STEM and Your Future
Recently, someone asked me, what is STEM?
After I showed him a few videos, he asked me if it was a tech product? I told him...
The concept of STEM education emerged in the United States in the 1990s, aiming to cultivate technological talents through STEM education, enhance the public's scientific literacy, and maintain global leadership in technology and economy. STEM education is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEAM adds the element of Art.
What is Hong Kong STEM teaching? Materials ranging from HK$1,500 to HK$20,000?
The Hong Kong government has invested heavily, in addition to the aforementioned one-off grants of HK$100,000 and HK$200,000 to primary and secondary schools, schools can also apply for an additional maximum of HK$2 million in funding from the Quality Education Fund. Furthermore, the new Budget mentioned that the government will implement the "Secondary School IT Innovation Lab" program in the next three school years, where each aided secondary school will receive HK$1 million to purchase necessary IT equipment and professional services, organize related extracurricular activities, etc., to deepen students' understanding of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and more. However, how schools utilize these resources varies, as STEM does not have a fixed curriculum. Some schools have already integrated STEM into their regular curriculum as a standalone subject, while others integrate it into general studies and computer courses. Some arrange it as an extracurricular activity for one or two hours after school, hoping that through activities, students can go from "learn to do" to "learning by doing," and then through active reflective thinking, grasp the connections between things or activities, thereby mastering relevant skills. To enhance students' interest and motivation, most activities focus on "designing and formulating concrete and creative solutions to daily life problems" to try and connect the application of knowledge with themselves and society.
But how does it incorporate the use of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? The most common example is the water rocket, which uses water pressure to power a model rocket; or integrating elements of green living and environmental protection to make rubber band powered cars using different materials. However, the most common currently is coding robots. Simply put, students need to assemble a robot using different components, and then learn to write code to make the robot complete different tasks or perform various actions. The price of a coding robot kit can start from HK$1,500. There was a school that purchased several dancing robots produced in Korea for HK$20,000 each for the entire school to use. But can investing a large amount of money and resources necessarily enhance students' innovation and technology capabilities? There is no inevitable connection. To enable students to understand and apply relevant knowledge in their learning, unleash creativity, and stimulate innovative thinking, the teacher's lesson design and guidance are ultimately crucial. For example, some teachers will let students think about how to complete a task using the items in front of them without instructions or manuals. This can be said to be the difference between STEM education and traditional one-way teaching, focusing on stimulating students' thinking and problem-solving. (Original resource excerpt from https://hk.jobsdb.com/en-hk/articles/stem%E5%88%B0%E5%BA%95%E6%98%AF%E4%BB%80%E7%94%9A%E9%BA%BC-%E9%A6%B3%E6%B8%AF%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B4%E4%BE%86%E7%9A%84%E9%97%9C%E9%8D%B5%E8%A9%9E/)
If you want a coding robot that is suitable for ages 6-18, affordable (only a little over HK$300), and whose appearance can be changed with ordinary LEGO bricks, then you should learn about the EDISON ROBOT.