Online and Blended Learning Conference 2020

STEM is more than just a grouping of subject areas rather it is a movement to develop and infuse a deeper understanding of mathematical and scientific principles in students to be competitive in the 21st-century workforce. This movement revolves around a set of thinking, reasoning, teamwork, investigative, and creative skills that students can use in all areas of their lives. STEM classes can be a way to deliberately incorporate different subjects across an existing curriculum.

One of the biggest challenges in online teaching is that there is no shortage of interesting ideas, but how to translate them into the online course can be a daunting task. In a face to face class it's easy to be flexible and to show up in the class one morning and try something a bit different. It appears that any STEM subject, everything is pretty well set up before the term begins and it limits spontaneous changes or experimental activities. Some may still think online teaching is less legitimate than face-to-face teaching.

Another challenge is the sheer amount of reading and so called googling involved while taking an online class. Sometimes it may be overwhelming to just wade through the mounds of discussions and/or emails that come with an online class. It is more a myth than a reality that teaching online lacks student interaction.

In this day and age of technical computing and Internet of Things, exploration of relevant quality online resources are paramount. Therefore, implementation of these tools in virtual teaching is necessary and can be addressed to demonstrate natural phenomenon. For instance, in mathematics the language of numbers, shapes, and quantities appears irrelevant to many students instead of terming it as a study of the natural world.

In this presentation we will focus on the design and some specific tools to conduct a discussion on spectrum of activities engaging students at various levels suitable to their grade levels. The goal is to create an appropriate learning environment for the students to improve their conceptual understanding of natural processes and its incorporation in an online teaching environment. We will also address how technology can help student to attain this goal by setting up virtual labs. Some of the activities are as follows:

• Create lessons that are guided by the engineering design process: How to introduce calculus in middle school without even realizing it?
• Create project to focus on real-world issues and problems: Demonstration of math & science projects.
• Create an environment to immerse students in hands-on inquiry and teamwork: Collaboration and sharing is a key component of a successful endeavor.
• Apply rigorous math and science content in the learning process by addressing that failure is a necessary part of learning: How to resolve an issue when something goes to stray