Session 5

Donna Matteson

Come have cake and celebrate 25 years of PLTW. This informal session is for new, novice, and longstanding PLTW teachers. Take advantage of the opportunity to socialize and share our PLTW experiences, stories, and strategies for success. Let’s reinforce our network and welcome the new teachers just starting PLTW. 

Tracy Young & Margaret Romano

Repeated: S4 Thursday, 2:30 - 3:15  

102 Park Hall (Communications Lab)

Integrated STEM is a powerful way to engage students in critical thinking and problem-solving learning experiences. With a seemingly endless supply of resources, it can be hard to know where to start. This workshop focuses on proven strategies and highlighting effective resources to implement STEM in elementary schools and build a sustainable STEM program. Tracy will share her experience in the STEM field to show how easily the ITEEA Engineering by Design program can be carried out in the elementary classroom. In addition to discussing integrating STEM, Margaret will inform participants about the ITEEA Elementary STEM Council and the opportunities that are offered to them. 

Leif Sorgule

Repeat: S6 Friday, 9:00 - 9:45  

115 Park Hall (Transportation Lab)

Drone package delivery prototypes are on the horizon. This presentation will go through an example of a hands-on project incorporating this new technology. Participants will see how students can use applied math skills to construct containers and parachutes to be deployed safely by drone. This presentation will end with a demonstration of the concept in action. 

Christopher Stein

Repeat: S7 Friday, 10:15 - 11:00  

203 Park Hall (Design Studio)

Come learn how to use iPads and a stylus to engage your students in design sketching and ideation. Learn the basic interface of the Procreate software and have time to play and sketch. Due to a limited quantity of iPads, there is a limit of 20 participants in this presentation.

Nathaniel Horn

Looking to up your classroom décor or enhance your learning atmosphere but don't have the time to design your own posters? Or do you want to have your students create digital posters or other graphic designs but only have access to Chromebooks? Canva is an online platform that is free to educators with thousands of templates. Learn how to modify templates for your own use, create your own designs and theme for your classroom, and how to invite students from google classroom to create and edit designs. 

Gregory Bailey

Double Session (2:30 - 4:30)

Participants in this workshop will work in teams to complete four hands-on problem-solving activities. All supplies and handouts will be provided. Come see if you can build the strongest foil boat, the tallest ping pong ball tower, build an index penny tower that is worth the most points, and train your “Eggstronaut” to be the fastest in the egg obstacle course. These are fun activities that can be added to your class curriculum at any time. Each event winner will receive an award. 

David Buchner

Want to earn some extra money doing what you are already good at… which is teaching? Think about becoming a NYS-licensed home inspector. Good home inspectors need to be able to work with people and know something about technology, specifically building systems. This presentation will walk through how to become an inspector, how to set up your business, and how to perform an actual inspection. 

Brad Smith

Repeat: S6 Friday, 9:00 - 9:45  

191 Wilber Hall (Polymer Classroom)

One of the greatest threats to society today is the uncertainty of the global energy industry. High fuel prices, increasing electricity bills, and heating and cooling costs, just to name a few, are items impacting our society, economy, and security as a nation. Changing state and federal laws and policies are impacting energy production levels and emphasizing clean renewables. Can the energy technology of today meet the production and consumption demands of tomorrow with “clean” renewable energy? This presentation will provide resources to help you teach and lead discussions focused on the impacts and future of energy technology. Data and statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy will be the focus of the shared curriculum connections, online resources, and activity ideas used to teach this subject matter.