Tuesday night over forty people gathered in a Community College classroom focused on how the FIRST series of robotics competitions can empower our children to develop 21st century skills. Co-presenting with me were five area young people experienced with FIRST robotics, Katrina, a 7th grader who had been competing with the FIRST Lego League …
Category: Blog
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/09/15/leadership-opportunities-needed/
Sep 08
Stumbling Blocks to Innovation: Motivation
I want to extend a special thank you to all the fantastic parents, educators, business leaders, and committed community members who attended last night’s Beaver County STEM Advocacy Coalition. Nineteen people gathered at the local community college to share resources, energy, and enthusiasm for growing a generation of innovators, trained in Science, Technology, Engineering and …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/09/08/stumbling-blocks-to-innovation-motivation/
Sep 01
Stumbling Blocks to Innovation: Fear
I attended the Pittsburgh STEM Summit yesterday, phenomenal gathering and a fantastic celebration of the strides being made by the business community, K-12, technical and university educational communities, and our local culture to respond to the need for a 21st century workforce. Yet an aura of caution surrounded the enthusiasm. The Pittsburgh Technology Council (host …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/09/01/stumbling-blocks-to-innovation-fear/
Aug 25
Teaching Innovation
Innovation is an essential skill for the 21st century. Can it be taught? Absolutely! Skills are taught through modeling (that is surrounding the student with effective models and examples), by opportunities to practice the skill (project based learning), and by feedback that helps them internalize the changes they need to make to improve their practice …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/08/25/teaching-innovation/
Aug 16
London Riots and FIRST Robotics
I watched video footage of the London riots dismayed by images of young people striking out with such violent fear of the future and utter disregard for the property of others. No one explanation suffices. One writer, picking up on tweets and social media posts, claimed these teens and young adults are frustrated by unemployment …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/08/16/london-riots-and-first-robotics/
Aug 08
Imagineers and STEM Education
“We are not preparing children for the world we have lived in but for a future that we can barely imagine.” Gordon Brown, former dean of the MIT EngineeringSchool. Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do?, differentiates between a politically conservative attitude of scarcity and ‘can’t do’ and an innovative engineering attitude of abundance and …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/08/08/imagineers-and-stem-education/
Aug 01
The Possible’s Slow Fuse Lit by Imagination
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras, 1942 Do you consider yourself an innovator? One component is creativity, thinking up novel and unique ideas. We are far from unraveling the complexity of imagination, …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/08/01/the-possibles-slow-fuse-lit-by-imagination/
Jul 26
Do I really want an innovative kid?
Innovation can be scary. Juan Enriquez in his February 2009 TED Talk describes the three contemporary fields of innovation: microbes, tissues and robots. In the area of microbes, we now have programmable cells where we can insert DNA “snipets” and have it boot up as a different species (check out the 2010 International Genetically Engineered Machine …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/07/26/do-i-really-want-an-innovative-kid/
Jul 11
Heroes can inspire 21st century skills
May the rays of the summer sun settle around you like a warm mantle and a splash of cool rain wake you up to the beauty and joy of the moment. Thank you all for your comments and emails. New beginnings are awesome. Katie Brocklehurst shared a great response to last week’s blog. Her five …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/07/11/heroes-can-inspire-21st-century-skills/
Jun 29
Grow a Generation Opens Its Digital Doors
May the sun shine today on all your loved ones and a gentle breeze whisper words of inspiration that set your hearts a blaze. The doors open today for Grow a Generation, an organization dedicated to giving parents the tools to prepare their kids for the 21st century. My name is Ellen Cavanaugh. I am …
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2011/06/29/hello-world/
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