Session 3

Becoming a Technology Teacher – Today’s Reality

Rich Bush     

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Metals Lab - 163 Wilber Hall

Repeat: SESSION SEVEN (Friday) 10:15-11:00 Room for Repeat: Metals Lab - 163 Wilber Hall

Becoming a Technology Teacher is still an exciting and viable career option.  Our current teacher preparation program enrollments are down and yet there are districts that cannot fill positions.  Learn about college life in 2024, certification requirements, and potential impacts on our field if we fail to produce the technology teachers required for our future.  Most important, learn what you can do to help keep technology education alive in New York schools.

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Positive Plastics Education for Your Classroom from the Society of Plastics Engineers

Eve Vitale     

Time: SESSION ONE 9:00-9:45 Room: Polymer Classroom 191 Wilber Hall

Repeat: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room for Repeat: Polymer Classroom 191 Wilber Hall

Attendees will have the chance to WIN ONE OF TEN 3D PRINTERS for their classrooms and experience a PlastiVan® as your students would. Through lively demonstrations and hands-on activities, the PlastiVan® Program is designed to excite students about opportunities in science, engineering, and manufacturing within the plastics industry. Students are educated about the chemistry, history, processing, manufacturing, and sustainability of plastics and how science and real-world applications relate to their everyday lives. Some topics covered are the basic raw materials of plastics, polymers and polymeric structure, injection molding and thermoplastics, crosslinked polymers and non-Newtonian fluids, exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions, thermoset plastics, hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers, recycling, and more. The program is aligned with NGSS standards and is free of charge to schools. 

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Student Projects and Activities

Alex Sheldon     

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Communications Lab - 102 Park Hall

Repeat: SESSION FOUR 2:30-3:15 Room for Repeat: Communications Lab - 102 Park Hall

This session will leave you with the materials for 5 student activities that can be used in your classroom.  Project topics include materials processing, problem solving, virtual Arduino(Tinkercad), 3D printing and video game creation for grades 7-12.

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Utica City School District K-12 CTE Development

Robert Link, Erica Schoff, Michelle Hall

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: CADD Lab - 101 Park Hall

Repeat: Does Not Repeat

Learn about the Utica City School District’s process of building a K-12 systematic approach to create Career and Technical Education Pathways (CTE) to meet the needs of the ever changing workforce. The initiative will create a local pipeline of workforce talent that can meet the needs of industry. We will share the K-12 approach which focuses on career awareness & exposure, project based learning modules, career ready practices, and real world application to technical skills. Learn more about the development of pre-apprenticeships and work based learning initiatives and their alignment with the CTE pathways. Hear about the creation of the state of the art labs and the collaboration with Alleghany as the primary supplier for Electrical, Construction Trades, and the Entrepreneurial Zone Academy.

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Microbit + App Inventor = Physical Computing & Mobile App Development for Middle School Students

Mike Amante     

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Electronics Lab - 205 Park Hall

Repeat: Does Not Repeat

Come to this exciting session that will highlight several hands-on activities and projects designed to integrate physical computing of the popular BBC micro:bit with simple mobile app development using MIT App Inventor. By combining both physical computing and coding, it presents some innovative opportunities to truly bring computer science to life for middle school students.

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Two Middle School Units of Instruction to Engage Your Students in Design!

Mark Springston, Ashley Golden, Tiffany Truong,  Ben Sullivan

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Methods Lab - 213 Park Hall

Repeat: Does Not Repeat

Looking for hands-on, engaging units that boost your students' design and engineering skills? Do you have basic lab processing equipment and access to a 3D printer (or plan to get one)? If so, this session is for you! We’ve developed two highly engaging middle school units based on STEL Technology and Engineering Contexts: The Built Environment (construction) and Material Conversion Processing (manufacturing). The first unit features a house diorama with floor/wall framing, insulation, a single-pole and 3-way switch, solar-powered roof, functional plumbing, and interior/exterior design elements. The second unit challenges students to design and build a "tasty morsel dispenser" that creatively dispenses a gum ball. You’ll receive four lesson plans for each unit, instructional materials, and see model prototypes adaptable to different budgets; 3D printing files will also be provided.

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Safety First, Fun Always!: A conversation about safety in the Technology Education lab

Dan Stooks, Steve Gromling  

Time: SESSION THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Woods Lab - 193 Wilber Hall

Repeat: SESSION FOUR 2:30-3:15 Room for Repeat: Woods Lab - 193 Wilber Hall

Discuss best safety practices and explore recent literature about safety in a Technology Education lab. Attendees will walk away with actionable steps to take to establish a culture of safety-first so you and your students can have fun in the lab! Geared for both teachers and administrators.

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ITEEA Engineering by Design in the Elementary Classroom

Tracy Young     

Time: SESSION3 THREE 1:15-2:00 Room: Design Studio 203 Park Hall

Repeat: Does Not Repeat

If you are an elementary educator and don’t know about the ITEEA Engineering by Design curriculum, join Tracy Young, STEAM Specialist, for a kindergarten through grade six “tour” with the opportunity for some hands-on engaged learning. Tracy will show you how the EBD program has flourished in her elementary school and how they use it in their state of the art STEAM Lab for over 500 students. You will also see some pre-recorded examples of EBD presentations from her students at Benton Hall Academy as they present their Grand Challenges in their STEAM Lab. 

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