Think Like A Scientist

I’d love to see inventor, Jay Silver travel to as many school districts as possible nationwide to reignite the curiosity in teachers and administrators alike. During this cozy 19 minute TEDx Talk Silver, with a sparkle in his eyes totally engages the audience relaying stories of his own childhood and the transformations he has made in his own thinking. Silver, definitely thinks outside of the box which is not often welcomed in the classroom or boardroom. I see his way of thinking has a progressive and much-needed model for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classrooms as well as teacher training models. You don’t necessarily need a kit with instructions to build something cool, go outside in nature and create with the materials around you. Design, create, and build driven by your own internal inspirations. Sit back, absorb, and be transformed as you watch Jay Silver in this charming TEDx Talk on the evolution of his latest invention, the MakeyMakey.

Just finished reading a great and timely article by Franz Lidz in Smithsonian.com entitled ” How Lego Is Constructing the Next Generation of Engineers“. It’s a quick and interesting read. Lidz provides a brief overview of how Lego’s came to be, and their evolution during the past eighty-one years. With the emphasis being placed on building awareness and interest in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers Lego’s have made their way into many K-12 schools worldwide. Where students are designing, building, and testing robots from  simple to advanced Lego robot kits. Lego is doing its part to introduce and enlighten the K-12 youth in a hands-on-minds-on way to the STEM fields. To read the complete article check it out  here in Smithsonian.com. MINDSTORM EV3 will allow individuals to turn their LEGO creations into live robots. LEGO MINDSTORM EV3 will be available in the Fall of 2013. To find out the specifications of LEGO MINDSTORM EV3 check out the MINDSTORM SITE HERE. I’ll be introducing the principles of robotics during my scheduled 2013-2014  science, technology, engineering, and math teacher training workshops. Check out the available STEM teacher training workshops I offer here.