Month: February 2024

CHARLOTTE, N.C., February 14, 2024 /3BL/ – Discovery Education and its content partners offer educators and students nationwide a new collection of engaging digital learning resources supporting Engineers Week activities. Established in 1951, Engineers Week immerses students in the future of engineering and helps create pathways for students seeking engineering careers. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform nurtures curiosity and supports learning wherever it takes place.

Occurring February 18-24 and focusing on the theme “Welcome to the Future,” Engineers Week nurtures student’s curiosity in engineering while showing how engineering changes the world. To support this theme, Discovery Education provides educators, students, and families with a new collection of resources that can be used in any learning environment. The following resources are available for users of the award-winning Discovery Education Experience K-12 learning platform:

In a new DE Original, students in grades PK-5 discover the engineering behind the popular Three Little Pigs story and learn how the pigs’ discoveries can be applied to real-life engineering situations.The National Science Foundation: Profiles of Scientists and Engineers channel introduces students to the next generation of engineers and scientists in video profiles of young professionals in the engineering and science fields.The Inventors and Innovators channel features prominent figures in history whose engineering have changed the world. From Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers to Hedy Lamarr and George Washington Carver and many more, students learn about incredible feats of engineering and science.

In addition, for users of the award-winning Mystery Science service, the Engineering Collection offers open-and-go lessons that inspire students to love science and explore engineering. Mystery Science is an engaging standards-aligned science curriculum for grades K-5 designed to help students stay curious. In this collection of 45-minute engineering lessons, Mystery Guides lead no prep, open-and-go lessons with step-by-step hands-on activities exploring scientific phenomena using common classroom items.

“Having access to Discovery Education is like having a series of keys to an educational vault. Each activity provides engaging lessons that provide a wealth of information and accessibility for all students,” said Keith Fursetenberg, an educator in Georgia.

Among the free resources created in collaboration with leading corporate partners are:

Career Exploration Tools 

The STEM Careers Coalition™ offers a curated collection of career profile videos spotlighting engineering professionals in STEM. Students can easily make the connection between classrooms and careers with the videos and accompanying lessons, activities, and hands-on student activations.

Virtual Field Trips 

The Reach for the Sky Virtual Reality experience from Reach for the Sky – designed with Edge at Hudson Yards – is a one-of-a-kind experience in which students can control their journey and interact with their environment as they explore learning hotspots, visit a weather observation station, and take flight with a drone through the New York City skyline.The virtual field trip with Trane Technologies as part of the Sustainable Futures program gives students a unique, up-close look at how employees across that company are using engineering and other disciplines to create comfortable, clean, and energy-efficient solutions for homes, buildings, and transportation.The Science & Behavior of Safe Driving: It Takes All of Us Virtual Field Trip helps students learn about safe driving as they visit Honda’s one-of-a-kind Automotive Safety Research Facility in Raymond, Ohio and the Driving Simulation Laboratory at The Ohio State University to see the safety and engineering behind vehicle design. This virtual field trip is from Honda Safety Driven, a new national safety program and education initiative empowering students nationwide to use safe driving skills as a roadmap to become responsible decision-makers.

Student Activities and Challenges 

As the nation’s premier middle school science competition, the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge invites students in grades 5-8 to compete for an exclusive mentorship with a 3M scientist, a $25,000 grand prize, and the chance to earn the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” Each year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge recognizes the grand prize winner, 10 finalists, four honorable mentions, and up to 51 state merit winners – nationwide and in Washington D.C. – who have demonstrated a passion for using science to solve everyday problems and improve the world around them. This year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge offers innovative ways for students to engage in science and engineering through new entry topics, including Robotics, Home Improvement, Automotive, Safety, AR/VR, and Climate Tech. Competition entries are accepted until the deadline on May 2, 2024.With Science Fair Central – a program with The Home Depot® – educators and families discover over 100 science and engineering project starters, student planning guides, judging tools, and hands-on activities that help educators connect STEM learnings. The resources challenge students to design a device using magnetism to fish trash from local waterways, use characteristics of an armadillo’s shell to create an architectural design solution, build catapults and trebuchets for a physics class mini-challenge, experiment with materials to insulate and cool a beverage, and more.

“Nurturing student curiosity is the first step to learning. With these free resources, teachers can encourage students to think about the engineering in the world around them, and how they might use engineering to create a better future,” said Amy Nakamoto, General Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Discovery Education.

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and corporate partnerships, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

Contacts 
Stephen Wakefield 
Discovery Education 
Email: swakefield@discoveryed.com

As originally published by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward Research Initiative

The Big Fact: Microbusiness owners struggle or experience more challenges marketing their business online and knowing what to do at each phase of the business compared to small business owners, according to GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative. By contrast, small business owners experience bigger challenges finding workers with necessary skills, tackling rising costs on wages and materials, and networking with other business owners.

While expanding a venture from microbusiness to small business comes with inherent growing pains, ensuring that microbusiness have the resources they need to get started is essential to their success.

Three biggest challenges for microbusiness and small business owners

Challenge:

Marketing my business online

Microbusiness owners: 39%Small business owners: 12%

Knowing what to do at each phase

Microbusiness owners: 27%Small business owners: 12%

Finding employees, independent contractors, or consultants with necessary skills

Microbusiness owners: 13%Small business owners: 24%

Rising costs on wages and materials

Microbusiness owners: 10%Small business owners: 24%

Networking with other business owners

Microbusiness owners: 11%Small business owners: 25%

Source: Entrepreneur Survey Results: U.S. National & Cities, February 2023

Motivational differences: Microbusiness and small business owners listed very different reasons for starting a business.

For Microbusiness owners, this includes the desire to:

Be their own boss (43%). Support a cause or hobby they are passionate about (32%). Have the flexibility a traditional job couldn’t provide (30%). 

By contrast, small business owners who participated in GoDaddy’s American Dream survey listed their top reasons for starting a business as the desire to:

Make extra money (49%). Stay active while being retired (40%). Achieve a dream they’ve always had of starting a business (33%). 

And while the majority of American small business owners believe that being a successful entrepreneur is a key way to create new generational wealth (78%), many maintain modest business aspirations, such as wanting to either stay a ‘solo entrepreneur’ (28%) or remain a small business but with some employees and perhaps a physical location (35%). Only 12% aspire to one day become a corporate business with a large employee base and headquarters.

The research: GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative analyzes more than 20 million online businesses with a digital presence (measured by a unique domain and an active website). Most of these businesses employ fewer than ten people, categorizing each as a microbusiness. While these microbusinesses may be small, their impact on economies is outsized even though they are often too informal or too new to show up in traditional government statistics.

Since 2018, Venture Forward surveyed more than 36,000 small business owners with a digital presence, making it the source for microbusiness data and insights.

by Chris Meyer, Stewardship Investing Advocacy and Research Manager for Praxis Mutual Funds and Everence Financial

Over the winter, Chris took a moment to reflect on his passion for Creation care – on behalf of Praxis Funds and his own family. By day, Chris leads the corporate engagement program for Praxis, seeking positive, mutually beneficial change for the planet, people, and companies we all rely on. By night, Chris and his family live in a home they built off the grid, with lumber from their property in the hills of eastern Ohio. He enjoys growing much of their own food, hunting game in the surrounding woods, and even cleaning the snow off their solar array on frigid winter days so his lights and wireless internet will work. His words in this article remind us how much we all have invested in caring for Creation – and how rarely we stop to bask in its glory.

When we integrate a Stewardship ethic into our approach to economics, it can have a powerful influence on the world. Perhaps if we view nature as an essential part of God’s Creation worthy of its own existence, rather than simply as a commodity to be exploited for human gain, we can develop a more holistic stewardship approach. When we reduce the natural world to simple inputs for our economies or assets on the balance sheet – or even impediments and obstacles to overcome – we’re selling Creation short. Alternatively, a deep appreciation for our environment encourages a long-term outlook over short-term profits or growth at all costs. It fosters a sense of our interdependence with nature.

At Praxis Mutual Funds, we believe the natural environment is a finite resource, the inheritance of future generations, and a gift from God. Our role is to be stewards of God’s Creation, not just consumers of it. We believe that human flourishing requires thriving ecosystems. This perspective infuses our embrace of impact strategies from company engagement to impact bonds to community development investments. We’re working toward a sustainable planet where our heirs can enjoy the magnificence of Creation and businesses operate profitably without diminishing the earth.

I keep this in mind as I engage companies, as a shareholder representative, on a range of Creation care issues. We embrace our own ecosystem – working together with environmental advocates, corporate leaders, local communities, other investors, and research partners – seeking a more sustainable future for all.

Read Chris’ full article here – https://greenmoney.com/guided-by-wonder-a-reflection-on-the-stewardship-of-creation/

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