Tag: STEM

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Educators to Follow on Mastodon for Innovative Teaching Insights

I have been using Mastodon for almost six years. I continue to be amazed at the quality of discourse and the diverse community of educators and folks interested in education in the Fediverse. If you are a person who is accustomed to algorithm driven centralized social networks then Mastodon is going to seem a bit unusual at first. If you are WordPress user you can connect your blog to Mastodon with the ActivityPub plugin. You don’t need a blog to connect to Mastodon. You just need to create an account on anyone of dozens of Mastodon instances that exist around the world. One you are connected to an instance you can find other users and connect to them whether they are on your particular server instance or not.

Mastodon communications are driven by hashtags which many of you are already familiar with. Some of my favorites are #edtech

A toot on Mastodon is typically five hundred characters long. Like other microblogging platforms you may have used before brevity is prized but there’s more than enough space to get your information across and then you use hashtags to let your audience know what your toot is about.

Here’s a list of twenty-one educators currently using Mastodon.

Eric Sheninger – @esheninger@mastodon.social
Sandy Kendell – @SandyKendell@mastodon.education
Wesley Fryer – @wfryer@mastodon.cloud
Martin Dougiamas – @martin@openedtech.social
Alice Barr – @alicebarr@techhub.social
Miguel Guhlin – @mguhlin@mastodon.education
EdTech Group – @edtech@chirp.social
Clint LaLonde – @clintlalonde@mastodon.oeru.org
Doug Holton – https://mastodon.social/@dougholton
Anna Millis – @amills@mastodon.oeru.org
Open at Virginia Tech – @openatvt@fosstodon.org
SPARC – @sparc@mastodon.social
Project Gutenberg – @gutenberg_org@mastodon.social
Smithsonian Magazine – @Smithsonianmag@flipboard.com
Steven Beschloss – @StevenBeschloss@mastodon.social
Bill Fitzgerald = @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone
WikiEducation – @WikiEducation@wikis.world
CreativeCommons – @creativecommons@mastodon.social
Edutopia – @edutopia@mastodon.education
Cognitively Accessible Math – @geonz@mathstodon.xyz
NPR – @npr@mastodon.social
Open Source Science – @os-sci@mastodon.social

In conclusion, Mastodon offers a refreshing alternative to traditional, algorithm-driven social networks. Its decentralized nature and vibrant community provide an enriching environment for educators and those passionate about education. Whether you’re sharing your thoughts, discovering new ideas through hashtags, or connecting your WordPress blog with the ActivityPub plugin, Mastodon opens up a world of possibilities. Embrace the change and dive into meaningful conversations on this unique platform. Happy tooting!

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Is this Science because I’m failing this in school

This year I got a great opportunity to work with a unique group of students in an after school program at St. Bonaventure University. I am fortunate to work with Dr. Anne Foerst, a computer science professor at St. Bonaventure. Together we applied for and received a grant from National Grid to teach STEM to a group of middle school girls who applied to our program from area school districts. Inspired by my mother’s struggles to break the glass ceiling and reach out to girls who are an underrepresented group in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

My Mom graduated from D’Youville College in Buffalo magna cum laude in 1947 majoring in science and mathematics. She returned to her native New York City and applied for teaching jobs but was told she couldn’t get one because she was a woman. Then Mom went on to get her Masters in Mathematics and Science at Fordham University. Mom worked her way through Fordham as a graduate assistant. She eventually returned to Buffalo and got a teaching job at D’Youville College. I told Mom recently that she was part of my inspiration for getting involved with our efforts to promote STEM skills to these girls at St. Bonaventure.

I spent the summer learning how to work with and program Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots. Our grant enabled us to purchase seven complete kits and to invite fourteen girls to the St. Bonaventure campus for a two-hour class that meets once every three weeks.  We’ve been meeting since late August with these girls and they are making great progress. I’ve seen them blossom as learners and leaders and they come to our sessions with a great enthusiasm for learning. At this week’s class we taught the girls how to program the color sensor. One the girls solved a problem I hadn’t assigned but by doing so showed great insight and application. She was clearly operating at the higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy. I asked her about her thinking and application and how she arrived at this unique solution to the problem. She replied, “I figured it out last time by just tinkering.” Then she said, “Is this science, because i’m failing science in school.” Dr. Foerst said, “This isn’t science, this is FUN.”  It was a poignant moment and it really warmed my heart because this girl now knows she is a scientist and a successful one too.