Check out this week’s latest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math news, it might just get you a new 3D printer. 

New Matter Announces $200,000 Commitment to Provide 3D Printers to Classrooms Nationwide

Are you looking for a 3D printer for your classroom or school but it’s not the in budget? You might be eligible to get one for no cost- leading consumer in 3D printing, New Matter, has announced a $200,000 commitment to provide 3D printers to schools across the country.

Offering the MOD-t to classrooms, the 3D printer was specifically "created with educators in mind, and is ideal for classroom use. One of the quietest desktop 3D printers available, the MOD-t can easily live in a classroom or library without causing disruption. Furthermore, the MOD-t automatically calibrates, so teachers can focus their attention to instruction, rather than configuring settings,” said New Matter in a statement.

"The application process is open to schools and school districts across the U.S. Each grant will include three MOD-t 3D printers, 15 spools of filament, and 15 additional build plate surfaces. Schools, teachers and administrators can apply for the Educate and Inspire Grant by visiting: http://newmatter.com/education. The application deadline is Friday, February 5, 2016.”

ESSA Gives States More Power to Use Federal Dollars for STEM

According to Education Week, the new education legislation the Every Student Succeeds Act is a good thing for STEM education.

“[T]he law establishes dedicated federal funding for either a state-led STEM master-teacher corps or STEM professional development,” EdWeek said.

"Under the law, the education secretary can create a competitive-grant program for states to attract, retain, and reward exceptional STEM teachers, especially in high-need and rural schools. The secretary could also use that funding to bolster STEM professional development.”

It also allows Title II and IV funding to be used for improving STEM instruction and “supports alternative certification for STEM teachers.”

Read the full story. Note: Education Week is available through tiered-subscription model. 

How Data Collection Improves the ’Science’ in STEM

According to eSchoolNews, data collection and its technology is significantly helping to improve STEM education.

" The recent addition of probeware—sensory-based handheld devices for measuring things like water quality, light, and temperature—has allowed us to bring students out into nature and introduce them to the world of data collection and analysis,” the article says.

Data collection, the article says, "has created a culture shift around the importance of science and the idea that science can be fun. It’s this shift in thinking, especially among teachers and students in the early grades, that has gotten us to where we are now.”

Read the full story. 

Does the Decline of Interest in STEM for Girls Begin at Age 9?

"Results from tests conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that the gaps between girls and boys in science and math grow larger over time, with the largest shift in girls’ versus boys’ scores occurring between the ages of 9 and 10 years old,”said TechCrunch.com.

"These findings among 9- to 12-year-old girls have longer-term effects and, by high school, girls self-select out of higher-level math and science courses, such as chemistry, physics and calculus, thus reducing their chances to pursue STEM majors in college and pursue STEM-related careers.”

And thus resulting in the gender gap that many are scrambling to reduce.

Pivotal, then, is exposing girls to STEM at a young age through practical uses and a strong leadership mindset.

Read the full story.

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

1/06/2016