Camille Cole - Connecting Students to STEM Careers: Social Networking Strategies

Camille Cole

2011 International Society for Technology in Education
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cole, Camille.
Connecting students to STEM careers : social networking strategies / Camille Cole. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56484-291-6 (pbk.)
1. ScienceStudy and teaching. 2. TechnologyStudy and teaching. 3. ScienceVocational guidance. 4. TechnologyVocational guidance. 5. Internet in education. 6. Online social networks. I. Title.
Q197.C65 2011
507.1dc23

2011023160

First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-56484-291-6
Printed in the United States of America

Cover Image: iStockphoto.com/Russell Tate
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Camille Cole is a thirty-year educator who has worked both in the classroom and as the coordinator of distance learning for the State of Oregon. She now works full-time as an educational program development consultant and grant writer.

During Camilles tenure as the distance learning program manager for K12 Oregon, 19982006, she oversaw the deployment and implementation of Oregons statewide videoconference network, Oregon Access Network. She has been a national leader in the K12 educational technology field for over 20 years. Camille is the president and principal researcher for Schoolhouse Communications, an e-learning and technology implementation consulting and communications group. She is an alumna of the University of Oregons School of Education.

Camille is the coauthor of Videoconferencing for K12 Classrooms, (ISTE, 2009), which is used worldwide in university classrooms, teacher training workshops, and seminars. She also writes historical non-fiction and fiction. Her work has been published in literary and professional journals. She is currently working on the educational history book The Brass Bell.

You can find out more about Camilles work at www.camillecole.com

Id like to thank the people who took the time from their busy schedules to be interviewed for this book: Dr. Patricia Galloway, Mowgli Holmes, Dr. Laurence Peters, Kathy Schrock, and Dr. Lynn Schrum. Also, thanks to my family for their support and encouragement. Finally, special thanks to Jay Matheson for his inspiration and support when I needed it most.

For my parents, Peter Wilcox Cole and Ethel McPherson Cole

This is the digital generationa generation of kids raised in a media-rich, networked world of infinite possibilities. They are learning, communicating and socializing in new and exciting ways. For them, technology is more than just a tool, its an essential component of everyday life that frames their world view.
But theres more to their world than just playing with gadgets. Its about engagement, self-directed learning, creativity, and empowerment. They are hyperconnected to their friends and family, mastering new tools and techniques with ease. Behind every successful kid are adults and peers who guide, motivate, and support them.
E DUTOPIA , T HE D IGITAL G ENERATION P ROJECT

When the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, school kids waited in their backyards at night to get a glimpse of the first satellite as it blinked across a star-filled sky. The advent of the space age brought about a short-term boost in the awareness and popularity of STEM curriculum and careers. American newspaper headlines warned about the science gap between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. STEM professionals such as Wernher von Braun, Chuck Yeager, John Glenn, and even NASA staffers became pop culture icons. STEMs place in education and culture seemed to be assured.

Unfortunately, as with most things, the media attention eventually died down. Ironically, in todays world, although there are more possibilities for STEM careers, more need for them, and more choices in them than ever before, the percentage of students pursuing STEM-related degrees has declined.

Increasing student interest in STEM is a high priority for schools. It has been identified as a focus by most prominent educational systems worldwide. Although making STEM a priority is a strong first step, without strategies for making these curriculum areas interesting and attractive to students, STEM initiatives are doomed to fail.