I am excited to share news of the K12Lab.com with you. Presented by National Instruments and its partners in education, K12Lab is a resource for motivated teachers who want to find and share creative ways to engage students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) coursework.

The goal is getting students excited about Math and Science. Currently in beta, the site offers lesson plans on topics such as engineering, robotics, computer science, physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology. You even have the opportunity to share your best lesson plans with others. If you are a student there is plenty of interesting items for you too! The inspiration section is where it’s at!

The very exciting inspiration section gives examples of people doing cool stuff with cool stuff. This gives great visuals and ideas to share with your class to really get your students attention. Check out this segment on driving a car with an iPhone and LabVIEW,  but do not try this at home! There are so many great videos that I encourage you to take the time and  browse yourself. But to pique your interest, here are some videos titles I have to share: “controlling a video game with your eyes”, “the 24-hour MINDSTORMS challenge” and “computer controlled fireworks”.

A major focus within the site is LabVIEW. LabVIEW was built for applied science in the engineering profession. It’s no surprise that teachers have picked up on all the possibilities for classrooms and clubs too. The site shows and explains applications using the NI myDAQ, Vernier, Lego Mindstorms and Tetrix.

There is much to explore, I encourage you to take a look and share with your peers!

Author: Kristie Laettner