The K12 Engineering Education Podcast-logo

The K12 Engineering Education Podcast

Educational

Promoting education in engineering and design for all ages. Learn more and read transcripts at www.k12engineering.net. Produced by Pius Wong, engineer, of Pios Labs (www.pioslabs.com). This podcast is for educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and parents interested in bringing engineering to younger ages. Listen to real conversations among various professionals in the engineering education space, as we try to find better ways to educate and inspire kids in engineering thinking. For episode transcripts and more information, visit: www.k12engineering.net Topics include overcoming institutional barriers to engineering and STEM in K12, cool ways to teach engineering, equity in access to engineering, industry needs for engineers, strategies for training teachers, "edtech" solutions for K12 classrooms, curriculum and pedagogy reviews, and research on how kids learn engineering knowledge and skills. Thanks for listening!

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Location:

Austin, Texas

Description:

Promoting education in engineering and design for all ages. Learn more and read transcripts at www.k12engineering.net. Produced by Pius Wong, engineer, of Pios Labs (www.pioslabs.com). This podcast is for educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and parents interested in bringing engineering to younger ages. Listen to real conversations among various professionals in the engineering education space, as we try to find better ways to educate and inspire kids in engineering thinking. For episode transcripts and more information, visit: www.k12engineering.net Topics include overcoming institutional barriers to engineering and STEM in K12, cool ways to teach engineering, equity in access to engineering, industry needs for engineers, strategies for training teachers, "edtech" solutions for K12 classrooms, curriculum and pedagogy reviews, and research on how kids learn engineering knowledge and skills. Thanks for listening!

Language:

English

Episodes

Engineering Meat Cruelty-Free, with Dr. Katie Kam

2/12/2023
Cultivated meat has the potential to disrupt the meat industry, and engineer Dr. Katie Kam joins the podcast to talk about it. Katie founded BioBQ, her startup that’s developing cultivated beef brisket. She explains how cultivated meat – also known as “cultured meat” or “lab meat” – is real meat that avoids animal slaughter by being grown in a bioreactor. Katie discusses her motivation for her work at BioBQ, including her Texas roots, love of barbecue, interest in ecology, and being vegan....

Duration:00:28:19

Cybersecurity Awareness Month, with Nicole Bushong

10/24/2022
As part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, cybersecurity engineer Nicole Bushong shares essential cybersecurity habits and tools for keeping organizations and individuals safe, as well as hot tips for getting into the many parts of this critical industry. Learn about data privacy, compliance, coding, hacking news, degrees and certifications, multi-factor authentication, and more. Related to this episode: • Cybersecurity and Being Human: https://k12engineering.net/episodes/80 • IR...

Duration:01:42:33

Solve Real Problems and Win Real Prizes, with Autumn and George Dowdy and Ann Woo

8/10/2022
The Solve for Tomorrow design competition from Samsung is starting up again, and three guests join the podcast to explain how it works, and why schools and businesses should invest in K-12 STEM education. George Dowdy led his students at Porter High School to win the most recent competition, while Autumn Dowdy led her students at the same school to win before that. George and Autumn, an engineering education power couple, talk about what it’s like teaching engineering today and how the Solve...

Duration:00:56:42

Teaching Coding to the Community with a Small Business, with Amy Pirzada

6/30/2022
Amy Pirzada started My Coding Place as an educational business focused on teaching coding to kids in Austin. But she soon expanded to teach chess, game design, 3D modeling, 3D printing, and more technical topics in problem-solving to wider audiences. She talks about the mission of her entrepreneurial business, how to teach kids programming effectively, the right tech tools for teaching kids of different ages, and her goals for the business and possibly a future nonprofit. Related to this...

Duration:00:39:25

The Physics Circus Teaches Science, with Joseph Ziegel

4/13/2022
The Physics Circus at The University of Texas at Austin tries to attract kids to science using loud and entertaining demonstrations that might not be as accessible to the average school. Led by graduate students doing the latest in physics research, The Physics Circus is getting back into live shows again. Joseph Ziegel is one of the coordinators of the group, along with Jordan Zesch, and Joseph describes their mission of young scientists spreading more love of science. Related to this...

Duration:00:29:28

The Science Journal for Kids, with Tanya Dimitrova

2/3/2022
Do scientific research articles sometimes sound like another language? To K-12 students, very often it’s yes. Tanya Dimitrova tried to help solve this problem by founding the Scientific Journal for Kids, where her team of writers, designers, and teachers translates articles from scientific research journals into more kid-friendly language. Tanya talks about how her time as a science teacher in Central Texas influenced her to found this nonprofit, and then explains all the details that go...

Duration:00:48:58

Design Biomolecular Circuits, with Dr. Xiaojing Gao

12/14/2021
What is synthetic biology? Researcher and professor Dr. Xiaojing Gao introduces this cutting edge field. He explains how his lab at Stanford University engineers biomolecular circuits, which are meant to be programmable, reproducible, and friendlier to mammalian cells than non-biological molecules. Xiaojing hopes to create the building blocks of this technology, to one day better treat all sorts of medical conditions ranging from cancer to epilepsy. He also describes his path to his...

Duration:00:27:21

A Video Game for Designing Robots, with Dan White

11/22/2021
Learning in robotics doesn’t have to take weeks, if you can design, build, and test a robot in hours in a video game. Dan White, CEO of Filament Games, introduces RoboCo, their game meant to teach principles of robotics to players, from the mechanical design all the way to testing in the 3D world. Dan discusses cofounding Filament Games with partners Dan Norton and Alex Stone, what constitutes a good or bad learning game, plans for integrating RoboCo into educational curricula, and more....

Duration:00:51:13

Reach Youth by Listening to Them, with Scott Steward

9/12/2021
Chicago educator and entrepreneur Scott Steward breaks down his teaching philosophy, rooted in getting to know his students. Steward founded Genius Lab in Chicago, where he teaches young people technology, business, and how to become an adult. He honed his curriculum from teaching in Chicago Public Schools classrooms for fifteen years in largely black and brown communities. First Steward traces his youth on the South Side of Chicago, when he did not prioritize academics at all, and then he...

Duration:01:17:31

Robotics Competitions after 2021, with Dan Mantz

8/6/2021
The Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation has been running robotics programs for youth for years, including the widespread global competitions sponsored by VEX Robotics. Dan Mantz is the CEO of the REC Foundation, leading this nonprofit through the pandemic, after previously working in industrial engineering and robotics for over twenty years. He talks about the REC Foundation’s mission, how they changed their competitions during COVID, and their newer programs in manufacturing...

Duration:00:37:28

Teach Harder Math and Problem-Solving, with Richard Rusczyk

7/13/2021
Math is fundamental to engineering education and other disciplines. That’s part of why Richard Rusczyk wants to teach kids harder math than they often see in school. As the CEO of Art of Problem Solving, he wants to challenge more young people mathematically, hopefully giving them an earlier chance to achieve math mastery. He talks about national math competition culture compared to sports culture, starting his online education company, and strategies to improve access to deeper math...

Duration:00:59:35

Teach 3D Printing, with David Seto and Michael Welch

6/17/2021
Kids can learn CAD for 3D printing, but teaching it doesn’t have to be a hassle. David Seto and Michael Welch wrote a set of books to make teaching and learning the subject easier. They based it on their own experiences with 3D printing, learning it as beginners, coming from finance and mobile games industries, and then teaching CAD for 3D printing in after-school programs in Hong Kong and the USA. They talk about their book, The 3D Printing Cookbook, and share practical tips for making 3D...

Duration:00:49:38

Trans Engineers You Should Know, with Dr. Ada-Rhodes Short

6/2/2021
Mechanical engineer Dr. Ada-Rhodes Short studies robot brains, having previously worked in industry and academia for commercial toy companies, NASA, Texas A&M, and more. She also advocates for diversity and inclusion in education and STEM for trans people, including her time founding the Sexual Identity Forum at Baylor University. Dr. Short talks about one of her latest projects finding trans women engineers who have made pivotal contributions to the world. Related to this episode: • Dr....

Duration:00:39:09

Aiming for Equity in K-12 Computer Science, with Rosemary Kamei

5/25/2021
The Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) is a nonprofit running several programs in K-12 STEM education, including its Computer Science Institute for middle and high school teachers. Rosemary Kamei is the Chief Development and Innovation Officer of SVEF, and she talks about why SVEF piloted its CS Institute a few years ago and how it has been going through the pandemic. She talks about how it aims to promote equity in CS education, across the digital divide and accounting for...

Duration:00:35:38

CAD in a Web Browser, with Amanda Hough

4/27/2021
The pandemic has spurred teachers like Amanda Hough to teach CAD remotely, but how do you do that if students don’t have the hardware to run resource-heavy CAD software? Amanda uses cloud-based CAD platform OnShape, and her students run it in a web browser, no installs needed. She talks about her experience switching over to OnShape this year, its place in education even when the pandemic is over, and how she got into STEM education in the first place as a career-changed from marine biology....

Duration:00:34:15

Better K-12 Engineering Post-COVID, with Dr. Corey Hall

4/7/2021
STEM curriculum specialist Dr. Corey Hall shares tips and resources for teaching engineering effectively at the K-12 level in 2021, both during and beyond COVID. Corey recommends teaching strategies and products based on her 24 years of experience in education, as a school librarian, middle school teacher, professor, and online teacher. She discusses 3D printing, lending libraries, virtual cloud-based robotics software, out-of-school STEM programs such as in 4-H, and more. Related to this...

Duration:00:45:49

How to Change the Education System, with Suzanne Demallie

3/19/2021
The education system can change top-down, or bottom-up. Author Suzanne DeMallie wrote “Can You Hear Me Now?” – a book about how parents and teachers might change our schools from the bottom-up. She draws on her own experiences in Baltimore County Public Schools as an elementary math teacher from 2011 to 2019, a parent of children in BCPS, and an advocate for sound enhancement technology in classrooms across the country. She also talks about how COVID has affected her opinions on testing,...

Duration:00:59:34

Legendary LEDs, with Dr. Russ Dupuis

3/5/2021
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, have changed the world – and continue to do so. This energy-efficient electronics technology came from decades of design and discovery in engineering. Dr. Russell Dupuis is one of the engineers behind LEDs, and he recently was one of five winners of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his work in this technology. Dr. Dupuis explains his contribution to creating thin-film electronics necessary for LEDs, starting from his university days in Illinois,...

Duration:00:53:10

Teaching HTML/CSS, Unplugged and Offline, with Sam Taylor

2/3/2021
How do you learn web development without a computer, or without any electronic device? Sam Taylor wrote a book to help learners do just that. As a former middle school teacher and current tech worker, Sam wrote the newly released educational book titled The Coding Workbook, which intends to teach the basics of HTML and CSS, but with no computer required. Hear the discussion about this new book, accessibility to STEM education, what teaching middle school science is like, and more. Related to...

Duration:00:39:50

Aerospace Engineering Entrepreneur, with Mishaal Ashemimry

1/22/2021
Mishaal Ashemimry is an aerospace engineer and pilot who, after working for major aerospace organizations, formed her own aerospace startup to design rockets for small, low-Earth orbit satellites. As a Saudi American, she got interested in the stars when she was young, looking up at the sky while visiting Saudi Arabia. She describes many parts of her path in this career, including love of math, starting a business, being recognized as the first female aerospace engineer in the Gulf...

Duration:00:53:02

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