We have two more lucky educators to tell you about—both of whom were recipients of some of the Holiday gifts we sent out. We are unable to award something to everybody who applies for our STEM education grant, so, this Holiday season, we selected a few of the applicants who weren’t chosen and sent them what they asked for. Alyssa Newton was one of the educators we sent something to and her students really seemed to love what they received. Alyssa is a librarian at a public library that hosts afterschool STEM activities for children, so we were happy to send her this gift knowing that she will definitely put it to good use!
Alyssa works with the afterschool program at the Onondaga Free Library in Syracuse, NY, where she has helped launch a maker club for students in fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The library has actually partnered directly with the Onondaga Middle School to host a weekly maker club during which students can engage in inquiry-based learning, collaborate, take risks, and think critically through a variety of STEAM projects after school. The partnership is designed to allow students to supplement the experiences they have during the school day with additional opportunities to experience STEAM learning in a safe and social space.
Now in the fourth year of their partnership with local schools, the afterschool club has grown beyond capacity, so Alyssa is always on the lookout for new STEAM tools to use. On the other hand, she has fully realized that the work she is doing within the library is fulfilling a community need to provide children with enriched STEAM education experiences. She knows that it’s up to educators—in and out of the classroom—to give students the support they need to become the digital leaders of tomorrow.
In collaboration with the Onondaga Middle School library, Alyssa hopes to continue building the success of her library’s STEAM program. This means reaching more students, which is what led Alyssa to apply for our grant so that should could have more EdTech options to offer them. The community-wide aspect of this program is also something we’re seeing more and more of in education. Initiatives like this help to build more awareness of the importance of STEAM education throughout both the school community and the general community. By building this kind of support in her community, Alyssa has helped draw more students to afterschool STEAM activities, which she knows has already made an impact on students in the community.
Ultimately, Alyssa and her colleagues are on a mission to promote collaboration and inclusion among the community’s students. The library already partners with two additional local school districts as well as their partnership with the Onondaga Middle School. Alyssa knows the importance of these partnerships in allowing the public to share in STEAM learning and boost the experiences students can have. As part of her Holiday gift, we sent Alyssa an Ozobot Evo and some 3Doodler filaments. We look forward to seeing how these items will help Alyssa and her students enhance their STEAM initiatives in the new year as they continue to create innovative educational experiences long into the future!
If you are interested in applying for our monthly EdTech grant, we encourage you to submit an application. To learn more about the Onondaga Free Library, like them on Facebook. And, as always, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates on how our Holiday gifts have helped educators and everything else from the world of EdTech. We’ll have one more blog in store for later today with a look at how our final gift recipient was able to leverage EdTech to also enhance learning!