ABC CREATE Ambassadors
Fall 2019 application deadline: November 1, 2019
We’re looking to enhance our outreach and engagement of teachers in ABC CREATE districts. If you’re reading this (and you work in a participating ABC CREATE district), it’s likely that you’re just the kind of teacher we’re looking for. We’re building a corps of ABC CREATE Ambassadors. If you would like to be an ABC CREATE Ambassador for your building (or maybe for your district), please apply now. ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be expected to communicate about ABC CREATE workshops and activities to fellow educators in their buildings/districts. ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be sounding boards and conduits of ideas that will shape the work of ABC CREATE. At least twice a year, ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be invited to attend an after school function (a dinner or happy hour or something hopefully with a mix of work and fun!) where you will get ABC CREATE updates and share insights. Think how much fun it would be to have the opportunity to get together with your ABC CREATE peeps! Not only will you make an impact in your district and within the ABC CREATE community of learners, but you will also be rewarded with a soon to be highly coveted ABC CREATE T-shirt!
Fall 2019 application deadline: November 1, 2019
We’re looking to enhance our outreach and engagement of teachers in ABC CREATE districts. If you’re reading this (and you work in a participating ABC CREATE district), it’s likely that you’re just the kind of teacher we’re looking for. We’re building a corps of ABC CREATE Ambassadors. If you would like to be an ABC CREATE Ambassador for your building (or maybe for your district), please apply now. ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be expected to communicate about ABC CREATE workshops and activities to fellow educators in their buildings/districts. ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be sounding boards and conduits of ideas that will shape the work of ABC CREATE. At least twice a year, ABC CREATE Ambassadors will be invited to attend an after school function (a dinner or happy hour or something hopefully with a mix of work and fun!) where you will get ABC CREATE updates and share insights. Think how much fun it would be to have the opportunity to get together with your ABC CREATE peeps! Not only will you make an impact in your district and within the ABC CREATE community of learners, but you will also be rewarded with a soon to be highly coveted ABC CREATE T-shirt!
2019 ABC CREATE Survey for educators and administrators in ABC CREATE Participating Districts
We know you're working hard everyday to engage students in relevant and innovative learning. In collaboration with ABC CREATE and other districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley, we want to learn how to better support you and your students. Specifically, we want to understand what support you need to integrate essential skill-sets that our students will need to succeed in the ever-changing digital economy and job market.
Please take 10 minutes to respond to this survey by Friday, 11/1 to inform opportunities for educator professional learning and support. Your voice and perspectives are essential to shaping future opportunities for educators, like you, in our region. As a bonus, the district with the highest response rate will be treated to donuts or some other tasty treat! Thank you for participating.
We know you're working hard everyday to engage students in relevant and innovative learning. In collaboration with ABC CREATE and other districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley, we want to learn how to better support you and your students. Specifically, we want to understand what support you need to integrate essential skill-sets that our students will need to succeed in the ever-changing digital economy and job market.
Please take 10 minutes to respond to this survey by Friday, 11/1 to inform opportunities for educator professional learning and support. Your voice and perspectives are essential to shaping future opportunities for educators, like you, in our region. As a bonus, the district with the highest response rate will be treated to donuts or some other tasty treat! Thank you for participating.
Hummingbird Bit & the Digital Age
Location: Penn State New Kensington
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Date and Time: Thursday, November 7th 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Overview: Hummingbird Bit Training (Appropriate for teachers of grades 3-12 of any subject, administrators, STEM and STEAM teachers, CS teachers, or any educator interested in creative robotics. No prior experience or knowledge necessary.)
Why teach robotics and computer science? This workshop will touch on many important reasons for teaching robotics and CS, K-12, including equity, joy, and the future of work. Using the radio function of Hummingbird Robotics Kit, participants will design and build a working model of a Smart Home in which devices in different rooms "talk" to and control one another. This innovative session will take participants through the basics of robotics, coding, and building, through a few more advanced features like radio. We'll also be answering the question, "What can students do with data?"
Please bring a laptop or Chromebook with a USB port. (If you do not have one, we can provide one for you.)
Free, eligible for ACT 48 credits, and we’ll provide lunch. Open to ABC CREATE district educators and all educators from within the region.
Location: Penn State New Kensington
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Date and Time: Thursday, November 7th 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Overview: Hummingbird Bit Training (Appropriate for teachers of grades 3-12 of any subject, administrators, STEM and STEAM teachers, CS teachers, or any educator interested in creative robotics. No prior experience or knowledge necessary.)
Why teach robotics and computer science? This workshop will touch on many important reasons for teaching robotics and CS, K-12, including equity, joy, and the future of work. Using the radio function of Hummingbird Robotics Kit, participants will design and build a working model of a Smart Home in which devices in different rooms "talk" to and control one another. This innovative session will take participants through the basics of robotics, coding, and building, through a few more advanced features like radio. We'll also be answering the question, "What can students do with data?"
Please bring a laptop or Chromebook with a USB port. (If you do not have one, we can provide one for you.)
Free, eligible for ACT 48 credits, and we’ll provide lunch. Open to ABC CREATE district educators and all educators from within the region.
Learning Pathways Design/Writing Sessions
Location: Penn State New Kensington, Art Gallery
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Dates and Times:
Tuesday, November 12th Arrival: 8:00am Session: 8:30 AM -3:00 PM
Tuesday, December 3rd Arrival: 8:00am Session: 8:30 AM -3:00 PM
Lunch will be provided.
Overview: Might you already be doing awesome STEAM integrations in K-12? Have good ideas or a strong desire to integrate STEAM projects in to your teaching and need some help getting started? Have a Learning Pathway in progress and need time to see it through to completion? Ready and willing to do some peer review to be sure all our Learning Pathways are ready for prime time?
Answer yes to any of the questions above, and you're a prime candidate for our focused ABC CREATE writing/design session. Fellow educators will serve as guides for designing and creating pathways for Coding & Computer Science, Engineering, Data Fluency, and Creative Design.
PAsmart funds will pay the cost of a substitute for educators from an ABC CREATE participating district attending these sessions.
Location: Penn State New Kensington, Art Gallery
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Dates and Times:
Tuesday, November 12th Arrival: 8:00am Session: 8:30 AM -3:00 PM
Tuesday, December 3rd Arrival: 8:00am Session: 8:30 AM -3:00 PM
Lunch will be provided.
Overview: Might you already be doing awesome STEAM integrations in K-12? Have good ideas or a strong desire to integrate STEAM projects in to your teaching and need some help getting started? Have a Learning Pathway in progress and need time to see it through to completion? Ready and willing to do some peer review to be sure all our Learning Pathways are ready for prime time?
Answer yes to any of the questions above, and you're a prime candidate for our focused ABC CREATE writing/design session. Fellow educators will serve as guides for designing and creating pathways for Coding & Computer Science, Engineering, Data Fluency, and Creative Design.
PAsmart funds will pay the cost of a substitute for educators from an ABC CREATE participating district attending these sessions.
Fall Convening 2019
Location: Penn State New Kensington
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Date and Time: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
This year’s convening will focus on the alignment of CS and Coding from K-12 with an opportunity for hands-on exploration of a variety of tech tools. More details and registration coming soon. If you’re an educator or administrator in an ABC CREATE participating district who is integrating coding/CS in to your classroom, library, or curricula, please save the date and begin to clear your path to attend.
Location: Penn State New Kensington
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensington, PA 15068
Date and Time: Tuesday, November 26, 2019 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
This year’s convening will focus on the alignment of CS and Coding from K-12 with an opportunity for hands-on exploration of a variety of tech tools. More details and registration coming soon. If you’re an educator or administrator in an ABC CREATE participating district who is integrating coding/CS in to your classroom, library, or curricula, please save the date and begin to clear your path to attend.
ABC CREATE Finch 2.0 Preview
Location: TBD
Date and Time: Thursday, December 12, 2019 4 - 7 PM
Finch 2.0 Preview -- HAPPY HOUR
Be among the first educators to try out the Finch Robot 2.0! Finch 2 includes revolutionary updates to the original Finch robot, while maintaining the mission of Finch: to inspire and delight students learning computer science from Kindergarten to college.
Finch 2 will launch in March 2020 with built-in support for tablets and laptops, and icon-, block-, and text- based programming, including Python and Java. It is wireless, with a battery that lasts for an entire classroom day, multiple programmable LEDs, buzzer, light/line sensors, and a pen mount for drawing.
Location: TBD
Date and Time: Thursday, December 12, 2019 4 - 7 PM
Finch 2.0 Preview -- HAPPY HOUR
Be among the first educators to try out the Finch Robot 2.0! Finch 2 includes revolutionary updates to the original Finch robot, while maintaining the mission of Finch: to inspire and delight students learning computer science from Kindergarten to college.
Finch 2 will launch in March 2020 with built-in support for tablets and laptops, and icon-, block-, and text- based programming, including Python and Java. It is wireless, with a battery that lasts for an entire classroom day, multiple programmable LEDs, buzzer, light/line sensors, and a pen mount for drawing.
2020 Plan Ahead/Save the Date(s)
February 11, 2020 Birdbrain Workshop: Finch 2.0 and Hummingbird Bit - Elementary
February 13, 2020 Birdbrain Workshop: Finch 2.0 and Hummingbird Bit - Secondary
March 10, 2020 ABC CREATE STEAM Showcase - Penn State New Kensington
February 11, 2020 Birdbrain Workshop: Finch 2.0 and Hummingbird Bit - Elementary
February 13, 2020 Birdbrain Workshop: Finch 2.0 and Hummingbird Bit - Secondary
March 10, 2020 ABC CREATE STEAM Showcase - Penn State New Kensington
OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH ABC CREATE PARTNERS
Lunch & Learn: ABC CREATE and Pre-service Ed
Location:
Carlow University
3333 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Date and Time:
Tuesday, October 29th 12 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch will be provided.
Overview:
ABC CREATE and Pre-service EdAs the scope of what is possible in PK-12 schools rapidly deepens, the expectations of what our soon to be educators are capable of doing is also expanding. In this session, we will explore things higher education institutions are doing to immerse pre-service teachers in different ways of thinking and teaching that parallels the work happening in K-12 institutions.
Location:
Carlow University
3333 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Date and Time:
Tuesday, October 29th 12 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch will be provided.
Overview:
ABC CREATE and Pre-service EdAs the scope of what is possible in PK-12 schools rapidly deepens, the expectations of what our soon to be educators are capable of doing is also expanding. In this session, we will explore things higher education institutions are doing to immerse pre-service teachers in different ways of thinking and teaching that parallels the work happening in K-12 institutions.
School Tours
Your hosts at each school tour site – along with leaders from each school district – will be Dr. Bille Rondinelli and Dr. Bart Rocco, fellows at The Grable Foundation: “We know that tours of schools can have a powerful impact on educators and students. They provide examples of how districts are teaching children in innovative and exciting ways, and these tours help educators build relationships with other educators to share best practices that enhance learning for all students across our region. They also give children a chance to share their experiences about their learning. We hope you'll join us for these wonderful opportunities!”
- October 28, 2019 -- Elizabeth Forward
- November 18, 2019 -- Quaker Valley
- December 12, 2019 -- Duquesne
Your hosts at each school tour site – along with leaders from each school district – will be Dr. Bille Rondinelli and Dr. Bart Rocco, fellows at The Grable Foundation: “We know that tours of schools can have a powerful impact on educators and students. They provide examples of how districts are teaching children in innovative and exciting ways, and these tours help educators build relationships with other educators to share best practices that enhance learning for all students across our region. They also give children a chance to share their experiences about their learning. We hope you'll join us for these wonderful opportunities!”
Femininity, Girls & STEM: The impact of internalized gender norms on engagement in STEM
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 from 11:30 AM – 3 PM
Location: Pittsburgh YWCA
305 Wood St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Overview: Workshop conducted by TrueChild. Special opportunity made available to ABC CREATE through Grable Funding in partnership with the Pittsburgh YWCA and Assemble. The STEM field has done an amazing job of addressing a host of external barriers to girls’ participation: like lack of role models, teacher bias, etc. But what about internal barriers, like girls’ own attitudes?
For instance, in one focus group, when asked if girls couldn't be smart, feminine, AND popular with boys, they looked at one another and burst out laughing, explaining: "Yes, but not in junior high!" Because that’s when they had to "dumb it down" and focus on appearance. They described an attractive classmate whom "no one sees as a pretty girl because she is so smart she's like a nerd."
As one principal in East San Jose has noted: "We're making progress, yet our upper level classes are still all boys. Gender norms feel like an overlooked but crucial part of the solution."
Join this open, interactive presentation on the impact of rigid feminine norms on girls and STEM achievement. Part I is an overview of gender and STEM, Part II is a training for educators and facilitators on TrueChild’s model FaST (Feminine And STem) curriculum. As the outcome graphic from SUNY Stony Brook below shows, the results of this curriculum can be pretty robust.
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 from 11:30 AM – 3 PM
Location: Pittsburgh YWCA
305 Wood St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Overview: Workshop conducted by TrueChild. Special opportunity made available to ABC CREATE through Grable Funding in partnership with the Pittsburgh YWCA and Assemble. The STEM field has done an amazing job of addressing a host of external barriers to girls’ participation: like lack of role models, teacher bias, etc. But what about internal barriers, like girls’ own attitudes?
For instance, in one focus group, when asked if girls couldn't be smart, feminine, AND popular with boys, they looked at one another and burst out laughing, explaining: "Yes, but not in junior high!" Because that’s when they had to "dumb it down" and focus on appearance. They described an attractive classmate whom "no one sees as a pretty girl because she is so smart she's like a nerd."
As one principal in East San Jose has noted: "We're making progress, yet our upper level classes are still all boys. Gender norms feel like an overlooked but crucial part of the solution."
Join this open, interactive presentation on the impact of rigid feminine norms on girls and STEM achievement. Part I is an overview of gender and STEM, Part II is a training for educators and facilitators on TrueChild’s model FaST (Feminine And STem) curriculum. As the outcome graphic from SUNY Stony Brook below shows, the results of this curriculum can be pretty robust.
Digital Bridge Conference
Date: Thursday, October 31 8:30 – 3:30 PM
Location: DoubleTree Hilton Pittsburgh-Cranberry
1 Bigelow Sq, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Overview:The Digital Bridge 2019, Pittsburgh’s Industry 4.0 Conference will bring together leading manufacturers in western PA to learn about Industry 4.0. While this is billed as a manufacturer’s conference, it could be a great opportunity for educators and K-12 administrators to get insights into what is happening in the work world and how the STEAM-based and 21st Century Skills we’re teaching students are valued -- like an educator in the workplace experience – except with wider scope. Members of ABC CREATE Ecosystem (Steve Leonard, Joe Cuiffi, and Mike Holtkamp) will be part of the Panel Discussion.
(If you’d like to attend and you are from a participating ABC CREATE district, contact Colleen Smith at cms64@psu.edu to see if you can take advantage of a free registration).
Date: Thursday, October 31 8:30 – 3:30 PM
Location: DoubleTree Hilton Pittsburgh-Cranberry
1 Bigelow Sq, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Overview:The Digital Bridge 2019, Pittsburgh’s Industry 4.0 Conference will bring together leading manufacturers in western PA to learn about Industry 4.0. While this is billed as a manufacturer’s conference, it could be a great opportunity for educators and K-12 administrators to get insights into what is happening in the work world and how the STEAM-based and 21st Century Skills we’re teaching students are valued -- like an educator in the workplace experience – except with wider scope. Members of ABC CREATE Ecosystem (Steve Leonard, Joe Cuiffi, and Mike Holtkamp) will be part of the Panel Discussion.
(If you’d like to attend and you are from a participating ABC CREATE district, contact Colleen Smith at cms64@psu.edu to see if you can take advantage of a free registration).
NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing
High School Award:
Deadline November 5, 2019
MORE INFO
Educator Award:
Deadline December 2, 2019 with endorsement of High School Applicant by November 12th
MORE INFO
High School Award:
Deadline November 5, 2019
MORE INFO
Educator Award:
Deadline December 2, 2019 with endorsement of High School Applicant by November 12th
MORE INFO
PSNK STEAM Outreach Club
Location: Students come to you
Date and Time: Currently seeking
Overview: If you’d like college students (near peers) who are building STEAM skills at Penn State New Kensington (typically engineering, computing, and/or science students) to visit your school to share their insights and experiences (and likely a hands-on activity and some kind of icebreaker with your students), please get in touch with Sedona Rogers, the Penn State New Kensington STEAM Outreach Club President to discuss possible activities and schedules.
Location: Students come to you
Date and Time: Currently seeking
Overview: If you’d like college students (near peers) who are building STEAM skills at Penn State New Kensington (typically engineering, computing, and/or science students) to visit your school to share their insights and experiences (and likely a hands-on activity and some kind of icebreaker with your students), please get in touch with Sedona Rogers, the Penn State New Kensington STEAM Outreach Club President to discuss possible activities and schedules.
CMU CREATE Lab is seeking RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS
Location: Remote
Eligibility: Teach a Kindergartenl cass in a public or charter school
Date and Time: Currently seeking
Overview: The CMU CREATE Lab is conducting a research study to determine what and how technology is used in kindergarten classrooms. Lauren Zito is seeking volunteers to allow me to interview them about kindergarten technology use. The interview should take less than an hour. It could be by phone or in person on campus.
Lauren is seeking volunteers to allow me to observe their classroom. Classroom observation time and duration can be set by the classroom teacher and will be no longer than three hours. The observation requires no time from the classroom teachers. The interview and observation would not include any teacher compensation.
Please let Lauren know if you or any of your fellow educators would be interested in talking with me or allowing me to observe. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn from you. Any educator with experience in kindergarten can volunteer.
For more information or to volunteer, please email Lauren Zito.
Location: Remote
Eligibility: Teach a Kindergartenl cass in a public or charter school
Date and Time: Currently seeking
Overview: The CMU CREATE Lab is conducting a research study to determine what and how technology is used in kindergarten classrooms. Lauren Zito is seeking volunteers to allow me to interview them about kindergarten technology use. The interview should take less than an hour. It could be by phone or in person on campus.
Lauren is seeking volunteers to allow me to observe their classroom. Classroom observation time and duration can be set by the classroom teacher and will be no longer than three hours. The observation requires no time from the classroom teachers. The interview and observation would not include any teacher compensation.
Please let Lauren know if you or any of your fellow educators would be interested in talking with me or allowing me to observe. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn from you. Any educator with experience in kindergarten can volunteer.
For more information or to volunteer, please email Lauren Zito.