Let's improve STEM: Discovery Education is focusing on improving STEM with three new services: STEM foundations, STEMformation and STEM Leader Corps. Source: Education World

STEM education and 21st century skills: STEM education and 21^st century skills are related. The AdvancED STEM Certifcation found that schools that were able to intertwine technology with other subject areas helped bridge the gap between STEM and 21^st century skills much more effectively. Source: Education World

STEM jobs are in demand and there aren't students to fill them: By 2020, 1 million jobs in the STEM field are expected to be added to the U.S. workforce. However, we have a problem. Students are not being prepared to enter the STEM field and unfortunately, the underrepresented minority groups and low-income students usually find themselves left out of the equation. Source: U.S. News

Bill to pay student loans for STEM teachers: STEM jobs are in high demand but more students are needed in the field. The state representative in Florida filed a bill that would forgive students loans for STEM teachers. Source: WCTV 

Experienced STEM teachers are in need: The need for experienced and qualified STEM teachers is acute. Many states have been making efforts to make it easier to get qualified STEM teachers into the classroom. Source: Fox News

Top Paying Stem Jobs: STEM jobs account for 6.2% out of all the jobs in the country. Most importantly, for some students, STEM jobs can be some of the highest paying salaries for recent graduates. Source: Forbes

Resources for Teachers and Students Make a Difference: A new way of teaching and learning for STEM education has proven successful for one student at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif. She deems her success and enthusiasm toward STEM to three things: hands-on experiences, applications of science and math, and involved teachers and mentors. Source: U.S. News

Lack of Job Qualified Job Applicants: GE wants to hire innovative creators and builders however, this is hard with the lack of emphasis on STEM education. At the GE Foundation’s STEM conference in Orlando, ending July 30th, the conference’s main focus is the urgent need to get more STEM education into the classroom curriculums. Source: News 13

Blending Technology and Traditional Teaching: Every day in life you are experiencing a blended environment, not every interaction is online or face-to-face but it is a mixture. While it is hard to determine the exact results, blending technology with the traditional way of teaching, so far, has shown promise. Source: Miami Herald

Google Australia Gives $1 Million Grant: The need for STEM education is a global one. Google Australia just announced they are providing three non-profit organizations with $1 million as a plan to help introduce underrepresented people to STEM. Source: ZD Net

The 20^th Century model of education reflected the industrial age.  Students learned the only way they knew how: sitting in organized rows of desks in a classroom with a teacher and a chalk board.  Back then it seemed that without the classroom, there could be no learning.  As the industrial age gives way to an increasingly global one, schools are faced with the exciting task of reaching for and seeking out authentic learning experiences in the surrounding community. The physical confines of a school building can be limiting.  A successful school in the new century is a school without walls.

Women are progressing in STEM but we're not there yet: Women are making progress in the STEM field, but more needs to be done to continue attracting them. The answer is the three Ms: Magic, Mentoring and Mitigate. Source: Forbes