Registration for the 2022 STEMIEFest is now open! This virtual conference is organized by STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE). STEMIEFest is an opportunity for families, early childhood and early childhood special education professionals, and other educators to participate in learning experiences related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as well as construct a model to support young children, with and without disabilities, in STEM learning. The 2022 event will runs from 12pm – 4pm EST on December 8th, 2022. Experience archived events from previous STEMIEFests as well!
Category Archives: STEAM
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math
Become EquatIO Certified
Texthelp, the company that produces the EquatIO extension for math and science support, has created an online, self-paced learning experience called EquatIO Academy to help anyone become familiar with the tool. Completing the course earns one a certification, a certificate, a badge, and tons of information on how better to use the product to design inclusive experiences.
Work alone or find some friends to work through it together! Either way, you can become EquatIO certified! EquatIO is currently available for anyone to use in LCPS.
🤖 Robots for Everyone and Especially For Those Learning Language Using Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) 🤖
Educational experiences involving robots have proven to be an engaging and empowering way to teach expressive language concepts to those who use augmentative/alternative communication while simultaneously improving computer science skills. During the 2020-2021 school year, Instructional Facilitators of Computer Science worked with Classroom Teachers, Speech-Language Pathologists, and other educators to design and deliver educational experiences using robots to practice expressive language with students with autism. This collaboration has continued and expanded in the 2021-2022 school year with the inclusion of students with intellectual and/or multiple disabilities. Learn more about how robots can be used by everyone to learn language by checking out the following resources:
Adjust screen brightness or color based on time of day
The brightness or whiteness of a screen can impact how easy it is to experience content including text. Many devices, including student Chromebooks, have a setting which allows for automatically adjusting colors based on different factors, including time of day.
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- How To Use The Night Light Feature of ChromeOSÂ
- How To Adjust Color and Text Display in iOS
- How to Adjust Color Display in Android
Night Light feature in ChromeOS
Math Made Accessible
Math can be made both digital and accessible using EquatIO, an extension for Google Chrome available to anyone in LCPS. Students and teachers can choose to insert mathematical equations and scientific notations into a Google Doc using a variety of modalities including typing, handwriting recognition, and voice dictation. The extension recognizes the input, converts it into the corresponding mathematical notation, and then inserts it into the Google Doc. The extension uses prediction as well so students can start a mathematical formula or notation and choose from a provided list of options.Â
Speech Input feature of EquatIO
Once the math is inserted, Read&Write for Google Chrome can be used to listen back to the notation which helps students who might have difficulty processing the information using only a visual modality. The extension also offers a feature called Mathspace which allows users to insert different manipulatives such as shapes and images to create diagrams for math and science problems. To learn more about EquatIO and how it can be used to design inclusive educational experiences which help students learn how to make meaningful contributions to the world, check out this playlist of tutorials on YouTube.
Examples of some of the tools available for diagrams and other manipulatives available in the Mathspace portion of EquatIO.