A Novel Trilogy of e-STEM Programs

Abstract

In recent years, pre-college educational programs have been introduced to increase the interest and supply of skillful people to work in STEM fields. While the emphasis has previously been primarily focused on the content of project-based learning programs, another factor that needs to be accounted for is the accessibility of the said programs. Unprecedented issues such as the sudden closure of educational facilities, as was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, should not hinder the learning opportunities that the students are after. Therefore, the shift from hosting conventional STEM programs to online platforms has become a crucial element in the expansion of STEM education. Delivering engineering-based projects through online STEM programs to school students includes wide expansion of the participating audience — which is not confined by the capacity limit of in-person programs — as well as ease of access. This has value not only on the individual level but also at the social level. Three successful e-STEM (electronic STEM) programs are presented in this paper that are designed to support and enhance students’ learning of engineering concepts while also increasing students’ understanding of real-life applications. This has a close connection to the desire to increase online education in developing countries over recent years. The first program is called Innovate, Design and Engineer an App (IDEA). In this program, the students explore the fundamentals of programming and mobile app development. This provides the students with the foundation of coding, algorithms, and refining their ideas to produce a working mobile phone app that is created to meet a specified challenge. The second program is called Creative Fusion and Innovation (CFI). In this program, the students learned the basics of creating, editing, and analyzing their 3D designs; recognize the importance of creating 3D models in engineering; and understand how 3D printing works as they create their own 3D models. The third program is called Virtual Robotics Games (VRG). In this program, the students learn the fundamentals of designing, building, programming, and testing robots in a virtual environment. Through this program, the students learn the basics of robot design in addition to coding and simulation, which are all necessary tools for aspiring engineers. These programs aim to provide STEM education access to build communities specifically in engineering, which is in high demand. Throughout these programs, the students are able to learn important computer skills and the concepts of the engineering design process. The programs also equip them with the required knowledge and problem-solving skills to tackle challenges. At the end of each program, the students will have created successful designs as solutions to the real-life problems that they were tasked with. In this paper, the details behind the planning, formation and production, and implementation of the three online programs are presented.