The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Reaching the High School Girls Who Didn't See Themselves in Tech Oct 08, 2018

Show notes

Among the various STEM education organizations that have developed throughout the last several years, there is ChickTech. The local Austin chapter of the nonprofit began just a few years ago, and Dana DeFebbo, its Assistant Director, discusses how ChickTech Austin reaches out to high school girls who might not have had opportunities in tech. Dana talks about the challenges and rewards of running an all-volunteer program like this and her hopes for its future. Related to this episode: • Chicktech Austin: https://austin.chicktech.org/ • ChickTech: https://chicktech.org/ • OSCON, Open Source Convention: https://conferences.oreilly.com/oscon/oscon-or • Microbits: https://microbit.org/ • Girlstart: https://girlstart.org/ • Previous podcast with GirlStart: http://www.k12engineering.net/transcripts/ep21.html • Android development curriculum App Inventor from MIT: http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ • ACT-W Conferences: http://www.act-w.org/ • Lilypad Arduino: https://store.arduino.cc/usa/lilypad-arduino-main-board • Article on Apple’s Global Volunteer Program: https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/16/apple-launches-global-volunteer-program/ • Microsoft employee giving program: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/philanthropies/employee-engagement Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

An Architect in the Classroom Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

What skills does a professional architect bring to high school education? Guest Kelly Foster explains, as he shares his experience as both a practicing architect and a STEM teacher. He discusses his methods in teaching creativity and problem-solving in multiple areas of design, including civil and architectural engineering, architecture, and graphic design. He also analyzes the design of the new Central Library, part of the Austin Public Library system. Guest co-host Rachel also joins the discussion. Related to this episode: • Austin Central Library: https://library.austintexas.gov/central-library • Science poster designed by Kelly Foster, “CAUTION! Science Teacher at Work”: http://www.k12engineering.net/downloads/caution-scienceteacher-kwfstudio.pdf • Project Lead The Way preK-12 STEM curriculum: https://www.pltw.org/ • Project Lead The Way curriculum in civil engineering and architecture: https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-engineering-curriculum#curriculum-4 • Land surveying on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveying • Hogwarts “Grand Staircase” from the Harry Potter Wiki: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Grand_Staircase • MC Escher’s “Relativity” lithograph showing staircases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity_(M._C._Escher) • Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s “Prisons” art: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/piranesi-prisons/ • The old Faulk Central Library of Austin: http://library.austintexas.gov/blog-entry/remembering-faulk-central-library-411004 • Brutalism in architecture, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture • Lake Flato, San Antonio-based designers of the Austin Central Library: https://www.lakeflato.com/ • Article on the Technology Petting Zoo at the Austin Central Library: https://www.512tech.com/technology/austin-central-library-hands-gadget-time-drives-the-tech-petting-zoo/mBU2Ik9qSJM6D7ATXNhjKO/ • Weed eater locking mechanism video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTyp0tXxBA • “A&M” is Texas A&M University. • Article on the housing bubble and crisis of 2008: https://www.businessinsider.com/impact-of-2008-crash-on-housing-2016-2 • The cover art for this episode pictures the underside of stairways in the Austin Central Library, photographed during the conversation. Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

A Robot for Developers and Educators Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

Engineer Ian Bernstein talks about his startup’s newest consumer robot released by Misty Robotics: Misty II. Based on what he learned developing his previous educational robot Sphero, Ian and his team created Misty II to be widely customizable, programmable, and full of potential functionality. The robot may be on the pricier side, and Ian says that it’s worth it. He also discusses why he thinks robotics can promote education and how he got interested in robotics when he was young. Related to this episode: • Misty II robot at Misty Robotics: https://www.mistyrobotics.com/ • Misty II offer for educators: https://www.mistyrobotics.com/educators-and-students/ • WALL-E: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/ • Baymax from “Big Hero 6”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/ • Sphero: https://www.sphero.com/ • Sphero SPRK: https://www.sphero.com/sprk-plus • Lego Mindstorms: https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms • Misty Robotics community: http://community.mistyrobotics.com • Blockly: https://developers.google.com/blockly/ • Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/ • JavaScript: https://www.javascript.com/ • South by Southwest (SXSW): https://www.sxsw.com/ • Apple IIe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_series • Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/ • SLAM algorithms for mapping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simultaneous_localization_and_mapping • Logo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language) • BASIC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC

Truth in Storytelling: The Reality of Teachers' Lives Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

Author Roxanna Elden discusses her new satirical novel Adequate Yearly Progress, which tells the story of the teachers’ lives across one year in the fictional Texas high school of Brae Hill Valley. Roxanna’s book draws on her own experience as a K-12 public school teacher and her conversations with other teachers around the country. Roxanna says that past portrayals of teachers in popular media can be very unrealistic, and her book is meant to challenge that. Related to this episode: • Roxanna Elden, author: https://roxannaelden.com/ • “Adequate Yearly Progress” on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adequate-Yearly-Progress-Roxanna-Elden/dp/1732098700/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 • Adequate Yearly Progress as described by the Texas Education Agency: https://tea.texas.gov/ayp/ • “See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers” on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/See-Me-After-Class-Teachers/dp/1402297068 • “The Office” TV show, on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676/ • Tom Wolf, author and journalist, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe • Zadie Smith, author: http://www.zadiesmith.com/ • Alisa Valdez Rodriguez, author, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisa_Valdes • “Freedom Writers” film, on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463998/ • National Novel Writing Month: https://nanowrimo.org/ • Vote for our proposals for SXSW 2019! "Podcasting Meetup: Educator Give & Get" (https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/90770), and "Teachers in Tech: Talking With Career Changers" at SXSW EDU (https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/91608) and SXSW (https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/91091) Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Leaving Teaching for Tech Jul 30, 2018

Show notes

Former teacher and current tech worker Sophia talks about why she left the classroom, how people perceive teachers, how to bring STEM to four-year-olds, and the value of communication skills in software development. Related to this episode: • AISD (Austin Independent School District): https://www.austinisd.org/ • General Assembly Web Development courses: https://generalassemb.ly/coding/full-stack-web-development • Front-End, Back-End, and Full Stack web development, on Udacity: https://blog.udacity.com/2014/12/front-end-vs-back-end-vs-full-stack-web-developers.html • “Stand and Deliver” the movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094027/ • “Texas at top of list for cuts in K-12 education” article in the Texarkana Gazette: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2018/jul/20/texas-top-list-cuts-k-12-education/735282/ • Project Based Learning (PBL) at the Buck Institute: https://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl • South by Southwest (SXSW) EDU Conference: https://www.sxswedu.com/ • SEL (Social-emotional learning) at CASEL: https://casel.org/what-is-sel/ • Slido, digital question and answer tool: https://www.sli.do/ • Eligibility for Prekindergarten (pre-K) in Texas: https://tea.texas.gov/ece/eligibility.aspx • PD (professional development): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_development • Life cycle of a snail, at AnimalSake: https://animalsake.com/life-cycle-of-snail • “The Benefits and Pitfalls of Pair Programming in the Workplace” by Sam Harris on Medium: https://medium.freecodecamp.org/the-benefits-and-pitfalls-of-pair-programming-in-the-workplace-e68c3ed3c81f • Slack, common communication tool in tech industry: https://slack.com/ Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Engineers on Eyes Jul 09, 2018

Show notes

What’s so great about the human eye? Can we build something just like it? When would we need to design something better? Sadhan joins the podcast again as we give our engineers’ perspectives on these questions and more. Related to this episode: • Curriculum for Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University: http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/biomedical/undergraduate/bachelor-of-science/curriculum.html • Ohm’s Law, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law • Anatomy of the eye, at the National Eye Institute: https://nei.nih.gov/photo/anatomy-of-eye • The occipital lobe of the brain, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_lobe • Focal length, at Nikon: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/understanding-focal-length.html • Myopia, at the National Eye Institute: https://nei.nih.gov/health/errors/myopia • Macro lenses in photography, at Techradar: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/what-is-a-macro-lens-magnification-and-minimum-focus-explained • Algorithms for focusing cameras, at Stanford: https://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs178/applets/autofocusPD.html • Magic Eye stereogram images: http://www.magiceye.com/ • Hubble Telescope: http://hubblesite.org/ • Biological taxonomies, on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_(biology) • “Uncanny valley: robots so creepy they’ll haunt your dreams” on Science Focus: http://www.sciencefocus.com/article/future/uncanny-valley-creepy-robots-will-haunt-your-dreams • “The dawn of social robots” at the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/01/cover-social-robots.aspx • Terminator 2: Judgment Day, on Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator_2_judgment_day/ Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

The Future of Assessments in Engineering Design Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

Now that states have written engineering into K-12 science and technology learning standards, more institutions are thinking about how to run standardized tests in the subject. The educational assessments organization ETS is one institution interested in an in-depth, fair, and large-scale assessment for engineering learning. Deb Brockway, Senior Research Associate at ETS, talks about some of her work in this area, especially in engineering design. She describes a current research project to assess students as they work together designing in a virtual environment. Related to this episode: • ETS Assessments Development: https://www.ets.org/k12/capabilities/assessment-development/ • Deb Brockway’s email at ETS: dbrockway@ets.org • Example pyrotechnics products for airbags: http://www.specialdevices.com/automotive.htm • Blended Learning on Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/blended-learning • Summative vs. formative assessments: http://www.edudemic.com/summative-and-formative-assessments/ • “Collect Water in a Solar Still”: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-people/water-solar-still.html • SXSW Edu Conference: https://www.sxswedu.com/ • Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): http://www.nextgenscience.org/ • NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) Assessment: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tel/ Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Teaching Science in Prison Jun 10, 2018

Show notes

Science education occurs in juvenile detention centers, as part of the schooling available to young people there so that they can receive their high school equivalency certification. Guests Rachel and Kasina talk about their experiences teaching science and other subjects to boys and young men in these institutions. They describe the constraints and opportunities in these classrooms and how they compare to schools on the outside. Related to this episode: • Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT): https://behavioraltech.org/resources/faqs/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt/ • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): https://psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/ • High School Equivalency (HSE): https://hiset.ets.org/what • GED high school equivalency test: https://ged.com/ • Massachusetts educational standards: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ • Common Core: http://www.corestandards.org/ • “Why is Pluto no longer a planet?” Article from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33462184 • Tool for calculating solar system scale models from the Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/ • Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/ • AISD stands for Austin Independent School District • The cover art for this episode alludes to the activity mentioned where a class forms a scale model of the solar system with the sun as a basketball. Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Teaching Computer Science Remotely to Kids May 27, 2018

Show notes

Vivian Shen and Ruby Lee want to teach kids how to program one-on-one over the internet. Vivian and Ruby are Cofounders of Juni Learning, their new educational startup that provides programming lessons to kids like how others provide private piano lessons. Although they both studied computer science at Stanford, they got to computer science at an older age than the kids they are now serving. They talk about why they started Juni Learning and the benefits and challenges of teaching CS live online. Related to this episode: • Juni Learning: https://junilearning.com/ • Email Juni Learning: hello@learnwithjuni.com • Stanford Computer Science: https://cs.stanford.edu/ • Kleiner Perkins, or KPCB: http://www.kpcb.com/ • Python: https://www.python.org/ • Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/ • AP Computer Science: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-computer-science-a • Neopets: http://www.neopets.com/ • w3schools: https://www.w3schools.com/ • bioinformatics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinformatics • Coterm program at Stanford: https://undergrad.stanford.edu/advising/coterm • “The Socratic Method: What it is and How to Use it in the Classroom”: http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/tomprof/posting.php?ID=810 • USA Computing Olympiad: http://www.usaco.org/ • Stranger Things on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80057281 • Hour of Code: https://hourofcode.com/us • Pair programming: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/pairing/ • Code.org: https://code.org/ • Code Academy: https://www.codecademy.com/ • Computer Programming at Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, 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. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Intro to Mechanical Engineering May 14, 2018

Show notes

What is mechanical engineering? Engineer Sadhan Sathyaseelan joins the show again from The University of Texas to wonder out loud about all the important aspects of this classic engineering field. This is a continuing series of conversations introducing the fundamentals of different engineering disciplines. In this episode on mechanical engineering, we talk about thermodynamics, motion, manufacturing, mechatronics, design methodology, machine elements, and more. Related to this episode: • “Engineering 101” podcast episode: http://www.k12engineering.net/transcripts/ep55.html • University of Texas at Austin Mechanical Engineering Degree Information: http://www.me.utexas.edu/undergraduate/degree-information • The Game of Life: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2921/game-of-life • vestibular system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_system • mechanics: https://www.britannica.com/science/mechanics • kinematics: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-6/Kinematic-Equations • materials engineering: https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/aboutus/whatsmaterials • 3D printing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing • Selective laser sintering: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/features/selective-laser-sintering • thermodynamics: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/thermo.html • mechatronics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechatronics • design methodology: https://www.amazon.com/Product-Design-Techniques-Engineering-Development/dp/0130212717 • “India vs. USA” podcast episode: http://www.k12engineering.net/transcripts/ep13.html • machine elements: http://ndml.me.utexas.edu/class/me-338-machine-elements • bioengineering: http://bioeng.berkeley.edu/about-us/what-is-bioengineering • MEMS: http://www.memsnet.org/mems/what_is.html • foundry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry • computer-aided design (CAD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design Our opening music is called “Soar,” and our closing music is called “Polar,” both by artist Chris Pop. You can find more music by Chris Pop on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chrispop99. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

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