2019 Utah Rural Schools Conference

Come join us in the conference playground and experience hands-on activities using STEM inspired tech toys such as Sphero, Ozobot, Lego Mindstorm, Bee-Bots, Hummingbird, micro:bit, Vernier Probes, VR, app building and more! Visit with the technology trainers from Utah’s Regional Service Centers, UEN, and the STEM Action Center about STEM, coding, and makerspace activities.

Computer science teacher challenges include isolation, lack of adequate CS background, and limited professional development resources (Yadav, 2016). Implementing equitable district-wide CSforALL brings even more considerable challenges and requires an approach which supports teachers and districts through ongoing PD, district instructional coaches, a focus on content and pedagogy, and collaboration between teachers and with district leadership. Sustainability is an additional challenge requiring a long-term district-wide solution.

Juab School District, with funding from the Utah STEM Action Center, has partnered with the nonprofit organization BootUp Professional Development to support the Juab Elementary Coding Initiative. We have rolled out a computing curriculum for 100% of our 5th - 6th graders and will add all 4th graders to the program this fall. Krystle Bassett, Innovation Specialist at Juab School District will share tangible implementation tips while highlighting and detailing challenges and successes.

Learn about current cyber threats & trends, miscreant tactics, and how best to protect yourself against them.

Come join us in the conference playground and experience hands-on activities using STEM inspired tech toys such as Sphero, Ozobot, Lego Mindstorm, Bee-Bots, Hummingbird, micro:bit, Vernier Probes, VR, app building and more! Visit with the technology trainers from Utah’s Regional Service Centers, UEN, and the STEM Action Center about STEM, coding, and makerspace activities.

This workshop will focus on introducing teachers to coding with the Sphero robot. The Sphero is a robotic ball gaming device that is controlled with the Sphero EDU app on a smartphone or tablet. We will examine of three modes of coding including the draw mode, block coding, and javascript coding, plus STEM lessons and activities for K-12 students.

Ozobot is a little toy robot that blends the physical and digital worlds while teaching kids programming. This workshop will demonstrate how students train Ozobot robots to move by drawing pre-programed color codes or sending block-codes via Chromebook or iPad. Participants will also explore Ozobot STEAM lessons and activities aligned for K-8 students.

Whenever I tell people that I run half marathons or I mention to them that I'm a middle school teacher, their answers are usually the same -

Ugh. Why would you want to do that?

And that response is the premise of 13.1 Ways That Teaching Middle School is Like Running a Half Marathon. This high-energy session is about all the challenges that we teachers face on a daily basis. Like our classes, some of the topics addressed are very serious (the importance of planning, not wasting time, persevering through difficult times), while others are a bit more light-hearted (learning to eat in 15 minutes, wanting to change careers mid-lesson, ultimate bladder control). Regardless of if you're a runner or not, these are all topics that teachers will understand all-to-well.

After providing an overview of each challenge, three ""next-day"" strategies will be provided to help teachers become better at their craft. That means you'll leave with close to 40 strategies that will easily fit into any content area or grade level!

Don't miss out!

iNaturalist is an app developed by the California Academy of Sciences to connect people with exploring nature in their local environment while documenting ecological data and creating awareness of biodiversity worldwide. If you are interested in learning about this great tool to supplement Life Science programming join us as we explore iNaturalist’s potential for increasing science literacy for your students. This session will include a thorough introduction to iNaturalist and a hands-on demo of its functionality as it applies to getting students involved in scientific practices of making observations, questioning through inquiry, analyzing data, and contributing to the broader Community Science movement.

We will begin this workshop by going over utilizing iNaturalist as a tool for students and teachers. We will then have a hands-on training using iNaturalist on a device (phone/tablets) before we dive into exploring the many functions of the iNaturalist webpage. Then we will demo how to create your own projects, places, and guides within the website for general classroom use. At the end we will share educator resources (curriculum and activities) developed in conjunction with City Nature Challenge.

This workshop will showcase using the iNaturalist website and app which can be found for free on android and apple devices. If you have a device and would like to download the app see the links above. Tablets will be provided with the app pre-loaded for those who do not have a device.

Website: https://inaturalist.org

Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_US

Apple users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028?mt=8

Teacher Resources: http://citynaturechallenge.org/education-toolkit/

A close read of the new (draft) Science standards reveals that students should be learning engineering principles and creating their own models for each of the major concepts. This can be overwhelming, especially when many of the topics we've taught in the past are switching to different grade levels! On top of this are additional encouragements to incorporate more computer science into our teaching. The only solution is to use an integrated, project-based approach. In this session, we will engage participants in creating and programming robotic models of science concepts. We will also share interdisciplinary projects that we have developed and piloted with elementary students and teachers in the STEM endorsement program.

This session is for those that have participated in a Breakout EDU activity before and have questions like:

• How do I buy a kit? 
• Can I just make one? 
• How do I find games? 
• How do I manage the locks? 
• Can students make games?

Join us as we dive deeper into Breakout EDU to see what resources are available!
Click here for presentation.

The Hummingbird Duo may be the first electronics kit that is fun and educational for a fourth grader, a high school student, or an adult maker. In this workshop participants will get hands-on experience creating a simple robot using the Hummingbird robotics kit. The Hummingbird is is an Arduino-based computer board that operates as a tethered input/output control panel. Students write programs which control motors, servos, LEDs, and sensors. The robots are simple construction using craft materials or anything you have laying around.

iNaturalist is an app developed by the California Academy of Sciences to connect people with exploring nature in their local environment while documenting ecological data and creating awareness of biodiversity worldwide. If you are interested in learning about this great tool to supplement Life Science programming join us as we explore iNaturalist’s potential for increasing science literacy for your students. This session will include a thorough introduction to iNaturalist and a hands-on demo of its functionality as it applies to getting students involved in scientific practices of making observations, questioning through inquiry, analyzing data, and contributing to the broader Community Science movement.

We will begin this workshop by going over utilizing iNaturalist as a tool for students and teachers. We will then have a hands-on training using iNaturalist on a device (phone/tablets) before we dive into exploring the many functions of the iNaturalist webpage. Then we will demo how to create your own projects, places, and guides within the website for general classroom use. At the end we will share educator resources (curriculum and activities) developed in conjunction with City Nature Challenge.

This workshop will showcase using the iNaturalist website and app which can be found for free on android and apple devices. If you have a device and would like to download the app see the links above. Tablets will be provided with the app pre-loaded for those who do not have a device.

Website: https://inaturalist.org

Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_US

Apple users: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028?mt=8

Teacher Resources: http://citynaturechallenge.org/education-toolkit/

A close read of the new (draft) Science standards reveals that students should be learning engineering principles and creating their own models for each of the major concepts. This can be overwhelming, especially when many of the topics we've taught in the past are switching to different grade levels! On top of this are additional encouragements to incorporate more computer science into our teaching. The only solution is to use an integrated, project-based approach. In this session, we will engage participants in creating and programming robotic models of science concepts. We will also share interdisciplinary projects that we have developed and piloted with elementary students and teachers in the STEM endorsement program.