On Tuesday June 27, 2023, Carbondale Area High School Science and STEM teacher Miss Samantha Masco presented at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Philadelphia. Miss Masco participated in the Robotics Exploratorium with the NEIU 19 at the Robotics Playground.
Masco and Carbondale Elementary STEM teacher Mrs. Leslie Staples developed a middle level lesson based on the history of Philadelphia utilizing Ozobots. Ozobots are small introductory level robots that students can maneuver by simply coding with markers and specific color-based codes or as they advance can code using block-based coding. Masco developed a review game where students must navigate their Ozobot through the City based on the questions. This lesson was developed to show ISTE participants how these robots can be used in non-traditional STEM content areas. These Ozobots also play a key role in helping teacher differentiate instruction and keep students highly engaged in learning.
During the presentation Masco was able to meet with hundreds of educators from not only across the country but the globe. The ISTE conference has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential education events, where educators and education leaders gather to engage in hands-on learning, share best practices and hear from the brightest minds from the world of education and beyond.
“It was a great experience representing Carbondale Area at ISTE,” noted Masco. “Being able to share our mission and vision of STEM with so many other educators was a great opportunity. I look forward to implementing many new techniques learned through my time at the conference in my future teaching practices.”
