It is therefore important, from an early age, to train logical-mathematical thinking, so as not to suffer the fear of numbers.

The game aims to help overcome fears that affect even the most relevant choices of life.

“Maggie and the Seshat Treasure” is a game designed to help overcome these fears by offering primary school girls an alternative model with which to identify. The game’s main character, “Maggie”, was chosen in honour of Margherita Hack, the great female scientist and writer. She’s a witty little girl who has to solve mathematical “riddles” in the treasure hunt “Seshat”, named after the Egyptian goddess of calculation. The App, available for iOS and Android systems, was released in September 2020, enjoying considerable success and attracting the attention of many teachers who have understood its potential for teaching. Also, it was very appreciated by the Italian Ministry of Education which reported it on the portal dedicated to equal opportunities “noisiamopari” (in English, we are equal).

The game creators Enrica Ficai Veltroni and Caterina Primi are experts in, respectively, communication and advertising and associate professor of psychometrics at the University of Florence. Both of them are members of Italy’s Soroptimist International, a network of managers and professionals committed to human rights and the advancement of the condition of women.

When realizing girls’ anxiety towards mathematics weighs much more than their real skills, the two creators decided to design a fun tool to consolidate the students’ knowledge and skills, but mainly to acquire a sense of know-how and greater confidence in one’s own skills.

Taking inspiration from Margherita Hack, Maggie will carry out this dissemination task, to make the girls love science subjects, make them feel more confident about it and convince them that mathematics is an adventure absolutely worth undertaking!

By SGI

The project is based on running pilots that differ in duration and end results. Using 4 decks of cards developed by the partners related to 4 different themes (steam careers, actions, SDGS, objects related to arts and creativity) ideas are identified and then they can be materially developed by the students in the creation of a model. The STEAM card game developed within the MoM project starts when the participants select one card from each deck and develop a guiding question that includes the words of all the cards, the different ideas identified are materially developed into the creation of a prototype.

To test the MoM methodology, 40 STEAM pilot projects will be developed and tested with 500 young people online and offline. At the end of the project, the various groups of students who participated in the pilots and produced the prototype will be able to participate in the Makeathon, an event to be held in Sweden, during which the final selection and award ceremony will take place.

The Mind over matter project is developed and implemented by AIN – Industrial Association of Navarra (Spain), Centre of Technical Culture Rijeka (Croatia), CRHACK LAB FOLIGNO 4D (Italy), MTF Labs (Sweden), and Siauliai Youth Technical Center (Lithuania). The project is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ program.

BySGI

STEAMonEDU Program has been presented and discussed by Dr Spyridon Papadakis in discussion with Elena Sarlis and Sia Balomenou. STEAMonEdu gave a lot of food for thought around the educational approach to learning that uses Science (science), Technology (computer science), Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as a starting point to guide students in research, dialogue and critical thinking through the interconnection of what students are taught in school with life involving students in the discovery and construction of their knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. It also caused great reflection on the competences of the STE(A)M educators, their profile and the way STE(A)M approach can be implemented in the Greek Educational System in all levels of School Education taking into account other European education policies. Furthermore, all participants expressed their high interest in the results of the project as well as the next event which will take place as it was pre-announced by Spyros and will provide more hands on activities within the STE(A)M approach among other important topics.

By RDEWG

The event took place in Rome at the headquarters of the Regione Lazio in the Sala Tirreno.

In perfect STE(A)M style, several actors who can influence in various ways the new educational policies in the field of school and non-formal adult education were present. The event was attended by innovators, start-up creators, students from participating schools, and innovation professionals, all working in social impact sectors.

Two competitions were held during the event, one for start-ups and one for schools that have developed STE(A)M projects in the last year.

Two proposals from two different Italian schools were selected for the award ceremony. The jury decided to evaluate an ex-aequo between the artistic high school in Cagliari Foiso Fois, which proposed a solution very relevant to the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, and the scientific high school Enzo Rossi in Rome, which produced a more advanced and creative STE(A)M solution.

The jury recognised the innovative value and social impact of the “EnjoyYourWC” project presented by the Foiso Fois Art School in Cagliari, which falls under the theme of clean water and sanitation, one of the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The students developed a website, virtual tours, augmented reality and 3D virtual projects, which can also be viewed with 3D visors. The Roman scientific high school Enzo Rossi presented the project “TDC Tessuto Digitale Connettivo” (Digital Connective Fabric) to enhance young talents projected towards a future in the fashion world, making them protagonists through the use of technologies for the digital production of a dress or an accessory, the use of design and programming software for interactive garments, the research of new wearable, bio or “smart” materials, a physical and functional realisation of the designed dress or accessory”.

During the conference preceding the award ceremony, the results of the SteamOnEdu course, the training materials produced by the project partners and the framework for the construction of training paths and materials for the creation of educational policies to be used in schools were presented.

At the end of its two-year duration, the SteamOnEdu project offers the world of formal and non-formal education something that was missing: an organic system of materials on which to base the discussion, design and implementation of initiatives based on the innovative STE(A)M educational approach, whose philosophy involves confronting pupils with the solution of real problems through the integrated use of scientific, technical and humanistic disciplines. STEAMonEdu has already gathered a community of practice of more than 700 teachers from all over Europe who are active in the creation of STE(A)M learning pathways.

The event was very important for the participants as a SteamOnEdu community was presented where teachers who want to innovate traditional school didactics by introducing STE(A)M activities can count on colleagues and experts in the field with whom they can share STE(A)M activities.

By SGI