- Task: Research STEAM vs. STEM
To begin, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. I will be referencing material from several sources in my research. My first resource is:
In this age, the skills highlighted in STEM have become increasingly important for people to have in order to be impactful in the workforce. What people have started to realized however, is that the skills associated with the arts are also just as valuable when it comes to making innovations. One can not be just purely objective-based. There needs to be a sense of creativity to nurture the skillset that one possess. One quote from this report that I thought was prominent was where it says as follows:
“STEAM education provides
many opportunities for students to improve themselves in several areas, due to the advantages of
the arts. These advantages are:
a) development of cognitive growth, b) improvement of longterm memory, c) enhancement of social growth, d) reduction of stress, e) increasing the appeal of
subject areas, and f) promotion of creativity (Sousa & Pilecki, 2013)”.
Another source I looked at was:
http://www.ischoolcampus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Going-From-STEM-to-STEAM.pdf
This commentary on STEM and STEAM highlights how there has been a lot of attention given to STEM education through funding and workforce development, but more and more now, people are wanting the arts to be implemented into this as well. Considering what both of these sources have to say, it would seem that the arts are just as valuable in the work force as all of the STEM categories, so it makes sense that people are starting to push for STEAM as it is more inclusive and encompassing.
- Task: Research Cyra Sadowl, Airway Science for Kids
Cyra Sadowl works with Airway Science for Kids to help youth that do not have as many opportunities as others learn about aviation and aerospace to help develop their skills and influence their interests for the future. She also is an education director for a new non-profit called VECTORS. She is from Tucson, Arizona, and has taught in schools for around 30 years. There is not too much information out there about her, but when I get the chance to interview her, I will learn much more about her involvement in these programs that she is affiliated with.
- Task: continue experimenting with the Optron Mini
I got to spend a little more time with the Optron Mini this week, the majority of my time spent experimenting with the Optron Mini was during my informational interview with Chet Udell.
- Interview with Chet Udell:
There was so much to discuss with Chet that I forgot to ask about making color-coded sheet music! It is rather unfortunate, but I will be meeting with him again next week to continue our discussion. It was a real pleasure to get to talk to Chet about the Optron Mini. We made some good progress towards revising the Optron software.
I was able to point out technical difficulties with him, and he was able to make software revisions accordingly. As I had first thought, most of the issues I was running into were a result of running Max 8 on a Windows computer. I am yet to try out the most recent software revision, but I am excited for more capabilities to be available to me through it.
Chet also asked that I thought of some ways there could be a curriculum around the Optron Mini. So far I have had some ideas, but nothing brilliant has surfaced quite yet.
