to engage more students in the subject, including using a curriculum such as Bootstrap, which integrates math and computer science, to offering after-school programs such as CoderDojo. "The ability to code should be one aspect of fluency in the 21st century," says Mitchel Resnick, a professor of learning research at the MIT Media Lab, which created Scratch, a free coding program. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (6/12)

Districts experiment with teaching methods during the summer
School districts nationwide are overhauling their summer-school programs, and trying innovative methods for teaching students. In Florida, one district is teaching students about the science behind crime-scene investigations, while students in New York City will have more digital opportunities for learning this summer. In Birmingham, Ala., students will be learning in community spaces, such as in zoos and museums. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (6/12)

Kan. adopts national science standards
San Francisco Chronicle (free content)/Associated Press (6/11)

Business

Oil companies tap their resources to sponsor summer Energy Camp
Four oil companies are providing financial support as well as volunteers for a summer camp at the Karnes City Independent School District in Texas. The camp features field trips and hands-on activities centered around wind-speed measurements, hydropower and other energy topics. San Antonio Express-News (6/12)

Trends

Survey: Job outlook is improving for tech workforce
Finding needed technology skills is getting easier, according to a Dice survey, and more companies are hiring, with 73% of those polled expecting to expand tech staffs in the second half of the year. Tech professionals are seeking higher salaries and more are rejecting initial employment opportunities based on salary levels, the survey said. NextGov/Wired Workplace blog (6/11)

STEM jobs give Wichita a ranking of 22nd in nation
The Wichita, Kan., metro area ranks 22nd out of the 100 largest in the nation for the percentage of science, math, technology and engineering jobs it has, jobs that earn an average of $60,249 annually, compared with $33,827 for non-STEM positions. A Brookings Institution study showed that 21.3% of the Wichita area's jobs are STEM-focused. The Wichita Eagle (Kan.) (6/10)

ACTE News

A clearer VISION
Don't take chances on student success or on your career: ACTE's CareerTech VISION 2013 brings you new standards, new trends and new best practices that you need as a career and technical educator! Join us in Las Vegas this Dec. 4-7 for a great program, exciting speakers, career recognition, in-depth workshops and more! Visit www.careertechvision.com for more information, including travel and hotel discounts, and to register!

2013 ACTE/NCLA Best Practices and Innovations Conference
Save the date! The 2013 Best Practices Conference is heading to San Diego Sept. 25-27. CTE administrators, don't miss this chance to hear from the best in the field -- learn more and register!

Learn more about ACTE ->

SmartQuote

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid."

--Frederick Buechner,
American writer and theologian

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