TEEAM Spring Conference

Just some preliminary information

where:  John Mitchell Center, USM, Gorham
when:   March 29, 2013, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
theme:  Integrating STEM
other:    -Tug of Maine middle & high school competition finals
            -Closer integration with the MSTA and its members  
            -potential MIT keynote speaker

eCYBERMISSION

Below is some information about eCYBERMISSION a STEM program/competition that you will NOT want to miss.  If you are you a grade 6-9 teacher who wants to engage your students in a locally-based research project, support students to generate ideas and research them, and receive some funding to support your effort then this is the project for you.   

In August, NSTA announced that it will be managing the U.S. Army’s eCYBERMISSION program. The program, which started in 2002, is an online collaborative learning competition for students in grades 6-9 designed to inspire students’ interest in STEM by encouraging them to develop solutions to real-world challenges in their communities.  Through the program, teams of three to four students work under the advisement of a team advisor to identify an issue in their community and apply the scientific method/inquiry or engineering design process to propose a solution. Each team then submits a mission folder, the official write-up of their project, via the program’s website https://www.ecybermission.com/public/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx. 

A panel of virtual judges evaluates and scores the mission folders on the basis of several criteria to identify the winning teams.

 

Teams competing in eCYBERMISSION have the opportunity to win state, regional and national awards and the students on national winning teams can receive up to $8,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds, valued at maturity.

 

Teachers of students in grades 6-9 are encouraged to get involved with this program. The deadline for teams to register is January 15, 2013 and submissions are due on March 1, 2013.  Every student that participates will receive a free STEM Research Kit!

 

Although NSTA reaches a large number of individuals involved in the education community, there are still many educators out there that don’t know about this program. This program can be a great addition to in school programming or a component for an after school STEM program.  The list below shows last years winners for Maine.  

7th Grade Winners

1st Place: Hamsterz, Falmouth Middle School, Falmouth, ME
Team Advisor: Stuart, Emily
Team Members: Chloe Melchiskey, Allison Murphy, Madison Tait

2nd Place: S Squared, Falmouth Middle School, Falmouth, ME
Team Advisor: Stuart, Emily
Team Members: Mary Budri, Annika Dyhrberg, Lisa Smoluk

8th Grade Winners

1st Place: Cyberboys, Caribou Middle School, Caribou, ME
Team Advisor: Alden, Beth
Team Members: Benjamin Ezzy, Caleb Hunter, David Hunter, Chathu Karunasiri

2nd Place: Team Epic, Perry Elementary School, Perry, ME
Team Advisor: Schrumpf, Jeanne
Team Members: Thomas Champagne, Sadie Hood, Hannah Lank

Teachers who participate in the pilot are required to have students submit entries.  Additionally, the teacher would need to submit 4 short reports, some surveys and participate in 3 or 4 conference calls.  There is funding to compensate teachers for their time. If you are interested, please contact Sue Whitsett at swhitsett@nsta.org.  Please be sure to include the fact that you are from Maine, as they are trying to increase our statewide participation. 

You can also contact BRIAN SHORT at Ecybermission@nsta.org.  Brian Short is the Director of Science Education Competitions at National Science Teachers Association (1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201-3092; T: 703-312-9227; F:703-243-7177)

Anita Bernhardt
Science & Technology Specialist
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

Engineers Week 2013