Mathus Leungpathomaram, a student at Catlin Gabel School, is organizing a high school student-run programming contest in Oregon. The contest is on April 7, from 9:45 to 3:00, at Catlin Gabel School (8825 SW Barnes Rd, Portland, OR 97225). Teams of one to three middle or high school students have three hours to solve as many of fifteen […]

Oregon Game Project Challenge (OGPC) is looking for volunteers to help put on its 11th annual Main Event on Saturday, May 12th at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Last year, over two hundred students on fifty-seven teams participated in the event and providing a great experience to those students requires lots of help. The biggest […]

I missed posting last week’s update – I’ll blame having to prepare my taxes 😉 – so this update will be for the last 2 weeks. On Saturday, April 8 the Oregon Game Project Challenge (OGPC), sponsored in part by the OregonCSTA, held its annual Main Event at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. This year’s […]

Welcome back to School! Here’s a short slate of dates for student competitions and one for classroom funding. September 5 — Allen Distinguished Educator DIY Guidelines grants for K-12 classrooms (<=$1000) applications close. More info from Allen Distinguished Educators  Blog post summarizing the program FIRST(tm) Robotics programs have a two part registration: nationally, with FIRST, and locally […]

Here’s a chance for students to create an app and strut their stuff in Oregon and to be on display in the US Capitol. In brief: one to four students, not yet graduated from high school, no minimum age, two of whom are in the participating representative’s district app written after November 2, 2015 your […]

Don Domes gives his class of teachers a small number of LEGO pieces, access to some student-appropriate internet resources, a worksheet, markers, whiteboards, lots of hands on time to practice, and very little lecturing. Some teachers have no previous experience, some have a couple of years, but all are engaged and making progress at showing […]

From our allies at Google: “The sixth annual Google Science Fair is here and now open for submissions for students aged 13-18 around the world. In partnership with National Geographic, LEGO Education, Scientific American, and Virgin Galactic, we want to hear how students will use science and engineering to make something better. Check out the […]

Oregon has multiple robotics organizations and leagues supporting authentic STEM learning. In no particular order: Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program runs the tournament circuits for FIRST(tm) robotics. FIRST is an international organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, spearheaded by the inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen. Junior FIRST LEGO League, ages […]

Congratulations to Mark Gullicksen, Oak Grove Elementary School, in Albany. He got some “good STEM news” which he thinks “is a direct benefit from my involvement with OCSTA’s professional development opportunities that I have participated with as an educator. This Monday, I was humbled to learn that I was selected as one of 20 teachers, […]

Jo Oshiro here. I have met many of you at previous SuperQuests, OregonASK events, and various meetings around STEM education, grants, and equity, or through my email blasts “In the OPASsphere.” I and my colleagues will be sharing information through this blog. I’ve got six main categories lined up: SuperQuest — Randy Macdonald and Janis Steinfeld are […]