Fostering STEAM education using computers and information technologies

Abstract

The academic world is witnessing the new opportunities offered by information and computer technologies for STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). These STEAM subjects, studied in integrated form, are considered essential in the education of citizens of a modern society. This paper addresses the development and support of STEAM education that our research team has carried out in recent years in different educational environments that include engineering studies, training of future teachers, primary and secondary education, and outreach to society. We will describe a set of activities that promote STEAM education, including courses (face-to-face courses, online courses, and MOOC courses), and scientific and informative conferences. We make use a set of applications of information and computing technologies in the creation and delivery of courses and conferences that include programming languages (ie Matlab, WolframAlpha-Computational Intelligent, Snap and Scratch), learning platforms (Moodle, MiriadaX), resources/tools to interact with the student (motivate face-to-face sessions, e.g. Socrative, video conferences and online tutorials e.g. Blackboard Collaborate, remote desktop connection, and website portals, among other resources). This paper presents real cases carried out in university educational centers, and in primary and secondary schools. These are examples that show cases of integration of computer science, engineering and education in which information and computer technologies are used to promote STEAM education.