June 10th - ASA 2020 ONLINE STEAM EXPO

The ASA 2021 Online STEAM Expo is Open!

The 2021 Online STEAM Expo at ASA is open 3 days early!

VISIT NOW

Check out the online space that includes over 30 unique student submissions, K-12 Classroom STEAM Activities, ASA Community STEAM Initiatives, and STEAM Activities for Families!

The STEAM Expo and Online Art Shows have partnered together to give your family a special treat at the end of year. You’ll find links connecting the sites (starting June 15th) as well as a link for you to submit feedback regarding distance learning. We hope you enjoy these special gifts for your family at the end of the year!

April 28th - SUSTAINABLE FUTURES - Arduino Circuits and Robots

The month of April we will focus on events occurring inside of ASA and Paraguay that are building steps towards a more sustainable future. Industries and companies try to find ways to utilize robots to improve their processes, allowing businesses to be more efficient and profitable. Along with these benefits, it is becoming more and more evident that robotics helps improve sustainability efforts. Robots in today’s world are helping to fight climate change, improve recycling and make manufacturing more sustainable. In Latin America, consumers have shown a world-leading appetite to engage with new digital tools. Latin America’s businesses and governments have a responsibility to turn this new skills imperative into an opportunity by making the investments in time, money, and energy to build on the region’s potential advantages.

Students in the high school Engineering + Robotics elective have been developing their skills in circuitry and robotic programming by exploring Arduino microcontrollers. Arduino is an open-source electronic prototyping platform that enables students to create interactive electronic objects, such as motion-sensing pinwheels, light sensing motors, and LED display boards. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. Students have been creating their wiring their own circuits, programming their own sensors, and exploring what it’s like to be a robotics engineer. Through these skills, our ASA grads can help Asuncion, Paraguay, and the world redefine the role of robotics in our society and how we can use mechanization to make a safer and more sustainable world.

April 21st - SUSTAINABLE FUTURES - Building Sustainable Communities

The month of April we will focus on events occurring inside of ASA and Paraguay that are building steps towards a more sustainable future. Asuncion is a city that loves its trees and Paraguay is taking steps to commit to a sustainable future through certification of industries that respect the environment. The Ministry of Public Works and Communication announced the implementation of a Biomass Certification for industries that meet sustainability standards. This specifically applies to industries, such as forestry and agriculture, that use certified biomass as part of their production cycle. This is one of many necessary steps that need to be taken to ensure that the environment of this beautiful country is protected, and improved, for future generations.

Students in 7th grade have been studying their own neighborhoods to find innovative ways to make sustainable improvements to their communities. This is part of their Global Cities unit in line with the ‘taking action’ component of the 3C standards in social studies. To bring these sustainable improvements to life, students are taking their social studies ideas and using art class to develop them into 3D models through the program Tinkercad. Mrs. Avila and Mr. Tice using integrated units as a way to engage students, keep content relevant, and guide them in making connections between what they are learning and their lives

April 14th - SUSTAINABLE FUTURES - STEM Certification & Parent Survey

The month of April we will focus on events occurring inside of ASA and Paraguay that are building steps towards a more sustainable future. ASA routinely improves whole school practices in teaching and learning to ensure that the school is accredited by regional and global bodies. A key goal of the STEAM program at ASA is for our developing programs to be recognized external for their commitment to building a STEM community, learning culture, experiences, and outcomes. This is a whole school effort that entails providing equitable STEM access to students, educators collaborating on high quality STEM learning activities, and the school engaging a diverse STEM community. There are many pieces to this program, so know that the road towards accreditation is long and requires significant community participation.

This week we are reaching out to you regarding our progress on redefining the STEAM Mission and Vision at ASA. You might have seen the initial parent survey regarding identifying key community aspects of what STEAM learning looks like at ASA. The STEAM Team committee is leading this initiative and defining the Vision component as the ideal learner traits that we want our graduates to display when they leave ASA. The Mission component is focused on the actionable and tangible parts of our program that we want to focus on energies on. We will continue to keep you in the loop regarding this school goal to make ASA a more sustainable STEM school.

April 7th - SUSTAINABLE FUTURES - Paraguay Space Program Success

The month of April we will focus on events occurring inside of ASA and Paraguay that are building steps towards a more sustainable future. The Paraguayan Space Agency achieved new heights during the last two months as it successfully launched and deployed the Guarani Sat-1 satellite units into the Earth’s inner orbit. This is a first for Paraguay and signals a future for space enthusiasts to continue to study, experiment, and prototype space devices, such as rovers, satellites, and stations.One of the Paraguayan Space Agency’s main missions is to motivate students in the field of space science. “Our country’s first satellite marks an historical moment,” says Alejandro Román, AEP’s “Paraguay to Space” project manager. “It is the first step in a long path to bring the benefits of space to Paraguay in areas like disaster risk reduction, agriculture, natural resources management, land management, and climate.”

During the final week of March, ASA students were visited by Dr. Jorge Kurita Nagasawa, engineering director at the Paraguayan Space Agency, to discuss the recent launch and deployment. Dr. Kurita inspired ASA students by encouraging them by discussing the topics of “Space is Within Our Reach” and “New Space vs. Old Space”. Students in grades from all divisions who study space science as part of their grade level curriculum learned about the technical challenges involved in a space program. They also have the opportunity to ask questions and even solicit how they can support the Paraguayan Space Agency in the future. ASA looks to continue to develop the partnership with the Paraguayan Space Agency as part of our STEAM culture.

March 24th - WOMEN IN STEM - BioNTech’s Chief Medical Officer

This month we focus solely on women in STEM careers that are breaking glass ceilings, changing our world for the better, and influencing the next generation of female STEM leaders. A year ago, Özlem Türeci and her husband Ugur Sahin were trying to cure cancer at their German company, BioNTech. Twelve months later, the story of how the couple pivoted 600 of their employees to work on a COVID-19 vaccine two months before the World Health Organization had even declared a pandemic is already legend, and 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine they developed with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer are being produced now. Despite their success, the couple still ride their bikes to work every day from their modest apartment in the small German town of Mainz, where they are raising their teenage daughter. Türeci said she and her husband had a ‘moral imperative’ to find a vaccine for coronavirus. The results are a notable achievement: Developing a vaccine that is 95 per cent effective in 11 months – the previous record for a modern vaccine was four years, achieved in the 1960s for mumps.

From measuring water chemistry levels with students to planting trees with small farmers, ASA educator Mrs. Katie Barnett has always tried to find connections between science, math, nature and people. Now she helps students develop deeper understandings of how our world works and uses that information to make life better for all of us. Mrs. Barnett started teaching in Paraguay almost 20 years ago as an Agroforestry Volunteer in the Peace Corps. She worked with children and adults so much that she went back to the US and earned a Masters in Science Education. There, she taught grades 6-12 science, math, and Spanish. Mrs. Barnett also specializes in facilitating teacher trainings on how to build an integrated STEM learning experience for students based on the new science education standards (NGSS). Now here I am back in Paraguay again and super excited to work in the STEAM program at ASA!

“Learning information isn't enough anymore … education is evolving to train our brains to apply all of the information that we have access to.”

March 17th - WOMEN IN STEM - European Space Agency Seeks Female Astronauts

This month we focus solely on women in STEM careers that are breaking glass ceilings, changing our world for the better, and influencing the next generation of female STEM leaders. For the first time in 11 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for new astronauts, and is particularly calling on women to apply. The space agency’s applications will open on Wednesday 31 March and close on Friday 28 May 2021. ESA is specifically calling on women to apply, but stressed that there is no set quota for the number of female astronauts to be hired. ESA requires a master’s degree (or higher) in natural sciences, medicine, engineering, mathematics or computer sciences, and three years of work experience. Candidates have to be fluent in English and at least one other language. Christina Koch, a role model for women in space, set a record last year for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space.

Mrs. Amydelle Schumaker is one of ASA’s resident STEM experts who excels in math instruction and coaching. While most students know her this year as their 7th or 8th grade math teachers, Mrs. Schumaker has an impressive list of academic accomplishments that includes participating in a 5.5 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to help increase rigor and equity in the teaching and learning of mathematics K-12, teaching summer enrichment programs for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, and traveling to Japan on a Teacher Fulbright Exchange program to visit schools with a focus on science and technology integration into all subjects. She actively encourages, challenges, and inspires ASA students of all abilities to meet and exceed their potentials. Below is a photo when Mrs. Schumaker returned from teacher space camp at the US Space and Rocket Center

“ I want to live in a world where it's not strange or notable to have women and girls in STEM. : )”

March 10th - WOMEN IN STEM - Women Do Science in Paraguay

This month we focus solely on women in STEM careers that are breaking glass ceilings, changing our world for the better, and influencing the next generation of female STEM leaders. Women do Science in Paraguay is the subject of the new editorial by the former president of CONACYT and designer and promoter of the Paraguayan Program for the Development of Science and Technology (PROCIENCIA). Women do Science in Paraguay consists of two parts: the first is an approach to women in science and their contributions throughout history and in different world contexts. And a second one that focuses its content on profiles of women who do science in Paraguay and are categorized in the National Program of Incentive to Researchers (PRONII.

Download here the digital version of the book: Women Do Science in Paraguay Luis Dávalos

To obtain the free printed version of the book, contact the email: sociedadcientificaparaguay@gmail.com

Female enrollment at ASA in high school STEAM special courses has been increasing consistently for the past two years. The 2021 second semester marks a period of two substantial achievements: 1) highest total enrollment of ASA high school students for a full academic year, and 2) highest total enrollment of female students in ASA STEAM elective courses. The ASA STEAM program is currently offering three unique courses to encourage and inspire female students of all interests: Digital Design, Engineering + Robotics, and Data Systems Management. These courses comprise our commitment to develop engineering and data science career pathways in the high school.

March 3rd - WOMEN IN STEM - Dr. Antonieta Rojas de Arias

This month we focus solely on women in STEM careers that are breaking glass ceilings, changing our world for the better, and influencing the next generation of female STEM leaders. After almost a century of history, the Paraguayan Science Society has its first female president. Antonieta Rojas de Arias has dedicated her life to science, registering three international patents on Chagas disease treatments, with two pending, and writing more than 110 peer reviewed papers. Dr. Rojas De Arias has degrees in biological science and educational science from the National University of Asuncion, a specialization in public health and entomology, and a PhD in applied zoology from the University of Wales. Dr. Rojas de Arias says gender bias has no place in knowledge societies, but she admits that in Paraguay, gender inequalities persist at senior levels: “Just a few women have important places in key decision areas.” When asked “What should be the role of science in Paraguay?”, she responded: “It is necessary to incorporate research into the country’s challenges to get evidence to support the changes we need, respecting the freedom scientists need to ask the best questions.”

Female students from ASA have a variety of experience with engineering, technology, science, and math. Here is a quote from a student showing how these experiences influence them:

“In tenth grade, my mother’s friend, a civil engineer, offered me an internship at the construction company she works at. I can certainly say this opportunity completely changed my outlook on life and my future. My favorite task was learning how to work AutoCad and helping with changes on the floor plans, and then printing every change out for the engineers to review and look at. It was incredibly rewarding to feel like a colleague, like I was already a part of the company, like I was already a civil engineer.”

Feb 24th - MONTH OF ENGINEERING - Launching Satellites & Using Data

This month the focus is on engineering and to highlight the innovations that Paraguay is experiencing and how ASA students are building engineering skills to meet future needs. This week we will look at The first Paraguayan satellite that was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Japanese Kibo module. The space vehicle was developed by the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP). Guaranisat-1 is the first Paraguayan satellite and was launched this Saturday and will remain at the International Space Station between 2 to six weeks until it is put into orbit through a robotic arm in March or April. The director general of Planning of the AEP, Jorge Kurita, had indicated that the participation of Paraguay in this project has already had a "domino effect" in the country with "the creation of teams and research groups in the space sector. Data from space can be applied to solve terrestrial problems and coordinate “planned responses” to perennial problems, such as floods and fires.

Students in the high school Data Systems Management elective are learning how to use big data to see trends and leverage these patterns to make decisions for a better world. They are exploring how data from our world can come in all forms, such as numbers, text, true/false statements, pictures, sound, and text. Engineers and city planners rely on data sets to understand where the strengths and weaknesses of systems, buildings, and cities exist. Traffic patterns, congestion density, and pricing structures can be represented with flow diagrams, heat maps, and prediction models. These are all based on data. The more ASA students develop STEAM skills, the sooner they can participate in engineering the sustainable development of Paraguay, Latin America, and the world.

Feb 17th - MONTH OF ENGINEERING - Building Bridges

This month the focus is on engineering and to highlight the innovations that Paraguay is experiencing and how ASA students are building engineering skills to meet future needs. This week we will look at the viaduct overpass being built in Asuncion next to the Botanical Garden. This project has reached its final stages and reported a 75% completion in November. Engineering actions are being taken to ensure that pedestrian walkways and other transportation routes will benefit about 100,000 people who will be able to move more safely to emblematic points such as the Botanical Garden and Zoo, the Solar de Artigas school, the commercial area and the interior of the neighborhoods Trinidad and Santa Rosa. Additionally, there is a bike path that is shaping up to be the longest in the country, since it will link the northern access with the Asunción micro center through the current Costanera Norte. In the future, cyclists will also be able to access the Costanera Sur, whose construction is projected for the beginning of 2021.

Students in the high school Engineering and Robotics STEAM elective class are learning how to design and build bridges by using an award winning software called Bridge Designer. Students must balance the forces of tension and compression strength as they engineer bridges to withstand various loads. Budgeting is a key part of this project as students need to determine the quality and density of the various types of materials that they will employ and how that will impact their final budget. Additionally, students explore a variety of bridge truss styles, such as Warren, Howe, and Pratt, to calculate how forces are distributed in various designs. The ASA STEAM program is building the way for the future engineers, architects, and designers in Paraguay, South America, and the world!

Feb 10th - MONTH OF ENGINEERING - Innovations in Engineering & Agriculture

This month the focus is on engineering and to highlight the innovations that Paraguay is experiencing and how ASA students are building engineering skills to meet future needs. This week we will look at the Itaipu Dam, the gem of Paraguay’s engineering that is the second-largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world! This engineering feat was completed in 1984 through a binational undertaking run by Paraguay and Brazil at the border between the two countries. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW, with 20 generating units providing 700 MW each with a hydraulic design head of 118 meters (387 ft). Since the output capacity of the Paraguayan generators far exceeds the load in Paraguay, most of their production is exported directly to the Brazilian side, from where two 600 kV HVDC lines, each approximately 800 kilometers (500 mi) long, carry the majority of the energy to the São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro region where the terminal equipment converts the power to 60 Hz. The Itaipu Dam is a testament to using engineering innovations to make life better for future generations.

Students in Mr. Tice’s 7th grade social studies classes have been exploring agricultural ways that innovation and engineering are used to make Paraguay a modern and sustainable nation. This STEAM project from semester 1 asked students the question, “Is Farming Still Innovative in the Modern World?” and challenged students with a creation and Maker task to address this question. Some students interviewed farmers on their modern engineering advances, other students created innovative gardens at home or determined how to appropriately process food waste, and still other students explored 3D models of modern farming. This hands-on, distance learning project expected students to connect with their community, collect and analyze feedback data, and make creation decisions based on their evidence. It is not surprising to observe scientific and mathematical practices in a social studies classroom, since this is the ethos of any integrated STEAM project. Well done ASA 7th graders!

Dec 9th - MONTH OF CODING - Hour of Code and VR Robots

This month the focus is on computer coding. ASA is participating in the global Hour of Code where every student spends an hour learning the basics of coding through fun and engaging activities. This is to demystify ‘code’ and show that anyone can learn the basics of computer science. It’s a necessary skill for the future, has great earning potential, and kids love it! ASA is onboard and opportunities are already scheduled for students from grades K-12. Computer science is a key piece to the STEAM program we are developing and as always we always appreciate the community support. To learn more about the Hour of Code and do some activities during the break, visit Hour of Code Activities.

MS Engineering Design students have been coding robots for the past month and a half as part of their Robotics units. Using VEX Code VR, students have been exploring a virtual reality platform and coding robots to perform a series of tasks, such as navigating a maze, collecting color tokens, or even drawing a picture. The code is block-based, similar to Scratch, and a fantastic introduction to coding, logical processes, and iterative thinking. Every week, ASA MS students explain their current coding constructions by making updates in their websites that follow the ASA Design Cycle.

Dec 2nd - MONTH OF CODING - Hour of Code & Learning Platforms

This month the focus is on computer coding. ASA is participating in the global Hour of Code where every student spends an hour learning the basics of coding through fun and engaging activities. This is to demystify ‘code’ and show that anyone can learn the basics of computer science. It’s a necessary skill for the future, has great earning potential, and kids love it! ASA is onboard and opportunities are already scheduled for students from grades K-12. Computer science is a key piece to the STEAM program we are developing and as always we always appreciate the community support. To learn more about the Hour of Code and do some activities during the break, visit Hour of Code Activities.

Elementary students have been exploring coding throughout the month of November in preparation for this month through programs such as Tynker, Scratch, Code.org, Codespark and Kodable.. These platforms offer students from K5 to 5th grade a variety of ways to learn coding through tutorials, activities, and independent challenges. Central to the idea of coding is giving instructions that any robot, person, or program could follow without confusion. ASA students not only learn a new language through coding, they learn organization, analysis, and logical thinking. The more they learn in elementary school, the more prepared they will be when they study Python and JavaScript in high school.

Nov 25th - MONTH OF MUSEUMS - VIRTUAL TOURS - Smithsonian Natural History & Famous Structures

The month of November is dedicated to amazing STEAM museums around the world that inspire children and adults. Our fourth, and final, STEAM museum we will explore is the Smithsonian Natural History Museum located in Washington DC. The museum's collections contain over 145 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts, the largest natural history collection in the world. It is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists - the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world. The museum has maintained a virtual exhibit during its closure where you can explore all its permanent exhibits, current exhibits, and past exhibits. EXPLORE THE MUSEUM HERE!

Elementary students in first and second grade have been developing their architecture and engineering skills in art class by recreating a famous man-made structure using a medium of their choice. Students can choose from a variety of structures, such as a building, bridge, waterway, or other, as well as a variety of mediums, such as paint, makers, colored pencils, recyclable materials, building blocks, or even digital tools. Guided by their inspiring teacher, Mr. Johnson, our young engineers and architects have successfully recreated many famous structures, from the Statue of Liberty to the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge to Big Ben, and Stonehenge to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Check out the amazing creations that they have built below!

Nov 18th - MONTH OF MUSEUMS - VIRTUAL TOURS - NASA Research & Wind Turbine Equations

The month of November is dedicated to amazing STEAM museums around the world that inspire children and adults. Our third STEAM museum we will explore is the NASA Langley Research Center. This center focuses on exploring flight, exploring Earth, exploring from the Moon to Mars, and transforming how we work. While this is not a museum but an actual research center, you can explore the facilities virtually. This is where NASA tests new vehicle and autonomous systems that improve airspace operations and safety, computes regional and global measurements of winds, carbon dioxide, clouds, and aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere, and creates entry, descent and landing systems for robotic and human space exploration, among many other tasks. EXPLORE THE VIRTUAL RESEARCH CENTER HERE!

As part of an integrated math and science unit, ASA 7th graders explored the power of wind and used their virtual modeling to determine how to maximize energy output. Students explore three different sites for a wind farm: offshore, plains, and mountains. From here, students changed key parameters, such as the blade length, blade pitch, and turbine height to determine how engineering changes would influence total output. This project started in science class where students read about wind turbines and explored the associated terms. Then they collected their data and went to math class to determine any linear patterns. ASA students are 21st-century learners by building transfer skills that can be applied in science class, math class, and the real world!

Nov 11th - MONTH OF MUSEUMS - VIRTUAL TOURS - The Franklin Institute and Engineering Art

The month of November is dedicated to amazing STEAM museums around the world that inspire children and adults. Our first STEAM museum we will explore is the Franklin Institute a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, and houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States. Students can now stay connected with science through Franklin @ Home, our collection of digital science resources to feed your curiosity. Explore the world with DIY hands-on activities, engaging videos, and deeper dives—because science never stops. EXPLORE THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM HERE!

Students in the middle school Engineering Design class have been connecting to classic artists like Piet Mondrian,Victor Vasarely, and M. C. Escher by using digital art generators to create similar pieces of art. This was part of a cross disciplinary project inspired by Mabel Avila, ASA’s middle and high school art teacher. Mabel wanted a student-led way to teach her classes how to make a Vasarely, Mondian or Escher style piece of art. This inspiration led to students in the Engineering Design class creating video tutorials on how to use the art for the art students to grasp and utilize. ASA students help out each other!

Nov 4th - MONTH OF MUSEUMS - VIRTUAL TOURS - The Exploratorium & 3D Design

The month of November is dedicated to amazing STEAM museums around the world that inspire children and adults. Our first STEAM museum we will explore is the Exploratorium, located in San Francisco, California. The Exploratorium is a public learning laboratory exploring the world through science, art, and human perception.Their mission is to create inquiry-based experiences that transform learning worldwide. This museum creates tools and experiences that help students become active explorers through hundreds of explore-for-yourself exhibits, a website with over 35,000 pages of content, film screenings, evening art and science events for adults, plus much more. EXPLORE THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM HERE!

Students in the high school Digital Design class have been exploring on their own by creating their own 3D monuments using TinkerCad and Google SketchUp. Students were tasked with designing the next world class monument through an AutoCAD software program and given three weeks to complete their designs. Following the ASA Design Cycle, they spent one week exploring inspiration and determining how to use their design tool of choice. Then, they spent a week planning their monument and creating it. Finally, they took a week to give each other feedback and use the feedback to improve their designs. Check out some of the final products below using TinkerCAD, Google SketchUp, and Blender!

Oct 28th - DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH - Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech

The entire month of October we celebrate Digital Citizenship and how teachers at ASA help students take ownership of their digital lives. All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. ASA is a Common Sense school and annually builds into our K-12 curriculum opportunities for students to develop their digital citizenship skills. On the topic of our Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech, it’s important to ask the question, How can I connect positively, treat others respectfully, and create a culture of kindness? In digital citizenship lessons at ASA, students explore the roles people play and how individual actions - negative and positive, intentional and unintentional - can affect their peers and their broader communities. They are encouraged to take the active role of an upstander to build positive, supportive online communities, and they will learn how to cultivate empathy, compassion, and courage to combat negative interactions online.

The month of October will also culminate with the inaugural RoboHack Virtual Conference event at ASA, October 28th-31st. This event is a collaboration between four international schools in South America (from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay & Chile) and is an opportunity for students around the region to explore a focused suite of digital creation tools. The fourth tool that students will explore is TinkerCad, an online collection of software tools from Autodesk that enable complete beginners to create 3D models. This CAD software is based on constructive solid geometry (CSG), which allows users to create complex models by combining simpler objects together. As a result, this 3D modeling software is user-friendly and currently enjoyed by many, particularly teachers, kids, hobbyists, and designers.

Oct 21st - DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH - Digital Footprint & Identity

The entire month of October we celebrate Digital Citizenship and how teachers at ASA help students take ownership of their digital lives. All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. ASA is a Common Sense school and annually builds into our K-12 curriculum opportunities for students to develop their digital citizenship skills. On the topic of our Digital Footprint & Identity, it’s important to ask the question, How can I cultivate my digital identity in ways that are responsible and empowering? In digital citizenship lessons at ASA, students consider how sharing information online can affect them and others and will learn how to reflect before they reveal, as well as encourage others to do the same. Students will also learn the pros and cons of having different personae and explore how presenting themselves differently online can affect their sense of self, their reputations, and their relationships.

The month of October will also culminate with the inaugural RoboHack Virtual Conference event at ASA, held October 28th-31st. This event is a collaboration between four international schools in South America (from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay & Chile) and is an opportunity for students around the region to explore a focused suite of digital creation tools. The third tool that students will explore is p5 Processing, an open source artistic coding language. Student participants will use a suite of art/code tools built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context. p5 Processing uses the Java language and puts the visual design tools into users hands so that they can create, refine, and present digital art.

Oct 14th - DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH - Media Balance & Well-Being

The entire month of October we celebrate Digital Citizenship and how teachers at ASA help students take ownership of their digital lives. All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. ASA is a Common Sense school and annually builds into our K-12 curriculum opportunities for students to develop their digital citizenship skills. On the topic of Media Balance & Well-Being, it’s important to ask the question: How can I use media in healthy ways that give meaning and add value to my life? To support students in developing an internal sense of "media balance," we prompt students to reflect on the different feelings and emotions that arise when they engage in activities that involve digital media. Lessons focus on agency, not addiction, and quality time, not screen time. This means encouraging students to reflect on their own media diets and to develop individual plans for healthy media balance that consider both how media contributes productively and unproductively to their lives and relationships, and to grow the former and reduce the latter.

The month of October will also culminate with the inaugural RoboHack Virtual Conference event at ASA, held October 28th-31st. This event is a collaboration between four international schools in South America (from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay & Chile) and is an opportunity for students around the region to explore a focused suite of digital creation tools. The second tool that students will explore is Thunkable, an iOS or Android app creation tool originally from the MIT App Inventor platform. Thunkable is a free, open-source interface where creators can utilize a variety of app functions, such as image recognition or maps, to create their own app. Students participating in the RoboHack event will create apps that find solutions to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: quality education, reduced inequalities, climate action.

Oct 7th - DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP MONTH - Privacy & Security

The entire month of October we celebrate Digital Citizenship and how teachers at ASA help students take ownership of their digital lives. All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. ASA is a Common Sense school and annually builds into our K-12 curriculum opportunities for students to develop their digital citizenship skills. On the topic of Privacy & Security, it’s important to ask the question, How can I keep my private data safe and secure? ASA introduces students to the concept of online privacy and the potential implications of sharing private information with a range of people: friends, the public, app providers, and more. Students sharing information about themselves can be a natural and healthy activity, and it can lead to positive connections and personal growth. However, it can also present safety risks, and students need to be aware of potentially harmful consequences such as identity theft and financial exploitation.

The month of October will also culminate with the inaugural RoboHack Virtual Conference event at ASA, held October 28th-31st. This event is a collaboration between four international schools in South America (from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay & Chile) and is an opportunity for students around the region to explore a focused suite of digital creation tools. The first tool that students will explore is VEXcode VR, a virtual robotic coding and deployment platform. Student participants will program pre-built robots to solve mazes, detect obstacles, and engage in planned demolition of structures. This activity reinforces logical thinking, teamwork, and creative problem solving, all key skills necessary for students to build as we enter a technologically complex world.

Sept 30th - TRAITS OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS - Trait #5: Fun

This month we are exploring the five traits that research says makes a learning toy/tool/resource effective. Our fifth, and final, trait is for the tool to be fun. Educators know that if a lesson is fun and engaging, students will have a positive learning experience and form deeper connections. Kids who think STEM learning is fun and enjoyable are more likely to persist in formal STEM education. Building STEM into things you're already doing that kids enjoy - measuring while baking, or making nature observations on neighborhood walks - can be very powerful. “Math talk” is a surprisingly easy and effective tool to incorporate STEM fun into everyday life and games. While playing card games, board games, or other activities, you can ask questions that encourage real math thinking, such as guessing how much of a roll is needed to win, whether there are more books on the bookshelf or eggs in the fridge, or anticipating quantities before measuring them.

Students in 5th grade have been exploring space, the sun, and the orbits of planets as part of their larger study of stars and the solar system. First they tracked and measured shadows to study the motion of the Earth. This activity involved asking questions about shadows, recording numeric observations of changing shadows, and looking for patterns that appear overtime. This is a perfect example of applying the Next Generation Science Standards crosscutting concepts of patterns, cause and effect, and scale, proportion and quantity. Next, students developed physical models of orbits in our solar system and explored the phenomenon of solar eclipses. Great job ASA 5th graders for making learning meaningful, engaging, active and fun!

Sept 23rd - TRAITS OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS - Trait #4: Encourage Social Play

This month we will explore the five traits that research says makes a learning toy/tool/resource effective. Our fourth trait is for the tool to be encouraging of social play. Students often learn from each other, through observation and social interaction. This form of learning is called social cognitive theory and claims that we gain knowledge through observing others within the context of social interactions and experiences. Tools and toys that encourage students to observe models and tutorials allows them to regulate their own behavior to achieve goals. Peers, teachers, and instructional kits can all provide models for social cognitive learning experiences.

Students in first grade are starting a maker experience centered on sound and musical instruments. They are challenged to create an instrument and then observe the sound properties that the instrument produces. This sort of making and creation is an example of guided play where it is important for the students to have a specific goal, but not overly detailed instructions on how to accomplish it. This makes the creation more meaningful and memorable as students make observations and overcome challenges on their own. Additionally, students are exposed to the ASA Design Cycle, a key model that guides students through the engineering process.

Sept 16th - TRAITS OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS - Trait #3: Meaningful

This month we will explore the five traits that research says makes a learning toy/tool/resource effective. Our third trait is for the tool to be meaningful, specifically that it gives the user control and agency over the play. This can be achieved with many simple resources, such as LEGO blocks or art supplies, when children are challenged with an objective or goal to achieve. A study of preschoolers using wooden blocks to build showed that students who have a goal of something to make (designing a helipad in this case) exhibited more spatial-related language compared to students who either built without a goal or through following a specific tutorial. The summary is that guided play creates a more powerful learning opportunity.

Students in elementary music are exploring the Chrome Music Lab as a meaningful way to make music and share their creations through Seesaw. Mr. Pocklington challenges students to use the various tools in the lab to discover the patterns in music and see how different patterns can be viewed in different ways. Students can easily explore harmonies, rhythms, and melodies through a variety of visualization approaches that make their creations more controllable and meaningful. This tool gives ASA elementary students control and agency over their play, a key factor in promoting critical and creative thinking.

Sept 9th - TRAITS OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS - Trait #2: Engaging, Encouraging Flow

This month we will explore the five traits that research says makes a learning toy/tool/resource effective. Our second trait is for the tool to be engaging. Users should be able to enter a state of “flow” where they are focused on the tool and what they are doing with it. This state of “flow” can be found in any sort of activity, such as playing piano or basketball, and is considered the optimal state of functioning where there is total concentration on the task at hand. Tools with less distractions make it easier for children to reach “flow” and inherently enjoy the moment.

Students in the high school Digital Design class have been experiencing “flow” through building apps using the interface Thunkable. This program is a spin off from MIT’s App Inventor and Scratch, both highly popular educational tools that appropriately challenge students and develop their coding skills. Students at ASA have developed apps that turn text into speech, translate text into other languages, and navigate various screens. They are now embarking on developing their own apps. Common statements during this unit such as “I forgot about the time I was so focused,” or “There’s so much I can do, I'm so into it,” show that using the right tools to engage students makes all the difference in learning. When students have the right tools at their fingertips, learning becomes a natural process.

Sept 2nd - TRAITS OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS - Trait #1: Active, Not Passive Learning

This month we will explore the five traits that research says makes a learning toy/tool/resource effective. Our first trait is for the tool to be active. Users need to make choices, create, arrange, and physically or digitally build using the tool. The opposite of an active tool is a passive tool, such as watching something on a screen or someone else do the motions. A simple example of an active tool is a writing board, used throughout history and currently in a variety of forms online. Common digital boards include JamBoard by Google, Whiteboard.fi for individualized whiteboards, and Conceptboard for a detailed collective workspace.

Students in Mr. Hoyt’s high school World History 2 classroom have been actively collaborating together on a “State of the World” Conceptboard. Student groups are assigned a specific region of the world to study, such as India, Italy or Japan. They research the defining geographic, economic, historical and political characteristics of their region and collective evidence in the form of text and media. Students take their evidence and actively build a rich and descriptive visual image of the world during this time, including river and border lines, images of key political and religious figures, and other defining characteristics of the region. While social studies is not a STEM subject, there is considerable overlap in the classroom tools used and the inquiry mindset that students adopt, so much so that social studies can inspire and launch STEM projects with purpose and justification.

August 26th - CELEBRATE LEARNING - Girls in STEM

The number of women in STEM fields is growing every year. While these fields have predominantly been male, there is a strong push to reduce the STEM gender gap. ASA actively encourages girls to join STEM activities, electives and AP courses and we are proud that several classes and electives enroll more girls than boys. Here are three quick stats about women in STEM:

1)-Only About a Quarter of STEM Workers Are Female: While women constitute almost 50% of the labor market, there are only 28% of women in STEM fields as opposed to 72% of men.

2)-More Women Are Graduating from STEM Degrees: Over 200,000 women graduated from STEM fields in 2016 in comparison with just over 140,000 in 2009.

3)-There Are Fewer Female Leaders in STEM: Only 12.2% of board members in the information technology industry are female. This means that out of each 10 board members roughly one is a woman.

ASA is proud to announce the 2020 RoboHack, one of the first virtual activities conferences the athletics department is organizing while we are still in distance learning. Up to twenty middle and high school students can participate in this virtual activity conference to build future ready skills and make friends with other students around Latin America. This event will consist two events:

- EV3 Robotics Sports: Develop engineering and design skills by programming Lego EV3 robots to win competitive matches.

- App Making Hack-A-Thon: Learn the basics of app making through Thunkable and then participate in a collaborative app making hack-a-thon.

Students already enrolled in middle and high school engineering/technology electives will be notified about participation in this activity conference. If your middle or high school child is not in an engineering/technology elective and you would like to know more information, email tyler.shelden@asa.edu.py.

August 19th - CELEBRATE LEARNING - Virtual Activity Conference: RoboHack

ASA is proud to announce the 2020 RoboHack, one of the first virtual activities conferences the athletics department is organizing while we are still in distance learning. Up to twenty middle and high school students can participate in this virtual activity conference to build future ready skills and make friends with other students around Latin America. This event will consist two events:

- EV3 Robotics Sports: Develop engineering and design skills by programming Lego EV3 robots to win competitive matches.

- App Making Hack-A-Thon: Learn the basics of app making through Thunkable and then participate in a collaborative app making hack-a-thon.

Students already enrolled in middle and high school engineering/technology electives will be notified about participation in this activity conference. If your middle or high school child is not in an engineering/technology elective and you would like to know more information, email tyler.shelden@asa.edu.py.

As we continue distance learning, please remind your children of the expectations we ask of all ASA students in all of their classes:

• Positively contribute to the class and learning objectives.

• Display own first and last names.

• Camera on and focus on speaker

• Microphone muted unless you are called upon to speak.

• Chat is used to ask/respond to questions to the teacher.

• Phone away during online classes.

• Maintain respectful interactions.

August 12th - CELEBRATE LEARNING - Distance Learning Expectations

Students around the world are rejoining virtual classrooms and reshaping the way we live and learn. Many of us are eager to return to a safe school environment and while we know that distance learning is not the same as in-person learning, we must be flexible to learn from our current experience. For all of us, this is an opportunity to use the digital communication tools of the 21st century to connect, share, and grow. We have all learned to adopt the safe practices of sanitization and personal protection, and as we move forward towards in-person learning we will be implementing these practices on campus, similar to this fun instructional video from Dr. Lee, parodying an 80’s hit song.

As we follow expectations with sanitization we ask students to follow expectations to optimize their distance classroom experience. Below are the expectations we ask of all ASA students in all of their classes:

• Positively contribute to the class and learning objectives.

• Display own first and last names.

• Camera on and focus on speaker

• Microphone muted unless you are called upon to speak.

• Chat is used to ask/respond to questions to the teacher.

• Phone away during online classes.

• Maintain respectful interactions.

August 5th - CELEBRATING LEARNING - Starting Virtually With Tech Tools

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) believes that students must be prepared to thrive in a constantly evolving technological landscape. Educational activities should be designed to empower student identity and ensure that learning is a student-driven process. To focus instructional time, ISTE has developed 7 standards for students to achieve through technology education: Empowered learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge constructor, Innovative designer, Computational thinker, Creative communicator, and Global thinker.

The virtual start to the 2020 academic has brought unique opportunities for students at ASA to show their learning and collaborate through digital tools. Here are a few of the tools your child will encounter during the coming weeks

• Padlet: An interactive collaboration board

• Jamboard: Collective whiteboard space

• EdPuzzle: Videos with questions

• Mentimeter: Survey and quiz tools

• Quizizz: Fun self-paced quiz game

• Kahoot!: Interactive quiz show

• Loom: Screen recording for presentations

• Formative: Interactive live assignments

• Seesaw: Class activity manager

• Clever: Single service login tool

July 29th - CELEBRATING LEARNING - Teacher Professional Development

A new school year is always something to celebrate and this year is no different. This year people around the world have experienced a tremendous learning curve as we adapt our lifestyles, classrooms, and work environments to keep our communities safe from the global pandemic. This has been a learning process for all of us, but the good news is that learning actually makes us happier (as well as healthy and wealthier)! While negative emotions have been correlated to clearly remembering small details, positive emotions assist us in learning more complex topics.

This week at ASA teachers have been meeting virtually (but on campus!) to prepare for our students next week. We have been exploring new learning tools, such as Seesaw and JamBoard, that help us create positive and interactive learning experiences for our students. Also, we have been deepening our understanding of our current tools, such as Google Classroom and FlipGrid, that help us organize learning and respond to student needs. Underneath all this training is a commitment to build a culture of 21st century learning that prepares ASA students to make the world, and the future, a better place.