STEM

Join an Hour of Code!

By on November 23rd, 2015

Hour of Code TutorialsComputers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago.

The good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you’ve heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code with fun online games and tutorials featuring Star Wars, Minecraft, and Frozen.

This year, students of the FLVS STEM Club will give presentations about creating websites and more. Last year, every Apple Store in the world hosted an Hour of Code and even President Obama wrote his first line of code as part of the campaign.

Over 100 partners have joined together to support this movement.  Continue reading


Joining Mars MAVEN Ambassador Program

By on August 22nd, 2015

MavenHave you ever just watched the last five minutes of a movie and tried to piece the rest of it together, backwards?

Crazy idea, right?  It’s one that Mars scientists are doing on the MAVEN mission.

MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN and the goal is to try and figure out what happened to Mars’ atmosphere millions of years ago.

Scientists know Mars at one time resembled Earth, with an atmosphere and flowing water.  With MAVEN, they will attempt to work backwards and find out how the atmosphere and dynamo was lost.

I was lucky enough to be accepted into the MAVEN Ambassador Class of 2015 and I attended a week-long workshop with 29 other teachers to find out more about this cool mission.   Continue reading


FLVS Brain Challenge: Only One Week Left!

By on July 24th, 2015

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Today we’re recognizing @horses5ful1 of Instagram for her piano practice of “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen.

There’s only one week left to show what you’ve learned this summer for the #FLVSbrainchallenge!

All you need to do is share a video of you learning something new on Vine, Instagram, or YouTube (or all three!) and you could win four tickets to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Check out our board of ideas below! Continue reading


FLVS Student Studies Sea Turtle Hatchlings

By on July 22nd, 2015

Sea Turtle Cover
It’s 11:00 pm and the moon is shining brightly in the nighttime sky over the south Florida coastline.

A large sea turtle races against time as she climbs the beach’s slopes to find the perfect nesting site. After an hour, she finds it and begins to dig a deep nest and lay her eggs. In the end, only one sea turtle out of a thousand hatchlings will survive to adulthood.

Loggerhead sea turtles are an endangered species threatened by predators, pollution, poaching, and habitat degradation. Last year, I decided to look at sea turtle hatches because of their importance in the marine life cycle. A factor that negatively affects the sea turtle’s nesting habitat is beach erosion. Continue reading


Win a Family Getaway to Kennedy Space Center!

By on June 30th, 2015

KSC_contest
There’s still time to enter our summer video contest – and win an awesome new prize!

Share a video of you learning a new skill by July 31 and you could be the lucky winner of a family getaway to Kennedy Space Center!

View all of the contest details here.

Did you know that NASA specifically seeks individuals who have a history of struggle and failures when searching for astronauts and engineers? Those who have bounced back and grown from their mistakes bring with them a unique set of strengths over those with straightforward success stories. Continue reading


FLVS Brain Challenge: Week 1

By on June 26th, 2015

Brain Challenge Cover 1
It’s been a great first week for the FLVS Brain Challenge!

This week’s top contender is @jozh_legit who comes to us from Instagram with some crazy bike tricks. It’s obvious that he’s been making progress in learning some new moves this summer. Search for #FLVSBrainChallenge to see for yourself!

Think you can show us something even crazier? You could be our next big featured participant – or even our final winner! All you need to do is share a video of you learning something new on Vine or Instagram.

Learn more about our contest and how to enter here. Continue reading


Join the FLVS Summer Brain Challenge!

By on June 12th, 2015

Campus_Blog_Brain_Challenge_150610Did you know your brain is constantly forming new neural connections?

Scientists have made amazing discoveries about the way our brain cells grow and form new circuits – even into adulthood. The trick to that growth is keeping them engaged by exploring new challenges and concepts.

This summer, we are challenging all of our students and their family and friends to show us what new connections your brain can make!

We’re hosting a video contest on social media asking you to show us your skills. All you have to do is share a short video of you learning something crazy and cool like this. Continue reading


FLVS Attends SpaceX CRS-6 Cargo Launch Mission

By on April 23rd, 2015

SpaceX

On April 12-13, 2015, FLVS had the privilege of going on a behind-the-scenes tour at Kennedy Space Center and sharing the experience with our students.

During the virtual field trip, followers of our FLVS Twitter account were able to tune in live for video streaming made possible with the new social app, Periscope.

While anyone can watch streams broadcasted via Twitter on their desktop or mobile device, users with the mobile Periscope app were also able to post questions in real time. We were honored to have viewers from around the world engage with us throughout the event! Continue reading


What is Physical Science?

By on April 2nd, 2015

Physical Science
Most parents are familiar with biology, chemistry, and physics.

I like to think of physical science as a bridge to these courses. In the Physical Science course at FLVS, we take the concepts that students have learned from previous science experiences and prepare them for the higher-level science skills needed in future science courses and beyond.

The Florida Virtual School Physical Science course offers interactive activities and virtual labs to help students build science confidence. The course nurtures the science literacy the current generation will need to fix our next set of problems as a society. Continue reading


Attending the State of NASA

By on February 13th, 2015

State of NASA blog coverI recently had the privilege of attending the State of the NASA address given by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

The day was full of exciting news and details about NASA’s 2016 budget, captivating science, technology, engineering, and math enthusiasts across the nation.

The SpaceX Dragon, Orion spacecraft, and Boeing CST-100 were on display behind Bolden as he addressed plans for future missions beyond low Earth orbit, with destinations including Mars and Europa. Bolden also described the excitement surrounding student involvement in NASA innovation and STEM research.

Continue reading