The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Gaming Culture for Computer Science and Engineering Education Apr 11, 2017

Show notes

How can we harness the power of games for education? In Part 1 of the episode, the podcast explores how the PAX South 2017 gaming conference inspired ideas in better engineering education. In Part 2, we hear from two team members of TEALS, a group supported by Microsoft Philanthropies that was also at PAX. TEALS has been around since 2009, matching volunteer CS professionals with K-12 teachers in schools and developing CS curricula. John Jannone and Brett Wortzman from TEALS explained how they already use games to teach computer science to K-12 students. They discuss how to use game design, content creation, and play to achieve student learning objectives. Mentioned in this episode: • TEALS at Microsoft: https://www.tealsk12.org/ • Apply to be a volunteer for TEALS: https://www.tealsk12.org/volunteers/ • PAX South video game conference: http://south.paxsite.com/ • Convert: https://www.yodeogames.com/products/convert • Happy Chess: http://happychess.net/ • Pixel RU Squared: http://pixel.game/ • Bullet journal method: http://bulletjournal.com/ • Descendants of Erdrick band: http://www.descendantsoferdrick.com/ • Video of full talk, courtesy of Karsten Sethre and audio tech Josef: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1rTnkprCfM • TED talk from Daphne Bavalier “Your brain on video games”: https://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games • Meta analysis on games and learning by Douglas Clark: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0034654315582065 • Civilization (“Civ”) game: https://www.civilization.com/ • Portal 2 game: http://www.thinkwithportals.com/ • Minecraft Forge modding package: https://files.minecraftforge.net/ • Grudgeball review game: http://toengagethemall.blogspot.com/2013/02/grudgeball-review-game-where-kids-attack.html • Settlers of Catan tabletop game: http://www.catan.com/ • Angry Birds game: https://www.angrybirds.com/ • Lightbot game: https://lightbot.com/flash.html • TED talk from Jane McGonigal “Gaming can make a better world”: https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world • TEALS Intro to CS curriculum gitbook: https://github.com/TEALS-IntroCS Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out the book and ebook “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong, on Amazon, Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, and other retailers: http://www.pioslabs.com/improv4design.html

Justice in Engineering Education Mar 28, 2017

Show notes

The SXSW Education conference and festival this year highlighted equity, fairness, and justice as a major theme. How does this apply to engineering and computer science education? This episode explores the views of various speakers and attendees at SXSW, starting with Dr. Chris Emdin, who emphasized that education is a civil rights issue. Then it looks at the relevant views of college students, educational leaders, teachers, and industry professionals. Finally Aditya Voleti and Michelle Ching share their thoughts on equity in educational technology, coming from the perspective of two teachers-turned-entrepreneurs. Mentioned in this episode: • Dr. Chris Emdin’s SXSW Edu talk: https://youtu.be/XbBwM1c-6xM • Proposed Texas Senate bill for student input: https://legiscan.com/TX/research/SB508/2015 • Proposed Texas House bill for student input: https://legiscan.com/TX/research/HB1585/2015 • Hidden Figures movie on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/ • Code2040: http://www.code2040.org/ • Laura Weidman Powers’ SXSW Edu talk: https://youtu.be/eYh0fVfFggY • Oracle Academy: https://academy.oracle.com/ • The University of Texas Center for STEM Education: https://stemcenter.utexas.edu/ • Landmark Consulting Group: https://www.consultlandmark.org/ • Literator: http://www.literatorapp.com/ • The Lean Lab: http://theleanlab.org/ • Startup Weekend EDU: https://startupweekend.org/interests/EDU Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out the book and ebook “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong, on Amazon, Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, and other retailers: http://www.pioslabs.com/improv4design.html

New EdTech and More at SXSW Mar 21, 2017

Show notes

Robots, role models, rap, and more all stood out at the 2017 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival. Pius highlights products, programs, and ideas at SXSW that might especially interest engineering educators. Mentioned in this episode: • SXSW Edu: http://sxswedu.com/ • WE: https://www.we.org/ • AP WE (CS + service learning): https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/initiatives/ap-we-service • CS4All NYC: https://csnyc.org/our-work/cs4all • Kahoot: https://getkahoot.com/ • GLICODE and Pocky: http://cp.glico.jp/glicode/en/ • Puzzlets from Digital Dreamlabs: https://www.digitaldreamlabs.com/ • PolyBot hydroponic system by Poly: http://mypolybot.com/ • Trashbots: https://www.trashbots.org/ • Kuri robot: https://www.heykuri.com/ • Open Source Skateboards: http://www.opensourceboards.com/ • Panoform VR creation tools: http://www.panoform.com/ • Science with Tom: https://www.youtube.com/user/tomcfad • Omnipointment platform for group projects: https://www.omnipointment.com/ • Project Paradigm: http://www.projectparadigm.org/ • Explo: https://www.explo.org/ • MIT Independent Activities Period: http://web.mit.edu/iap/ • No Boundaries USA: http://www.nobarriersusa.org/ • Expanding Yor Horizons symposium for girls, supported by No Barriers: http://nocoeyh.wix.com/home • ChickTech: https://chicktech.org/ Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out the book and ebook “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong, on Amazon, Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, and other retailers: http://www.pioslabs.com/improv4design.html

Data Visualization Tips and Tricks Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

How can we deal with data better? How can we teach kids to deal with data better? Sarah Morris from the nonprofit Nuclear Learning Network has some answers. She educates students and the general population on better data visualization, or dataviz, and how to use modern tools for dataviz. Related to this episode: • The Nucleus Learning Network: http://www.nucleuslearningnetwork.org/ • Art Science Gallery in Austin, TX: http://www.artsciencegallery.com/ • DataViz example at The Nucleus Learning Network: http://www.nucleuslearningnetwork.org/datavis/ • Social Explorer (mapping tool): http://www.socialexplorer.com/ • RAW (chart-building tool): http://rawgraphs.io/ • The Law & Order Database: https://www.overthinkingit.com/2012/11/13/the-law-and-order-database-all-20-seasons/ • Tips on using the Excel chart recommender: http://www.k2e.com/tech-update/tips/689-tips-using-recommended-charts-in-excel • Periodic Table of Visualization: http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html • Chart Juice: http://labs.juiceanalytics.com/chartchooser/index.html • The Guardian data visualization: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/data-visualisation Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out the book and ebook “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong, on Amazon, Apple iBooks, and other retailers: http://www.pioslabs.com/improv4design.html

Mobile Game and App Reviews Feb 27, 2017

Show notes

Pius reviews with Rachel five mobile apps related to engineering education, available on Android and iOS. A ten-year-old guest reviewer also gives her thoughts on some of the games, to get a third perspective. The games were pulled from the top-ranking engineering-themed games listed in app stores as of the beginning of 2017. Related to this episode: • Brain It On!: http://brainitongame.com/ • Gears Logic Puzzles: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.stropin.gearslogicpuzzles&hl=en • Engineer : Cars: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/engineer-cars/id586093106?mt=8 • Echochrome on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echochrome • “Anamorphic art” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphosis • Truss Me!: http://www.scientificmonkey.com/software.html • Gliffy online flowcharting: https://www.gliffy.com/ • EveryCircuit: http://everycircuit.com/ Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under Creative Commons Attribution Licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong on Amazon in print or for Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520634900 It is also available as an ebook on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/704613 (Limited time 20% off promo code: EH22M)

Orthopaedics Engineering for Kids and Teens Feb 21, 2017

Show notes

Dr. Jenni Buckley and Dr. Amy Trauth-Nare from the University of Delaware talk about Orthopaedics in Action (OIA), their curriculum in biomechanics and engineering design for middle school and high school students. They used their respective expertise in mechanical engineering and K-12 education to create the hands-on OIA lessons, which originated from an initiative to attract more women into orthopaedics as engineers and doctors. Hear them discuss the curriculum, the benefits of lessons rooted in biology, educational partnerships, and lessons in toy design, among other topics. Related to this episode: • The Professional Development Center for Educators at the University of Delaware: http://www.pdce.udel.edu/ • Orthopaedics in Action (OIA) curriculum: http://perryinitiative.org/orthoinaction/ • Perry Initiative: www.perryinitiative.org • Sawbones: www.sawbones.com • “Find Your Center,” article in The Science Teacher: http://digital.nsta.org/display_article.php?id=2554119&view=327538 • Project Lead The Way (PLTW) at The University of Delaware: http://www.cehd.udel.edu/pltw/ • MIT Toy Design open course materials: http://web.mit.edu/2.00b/www/ • Engineering is Elementary curriculum: http://www.eie.org/ • TeachEngineering: https://www.teachengineering.org/ • Change The Equation: http://changetheequation.org/ • Grand Challenges from the National Academy of Engineering: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/ • Lab Out Loud podcast from the National Science Teachers Association: http://www.nsta.org/publications/laboutloud.aspx • “The Way Things Work,” book by David McCauley: http://hmhbooks.com/davidmacaulay/ • Twitter handle for Dr. Amy Trauth-Nare: @amy_nare • Twitter handle for The Perry Initiative: @PerryInitiative Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under Creative Commons Attribution Licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com. Check out “Engineer’s Guide to Improv and Art Games” by Pius Wong on Amazon in print or for Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520634900 It is also available as an ebook on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/704613 (Limited time 20% off promo code: EH22M)

Year in Review/Preview Feb 13, 2017

Show notes

Pius, Rachel, and Sadhan reunite to talk about big news in engineering education from 2016 (Part 1: 00m20s), followed by a politically flavored discussion about 2017 (Part 2: 15m20s). If you liked Season 1 and want to help keep Season 2 afloat, please consider pledging a monthly contribution at my new Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs. You’ll be helping me continue to talk to awesome people and share it with you. Thanks! Related to this episode: • “College Board Hopes to Broaden Access to Coding with New ‘AP Computer Science Principles’ Course,” Edsurge: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-07-25-college-board-hopes-to-broaden-access-to-coding-with-new-ap-computer-science-principles-course • “AP Computer Science Principles,” College Board: https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/computer-science-principles • “CMU’s Proportion of Undergraduate Women in Computer Science and Engineering Soars above National Averages,” Carnegie Mellon University News: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2016/september/undergrad-women-engineering-computer-science.html • “Why Hidden Figures’s Box-Office Win Is the Best News for Movies in a Long Time,” Vogue: http://www.vogue.com/article/hidden-figures-box-office-win-matters • Everlast Rocketbook on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/642311833/everlast • “India vs. USA,” The K12 Engineering Education Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/piuswong/india-vs-usa • “Educational Standards,” The K12 Engineering Education Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/piuswong/ep-2-educational-standards • “Former Edtech Director for Obama Administration Sees Innovation Moving to the States,” Edsurge: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-01-10-former-edtech-advisor-for-obama-sees-innovation-moving-to-the-states • Twitter handles: @PiusWong, @rfahrig, @sadhansathya, @K12engineering, @PiosLabs Remember that the podcast will be at the SXSW Conference and Festival in March, 2017! We will be running workshops for educators and professional engineers: https://www.sxsw.com/ and http://sxswedu.com/ Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor, used under Creative Commons Attribution Licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Autism in the Engineering Classroom Dec 20, 2016

Show notes

In the big push for more engineers today, can we get them from autistic students? Research has shown that college students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) go into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields more than students without ASD. We speak with one of the researchers who studied this phenomenon, Dr. Jennifer Yu of SRI International (Part 1 @ 01:00), and we also discuss community colleges, universal design, and why learning to educate autistic students better can help educate all students better. Then we hear from occupational therapist and doctoral candidate Marci Schneider in Florida (Part 2 @ 21:25). In her eighteen years of experience serving K-12 students with special needs, she has gathered advice for teachers on how to approach ASD in STEM classrooms. One final note comes from high school engineering teacher Melanie Kong in Seattle (Part 3 @ 35:50), who picked up a few insights in her early years on this topic.

Mentioned in this episode:

● SRI international: https://www.sri.com/

● Blog post from Dr. Jennifer Yu, “Turning Autism Research into Support for Learning”: https://www.sri.com/blog/turning-autism-research-support-learning

● Peer-reviewed research article on autism and STEM in college, from Jennifer’s team at SRI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23114569

● Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, UK autism researcher: https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/people_Baron-Cohen

● National Longitudinal Transition Study: http://www.nlts2.org

● Article from FastCompany by Vauhini Vara, “Microsoft Wants Autistic Coders. Can It Find Them and Keep Them?”: https://www.fastcompany.com/3062835/hr/microsoft-autism-hiring

● Article from CIO by Sharon Florentine, “How SAP is hiring autistic adults for tech jobs”: http://www.cio.com/article/3013221/careers-staffing/how-sap-is-hiring-autistic-adults-for-tech-jobs.html

● Peer-reviewed research article on autism and community college: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24158680

● Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com

● Read&Write extension for Google Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readwrite-for-google-chro/inoeonmfapjbbkmdafoankkfajkcphgd?hl=en-US

● Mercury extension [an alternative to the Readability app, which is no longer available as of October 2016]: https://mercury.postlight.com/ Remember that the podcast will be at the SXSW Conference and Festival in March, 2017! We will be running workshops for educators and professional engineers: https://www.sxsw.com/ and http://sxswedu.com/

The cover art for this episode is full of origami cranes, and it is inspired by “the birds activity” from past podcast guest Ellen Browne, which Melanie describes at the end of this episode; it is also inspired by the colored puzzle pieces historically used to symbolize autism at times.

Our opening music comes from "School Zone (radio edit)" by The Honorable Sleaze, who’s also on Soundcloud. Our closing music is from "Late for School" by Bleeptor. Both are used under Creative Commons Attribution Licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com

The Nonprofit Push for Girls in Engineering Dec 12, 2016

Show notes

Hear from two nonprofit organizations trying to provide girls with more education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In Part 1 (start @ 00:59), we visit Girlstart, a Texas-based nonprofit that reaches thousands of girls from 4th grade up to junior high with hands-on programs. Executive Director Tamara Hudgins shares what it’s like to develop the program over the past years and into the future. In Part 2 (start @ 27:27), we talk to the founders of Scientific Adventures for Girls, a newer nonprofit around Oakland, California, that targets younger girls in early elementary. Courtenay Carr-Heuer and Tiffany Sprague are using their experience in the both the corporate and nonprofit sectors to start this organization from the ground up. Together these nonprofit directors give stories about why reaching girls in engineering is important and what practical strategies can help others in this same mission. Hear about after-school curricula, recruitment methods, family engagement, key data to collect, fundraising, and other pivotal aspects of their work.

Mentioned in this episode:

● Girlstart: http://www.girlstart.org/about-us

● Scientific Adventures for Girls: http://www.scientificadventures.org

● After School Alliance December 2016 report “The impact of afterschool STEM”: http://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/AfterschoolSTEMImpacts2016.pdf

● Girlstart’s October 2016 research report: https://issuu.com/girlstart/docs/strong_promise_girlstart_after_scho_863a7961051441

● UTeach teacher prep program: https://uteach.utexas.edu/

● 5E Instructional Model, with which Girlstart aligns: https://bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model

● DeSTEMber program: http://www.destember.org

● Curiosity Hacked makerspace in Oakland: http://www.curiosityhacked.org/

● TechBridge Girls: http://www.techbridgegirls.org/

● Previous podcast episode with Linda Kekelis: https://soundcloud.com/piuswong/much-more-than-a-social-network

● Girls Inc: http://www.girlsinc.org/

● Makerfaire: http://makerfaire.com/ Remember that the podcast will be at the SXSW Conference and Festival in March, 2017! We will be running workshops for educators and professional engineers: https://www.sxsw.com/ and http://sxswedu.com/

CAD vs. Engineering Dec 06, 2016

Show notes

Step into the classroom of 16-year veteran CAD teacher Audrea Moyers. Audrea also teaches engineering design, and she talks about how the pathway of CAD and engineering classes at her school link up. What are her thoughts on the different CAD packages out there? How do you integrate more design into a CAD class, and vice-versa? Where do you teach drawing by hand? Hear about all this and more in this conversation.

Mentioned in this episode:

● AutoCAD: http://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/overview

● SolidWorks: http://www.solidworks.com/

● CAD program at Austin Community College: http://www.austincc.edu/info/cad

● Inventor: http://www.autodesk.com/products/inventor/overview

● SketchUp: http://www.sketchup.com/

● Engineer Your World curriculum: http://engineeryourworld.org/

● Revit: http://www.autodesk.com/products/revit-family/overview

Remember that the podcast will be at the SXSW Conference and Festival in March, 2017! We will be running workshops for educators and professional engineers: https://www.sxsw.com/ and http://sxswedu.com/

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