Parents and teachers are concerned about the amount of time kids are spending on screens during this distance learning journey we're taking right now.

I wanted to see if it was possible to conduct STEM Challenges remotely. While there are many aspects that aren't a natural fit (collaboration, facilitation), there are some opportunities for deeper exploration in some ways.

Here's the plan:

Week 2 is boats week. You can find the Google Form (TM) mentioned in the video housed on the Simple STEM from Home page in the description underneath the video.

Students in 2nd - 5th should be able to do the work largely unassisted. The videos are directed to them. This could work for younger kids with some parent assistance. It could also work for older kids who are more self-directed and would take the suggestions given to make the challenge harder.

I welcome your input about how this is working for you - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I've never attempted remote STEM Challenges before, which is one reason I'm making this resource free.

Hopefully, we can learn and make adjustments together!

Here's the outline for week 2 (it will make better sense as you see the videos):

Day 1: Explore Materials

Day 2: Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create)

Day 3: Engineering Design Process (Improve)

Day 4: Choice menu of extensions