“STEM Literacy for New Asia” is the 4th International Annual Meeting theme on STEM education (IAMSTEM 2021). “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).” Interdisciplinary, integrated education has become an international trend all over the world. Strengthening students’ STEM literacy, interest in STEM, practical knowledge and experience of STEM, and STEM innovative ability through new STEM courses, and encouraging students to invest in science and technology-related careers is an important way to be competitive in New Asia.
Developing and implementing suitable assessment methods and techniques in STEM education is an important and growing issue. By collecting and analyzing students’ learning behavior in STEM courses, teachers and policymakers can appropriately modify STEM teaching objectives, content, and activities. Students can also correct their learning mistakes and increase learning motivation and learning achievements. However, the development of STEM courses in Asian countries is still in its infancy. The existing relevant practical research is also quite limited. As a result, this conference will focus on STEM curriculum development, teaching, assessment, and other related topics to jointly communicate and stimulate innovative ideas for academic research.
This conference is jointly hosted by, National Taiwan Normal University Science Education Center, Taiwan, the Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines, Science Education Association of Thailand (SEAT), ASEAN Research Network for STEM education (ARN-STEM), Thailand Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Khon Kaen University, Rajabhat Yala University, Thailand; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri (STAIN) Sorong, State University of Malang, Galuh University, Indonesia; Thai Nguyen University of Education, Vietnam; and Alliance for Improving Scientific Literacy (AISL).
CALL FOR PAPERS!
Research–focused Strands
Perspectives on STEM in education
Transdisciplinary learning in STEM
Research-based practices for engaging students in STEM Learning
Digital technologies/learning spaces facilitating STEM Learning
MSU-IIT, as one of the university partners of the Huawei ICT Academy, was invited to attend the Huawei EBG Channel Partners Conference 2019 being held at Grand Hyatt Manila, BGC, Taguig City last May 10, 2019.
MSU-IIT was represented by Professor Allenn C. Lowaton (Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology) and Prof. Cherry Mae Galangque (Head of the Computer Engineering Program).
MSU-IIT, thru the ICT Academy was granted by Huawei a total of 8 million pesos worth of ICT equipment and training packages. The ICT Academy delivers Huawei ICT technologies training, encourages students to get Huawei certification, and develops talents with practical skills for the ICT industry and the community.
Huawei has developed a comprehensive range of ICT career certifications based on its industry leading technologies and global practices. The Huawei ICT Academy program includes the following certification category: Cloud Computing, Big Data, IoT and AI.
Huawei overtook Ericsson in 2012 as the largest telecommunications-equipment manufacturer in the world and overtook Apple in 2018 as the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, behind Samsung Electronics.
The 5th annual FAB LAB Asia Network (FAN5) Conference held last May 6-11, 2019, in Seoul Innovation Center, South Korea showcased an international variety of innovation cultures and stories from innovation centers around the globe. The delegation from MSU-IIT was among the FAB LAB review presenters with Gideon Emmanuel D. Chiu, a BS Civil Engineering senior from the College of Engineering and Technology showcased the collaborative efforts of the MSU-IIT innovation ecosystem and the role of FAB LAB Mindanao in being a technology access center, training provider and collaboration hub. The MSU-IIT students and FAB LAB Mindanao staff shared their ideas and knowledge anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals and Social Impact. Emphasizing on FAN5’s desire to change the lives of people through innovation, Jay Arniel A. Gajudo from the Institute’s Department of Computer Applications of the College of Computer Studies conducted a workshop on a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle using image recognition for sustainable reforestation.
One of the highlights of FAN5 was the Global Hack-a-thon participated by teams from India, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. The Global Hack-a-thon’s task was to solve urban problems through traditional and digital fabrication methodologies. Gajudo along with FAB LAB Mindanao Internal Operations Manager, Dexter Ken P. Lopera was awarded by the Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Seoul the Bronze Award. With MSU-IIT in full march to attain research university status, participating in FAN5 has created opportunities of international research and innovation collaborations focused on developing solutions to local problems that create impact and empower the communities that together,WE CAN MAKE CHANGE.
The 14th Graduate Research Colloquium was hosted by the College of Education with Dr. Adelfa Silor, CED Graduate Coordinator, taking the lead in organizing the activity with the support of the Office of Graduate Studies and the graduate coordinators of the College of Arts and Social Sciences, College of Business Administration and Accountancy, School of Computer Studies and the Sustainable Development Studies Program. It was held last October 26, 2018 at the College of Education (CED). The opening and closing ceremonies and plenary sessions were held at the CED Amphi-theater, which also served as a venue for one of the parallel sessions.
Dr. Alita Roxas, Director of the Office of the Graduate Studies, gave the opening remarks and rationale of the activity. She elaborated that the activity is a platform where graduate students can disseminate and improve the quality of their theses/special projects before these are finally defended, as well as enhance their presentation skills in conferences. These are all in line with the goal of updating and introducing innovative research practices into the different graduate programs of the Institute. There were 25 student presenters coming from the College of Arts and Social Sciences, College of Education, School of Computer Studies and the Sustainable Development Studies program distributed to the 6 parallel sessions that were organized. Research topics reflect the fields of specialization of the presenting students and are relevant to the times, such as the study on the future prospects of ISIS surrenderees, another on the development of a mobile learning app for English reading and writing skills, and still another on Artificial Intelligence for data synchronization in environmental impact assessment.
Dr. Rabby Q. Lavilles, Assistant Dean of the School of Computer Studies, who has newly reinstated after completing his PhD in Information Technology at the De la Salle University, was the Opening Plenary speaker. He talked about “Software Gigging: Grounded Theory Methodology Journey”, which was culled from his dissertation. He argued that social theory is poorly understood especially in Information Technology research. He pointed out that because of the speed of change, scholarly research has been lagging behind technological innovation. In his paper, he outlined the intricate processes of grounded theory as he tried to interrogate “What is the main concern of the freelance software developers in the context of IT-enabled services and how do they resolve this concern?” Using classical grounded theory approach, he explored the stages of theory origination, theory saturation and theory elucidation-the last stage of which describes the relations of categories and concepts which allowed him to fully articulate his substantive theory of online software development freelancing. From the data, Dr. Lavilles was able to identify the work patterns and project transitions of his informants through constant comparison technique of the cases. From here, he drew the different gig-hunting strategies undertaken by his informants that shaped their career paths. By examining the iterative processes, Dr. Lavilles was also able to trace the staged dimensions of the professional life of the freelance software developers, that is from being a newbie to becoming a professional where they maximize the opportunities and options available to them to earn income with the desired flexibility.
The closing plenary speaker was Dr. Ma. Cecilia M. Ferolin, the Chair of the Department of Sociology. She presented the major findings of the “Comprehensive Study on Lake Lanao for Sustainable Development: The Socio-economic and Political Dimensions”, one of the six projects under the Comprehensive Studies of Lake Lanao funded by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP). Her study was conducted in the lakeshore communities of Ganassi, Balindong, Tamparan and Marawi City and the downstream municipality of Saguiaran using 500 survey respondents and 16 key informants.
Among the salient findings include the economic uses of the lake like transportation and recreation, electric power generation, agricultural use through farm irrigation, source of food, and waste disposal, among others. Lake Lanao is now confronted with issues on waste dumping, overpopulation of communities surrounding it, illegal fishing, illegal logging, and unpredictable water level. Lake Lanao region also has a problematic peace and order condition in the form of destructive traditional structures, clan wars, and drug peddling. Dr. Ferolin stressed that ”peace is a governance issue” which challenges the capability of the local government unit of Lanao del Sur.
From the perspectives of the locals surrounding Lake Lanao, they want the lake to maintain its cleanliness and restore its beauty. They also wish for a fish port, development of the fishery industry, establishment of public toilets, and peace. The key messages borne out of the study are the following: effective regulation of water elevation that resulted to flooding and farm destruction, compliance with the required environmental compliance certificate by the National Power Corporation and a clear community social responsibility program, enhancement of the environmental consciousness of stakeholders, building disaster adaptive capacity and resilience of communities, and the creation of a sustainable livelihood program.
The policy recommendations of the study call for the following concerns: creation of a functional Lake Lanao Development Authority, research collaboration on critical resources of Lake Lanao, social services and infrastructure support, peace and order mechanism, and enactment of ordinances.
Dr. Adelfa Silor made her closing remarks to end the activity where she also expressed her appreciation to the presenters for their enthusiasm for their research and openness to suggestions of their respective panellists for the enhancement of their research papers.
The FAB LAB Asia Network is the gathering of all registered fabrication laboratories in Asia under the Fab Foundation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Center for Bits and Atoms. T
he 4th FAB LAB Asia Network Conference (FAN4) which was hosted by FAB LAB Saigon concluded last May 1-6, 2018 with the theme “Co-Create a better world” held at Dreamplex 195, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. From India, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and Jordan, nearly 100 engineers, amateur inventors, educators, and makers meet to jointly create innovative and useful products for the economy and the environment. The Conference’s theme which was anchored under the United Nations Sustainable Development goals emphasizes on giving international participants the opportunity to design and co-create solutions with local makers and organizations that seek to make an impact.
Among the presenters were FAB LAB Mindanao Manager, Assoc. Prof. Lemuel Clark P. Velasco who delivered a talk to the Asian FAB LABs on suggested management models for makerspaces so FAB LABs can create high level impact through innovation and invention. FAB LAB Mindanao Staff, John Carl Marlo Andrade also presented a review of how MSU-IIT has been managing the operations of FAB LAB Mindanao while BS Civil Engineering Student Gideon Emmanuel Chiu conducted a talk on how to develop a culture of volunteerism for Asian FAB LABs.
SCS student Ernest John P. Escanilla along with makers from FAB LAB Bohol and FAB LAB UP Cebu also won the FAN4 Maker Challenge by developing a prototype concept of a spooler for a 3D printer filament recycling machine under the Precious Plastic Project. A total of seven delegates from the Institute’s FAB LAB Mindanao collaborated with International and local participants by teaming up and working together over a period of 6 days to brainstorm and prototype hands-on solutions that will address a challenge in the local context and improve upon an existing solution to co-create a better world.
