![AdobeStock_134639046 [Converted].png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52167b79e4b01820fd2800a1/1505967837805-I4C6WK1E5NAIK3OEYBF8/AdobeStock_134639046+%5BConverted%5D.png)
At We Connect The Dots we’ve developed a unique training methodology steeped in Neuroscience research, which we integrate with STEAM experiential project-based learning programs. We teach students how to learn, collaborate, and work more effectively in a “brain-friendly” way. Helping students to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset and transforming into Life-long learners.
Four years ago, CreatingSTEAM was a concept and an experiment. We knew education had to change. Could education evolve to a new form of meaningful student engagement and exploration? Our hypothesis was that through immersive hands-on project-based experiential learning, education could motivate, inspire, and transform students into independent life-long learners.
We wanted to provide you and update on the CreatingSTEAM program and our first-week summary. Week one was a big success, students arrive by bus each day from Long Island to the Microsoft facility in Times Square NYC. The students join with other students from the NY Metro area, coming in from NJ and the NYC communities.
2016, in our fourth year as an organization, WCTD celebrated our first official CAP Alumni student, Luis Tolosa. Luis came to us through a referral from another Long Island not for profit organization, who shared with him the opportunity to be a part of our student program. He was the second student to be invited to shape what is today our Community Ambassador Program. He was immersed in technology and leadership experiences beginning on a trip to Philadelphia, where Luis lead a program teaching 100 plus students how to design video games using XboxOne. This once shy student quickly demonstrated that he was a natural at teaching.
As I reflect on 2016, I would like to share with our community our organizational changes, our growth, and a look ahead into 2017. Instead of creating one long blog post that would be difficult for most busy people to find the time to consume, I will be posting a series of short blogs to ensure that each update gets the attention it deserves. I hope you find it informative and valuable.
This year’s 2017 International Back-To-School Code-a-thon provided students the opportunity to engage with their peers in an immersive experiential learning program. Many students experienced for the very first time what coding is about, learning to work with other students in a coding project for the first time, and alumni students from last year had the opportunity to share their knowledge as a mentor for the first time. Many first‘s that shaped their thinking to explore, create, and solve problems on a global scale. Learning to collaborate within their teams and learning the value of cross-collaboration with teams from around the world.
I recently had the pleasure of delivering a youth Robotics program, and I was inspired by two young female participants in particular. A 14-year-old middle school student and a college student, who is aspiring to become a math teacher, worked together as a team for five days to learn about Robotics. What I observed during their time together was a strong interest in learning and their ability to overcome obstacles to reach their goals.
Another year of CreatingSTEAM has passed and it is with deep emotion that our team separates after almost three weeks of preparing, training, and then delivering an incredible ten-day program for students ages 13-18 years old. Students enter the first day confused, nervous, and unsure of what to expect. They exit energized, more mature, with new friendships, mentors, and empowered to continue learning. How can all this be possible in just 10 days, you might ask? In its third year of development and continuing to be shaped each year this immersive program challenges students to find their strengths and stretch outside their comfort zones.
CreatingSTEAM 2016 is quickly approaching. In just a few weeks, students from all across the New York Metro Area will arrive at Microsoft NYC for two weeks of immersive STEAM learning, team building, and entrepreneurial challenges, working together to solve real problems facing humanity and learning valuable skills for the future. This year, students will also enjoy working with our international partners from Australia, as their team of students, teachers, and industry professionals will be joining us for the program to see how the model can be applied back at home.
We Connect The Dots Founder and Executive Director, Laurie Carey, recently joined journalist and innovative problem solver, Devin Thorpe, to discuss how we can be better communicators, thinkers, and professionals in a fast-paced, technology-dependent world. By disrupting the status quo and diversifying - not only in our professional workplace but also in our personal relationships - we can benefit from differing perspectives, fostering innovation, and positive change.
What does "community" mean today? In a fast-paced world where we are all running in many different directions to manage our work schedules, family obligations, and personal commitments, how do we support our communities? How do you find the time and resources to get involved?
Each year, We Connect The Dots holds an event at the Microsoft offices in New York City that invites schools from around the NY Metro area to participate in a full day of immersive, experiential learning and 21st century career awareness. This year's program was one of the most successful Discovery Day events held since its inception, with a turnout of six different school districts, totaling at over 175 students, teachers, administrators, and professionals that joined us for this innovative program.
From January 8-10, 2016, students from Western Australia, New York, and Philadelphia collaborated across the internet to solve global challenges using technology. With the support of Microsoft, ILuka Resources as our host in Perth AU, and our US hosts, St. Joseph High School in Brooklyn and Penn Wood Middle School in Darby, PA., this program provided students an opportunity to explore coding HTML5 (the Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), two of the core technologies for building Web pages. HTML provides the structure of the page, CSS the (visual and aural) layout, for a variety of devices.
I ask my students and my team every day to “get uncomfortable to get comfortable.” In order to move forward in life, you have to be willing to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone (“get uncomfortable”) to begin to feel comfortable with new ways of working or learning to do things differently. Today, I am practicing that by writing this blog post. And I will be asking you to do the same as well (read until the end). Our education system seems to be at a crossroads. If you are a parent, a teacher, a board member, a business owner, a student, or anyone involved in working in or around our schools today, you are probably aware of this.
Today is Giving Tuesday a very important day for We Connect The Dots. We hope you enjoy this next story and that it will inspire you to support our programs. I look forward to acknowledging our donors across social media, let's make this the best Giving Tuesday possible for our students.
If you have been reading my Giving Tuesday Student stories you have heard mention of the concept of getting uncomfortable to get comfortable. What exactly does that mean? This is a message we express in all of the programs we deliver. When you are learning something new it can feel quite uncomfortable. Once you push yourself beyond your comfort zone or the boundaries of what you already know it can take on a feeling of awkwardness and make you want to run in the other direction. But pushing yourself to let go of that sense or feeling allows you to open yourself to new knowledge. As you stretch into new territory whether it be learning a new skill, starting a new job, or reinventing yourself into an entirely new career your brain has to adjust to the new emotions that come along with it.
My mom was very much a networker, someone who realized in order to be successful in business she needed to engage wherever possible to meet people that could support building her network of potential customers. She was in the real estate market and belonged to a number of women's organizations as well as the chamber of commerce. She modeled for me the value of building networks and that being successful meant you needed to get as much help as possible to support your goals. As I struggled to build my career she played a role in her network to introduce me to a business owner who ran a small business equipment supply store who then hired me. That introduction was key to where I am today. It was a stepping stone that helped lead me to my next opportunity and build a foundation of skills for me that allowed me to move to bigger opportunities.
Each day as we lead into Giving Tuesday I plan to share with you a story directly from a student on how our programs have impacted them at a personal level. When I began this program three years ago it was about helping to change the lives of young students in positive ways. About helping them understand the opportunities available to them in careers across STEAM and developing the skills necessary to succeed.
In January of 2016, We Connect the Dots will be holding the 1st Annual International Back-to-School Hackathon, an event that will span nations and age groups around the globe, bringing together students from all walks of life to tackle global issues and learn invaluable technology skills. In an era where information technology rules the career landscape and greater numbers of jobs are requiring technology training, this event will be a giant leap forward for students that want an early start.
Learning to be a critical thinker is an integral part of any modern student's education. The necessity to think through a problem using logic, experience, and analysis is evident in how we are evolving as a society: problems rarely have one clear solution, needs can often be satisfied in more ways than one, and innovation lies along both of those lines.
