Students learn how a STEM degree can pay off

http://http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120217/ARTICLE/120219...

Sarasota spending on STEM through Gulf Coast Community Foundation Grants

"Both President Barack Obama and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have warned that schools and universities need to push more students into STEM subjects in order for Florida and the nation to attract companies that offer high-paying jobs.

Gulf Coast officials plan to track whether students at the participating schools get better test scores in science and math and how many pursue degrees in STEM fields.

If the program proves successful, it could be extended to more schools, said said Kelly Romanoff, marketing manager for the foundation."

First page of the article since I can't get my links to work sometimes:

Computer-driven cars, a three-dimensional printer that can manufacture a house in 36 hours and a robot arm that can dribble a ball at speeds too quick for the human eye all sound like science fiction.

But in fact, all of those exist, the result of exponential advances in technology that governments and business leaders can no longer keep pace with, said Salim Ismail, executive director of a California nonprofit that educates outstanding young people before charging them to solve mankind's greatest challenges such as sustainable energy and hunger.

Ismail gave the local schools and college students a glimpse of those inventions at the Ritz Carlton hotel Friday.

His visit was part of Gulf Coast Community Foundation's $2.5 million initiative to boost the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math — the so-called STEM disciplines.

The five-year initiative, started in 2010 at eight middle and high schools in Sarasota and Charlotte counties, has paid for students in STEM classes to have Texas Instruments hand-held calculators described as a "graphing calculator on steroids."

It also pays for training for teachers, science, technology and math after-school clubs and educational trips for students.

Later this month, the program will unveil 21 revamped science classrooms in several Sarasota middle schools designed to encourage collaborative problem solving and enable teachers to monitor students' progress remotely."