As 2020 (finally) wound to an end, our team took some time to reflect. Like many businesses, our operations were greatly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic – much of our programming had to transition to a virtual format, and we worked hard to support teachers and students with a range of resources and workshops to mitigate the learning disruptions they faced.
Our team has been incredibly inspired by the great resilience that families and educators have shown in the past months. We know it hasn’t been easy, but we are incredibly proud of our community and want to support you in your learning and growth, however we can. We also wanted to extend a huge thank you to our amazing team, who remained passionate and resilient throughout 2020’s challenges. With their help, we were able to accomplish the following:
As we head into the new year, we are filled with optimism – we are eager to continue to innovate and find creative solutions to bring #FearlessLearning to classrooms and homes. For this reason, we are excited to announce some exciting plans we have for this year!
- New Year, New Site: We decided to start off the year with something fresh and exciting – and how better to do that than by launching a brand-new website? We wanted to make it as easy as possible for parents and schools to find the programs and resources best suited to their needs, so based on the feedback we received on our previous site, we’ve created a site full of awesome new features! Check it out here.
- STEAM Hub Subscriptions: It’s now easier than ever to find the right online courses for you! We’ve created 3 STEAM Hub subscription options, so you can select one that works best suits your learning goals and needs! Read more.
- New STEAM Hub Courses: We’re thrilled to have some new, exciting courses in the works – we’ll provide more updates when these are available, but here are some courses that will be joining STEAM Hub:
- Video Game Design with MakeCode Arcade
- Animation
- Advanced Python (Advanced Content)
- Networks (Advanced Content)
- Databases (Advanced Content)
- Cybersecurity (Advanced Content)
- Artificial Intelligence (Advanced Content)
- and more….
- New STEAM Hub Features: One of the biggest challenges that educators and parents have faced in online learning is finding ways to keep students motivated and engaged – this is why we’re introducing some new features to STEAM Hub, including achievement badges, certificates, and gamification! Stay tuned for these announcements.
- Expanding Our Teacher Community: This year we hosted a series of teacher-focused webinars and launched our Teacher Facebook Community to support educators in introducing coding and STEM into the classroom. Our group is already 200+ teachers strong, and we are excited to grow our offerings in the year ahead!
- Launching a Youth Ambassador program: This program will be designed to connect graduates of STEM Minds programs to new learning opportunities where their voices and opinions can be heard and actioned. A great way to apply the skills they have learnt and continue with their lifelong learning journey. Stay tuned!
- Events To Keep An Eye Out For: Some amazing virtual events are coming your way!
- Return of our Virtual STEM Festival – Prepare for an exciting day full of STEM adventures and guest speakers from different industries! Stay tuned for more info.
- Virtual eSports – Designed for passionate students to engage with gaming in a meaningful way, our eSports events provide a safe and exciting community where students, parents, and educators can learn about one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today! We can’t wait to share it with you.
- Air Miles Offers: We hope you’ve been able to take advantage of our new partnership with AIR MILES, and hope that you continue to in the new year! We will have tons of exciting new offers coming, so keep an eye out!
- Global Launch: We are excited to expand our reach of online learning to new communities nationally in Canada and internationally, starting with USA and India markets. We are super excited to be focused on our UNSDG goal#4 Quality education to reach as many children as we can globally for quality STEM education so they build the skils to be future ready.
We can’t wait to continue inspiring learners through STEM – and as always, we can’t wait to be inspired by our learners, in return!
None of these exciting plans would be possible without the gracious support of the STEM Minds community – we are incredibly grateful to all of the parents, students, and educators who believe in our mission and help us prepare children for the future. We’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year, and we hope you’ll join us on a STEM adventure soon!