High School STEM Clubs in a Virtual World

Abstract

Transitioning To A Virtual School Year: Edison High School’s iSTEM Club faced numerous challenges in the summer leading up to the 2020-2021 school year. Club funding was cut due to school budget restructuring. All club recruitment events such as Freshman Orientation and the Club Fair had been canceled. Despite these challenges, club attendance increased during virtual meetings. This improvement can be attributed to changes in meeting style. Instead of appealing to students with opportunities and events, the officers used their large personalities to create a welcoming virtual community. Thus, the key to maintaining a virtual STEM club is energetic, personable meetings that keep students coming back for more. Club Events: iSTEM Club’s officers looked to the virtual outreach events of universities as inspiration. Events were brainstormed with a focus on mental health, career development, community outreach. The iSTEM club continued to offer mentorship to students applying to summer programs in STEM research as this process only became more difficult virtually. Additionally, the iSTEM club taught the basics of HTML and web design in a three-part seminar series. These seminars doubled as training for teaching aides who will participate in future HTML workshops for elementary schoolers, engaging both elementary and high school students during remote learning. Finally, iSTEM club created a College, Career, and Mental Health seminar series addressing topics such as creating a resume, finding research opportunities, exploring career fields, self-care, time management, applying to college, etc. These unique seminar topics allow club members to make use of free-time during online learning and further strengthens the welcoming community that attracts new members. For example, the HTML seminars may inspire a student to start a personal coding project. That student would then feel comfortable asking the officers for guidance. Furthermore, iSTEM Club officers decide which seminars to lead, developing valuable collaboration, public speaking and leadership skills. Finally, the pandemic allows the time to plan for in-person events after widespread vaccination. ISTEM club plans to create an Apple Institutional Developer Account to teach Swift and publish apps to the App store. Most excitingly, the club received a $\$4,250$ grant from the IEEE-in-epics program to alleviate a water crisis in Rural India. A Model For The Future: Evidently, iSTEM Club has seen much success while adjusting to the online environment. This begs the question: Can high school STEM clubs go virtual or hybrid permanently? The evidence says yes. Savvy management of a virtual club yields lower costs, greater attendance, and a more impactful experience. Virtual seminars have greater reach and can be recorded for future use. Virtual community outreach teaches club members how to work efficiently and collaboratively in a virtual environment, an important skill moving forward. Finally, in-person events can be coordinated once safe to teach hands-on skills. Combining virtual community-building meetings and seminars with in-person skill-building events, iSTEM Club is a model for the high school club of the future.