Pre-ICT in Education Conference S.T.E.A.M. Evening
Learn practical skills, projects and S.T.E.A.M. information for your classroom!
Join us on Friday, May 10, 2024 from 18.30-21.00 at TUS, Thurles.
The 2024 S.T.E.A.M. Evening is sponsored by TUS’s Department of Information Technology and by MakerMeet.ie.
The S.T.E.A.M. Evening is similar to a TeachMeet. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeachMeet) The main difference being that the focus is on practical skills almost exclusively in the S.T.E.A.M. arena.
S.T.E.A.M. is a practical, fun and engaging way for students to build the 21st century skills they need to succeed in an increasingly diverse workforce. These skills include critical thinking; creative problem-solving and collaboration as students ‘make’ with others – while developing the ability to prototype, fail and continue trying.
Constructivist learning theories espoused by Jean Piaget and Seymour Papert are often referenced in S.T.E.A.M. Education as Project-Based Learning is used to teach a wide variety of skills simultaneously in a single project.
Other skills that are often incorporated in this methodology are flexibility; leadership; initiative; productivity and social skills. In addition to these important competencies are also literacy skills such as learning how to present information through media and technology.
At the S.T.E.A.M. Evening – presenters will show projects they have completed or are in the process of creating and presentations will last between 10 – 30 minutes. Most projects can be re-created easily in any classroom. Come join us for fun, engaging and practical workshops!
Make a Thaumatrope – Chris Reina
Participants will make a Thaumatrope. This is a toy originally made in the early 1800’s. It is an excellent depiction of the scientific principal of “Persistence of Vision”. A great project to bring to your classroom to explain the very beginning of animation. (A Thaumatrope could be considered a double-frame animation).
Chris Reina has been involved in education since 2002, technology since 1981 and Making since 1971. (You do the maths). He is 1/3 of MakerMeet.ie – who deliver Maker-led, project-based S.T.E.A.M. workshops nationwide to primary, secondary, third-level and other institutions. He feels passionately that education is the most important thing in the world and that teaching using Maker skills is the most rewarding job there is. Chris loves cats, kayaking, kite-flying, steampunk, pedantic semantics and knowing the meanings of ligatures, aglets, gallibanders and lexiphanic.
Frustration! – Louise Caldwell
Design and make a buzz wire loop game of concentration and steady hand. The idea is to move a hoop from one end to the other of a curving wire without touching the wire.
Louise Caldwell is the Programme Manager for OurKidsCode in the school of Computer Science and Statistics in Trinity College Dublin.
Custom AI Tools for Education – Natalie Doyle Bradley
Join me for an engaging 20-minute workshop where I’ll demonstrate the power of custom AI tools in scaffolding student learning. Through a conversational session, I’ll demonstrate innovative tools I’ve created to address diverse learning needs, leveraging AI technology to enhance educational outcomes. Discover how these tools can be tailored by you, to support students exactly the way you want them supported.
Natalie Doyle Bradley is a Special Education Teacher, Assistant Principal, and ICT Coordinator with over two decades of experience in integrating technology into education. Natalie has developed custom AI tools to enhance educational outcomes and specialises in Assistive Technology. Her work focuses on digital infrastructure updates, professional development, and innovative teaching methods.
Learning to Code, The Moral Way – Nitin Gambhir
Today, Artificial Intelligence is affecting our lives in such unique ways which we could not even imagine 2 years back and this is deeply concerning. It is rightly said, “as machines and robots get better and better at being machines and robots, we humans have to get better at being human”.
The human traits and skills that we intend to develop in our kids include: problem-solving, creativity, communication, global impact and the most important being moral-values. The workshop aims to teach how to code a mobile-app in a moral story driven game-play. The workshop would include several offline unplugged games and online activities including coding a mobile app based on the moral story.
Nitin Gambhir has over 20 years of industry experience & passion for teaching, on the path to enriching STEM education for the entire K-12 through learn-by-doing experiences & making it accessible across socio-economic and gender divides. Organically transformed from a competent professional into a self-taught Entrepreneur (co-founded and scaled two ed-tech ventures), while successfully teaching full- time for the last 5 years. Personally coached 5000+ students through a guided exploration into the world of digital literacy.
Originative Origami – Pam O’Brien
Pam will demonstrate various Origami folding techniques to make different geometric shapes and structures. Relax, fold and have fun!
Pam O’Brien is a lecturer in the Information Technology Department of TUS. She is the organiser of the annual ICT in Education conference and various TeachMeet style events, which provide continuous professional development (CPD) for educators across all levels of education in Ireland. She is passionate about the integration of technology in education and Maker-based learning and is an avid origamist.