Why Google, and not some other software? Google provides all the software necessary for any student: Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawing, and Forms. Free websites are provided by Blogger, and embedding Google products into a Blogger website is relatively easy to do. Parents and the rest of the community can now be involved as they leave comments on the student website, (hopefully) praising students for all their hard work.
In a regular technology class, students get to learn the same computer skill set; however, these classes do not usually have a common theme to it, which is to say, students learn word processing and spreadsheets, but not in a cohesive thematic way. S.T.E.M. labs tie all the software together for the student, enabling a deeper understanding of the underlying technology.
Students come away from the lab with an excellent foundation in science, they will be more than comfortable around technology, they will understand the engineering process, and they will never ever be afraid of mathematics.
With this type of S.T.E.M. education in place, all students, regardless of their socioeconomic levels, have an equal chance to learn about aerospace and astronautics.
Maybe this is what President Kennedy had in mind.
Joe Maness and Rich Holtzin are the proprietors of S.T.E.M. For the Classroom (www.stemfortheclassroom.org), a non-profit education startup company.
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