k12 InVenture

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence

lpark6 — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:43:01 +0000

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence lpark6 Fri, 11/10/2023 - 07:43

Members of the Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM) team from the Georgia Institute of Technology met with local partners, manufacturers, and business leaders in Thomasville last week to discuss how investments from the $65 million statewide federal grant can accelerate the transition to automation in manufacturing in South Georgia. The meeting was held at Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC), one of the Georgia AIM partners.

“This grant is an investment in a better and brighter future for communities all across the state including Thomasville,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) at Georgia Tech. “By harnessing the power of AI, we can open up new, better-paying manufacturing jobs while preparing workers and students with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly high-tech world.”

The meeting highlighted one of the recent developments of the Georgia AIM project: A future lab at Southern Regional Technical College dedicated to manufacturing technology. CEISMC is providing instructional support and curricula, thanks to the program’s expertise in STEM education, while collaborations with other experts at Georgia Tech and the Southwest Georgia community are identifying new technologies and opportunities for jobs in the area.

At the meeting, Aaron Stebner, co-director of Georgia AIM and associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering, talked about the potential for AI to revitalize the economy in areas of the country that have struggled for decades.

“The reason a lot of the manufacturers are coming back and growing in the U.S. is because the automation and the AI creates a logistics model that makes it advantageous again to manufacture in the U.S. instead of overseas,” he said. Stebner also talked about how AI is automating many jobs “that humans just don’t want to do anymore and creates more space for the creative jobs that tend to create better internal motivation and higher pay.”

In addition to talking with local manufacturers and touring their facilities, Stebner participated in the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber Connects panel discussion “Scary Smart: How AI Can Drive Your Business” with Jason Jones, president/CEO of S&L Integrated and Haile McCollum, founder and creative director of Fountaine Maury. The panel was hosted by Katie Chastan of TiskTask, a local workforce development company that is a partner in the Georgia AIM project.

During the meeting, SRTC announced the creation of a new Precision Machining and Manufacturing Lab on its Thomasville campus with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2024. The lab will host two new programs, including Precision Machining & Manufacturing and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. The Georgia AIM grant provided $499,000 in funding for the lab, as well as staffing support.

“A lab for precision manufacturing at Southern Regional Technical College breathes innovation into Thomasville’s existing industry, fueling their growth and ensuring they stay at the cutting edge of technology and competitiveness,” said Shelley Zorn, executive director of the Thomasville Payroll Development Authority.

“The result is a stronger industry base and higher paying jobs for Thomas County citizens and the region,” Zorn said. “It is also a wonderful recruiting tool for new advanced manufacturing partners.”

This could lead to new jobs for the region that reflect the roles that AI automation can create.

“As we heard from the industries gathered at the table, there is a big need for predictive and prescriptive maintenance from our industries,” added Vic Burke, vice president of academic affairs at Southern Regional Technical College. "Our manufacturers are automating more processes, which means fewer low-paying assembly jobs and more higher paying technician jobs.”

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Members of the Georgia AIM team traveled to Thomasville to meet with local partners, manufacturers, and business leaders to discuss AI impact.

Summary

Dateline

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

Georgia AIM

CEISMC

k12 InVenture

K12 InVenture Prize

K-12 InVenture Prize

Categories

Computer Science/Information Technology and Security

Education

Robotics

Mercury ID

670981

Source updated

Thu, 11/09/2023 - 14:21

Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Mock Pitch

lpark6 — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 11:43:01 +0000

Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Mock Pitch lpark6 Fri, 09/29/2023 - 07:43

Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) is looking for volunteers to serve as judges for this year’s K-12 InVenture Prize Competition. In the competition, K-12 students from across the state compete in teams against their peers, challenged to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process.

Volunteer judges are crucial to the competition, providing critical feedback to this next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs as they compete amongst their peers and refine their ideas. Previous judges have included Georgia Tech students, staff, faculty and industry partners, including local teachers.

“For me, the most important part of being a judge is celebrating our students’ ideas and recognizing that they do have ideas and encouraging them to think of clever things and things that interest them,” said Dr. Raymond Vito, a long-time volunteer judge and former Vice Provost and Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. “I think the adult recognition of what they have done is as big as anything. I also have always thought that it is important for students to understand STEM education and what it’s all about and so this is one way to get the message out.”

Judges are needed for November Mock Pitch review, in which students from schools across Georgia present their ideas for early feedback. The Mock Pitch review process is online and asynchronous. Judges can complete the pitches whenever they have free time.

Judging for Mock Pitch starts on November 17. Sign up to judge Mock Pitch here.

For more information on this year’s K-12 InVenture prize competition, click here

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Since the Mock Pitch review process is online and asynchronous, judges can complete the pitches whenever they have free time.

Summary

Since the Mock Pitch review process is online and asynchronous, judges can complete the pitches whenever they have free time.

Dateline

Mon, 10/02/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

k12 InVenture

K12 Education

Categories

Community

Education

Institute and Campus

Mercury ID

670022

Source updated

Thu, 09/28/2023 - 16:19

Georgia AIM Partnership in South Georgia Focuses on Building K-12 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Educational Opportunities

lpark6 — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 11:43:01 +0000

Georgia AIM Partnership in South Georgia Focuses on Building K-12 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Educational Opportunities lpark6 Sat, 09/09/2023 - 07:43

The Georgia AIM project’s work to build K-12 innovation, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence skills and educational opportunities in South Georgia is moving forward as teams from Georgia Tech and Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) are working together to synthesize the results of a recent workshop with teachers, business, and community leaders in Thomasville. The Georgia AIM project, funded by a $65 million federal grant, supports a total of nine inter-related projects throughout the state and is designed to increase job and wage opportunities in distressed and rural communities and among historically underrepresented and underserved people.

SRTC hosted the workshop in July, bringing together industry professionals, government officials, educators, and community members from South Georgia along with a team of STEM education specialists from Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), another grant partner. The overall goal is to work with business and educational leaders in South Georgia to help prepare area students for high-tech jobs that will strengthen the community.

“By hosting events like the recent workshop at Southern Regional Technical College, we are offering our local educators the opportunity to engage in productive collaborations and collaborative learning where teachers connect to share ideas, methodologies, and experiences can lead to a more enriched and effective educational environment,” said Willie Allen, SRTC’s Director of Innovation. “Furthermore, bridging the gap between the educational community and local business creates alignment between what is being taught and the skills that are in demand in the local job market,” he said. “These workshops can lead to the development of new teaching methodologies and curriculum that focus on entrepreneurship, AI, and innovation.”

Some of the topics that emerged from the July workshop included: teachers’ resilience and ability to adapt; community concerns around entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence; the importance of engaging and aligning local business and government efforts with schools and education; and establishing benchmarks for success.

“I think sometimes when you are in the classroom you forget how vital and connected your work is to what comes next for students,” said Katie Chastain, Chief Learning Officer for education technology platform Tisk/Task, and an employee of the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce. “The world of work is constantly changing, and we want teachers to be able to have a front row seat to those changes. We are making a big ask of teachers to prepare students for this unknown future, so it's also important that they have the support of businesses and community partners.”

In the next step of this co-design process, SRTC, other local partners, including the Chambers of Commerce, and the CEISMC team will regularly engage during the school year with the initial cohort of South Georgia partners such as the teachers from the workshop to get their feedback and reflections on the workshop activities and findings, identify highest priority opportunities and pain points, and begin to co-develop solutions for the near- and long-term future. Everyone will work towards a follow-up workshop next summer that brings together the original cohort and additional contributors to celebrate innovation within the South Georgia communities.

“Equipping students with skills in entrepreneurship, innovation, design-based thinking, and embracing the future of artificial intelligence is essential,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager with CEISMC. “The experiences we are creating with Georgia AIM partners will provide students with diverse career opportunities available to them in their local communities."

--Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

Teams from Georgia Tech and Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) are working together to synthesize the results of a recent workshop with teachers, business, and community leaders in Thomasville Georgia.

Summary

Dateline

Fri, 09/08/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

Georgia AIM

k12 InVenture

K12 Education

Categories

Community

Education

Mercury ID

669535

Source updated

Fri, 09/08/2023 - 09:37

The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Returns to Georgia Tech Campus to Honor Student Inventors from Across the State

jhill7 — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:46:47 +0000

The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Returns to Georgia Tech Campus to Honor Student Inventors from Across the State jhill7 Wed, 04/05/2023 - 11:46

More than five hundred people — including young student inventors from across the state, their parents and teachers, along with Georgia Tech students, staff and faculty and community partners and friends — celebrated the live return of the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals Competition on March 15 at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

After a two-year hiatus due to Covid concerns, the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals returned to campus bigger than ever as a synchronous and in-person field trip experience for 101 student teams who advanced from the online qualifier and regional qualifiers of the competition. More than 30 students were honored with awards. A select few of these winners will go on to Invention Convention U.S. Nationals at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan June 7-9.

The K-12 InVenture Prize, an invention and entrepreneurship program and competition in the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), challenges kindergarten through high school students in Georgia to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions through analysis, creativity, and the engineering design process.

"These amazing students and teachers bring so much creativity, passion, and inventiveness to their creations and to this competition,” said Roxanne Moore, senior research engineer and director of the K-12 InVenture Prize program. “Being together, in person, for the first time in a while is very special. There was so much energy and imagination in that room—it was truly inspiring.”

At the ceremony, each first-place team received a patent search or patent filing offered by the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA), which was presented at the ceremony by GIPA’s Michael Frnka. Cameron Schriner, an engineer with local software company IronCAD, also presented at the event along with keynote speaker Christin Salley, a third-year civil engineering Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech and the president of the Black Graduate Student Association.

Award-winning student projects included:

the “Plapper,” a product that turns the invasive Kudzu vine into sustainable plastic and paper products;
an innovative catalytic converter and aerosol spray can that reduces carbon and chlorofluorocarbon emissions;
a portable wheelchair ramp;
a sustainable cooking device that relies on a sand battery to store solar energy;
a recycling-themed game for young school children;

a sustainability-focused mobile app that shows users greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of meals; and
“ConVo Bot,” a chatbot app that serves as a safe space for individuals with social anxiety.

“We couldn’t be more proud of these students,” said Danyelle Larkin, educational outreach manager for the K-12 InVenture Prize program. “These young inventors have demonstrated the problem-solving, creativity, STEM, and critical thinking skills that will shape the leaders of tomorrow. Their tenacity and empathy make us incredibly hopeful for the future!”

Proud mom Sade Aeyi said that her daughter, Tishe Aeyi from Tritt Elementary, received a massive boost of confidence just from attending the event. “Being able to see all the other kids in the hall, many high school kids, showing these innovative projects that they have worked on really made my daughter feel like ‘my ideas are good, and my ideas are creative, and I can take them far,’” she said. “It is so important for children to be able to harness their creativity because we want them to be able to think outside the box. We want people who can see problems and not just think of them as challenges but think about them as opportunities for innovation.”

Retired Georgia Tech Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies Raymond Vito, who was one of the founders of the InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech, said he returned to judge the competition this year, in part, because of the recognition the students received from the attendees, including judges, sponsors, and volunteers. “The adult recognition of what the students have accomplished is about as important as anything else,” explained Vito, who is also Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering. “That’s the most significant thing — the interaction, the excitement of the students and how we react to it.”

In addition to the award ceremony, students participated in hands-on STEM activities and met with judges to present their projects. The day of events concluded with the annual InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech competition at the Ferst Center for the Arts that aired lived on Georgia Public Broadcasting and online. Nicknamed “American Idol for Nerds,” the Emmy Award-winning InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary innovation competition open to all Tech undergraduate students.

To see a full list of winners and their projects, please visit k12inventure.gatech.edu/competition2023.

For more information on the K-12 InVenture Prize curriculum and competition, please visit https://k12inventure.gatech.edu or www.k12inventure.org.

—Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications

Summary sentence

On March 15, student inventors from across the state gathered on Georgia Tech's campus to participate in the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals.

Summary

Dateline

Mon, 03/27/2023 - 12:00

Associated importer

Keywords

k12 InVenture

K12 InVenture Prize

CEISMC

K-12 Inventure Challenge

K-12 InVenture Prize @ Georgia Tech

Categories

Community

Education

Special Events and Guest Speakers

Mercury ID

666828

Source updated

Wed, 04/05/2023 - 11:56

Georgia Tech’s 2019 K12 InVenture Prize Inspires Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs

lpark6 — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:43:01 +0000

Georgia Tech’s 2019 K12 InVenture Prize Inspires Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs lpark6 Wed, 03/08/2023 - 07:43

Georgia Tech's K-12 InVenture Prize was held March 13, 2019, featuring teams of student inventions and technology from across the state. With top prizes among grade levels as well as individual awards, teams advanced from the competition to the National Invention Convention in Dearborn, Michigan, held from May 29 – May 31, 2019.

Over 90 schools participated in the InVenture program, with 21 students advancing to the national competition with five teams bringing home eight awards.

Students competed with various projects centered on invention and innovation, focusing on solutions for a 21st-century world. The competition pushes students to tackle world issues in unique ways. Their projects ranged from a sleeping bag with features to help those in shelters to a patent-pending device that assists emergency procedures for blocked airways.

"Most STEM competitions have a design process whether it's the scientific method, or the engineering design process," said Jasmine Patel, the Educational Outreach Coordinator at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). "K12 InVenture Prize incorporates all into one program."

First place prize winners from this year's Georgia Tech competition included teams from Walton High School, Madras Middle School, and Kelly Mill Elementary.

Winners in non-grade categories included Kelly Mill Elementary in the Best Overall K-12 Division, Effingham College and Career Academy for the People's Choice Award, Shoal Creek Elementary School for the Youngest Participant Award, Northgate High School for the TAG Manufacturing Award, Walton High School for the IronCAD High School Award, and Matt Elementary School for the IronCAD Elementary School Award.

Qualifying teams from the Georgia Tech InVenture competition moved on to the National Invention Convention. Cheatham Hill Elementary School took home President's Choice Award and 2nd place in the 5th-grade category. Booth Middle School received the Household Organization and Appliances Industry Innovation Award. The Atlanta International School took 3rd place in the 10th-grade category. Harrison High School garnered the Home and Safety Award presented by Carrier and 1st place in the 10th-grade category. Walton High School received the Patent Application Award presented by Wilmer Hale and 2nd place in the 11th-grade category.

Teacher Nancy Ernstes, from Cheatham Hill Elementary School, placed first for The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Award.

The Process

Preparation for the InVenture prize begins months before in the classroom. Teachers from around the state use curriculum designed for the competition to mentor students in the invention process.

"The K12 InVenture Prize teachers create the curriculum and teachers adapt and change to fit their teaching style," Patel said. "The curriculum is composed to help students through not only the invention process, but an iterative process (define the problem, ideate solutions, create prototypes, and test their product). It's a circular model, and students use this model until they create a solution that is unique and different to their problem."

Teacher workshop facilitators also guide the InVenture process. Facilitators work with teachers on the ins-and-outs of the competition. Teachers learn what to do in their classrooms and how to use the invention process with students. Dr. Kathleen Lanman, a STEM teacher at J.C. Booth Middle School, has been a teacher workshop facilitator for two years.

"I feel like I have a network of people that I didn't have before … it's nice to have somebody that you can bounce ideas off of and to have some confirmation that what you're doing isn't crazy," Dr. Lanman said "It's really nice when a teacher from another district and another grade level emails you to say "Hey can you watch this pitch video and tell me what you think?" That collaboration makes it that much more powerful."

InVenture curriculum, along with teacher workshop facilitators pushes students not only to come up with innovative ways to solve problems but to learn from each other's work.

"In January, they are presenting their ideas to other people in the class. It's really interesting to me that even though they are actually competing against each other, they will still try and help build each other up as well."

Some InVenture mentors have even used collaboration to learn how to evaluate other projects and get feedback.

"We play a lot of 'Shark Tank' in class trying to find holes in design solutions, see what they haven't thought about, and then eventually we have an internal competition where we bring in judges, a patent attorney, a mechanical engineer, we've got a physicist, and someone who is just your average consumer, making sure they're on the panel," said Michelle Crose who worked as a teacher workshop facilitator this past competition cycle.

Takeaway

Many teachers have noted how the invention design process has pushed their students to think in ways outside of the traditional classroom method.

"Kids a lot of the time come up with an idea and think their first idea is the only idea that they can come up with," Dr. Lanman said. "It's really good for them to realize that success comes can come after a lot of failures. That perseverance piece of it is hard to teach, and I feel like InVenture is a good way to teach it."

Teachers noted how the competition impacts their teaching style, even when teaching students who do not compete with the program.

"I've been teaching for a long time and only in the last five years or so that I've been doing this I feel like I have completely shifted to a growth-mindset in my classroom in a way that I had never done before," Dr. Lanman said. "I just don't think that I really understood, until I started doing this project, how valuable it is for them to fail at things. I teach smart kids, they're gifted often, and failure for them is tragic … trying to change their whole mindset is what you can really do with this. It's really changed the way I teach."

Others reflect on their favorite moments from mentoring students through the invention process.

"Just seeing them working with each other and being really excited about something that they are doing not for a grade but just because they enjoy it," said Anne Baxley, a chemistry teacher at Walton High School whose team attended the National Competition this year. "I love guiding them in the right way but listening to what they are coming up with."

Beyond the competition itself, the prize offers students an opportunity to experience an innovative college campus.

"Having the K12 InVenture Prize here at Georgia Tech brings excitement to these students," Patel said. "We provide tickets for any K12 students or teachers that would like to stay and watch the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize … while students are on campus, they have an opportunity to tour the campus, talk to Georgia Tech students, and tour labs."

Teachers also have noted the impact of the competition's university setting.

"It's a fabulous program," Crose said. "I have kind of a nontraditional school, so bringing my kids down to the Georgia Tech campus has opened up a world for them. Participating in this program, now Tech is on their radar. It's been a huge thing to expose them to what's available but also to make it reachable."

Mentors for the prize have also seen how InVenture not only exposes students to Georgia Tech but life in college in general.

"It is hands down the best project they have done to prepare them for college, especially if they are going into engineering," Crose said. "I've had feedback from students who have gone on and said that what they've learned in this class and the InVenture program has prepared me for classes in college."

By Tyler Jones - Georgia Tech CEISMC Communications

Subtitle

Changing Mindsets and Teaching Students to Excel through the Innovation Process

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech’s K12 InVenture Prize, held on March 13, 2019, pushed students to approach the innovation process from a unique and challenging perspective inside and outside of the classroom.

Summary

Georgia Tech’s K12 InVenture Prize, held on March 13, 2019, pushed students to approach the innovation process from a unique and challenging perspective inside and outside of the classroom.

Dateline

Fri, 06/28/2019 - 12:00

K12inventure@gatech.edu

Contact

Georgia Tech Innventure Prize Program
Georgia Institute of Technology
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC)

817 West Peachtree St., NW, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30308

K12inventure@gatech.edu

Keywords

CEISMC

k12 InVenture

National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo

Categories

Institute and Campus

Mercury ID

626653

Source updated

Tue, 09/24/2019 - 11:34

k12 InVenture

New Lab at Southern Regional Tech Helps Connect Students, Artificial Intelligence

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Volunteer Judges Needed for K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Mock Pitch

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Georgia AIM Partnership in South Georgia Focuses on Building K-12 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Educational Opportunities

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The K-12 InVenture Prize Competition Returns to Georgia Tech Campus to Honor Student Inventors from Across the State

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Georgia Tech’s 2019 K12 InVenture Prize Inspires Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs

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