A dynamite panel discussion tackled closing the equity gap in STEM education and featured Tim Murray, vice president of Marketing at Goodwill; Emily Schaffer, program director at YearUp; David Kaufman, Education Board chair at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; Lake Raymond, program coordinator at Black Girls Code; and Matt Haney, commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education.
If our most recent YouthSpark in Schools event is any indication, students are in good hands when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education success.
Educators, school and district administrators, and youth development professionals came out last Wednesday for “YouthSpark in Schools: Building 21st Century Skills for 21st Century Careers” at Balboa High School. In an action-packed few hours, the event featured program deep dives, hands-on training and a dynamite panel discussion. Attendees left with real-world skills and tools to help them integrate more technology into their classrooms.
After I gave a short introduction and overview of the event, Cameron Evans, chief technology officer for U.S. Education at Microsoft, gave a thought-provoking keynote. Then we got to the meat of the day: In addition to learning about the more than 30 programs under the YouthSpark initiative, such as Skype in the Classroom, attendees received hands-on training from Helen Gooch, Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow. Helen showed them how to take advantage of Skype in the Classroom and how to build a classroom notebook using OneNote. Our audience even had the chance to play “Mystery Skype” with a school in rural Australia.
Following the sessions, leaders from local education-focused organizations, including Tim Murray, of Goodwill; Emily Schaffer, of YearUp; David Kaufman, of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; Lake Raymond, of Black Girls Code; and Matt Haney, of the San Francisco Board of Education, came together for a rousing panel discussion.
Moderated by Dave Clark, co-anchor of “The KTVU Channel 2 Morning News,” the discussion focused on creating STEM access pathways for students. Many attendees, myself included, were inspired by the thoughtful discourse. All-in-all, the event was just one afternoon, but it was an afternoon to remember.
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To learn more about Microsoft’s commitment to youth and education, visit our YouthSpark Hub or follow us on twitter at @msftcitizenship.
