Tech Blog

Influences for STEMM Careers

2010-02-26T22:33:00Z

At Hearlihy and Pitsco, we focus a great deal of our attention on current students and teachers and aiding in their success, but we also are very interested in tomorrow's engineers, scientists, and mathematicians and how we can help them get there.

Professors at Michigan State University conducted research that looked at what influences students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM). According to Jon Miller, MSU Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies, "the pathway to a STEMM career begins at home". The research also confirmed how mathematics plays a critical role in the course of a STEMM career.

To read more about Miller's findings check out http://news.msu.edu/story/7489/.

To read the full published study from MSU check out http://news.msu.edu/media/documents/2010/02/79874644-d2cb-4def-a17f-e67cc27b929d.pdf

Hearlihy Green Architecture House Kits

2010-02-19T20:06:00Z

Going green is not a new concept. Most people have heard this term, know what it means, and hopefully are at least trying or adapting to this new way of life. Not only is going green not a new concept, it can be described in other ways as well. Eco-friendly and environmentally conscious are just a few of the other commonly used descriptions.

There is more than one way to describe it, but there are even more ways to practice it, to live it. This includes anything from taking public transportation to driving hybrid cars, from recycling plastic bottles and plastic grocery bags to using reusable bottles and reusable grocery bags.

At Hearlihy, we have several green architecture house kits to show students how to build green. Hearlihy offers Rammed-Earth House Kits, Straw-Bale House Kits, and Earth-Sheltered House Kits, but as expected there are a lot of additional ways to build green.

And green buildings can be more than just energy-efficient and environmentally friendly; they can also look good. Check out the following links to view some very attractive green architecture homes and see how they work.

Rammed Earth

Straw Bale

Earth Sheltered

For a full listing of our green products visit our green education product line.

Annual Survey Shows What Students Think About STEM

2010-02-02T21:53:00Z

If you had to guess what students between the ages of 12 and 17 think about STEM, what do you think they would say? According to the Lemelson-MIT Invention Index survey, 77% of the students involved in the survey said that they were excited about those subjects and were considering a STEM career.

If that news wasn't good enough, 66% of the students, whether individually or in a group, said they enjoyed hands-on projects most. Do you know what this means? We have students who want to use their hands, getting involved in the lesson and understanding what they are being taught. It also means that hands-on activities in the classroom could lead to tinkering, which could lead to inventing and engineering.

The survey found that in addition to hands-on learning students were interested in nontraditional settings. The survey also showed that students wished they knew more about STEM and that teachers' being excited about STEM would help them to get excited about it too.

With programs such as the Lemelson-MIT program (which encourages inventors and innovators) and the presidential campaign Educate to Innovate (which aims to increase the student's involvement in science, technology, engineering, and math) in our corner, next year's survey results may be even higher.

To read more about the survey results, check out http://mit.edu/invent/n-pressreleases/n-press-10index.html.

Check out some of our best-seller hands-on kits:

Ortho Box

Wood Framing

Straw-Bale House

Pitsco Inc. Numbers for 2009

2010-01-29T21:12:00Z

43 - workshops held in Pittsburg, KS and on-site
346 - teachers who attended Pitsco Education and Star Academy workshops
391 - airline tickets for employees to travel to conventions or on-site visits
52,099 - orders processed by Pitsco Education Catalog, Hearlihy, and LEGO® Education
65,000 - Call Center calls
252,053 - boxes shipped
410,000 - 8-gram CO² cartridges sold
796,342 - miles flown by employees to conventions or on-site visits
2,651,277 - weight in pounds of all items shipped
7,461,966 - number of students who have used our products for the course of the year

Race to the Top

2010-01-22T20:00:00Z

With 4.35 billion dollars up for grabs, I bet there are a lot of people who know what deadline took place this week. But if you didn't know about it and are worried that you missed the opportunity, you still have another chance. Don't worry; there is a second deadline.

For those of you who haven't heard about it, Race to the Top is a grant program set in place by the government in conjunction with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA was signed into law on February 17, 2009, and one of the many purposes of the ARRA is to invest in education.

The Race to the Top fund is a way to reward states who have the best plan for creating, achieving, and improving education for student success. There are four core education reform areas that need to be considered in the states' plan:

Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy
Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction
Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most
Turning around our lowest-achieving schools

States have to apply for the grant by filling out an application. The application indicates their plan if they are awarded a grant. The deadline for applications for Phase 1 was January 19, 2010. Phase 1 awards will be announced in April 2010. The Phase 2 applications are due June 1, 2010, and Phase 2 awards will be announced in September 2010.

The applications are reviewed and given points for the required selected criteria. The following shows what percentages of points are available in each criterion.

State Success Factors: 25%

Standards and Assessments: 14%

Data Systems to Support Instruction: 9%

Great Teachers and Leaders: 28%

Turning Around the Lowest-Achieving Schools: 10%

General Selection Criteria: 11%

STEM: 3%

So, if you missed the Phase 1 deadline, you still have time to prepare your Phase 2 applications, and if you are not awarded a grant in Phase 1, you can reapply for Phase 2.

We wish the best of luck to all states. What a great opportunity to receive some much-needed funds for a very justifiable investment. Every student and every teacher in every state deserves it!

Why Are There Fewer Woman Engineers?

2010-01-13T16:51:00Z

After much research, I didn't know how I was going to answer this question, so I started compiling a list. I took a little bit from here and a little bit from there to put forth my best explanation.

The facts are that in 2001, only 20% of the earned engineering degrees were by women, and in 2007, only 18% of earned engineering degrees were by women, a decrease. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-4.pdf In 2007, only 11% of women made up the engineering workforce. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/figh-1.htm

Why is this? In most other areas of study and skill, with the exception of computer sciences, women are neck and neck with men. One explanation is that girls don't tinker. Tinkering is a stepping stone to engineering. Tinkering enables students to work on something and figure out on their own the whys and hows and to consider what ifs. There's no instruction, just natural curiosity.

So why do boys tinker and girls don't? Is it because boys are naturally curious and girls are often task oriented? Is it because boys are allowed to do things for themselves and girls let others do things for them? Is it because boys learn by doing and girls learn by listening and watching? Is it because men see a broken toaster as a problem that needs to be solved and women ask how the toaster broke?

Another explanation for why there are fewer woman engineers may be as simple as our parent's involvement. A research study shows that the number one influence on a girl's education future is her parents. Parents encourage their daughters to help people, teach people. Engineering isn't often viewed as a way to help people even though that's exactly what it does.

The way engineering is viewed leads into the next explanation. Girls may view the image of engineering as geeky, I think simply because they don't know what else to compare it to except the common stereotype. When someone hears "doctor", people get that even though there are a ton of different kinds of doctors; whether someone is a podiatrist or a cardiologist, he or she helps people get better. When girls hear "engineer", they may not know what that means or what it entails or understand that some kinds of engineers design tools that doctors can use to help make people better.

The word engineer may be too broad, especially when girls can pick careers like nurse, teacher, manager, or therapist and understand what those careers mean by just the name itself. And this may go back to the basics. Boys hear the word engineer, and they question what that is; girls hear the word and listen for someone to tell them what it means. If they don't hear the explanation or aren't introduced to women engineers so that they can have a role model, they probably will decide to do something else.

My last explanation is that socially girls aren't targeted for engineering jobs, just like boys aren't often targeted for nursing jobs. I was watching a commercial for a technical school a couple days ago. It showed images of men drawing up the plans of a house, men gathering the supplies to make the house, and men building the house. The very last scene was of a woman with her kids in her finished home. I had already started planning this blog at the time, so I was more aware of the impression it left me with, but the point is still there.

Have I answered the question? Why are there fewer woman engineers? Probably all of these explanations are contributing factors, and I've probably forgotten a couple more. As women, we've made massive strides and continue to break ground and make history every year. I can't help but be hopeful that soon my question won't be relevant anymore.

2010 Conferences

2009-12-23T16:06:00Z

Just because 2009 isn't over yet, doesn't mean we aren't busy planning for 2010. We are going to be attending some great conferences next year, and we would like the opportunity to meet you there.

Come see us at:

FETC - January 12-15 - Orlando, FL - Booth 114

ITEA - March 18-20 - Charlotte, NC

SkillsUSA TECHSPO - June 22-24 - Kansas City, MO

HSTW - July 14-17 - Louisville, KY

NMSA - November 4-6 - Baltimore, MD

ACTE - December 2-4 - Las Vegas, NV

Email blast hint: Read the first sentence of the "About Hearlihy" tab on the Hearlihy web site.

Locating and Applying for Grants

2009-11-04T21:01:00Z

Education is one of the principle funding objectives of government, private, and corporate granting agencies. The desire to create a more informed and productive citizen is paramount on the agendas of both government and private sectors. In a global environment, the more educationally astute will assume technological and economic leadership roles.

Attendant with this concern is the strong push to enlarge the base of scientific and mathematical skills in schools to satisfy the No Child Left Behind mandates.
School leadership may also focus on securing funding to establish programs for disadvantaged students and preschoolers.
The horizon is alive with a variety of economic opportunities that can, when appropriately drawn together, provide greater learning opportunities for students.
Our educational products meet many of the guidelines listed by leading grant funding sources.

October 2009 "Dig Your Well Before You Thirst" PDF

Additional Grant Resources

Email blast hint: What other company has hands-on products?

October Catalog

2009-10-19T17:56:00Z

Our fourth and final Drafting & Supplies catalog for the 2009 year is printed and shipped. This catalog completes the 40^th year of Hearlihy.

When you get your copy, make sure you check out the cover and then read about the amazing student who created it for us on the front-inside cover. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of the cover or tell us about an amazing student you have.

The back-inside cover displays our fund-raising opportunity for your schools with our screen printing program. The rest of the catalog is filled with new and best seller items. To request a catalog, please visit hearlihy.com/catalogrequest.

We appreciate you, our customers, and thank you for 40 great years.

Email blast hint: What other company has the desire to provide innovative classroom activities?

Mathematical Connections

2009-10-12T16:13:00Z

In the October newsletter of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a message from the NCTM president was included. His statement is an important one and this message does not just apply to Mathematics. He explains that having students make connections, by either applying what they’ve already learned to understand something new, including situations from daily life or other areas of interest, or using hands-on approaches and activities, makes a significant impact in the student’s ability to learn, understand and remember the concept and idea. Below is his message:

Are You Helping Your Students Make Mathematical Connections?

by NCTM President Henry (Hank) Kepner
NCTM Summing Up, October 2009

Mathematics is an integrated field of study with dynamic connections across many perspectives and to a wide range of human endeavors. Although at times we focus our instruction on a narrow area of mathematics to develop our students’ skills and understanding of concepts, I call on you to ensure that students expect to make connections between the mathematics—and the math-related contexts—that they are currently encountering and those that they have already experienced. Students should expect to make connections and capitalize on them, using insights gained in one mathematical context to investigate conjectures in another.

When students connect mathematical ideas, their understanding becomes deeper and more lasting, and learners come to view mathematics as a coherent whole—connected with other subjects and their own interests and experiences. Through instruction that emphasizes the interrelatedness of mathematical ideas, students not only learn mathematics but also discover its utility. What role do connections play in developing your students’ insights about and understanding of mathematics and its use? My challenge to you is to make sure that connections play an essential role in your students’ learning!

The following examples illustrate how we might help our students understand the interconnectedness of mathematical ideas and other aspects of their lives.

The area model is the preeminent model for the multiplication of whole numbers. For children beginning to think about the product of 3 x 4, for example, placing and counting unit squares inside a rectangle with dimensions 3 centimeters by 4 centimeters is foundational. This geometric representation later leads students to understand multi-digit multiplication in the partial products algorithm, which extends to fraction and polynomial multiplication, at least through degree 2. This is a powerful mathematical process for making sense of the often-meaningless FOIL (first, outer, inner, last) multiplication rule in algebra.

Developing a geometric perspective and justification of the Pythagorean theorem through paper folding and other perspectives builds a foundation for the distance formula (in both 2- and 3-D). I challenge you to prepare your students for distance thinking through work with Pythagorean relations. We shouldn’t have our students memorize the often confusing distance formulae but instead understand the concepts. What do you do in your instruction to emphasize the interrelatedness of mathematical ideas and their social and practical value?

A pivotal concept in algebra and calculus is rate of change. In learning about linear relations, students often encounter slope in algebraic formulae such as (y₂ – y₁)/(x₂ – x₁), totally missing the geometric representation of slope as conceptualized and justified through similar triangle relationships. What do you do in your instruction to emphasize the interrelatedness of mathematical ideas?

Middle school students might collect and graph data for the circumference (C) and the diameter (d) of a set of different-sized circles. They could extend their previous knowledge of algebra and data analysis by recognizing that the values nearly form a straight line, so C/d is between 3.1 and 3.2—a rough estimation of pi. How do you create classroom experiences that value and build on the connections between mathematics and students’ knowledge, experiences, and interests?

The graphs of functions—particularly graphs created with dynamic graphing utilities—allow students to search for and investigate approximate simultaneous solutions of two functions. Such work with graphs is especially useful in cases where students’ algebraic solution techniques are inadequate (e.g., f(x) = x and g(x) = sin x).

Students should connect mathematical concepts to their daily lives, as well as to applications from the sciences, social sciences, literature, business and the arts. Moreover, rich mathematical problems enable students to recognize the value of mathematics in examining personal, cultural, and social issues.

Have we prepared our students to ask, “Will mathematical analysis of the question that I am studying help me with my response?” Students who understand the usefulness of connections will know that this is a valuable question to ask.

To view more messages from Mr. Kepner please visit: http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=14989

What Would Schools Do with a Longer Day?

2009-10-02T21:53:00Z

The buzz this week in education has been about shorter summers and longer school days. The main question that I have is: what would schools do with a longer day? The extra time could be utilized several different ways.

For students who need more time in a certain topic, it would be beneficial to either add more minutes to each class or provide a free class at the end of the day to allow each student more time in a certain area.

Maybe the extra time could be used to beef up classes that currently don’t receive a large time frame or time at all, such as science in elementary schools or adding engineering classes to middle and high schools.

If school days were extended, would this mean that the students would have time to complete their homework at school and thus free up family time at home? Would they be given a wider variety of classes to choose from? Would they have longer time in between classes or longer lunch hours?

For athletic, music, and scholar programs, will the practices for these organizations be held after a longer day or will the students be given an option to attend their team practice for the last class of the day?

I just came from my second grader's teacher conference. Because he needs additional time to help him with his reading, he has to miss out on spelling and writing with the rest of his class, because there is not enough time in the day for him to do both.

Would longer days benefit you? What would you like to see schools do if they had longer days?

Budget Cuts for Schools Can Lead to Creative Fund-raising Ideas

2009-09-28T17:26:00Z

I would bet that most parents of school-aged children have three tubs of cookie dough in their freezers, colorful gift wrapping paper for any occasion in their closets, and every scent imaginable in candle form on their shelves. I would also bet that the grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, friends, and coworkers do too.

Most schools depend on fund-raisers to provide extra things for their students and teachers, whether to buy updated playground equipment for their schools or provide their PTO funds to host carnivals, teacher-appreciation weeks, and classroom supplies.

With budget cuts knocking on school doors, I would be interested to find out how many students are then encouraged to knock on even more doors this year, because the fund-raising goal has increased to fill the void of the school’s smaller budget.

While I’ve never met a person who didn’t like cookies, a new and fresh fund-raising idea may be just what your school needs. Luckily, Hearlihy has the perfect fund-raiser solution for you.

The Hearlihy screen printing program enables schools to teach students a life skill and help pay for the program at the same time. Every school has students walking the halls with imprinted T-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts. Instead of paying another business to do those, turn your screen printing program into a profitable one and print your own products.

For more information on the Hearlihy screen printing program, please visit hearlihy.com/screenprinting.

No Boys Allowed!

2009-09-15T17:49:00Z

Increasing the number of girls who enroll in their elective courses is a perennial challenge for many technology educators. Yet one educator has found a very successful approach to drawing in female students: a girls-only class.

Ron Cox teaches a variety of technology course – CAD/CAM, materials, drafting, electricity/electronics, and woodworking – at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, KS. He had noticed that a number of girls seemed interested in computer-automated manufacturing and other types of woodworking projects going on his classes. But no matter how much they seemed to enjoy watching from afar, he had no success convincing them to sign up for one of his woodworking technology classes.

……..To read the rest of this story please visit page 14-15 of the Tech Directions September 2009 Expanded Digital Issue at Tech Directions.

Book previews online

2008-12-08T20:44:00Z

Click the Resources tab and then click the Preview bullet to preview any Hearlihy-published book online!

Did you know you can preview Hearlihy-published books online? You can! When looking at the product page, just click the Resources tab and then click the Preview bullet to download a PDF file with selected pages from the publication.

Dancing Robot Hexapod

2008-11-21T22:34:00Z

When you watch this dancing robot strut his stuff, you'll know why it won first place in Austria's annual Hexapod Robot Competition.

Sources

Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog