Category Archives: STEM

Together with Tech Student Conference scheduled for April 7

High school teams should submit proposals by Feb. 28

The Second Annual Together with Tech Student Conference is scheduled for April 7 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St.)

The theme is “Mind, Body, and Soul,” and the idea is to brainstorm solutions that will help the community. More information is available at the Together With Tech website.

High school teams of between two and five students are encouraged to submit their proposals by Feb. 28. This year’s summit will have two components:  Continue reading →

HISD awarded more than $60 million in federal grants

U.S. Department of Education funding to target teacher recruitment, STEM programs

The Houston Independent School District has been awarded three grants, including one that is believed to be the largest grant the district has ever received.

Each of the three grants is from the U.S. Department of Education. The largest totals $47 million and will go to recruiting and retaining the best teachers and administrators at the district’s most struggling schools.

The district also received a nearly $15 million grant for STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — education at six HISD schools, and a $1.3 million grant that will go toward professional development for music and arts teachers in high-poverty schools. Continue reading →

Energy Institute HS places second at FIRST Robotics World competition 

Energy Institute High School’s Energy HEROs team on Saturday placed second in the world at the Houston-hosted FIRST Robotics World competition.

The HEROs were part of an alliance with three other teams: alliance captain, The Robonauts, and alliance partners Citrus Circuits and Columbus Space Program. Continue reading →

Washington HS hosts students from Zimbabwe for science, technology learning collaborative 

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Booker T. Washington High School recently hosted a group of nearly 50 students from Zimbabwe as part of a 10-day international collaborative learning project.

The collaborative between Rydings College in Zimbabwe and Washington High School primarily was focused on science and technology and included visits to Space Center Houston and the University of Houston. Students hoped to bring back ideas on how to make wind turbines and processes for water purification.

Continue reading →

Together with Tech, district’s first student-led technology conference, to be held this weekend 

More than 100 Houston ISD high school students on Saturday will deliver presentations on the impact of technology in the classroom at Together With Tech, the district’s first student-led technology conference.

Students from 45 schools will present on technology-based platforms that include digital animation, mobile app design, and tools such as Google Earth. Each participating school has a team of at least three students who will share ways in which the district’s PowerUp initiative has transformed what it means to be a high school student in HISD.

Continue reading →

Students from four HISD schools bring home top awards at math and science competition in Florida 

Six HISD students from four schools took home top honors in three categories recently at the Math and Science Competition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

HISD students competed against about 50 other students from K-12 Confucius Institutes in Nevada, Utah, Ohio, and Florida. The six students competed in three categories: Math in Chinese, Science in Chinese, and Chinese Character Bee. Results are as follows: Continue reading →

Energy Institute HS students create art car for Super Bowl festivities 

Energy Institute High School unveiled a student-created art car on Monday at Discovery Green that was created in partnership with Noble Energy for this year’s Art Car Parade.

The car was on display Monday night as part of the Super Bowl showcase. The goal was to create a car that revealed how oil and gas companies extend to our everyday lives beyond the gas pump. Continue reading →

Drones and robots win big at Dream On STEAM On student competition 

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Flying drones and spinning robots impressed the judges in the Capital One Bank Dream on STEAM on Student Showcase at Northside High School on Jan. 24. Four elementary, two middle, and three high schools competed in the STEM/STEAM contest for a top spot in each category.

The Looscan Elementary School Lions won with multiple colorful drones, explaining ethical uses for drones that include medical needs, helping law enforcement, and deliveries. Other participating elementary schools were Osborne, C. Martinez, and Mading.

Continue reading →

HISD students compete in Coding Challenge Day

On Saturday, Dec. 3, HISD Advanced Academics and the STEM Teacher Development team hosted “Crack the Code: A Coding Challenge Day” with HISD students to kick off Computer Science Education Week, which is Dec. 5–11. Students and teachers from 27 district elementary and middle schools participated in the challenge day, which was held simultaneously at two locations – Southmayd and McGowen elementary schools.

Continue reading →

White House spotlights HISD classroom computer science efforts

The Houston Independent School District’s efforts to increase the number of teachers trained in computer science and to immerse all students in computer programming from elementary to high school have earned the White House’s attention.

The White House computer science fact sheet outlines President Barack Obama’s plan to give all students across the country the chance to learn computer science in school. The fact sheet titled A Year of Action Supporting Computer Science Education for All (#CSForAll) shows the progress various states have made in computer science by adopting higher standards to better prepare students for success in careers and college since the initiative first launched in January.

The factsheet highlights HISD for its plans to double the number of computer science certified teachers over the next two academic years; expand advanced computer science courses by offering Advanced Placement computer science programming and computer science courses at 38 HISD high schools by the end of the 2017 school year; and adopt computer science standards that will provide for teaching computational thinking skills to 215,000 HISD students in grades pre-K to 12. Continue reading →