STEM Central Adds Social Media Tools
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) November 07, 2013 -- Today, Sally Ride Science announced the launch of the next phase of STEM Central™, which was released in early October as a free web resource for educators and students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics and careers. The enhanced site now includes a suite of social tools that enable educators to rate and review existing resources, as well as add their own STEM links.
STEM Central has grown to include more than 3,000 links to articles, videos, maps, animations, lesson plans and other media specifically focused on the needs of educators and students. Users searching STEM Central may apply a wide variety of filters to search by topic, grade level, and media type, ensuring highly targeted results.
“With thousands of educator-friendly STEM resources, all vetted by specialists at Sally Ride Science, STEM Central already stands apart from other STEM sites,” says Sheryle Bolton, CEO of Sally Ride Science. “Adding these new social components—a first, to our knowledge—gives STEM Central a unique new value. Now, visitors to the site can see what is working for other educators and read tips on how to apply these resources in their own instruction on STEM fields and careers.”
All content in the first phase of STEM Central was discovered and submitted by a team of educators, researchers, and STEM professionals engaged by Sally Ride Science. The site was designed to include educator and classroom usage tips that make it easier to incorporate the resources into lesson plans, regardless of a teacher’s background in the topic.
In this phase, STEM Central is inviting educators to submit their favorite STEM links, as well as to contribute submissions, ratings, and reviews from educators worldwide, with Sally Ride Science moderators overseeing submissions for accuracy, clarity, and relevance to STEM topics and careers. With the new ability for users to add their own resources, the number of resources in STEM Central is expected to grow rapidly.
The user-friendliness of STEM Central will be important for many teachers in the 45 states that have adopted Common Core State Standards, as they are expected to incorporate non-fiction literacy and practical applications of science and math across the curriculum. As Bolton notes, “New teachers, and teachers in other content areas, will appreciate having a reliable source for topic-specific information and classroom activities that they can use to address STEM and STEM careers in an interdisciplinary way.”
The free site can be accessed from the Sally Ride Science home page at http://www.sallyridescience.com, or directly at http://www.stemcentral.com. The launch coincides with an overhaul of http://www.sallyridescience.com, which has been made more functional and user-friendly, allowing visitors to more easily access STEM Central and other products and programs from Sally Ride Science, including the just released Sally Ride Online Academy, where all educators nationwide can access convenient, affordable, web-based professional development.
The launch of STEM Central is part of the Company’s larger strategy for reaching more teachers and students with usable information on STEM topics and careers. “By moving much of what we do online, we have not only created more scalable products and programs, but a more scalable company so that we may reach more educators, no matter where they may be,” says Bolton.
About Sally Ride Science
Sally Ride Science provides college and career readiness training and tools to build students' passion for STEM fields and careers. Founded by Dr. Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut in space, the company brings science to life for upper-elementary and middle school students, and offers professional development via the Sally Ride Science Academy, showing educators how to incorporate engaging career-focused approaches into their existing instruction. Additionally, Sally Ride Science administers the Sally Ride EarthKAM, a unique NASA-backed educational outreach program enabling students, teachers, and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space. Visit http://www.sallyridescience.com for more information.
Matt Casper, Sally Ride Science, http://www.sallyridescience.com, +1 858-638-1432 Ext: 145, [email protected]
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