Imagining the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education

From November 12 through November 19 2020, National Academies and the National Science Foundation held a virtual conference on the topic of Imagining the Future of Undergraduate STEM. I attended several sessions and learned a lot about how some educators see the future of STEM education. A lot of the sessions discussed how technology can be used to promote equity within the STEM education. One session I found particularly interesting was titled Fast-Changing Technology: Uses and Ethical Issues. During this session Nicole Jackson discussed how virtual and mixed reality technology has already begun to be implemented in some STEM courses. For example, North Western University has started using mixed reality to help train civil engineers. While most of the information did not directly impact my current classes, I did find the possibilities intriguing and will help me prepare myself for the future of STEM education.