WRAL Tech Wire

 BioMoto STEM Challenge revs up students for learning

The three-year program is a collaborative educational initiative underwritten by a $300,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation and guided by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's Greater Charlotte Office and the North Carolina Motorsports Association.

Students undergo fitness testing as part of the curriculum.

 Grade A: Tablets giving boost to tech education in schools

Educators' bet on tablets mirrors a trend in the broader consumer-electronics market, where consumers are buying iPads instead of traditional personal computers. PC sales in K-12 fell 8 percent in the U.S. last quarter, the third straight decline, according to research firm Gartner.

 Internet demand continues to rise in education

Even without Common Core Standards being adopted throughout most of the U.S., Internet connectivity and consumption in education will continue to increase - already doing so in North Carolina ever year for the last five years.

Broadband in Education

 SAS Curriculum Pathways launches free Algebra course

Success in Algebra 1 is critical to future science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) careers, according to the world's largest privately-owned software company.

Free Math Resource

 High school media programs lacking online components

Researchers at University of Kansas have found that 96 percent of high schools offer media opportunities, but only 33 percent provide online instruction.

 ABB takes smartgrid to kids in project with Marbles museum

Marbles Kids Museum and ABB, a company focusing on power and automation technology, announced a multi-year investment in the downtown Raleigh museum to develop a new exhibit called a "Kid Grid," which will feature playful activities in a pretend power grid. It's the first of its kind in the country.

Marbles Kids Museum

 Lee Institute recognizes 21 N.C. schools for global learning

The VIF International Foundation awards 21 schools honors from the Howard N. Lee Institute for language immersion programs.

 Lenovo joins U.N. Education First initiative

Lenovo and other companies that are part of the Global Business Coalition for Education say they want to improve education worldwide.

Lenovo's new slogan

 IBM pledges $1.3M education grants to NC, 4 other states

North Carolina is one of five states receiving early childhood education improvement grants valued at $1.3 million in cash and technology services from Big Blue.

IBM KidSmart Program

 Visual software coding languages boost kids as programmers

Alice, Scratch and Lua-based platforms help make programming more prevalent among elementary and middle school students and teach them problem-solving skills that translate to other languages such as Python, Java, Ruby and C++, says Brook Osborne, director of outreach at Duke University's department of computer science.

"Alice' in action

 NC STEM Learning Network teams up with Fidelity

The NC STEM Learning Network teams up with one of the world's largest financial services firms to help develop a Web-based platform to better organize STEM education resources throughout the state.

 NC students excel with language immersion programs

VIF International Education in Chapel Hill released results on Thursday that further verify the need to invest and expand language immersion and global awareness programs in the United States.

 Biogen Idec Foundation invests $100K in STEM effort

The Biogen Idec Foundation and Teach For America have announced a new collaboration in support of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in Massachusetts and North Carolina.

 UNC alum creates software startup to save education

A recent UNC graduate has launched an educational software startup to provide a cloud-based solution to what has been called the biggest crisis in American education.

 Cisco helps fund STEM Web Portal Project

Efforts to create an online portal of North Carolina's education resources have been enhanced by a $25,000 grant from Cisco Systems to the NC STEM Learning Network.

NC STEM Learning Network

 Mobile startup drives apps creation with S.C. students

Mobile software startup 52apps has an ambitious goal: create a new application for the iPhone or iPad every week. Just as ambitious: Do it with college students in South Carolina, far from the engineering hotbeds of Silicon Valley, New York or Austin, Texas

52apps

 Mark your calendars for fall STEM-related events

There are several events worth checking out this fall that have an emphasis the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in North Carolina and beyond.

 Educators look to fix gaps in classroom to workplace

Teachers from schools across North Carolina are getting valuable lessons in relevance this summer though first-hand experiences in the "real world" of math and science.

 Olympic kayakers turn to Triangle engineers for help

Olympic sports keep pushing athletes to find new and nuanced ways to condition their bodies. The same is true with their equipment, as in the case of the Australian Olympic Kayak team who worked with Creaform and 3D modeling company Geomagic prior to the start of the London summer games.

Going for Gold

 NCSSM receives $10K grant for STEM learning labs

Monsanto has presented a $10,000 grant to the N.C. School for Science and Mathematics Foundation to help fund the school's Labs for Learning program in school districts in Northeastern North Carolina.

STEM Funding