Oklahoma State University launches new STEM Hub
Friday, June 23, 2023
Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | Communications Specialist | 405-744-9782 | sydney.trainor@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University recently developed and launched the STEM Education Hub (stemhub.okstate.edu) to be a one-stop-shop for STEM education resources and opportunities to increase awareness and expand STEM education across the OSU system.
Through collaborative efforts, the STEM Hub is intended to serve K-12 teachers and students, college and university students and professors, and parents and guardians. This innovative work provides STEM resources to the public.
“A lot of people don't realize they are a part of STEM,” said Dr. Susan Stansberry, educational foundations, leadership and aviation professor. “They think ‘I'm not pure science. I'm not pure mathematics. I'm not an engineer.’ Really, all disciplines touch STEM in some way. Rather than STEM being just siloed disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, it is defined more as habits of mind and ways of applying creativity, design thinking, innovation and critical thinking.”
The online hub can be personalized by users as they can create a login, search for specific resources and save their favorites. The user can filter the intended audience from Pre-K to college level students to adult learners or educators. The hub also includes a variety of subjects spanning from agriculture to business and veterinary medicine to virtual reality.
Additional filters include sorting the opportunity type from after-school program or camp to scholarships and online learning. Educators and researchers can specifically search for grants and funded projects, lesson plans or professional development resources.
Resources and opportunities can also be filtered by the affiliated organization or institution and their location across the OSU system.
“I wanted to create an outward facing resource to serve STEM education,” Stansberry said. “I wanted it to function like Netflix where a teacher can go and filter through resources and save what they like or find helpful. Educators don’t have time to go to multiple places to find resources.”
By serving a wide audience, the hub can benefit faculty members in finding collaborators across campus to maximize research grants’ broader impacts, but it can also help parents find opportunities for their child.
Stansberry stressed the importance of the ability to make information, opportunities and resources available and accessible to people. Throughout the next year she will be engaging with STEM education collaborators across the OSU system to stay aware of all K-12 STEM opportunities and continue to grow the hub.