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Panasonic and Olympian Katie Ledecky Partner to Inspire Student STEM Innovation and Unlock the Power of Technology

Las Vegas, NV (Tuesday, January 4, 2022) – To inspire student innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”), Panasonic Corporation of North America (“Panasonic”) is partnering with 3-time Olympian, 15-time World Champion, 10-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer, and proud STEM advocate Katie Ledecky to launch the STEM Forward educational initiative and engaged Discovery Education to help make this educational program a reality. Announced during CES 2022, the initiative combines Katie Ledecky’s passion for STEM education and advocacy, Panasonic’s legacy of innovation, and Discovery Education’s worldwide leadership in education technology, STEM Forward connects students in grades 3-8 to the game-changing power of technology with standards-aligned resources for any learning environment at no cost.

“As champions for progress at Panasonic, we’re focused on how we can move the world forward and commit ourselves to enhancing the well-being of people, communities, and society. Today’s students have a tremendous future ahead of them, one where technology is not only a tool but an inspiration,” said Megan Myungwon Lee, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “We’re proud to continue to partner with Katie Ledecky, who is an inspiration to young people around the world, and empowers students to reach their full potential and discover new ways to think about and apply STEM to build a better world.”

Building on Katie’s ongoing work with Panasonic as a STEM leader and a member of Team Panasonic, STEM Forward provides students, educators, and families with dynamic digital resources that explore how technology improves lives and makes the world a better place. In addition, STEM Forward includes a special Virtual Field Trip appropriate for both in class use and at home exploration.…Read More

5 strategies to build better information literacy in students

We live in the age of information. Thanks to the internet, we now have all the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. Just think about it: Cooking, philosophy, engineering, literature–anything you could possibly imagine can likely be found using a simple Google search.

It’s pretty astounding when you take the time to consider it. Of course, many of us have learned the hard way that not everything you find online is reliable or true.

This presents educators with a difficult problem. The internet is an inescapable part of our students’ lives. As they grow, students will turn to online resources to help them navigate their education and build upon what they’ve learned. Yet, at the same time, it’s human nature to focus on information that reinforces our preexisting worldview, and many of us passively ingest all kinds of media while browsing social apps.…Read More

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GoGuardian Appoints Former Google Executive Jenny Zhao as Chief Technology Officer

LOS ANGELES–( BUSINESS WIRE)–GoGuardian, the leading education technology company helping K-12 schools maximize the learning potential of every student, today announced the appointment of former Google executive Jenny Zhao as GoGuardian’s Chief Technology Officer. At GoGuardian, Zhao will lead the teams responsible for building digital learning solutions to help educators create engaging and safe learning environments.

Zhao recently served as Senior Director of Engineering at Google. Her multi-decade rise through globally dominant tech companies started at computer graphics innovator Silicon Graphics, where she led advanced simulation middleware solutions for clients including the U.S. Air Force and Disneyland. At Google, Zhao excelled as an engineering director, managing global teams across cultures and geographies, building innovative solutions in Google Pay, Search, and Maps.

“Jenny believes deeply in the mission of GoGuardian and shares our passion for building effective learning solutions that advance educational outcomes,” said Advait Shinde, co-founder and CEO of GoGuardian. “Jenny’s incredible track record of leading people-centered, high-performing engineering teams and driving change at the world’s most successful companies is a perfect fit for GoGuardian at a transformative time for our company.”…Read More

American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Discovery Education Partner to Unlock Student Success Through Engineering

Silver Spring, Md. (Monday, December 2, 2021) — Discovery Education and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) have launched Engineering Dreams, an educational initiative designed to engage K-12 students nationwide in the biggest challenges of today while helping them unlock future success through engineering. Engineering Dreams offers educators and students a variety of interactive, standards-aligned learning resources to inspire the next generation of creative thinkers, risk takers and ethical problem-solvers.

To help every community celebrate the “E” in STEM, Engineering Dreams offers educators a video topic series, “Problem-Solvers for Good,” that explores engineering-based solutions to local community challenges that have the promise of positive global impact.

“ASME champions equitable access to unique and impactful K-12 STEM education content and experiences that are intentionally designed to reach students chronically underrepresented in STEM,” says ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile, P.E. “This collaboration with Discovery Education is a critical lynchpin in ASME’s overall DEI strategy to foster a more diverse and inclusive pipeline of students eager to pursue engineering. Many of our diverse talented members are storytellers who can fill a critical gap in representation by sharing real-world examples of engineers and engineering that resonate with students.”…Read More

Delaware Department of Education, DuPont and Discovery Education Launch First-of-Its-Kind Partnership Supporting STEM, Career, and Technical Education Statewide

DOVER, Del., Nov. 22, 2021 – The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Discovery Education today announced a new, first-of-its-kind partnership that will increase student access to high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) instructional resources, as well as instructional materials and other supports to enhance career and technical education programs across the state. The three-year partnership program directly supports the Delaware Pathways initiative — an innovative effort helping students develop the academic, technical, and employability skills needed for successful, in-demand jobs across Delaware.

“Acquiring academic knowledge, technical skills, and meaningful work experience gives students the freedom to choose their life’s path,” said Delaware Secretary of Education Susan Bunting. “This new partnership provides Delaware students an even better opportunity to develop the skills needed for the careers of tomorrow. Thus, I look forward to supporting the progress of this exciting new collaboration.”

“Connecting what is being taught in the classroom to Delaware employers is critical,” said Luke Rhine, Director, Career & Technical Education and STEM Initiatives at the Delaware Department of Education. “The resources provided through this partnership will support middle school and high school teachers as they build bridges between classrooms and careers for all students. We are thankful for partners like DuPont who share our goals related to STEM- and career-focused education.”…Read More

Twig Education Launches Twig Science Next Gen for Middle School

(Los Angeles, Calif.) October 28, 2021 —  Twig Education, creators of the leading elementary level science program Twig Science, today announced the launch of Twig Science Next Gen for grades 6–8.

Twig Science Next Gen for middle school is an investigation-based science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) solution developed for the three-dimensional Next Generation Science Standards. It transforms the standards into story-based modules in which students take on a range of STEAM career roles through various investigation types:

  • Hand-On Labs: Students learn through inquiry-based activities, solving problems and designing solutions using resources supplied in Hands-On Kits and other everyday items.
  • Digital Interactives: High-quality simulations based on real-world phenomena and authentic data, from the Gravity Simulator and Volcano Builder interactives to adventures like “The Great Air Race” and “Into the Abyss,” let students experience science in action.
  • Real-World Multimedia Field Trips: Through video and text, students shadow scientists and engineers around the world as they explore local, national, global, and space phenomena, deepening student understanding of STEAM practices and concepts.
  • Scientific Text Investigations: Students experience a variety of authentic scientific text types, including informational, narrative, descriptive, and argumentative, reinforcing the real-world science and engineering concepts of their learning journey.
  • Video Labs: Specially shot in the Twig studio, video labs enable students to take part in scientific inquiries and experiences that would be impractical to carry out in the classroom.

For Twig Science Next Gen, Twig partnered with some of the most highly respected organizations in the worlds of science and engineering education. Developed with the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) team, three-dimensional performance assessments evaluate student attainment of NGSS Performance Expectations and prepare students for state testing. Imperial College London also acted as scientific advisors during the development of the program, which introduces students to multiple real-life STEAM professionals who inspire and motivate students and help them explain phenomena.…Read More

Discovery Education and Social Impact Partners Offer Communities No-Cost Digital Learning Resources Supporting STEM Day Observances Nationwide

Silver Spring, MD (Wednesday, November 3, 2021) — Discovery Education and leading social impact partners are offering engaging, no-cost digital learning resources to students, teachers, and families to support National STEM Day observances nationwide. Held annually on November 8th, National STEM Day unites communities in celebrating the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students in grades K-12. Discovery Education is the worldwide EdTech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.

Discovery Education offers educators, students, and families hundreds of no-cost resources tailored to STEM teaching and learning where it takes place. Among the content are resources from educational initiatives created in collaboration with leading social impact partners, such as:

STEM Careers Coalition™ –  Afterschool and Post-Secondary Resources
A coalition of industry partners – such as Caterpillar Foundation, ASME, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Boeing, American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, and Stanley Black & Decker – collaborates with Discovery Education to create a culture of STEM education in K-12 schools nationwide. By empowering educators to teach STEM effectively in the classroom and fostering equity and access to quality education, the  STEM Careers Coalition™ is building the next generation of solution-seekers. Among the new resources now available to educators, parents, and families are a series of afterschool and post-secondary resources. Created in partnership with industry leaders, these resources further support teachers’ efforts to integrate STEM teaching and learning into instruction with ready-made activities featuring step-by-step educator guides suitable for the classroom, the remote environment, or wherever learning is taking place.…Read More

5 must-haves for school makerspaces

School makerspaces have emerged as centers of creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and more. These skills–often referred to as soft skills, but also known as durable skills for their importance in the workplace–are a focus of 21st-century classrooms.

These days, school libraries often include makerspaces and librarians are becoming well-versed in the coding, robotics, engineering, and tinkering skills necessary to help students bring their ideas to fruition.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, students set up personal makerspaces at home, logging onto school-provided resources and gathering materials from their homes to keep their creativity going when learning moved online.…Read More

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Scholastic Teams Up with 5 Female Leaders to Debut New “Rising Voices” K–5 Classroom Library Collection to Empower Girls in STEAM

The Second Collection in the Rising Voices Library® Series Features Powerful Messages from Industry Mentors to Shatter Misconceptions About Girls as Future Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math 

New York, NY – June 16, 2021 – Scholastic has announced the launch of Rising Voices: Books Empowering Girls in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math). This new classroom library collection provides K–5 students and educators with culturally relevant and representative books paired with teaching materials, designed to enrich identity development, build literacy skills, and support CASEL-aligned social-emotional learning. Despite representing nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women made up only 27% of those employed in science, technology, engineering, and math in 2019*. Among the women who have made it into this workforce, few are women of color. Rising Voices: Books Empowering Girls in STEAM showcases girls and women as protagonists succeeding in a variety of STEAM fields, and celebrates inspiring stories of curiosity, creative problem-solving, leadership, collaboration, persistence, and vision. With the inclusion of select titles focused on the arts, this collection recognizes artistic pursuits for the value they bring to society and for their significance in enhancing STEM efforts. 

Learn more about the Scholastic Rising Voices Library series: www.scholastic.com/risingvoicessteam.  …Read More

Early Education Grant Provides STEAM Learning for Jewish Day Schools

The David Lear Sulman Fund provides over 50% off research-based KIBO robot kits

(Waltham, MA) June 10, 2021 – KinderLab Robotics today announced a partnership with the David Lear Sulman Computing, Science, and Engineering Fund, which is offering the Limudei Code-Esh Curriculum (LCE) for Jewish day schools and Jewish supplemental schools. LCE is an integrated curriculum for students in grades K-3 (adaptable for preK-Grade 5) that was created to engage them with Judaic studies as they begin their journey into coding and robotics. With this program, Jewish schools can implement the free LCE curriculum while receiving a 10% discount on KIBO Robot Kits from KinderLab, and an additional 50% off the remaining price of the KIBO robots with the generous grant from the David Lear Sulman Fund.

This initiative includes curriculum and two STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) educational technology platforms, KIBO and ScratchJr. Students use these tools as they explore themes in the Jewish holiday cycle while expressing their ideas and understanding through building, coding, and art activities.…Read More