SciEdTech is a project focused on bringing real-world science and scientific data to the classroom.  Data from ongoing research projects on topics of national and international importance are provided along with open-source visual analysis tools and instructions on how to use them to customize paths of inquiry.

SciEdTech is a project focused on bringing real-world science and scientific data to the classroom.  Data from ongoing research projects on topics of national and international importance are provided along with open-source visual analysis tools and instructions on how to use them to customize paths of inquiry.

Who are the people behind SciEdTech?

They are researchers and educators who are interested in improving science education for K-12 classes, and have an involvement in  science projects that have real world importance.  They want to use their expertise to foster creative scientific and technical thinking by students who will be affected by science-based discoveries on personal and societal bases.

Why do you need teachers for this?

Teachers understand capabilities, needs and motivators of their students.  They know the teaching standards and have excellent ideas about improving teaching effectiveness.

What do I get for participating?

You get data that is being generated to help understand science problems that are important to today’s society.  Examples include molecular behaviors of potential biofuels, predicted climate changes and the effects of emission standards, and how a nuclear reactor is built.

You also get software tools for looking at the data.  The data and the software are yours to keep.  You also get how-to guides and suggestions about paths of inquiry.

Finally, you get visualizations derived from the data.  These visualizations are crafted to help non-scientists of any age understand properties of the things that compose our world and universe beyond. 

What do my students get for participating?

Students get to participate in scientific studies that could bear fruit in their lifetimes.  They can come up with their own creative questions as well as strategies for coming up with the answers.  They will gain experience and confidence in problem solving, logic, and estimation.

Ultimately, the hope is that this program will help improve student’s graduation rates, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) testing scores, and advancement to college.  At the minimum, we believe this program will help prepare students for future stages in their lives.  We hope to do this by providing a framework for developing general skills for inquiry and pursuit of answers.

Why should I get involved?

You need to be willing to take a chance on improving your students through a new and novel program.  You need a level of excitement about science that translates to your students.  You need only modest computing equipment for your students.  Finally, you have to be willing to share with us your successes and failures.

OK, it sounds good.  What’s the catch?

There isn’t one.  The people behind SciEdTech recognize their work provides access to unique data, techniques, and expertise that can improve the science and technical backgrounds of others.  The best audience to target with these resources is the youngest age group that can be effectively reached.

Participating Institutions

The National Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is operated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. It is one of the largest open science computational centers in the world.  It supports dramatic advances in understanding how the physical world works.

The national Institute for Computational Sciences is a high-performance computing center funded by the National Science foundation and operated by a partnership between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge Nationl Laboratory.  It provides computational resources to researchers across the United States.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities is a consortium of academic institutions focused on promoting partnerships with national laboratories.  ORAU is a U.S. Department of Energy contractor whose core areas include science education, workforce development, and scientific review programs.