Page 14 - 2019 December E-issue

RES News

How do you arm a STEM Teacher with real-world application examples?

Put an Engineer in the classroom!
In the 1990s, Eastman Kodak Company jumped the gun, starting a family of STEM initiatives, years before the Government This article will be of little value for the well prepared. This
coined the STEM acronym. Te name of these programs was the 21 Century Learning Challenge (TCLC), and at our peek, we
st
were 1500 engineers and technicians, visiting Rochester City School Classrooms, twice a week for two-hour visits, during the article will be of little value for the ill prepared. Darned if I
entire School Year. Tis efort continued for nearly ten years, and not only pre-dates our recent STEM excitement level, but know why I’m writing it.
delivered support on a scale we have yet to match.
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist
Many of the volunteers in these programs were, and still are, members of the Rochester Engineering Society (RES). In the expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
intervening twenty-fve years, many have retired, or are about to retire. Tat makes them even more available as STEM Coaches, - William Arthur Ward
than they were as Kodak employees.

From my experience this is not three different kinds of people
Te RES is working to put technical people in K-12 Classrooms, throughout the Greater Rochester area, as STEM
Coaches. Teir presence will: but a proscribed sequence of events. First we complain, then
we hope the wind will change, then we finally and reluctantly
Help the Teacher stay current with our ever-changing technology. adjust the sails. Just in time for the wind to adjust again.
Provide real-World Application Examples, making whatever is being taught, real enough to be worth remembering. And new complaints. And that new wind is upgrading your
Support the teachers with not only the delivery of STEM concepts, but perhaps more importantly, the design and Microsoft operating system. Again.
delivery of STEM related hardware.
Microsoft is retiring support for its desktop OS Windows 7
Last year we had six STEM Coach, doing Classroom Visitation at School #3. Tat was so successful that RCSD is and its server OS Windows 2008 as of Jan. 14, 2020. That’s
interested in expanding this program to involve nine STEM Coaches this year.
next month which is why I’m not certain this article will have
any pertinence. This announcement includes all versions
of these operating systems for businesses and consumers.
The lone exception appears to be federally certified voting
systems that run Windows 7. I find it curious that Windows
7 appears insufficient from a security perspective for general
business and personal use but for presidential elections is
more than ‘up to snuff’.

So what will really happen to those who have not upgraded
their PC’s operating system to Windows 10? Likely not
much at first. Your PC will turn on and your applications will
continue to run. You’ll be able to access the internet. So far, it
sounds pretty good. But, like that 100,000 odometer marker
on your automobile, troubles will soon find you. I cannot
Te RES is specifcally seeking Retired, Technical people, (Engineers, begin to count the security updates Microsoft has produced
Technicians, Machinists, Entrepreneurs or anyone whose work for Windows 7 over the years but the list of updates is
enormous. Bad guys don’t sleep.
would allow them to visit during School hours), as STEM Coaches.
We currently have more than 30 Coaches, and are connecting them So without overriding protection from Microsoft, various
with 13 Rochester-area Schools. malware will probe and uncover weaknesses and eventually
find ways to get to your valuable data. Like your credit cards.
Tis is a life-changing experience! Can you purchase Windows 7 support past January 2020?

For more information contact: Jon Kriegel  jkriegel@rochester.rr.com  585-281-5216 The short answer is ‘yes’ but I’ll be a Goose to your Maverick
RES Volunteer Coordinator, Volunteer STEM Coach if I can figure out how. If I was a large enterprise then I’m
Please visit: roceng.org/stem-bridges certain my dedicated Microsoft rep would attempt to help
me through the migration and the Microsoft mothership

14 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER DECEMBER 2019 res news - stem bridges