STEAMing Forward–Virtually

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Make STEAM Work For You

Two Events! One Registration! As an Over Coffee® listener, use discount code OVERCOFFEE when you register today at steamcalifornia.org for this year’s virtual California STEAM Symposium Dec. 11-13, 2020! You’ll get full access to #CASTEAM20 and the Nov. 17th Pre-Conference. (Image courtesy of CDE Foundation, and used with permission.) Teaching is an art. And the eighth annual California STEAM Symposium is just about to celebrate and enhance it! This year, the popular three-day educators' conference takes place completely online. The dates: Friday, December 11th through Sunday, December 13th. And a lot of new features have been added, says Karyn Warner, STEAM Program Manager of nonprofit Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation, which cohosts the annual event. This year's California STEAM Symposium includes a "Family Day", where parents and students can collaborate in hands-on maker activities. Resources in advance Plus, there's a California STEAM Symposium Pre-Conference, happening November 17th, featuring two keynote speakers.. (Image courtesy of CDE Foundation, and used with permission.) The goal: to provide support to educators, so they don't have to wait a month for inspiration and ideas! Attendees get admission to both events when they register for the California STEAM Symposium. And, as an Over Coffee® listener, you also get a discount! (The code to enter when registering: OVERCOFFEE.) You'll recall, from our earlier posts, that California STEAM Symposium is a highly interactive gathering. Educators learn to incorporate science, technology, engineering, art and math into curricula. The goal: showing students the ways these subjects relate to their lives, now--and how they could relate to their future careers. And a major component, as evidenced by this 2019 picture, is fun. California STEAM Symposium, Anaheim, 2019. Karyn says that interactive, "maker" aspect will be front and center, virtually, during this year's symposium. An online Student Showcase, coding sessions and a number of hands-on activities are on the program. Meanwhile, the symposium is happening on an interactive platform that allows attendees to travel around and "explore" virtually. CDE Foundation STEAM Program Manager Karyn Warner.(Photo courtesy of CDE Foundation, and used with permission.) As discussed in our earlier interview, Karyn discovered her own talent and passion for teaching as a mom with a background in professional broadcasting. Her classroom approach involves building classroom community and involving students as learning collaborators. On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover: What the process was like, for the CDE Foundation, in reimagining the California STEAM Symposium as an all-virtual event; How the Symposium will offer interactive activities (including maker projects!); A preview of the Celebrating Teachers Pre-Conference keynote speakers; A look at "Family Day", premiering this year and presented in partnership with the California PTA; What virtual attendees will experience with the "Winter of CS (Computer Science)" sessions How Karen, as a former kindergarten teacher, taught her students to "code" with a playful exercise; A preview of the upcoming Student Showcase; What newcomers to the virtual experience can expect; A preview of some of the sessions; The goals of the CDE Foundation for STEAM equitability; How the AME strand of the symposium will engage students; Karen's recommendation for putting inspiration into action, during and after the symposium.