Open-source materials are materials that are freely available for use, modification, and distribution. The materials were created by experts in the field and can be used to create a collaborative learning environment, allowing students to learn from each other, share ideas, and give back to the community.
Free, Open-Source STEM Materials
JASON Learning has numerous open-source (free!) materials that can be used in addition to your existing access or can be used to try JASON in your classroom! These content collections, resources, and activities have been designated as freely available to share our work and impact with as many students and educators as possible.
Nationwide Open-Source Materials
Why is JASON Learning providing open-source materials?
JASON provides open-source materials for K-12 STEM education to help promote the development of STEM skills in ALL students. This helps to ensure that all students have access to quality STEM education, regardless of their zip code and economic status.
Who can use open-source materials?
Anyone can use our open-source materials to learn and develop their STEM skills, including individuals, businesses, and organizations.
Design and Pitch Challenges in STEM
Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM
JASON Learning and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have partnered to develop Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM. These challenges are award-winning, open-source, and available to anyone nationwide! Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM asks students to examine significant problems in real-world circumstances and consider how they can create solutions, and develop an engaging pitch to convince others that it’s worth funding.
Click below for access
Entrepreneurship is no longer only related to business; it is a mindset and life skill. It involves the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve problems and create new solutions. It requires an understanding of the STEM principles behind the products and services being developed, as well as the ability to think critically and strategically about how to best use those principles to create value. JASON Learning takes this idea a step further and teaches K-12 students how to grow their entrepreneurial skills and mindset to develop innovative solutions to meet their local community’s needs. We know that students are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow—how can they become the entrepreneurs of today?
In Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM, students will meet inventors and entrepreneurs who share their insights into the process of creation, from concept to prototype, pitch, production, and distribution. They will encounter a selection of Challenges that can be approached from many angles, using different areas of knowledge, techniques, and technology. Finally, it is their task to come up with an innovative solution to a Challenge and create a short, engaging pitch to convince a panel of investors that it’s worth funding.
Operation Lifeline
Emergency response, essential supplies, natural disaster, medicine
Power Me Up
Electric vehicles, charging station, renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions
Keep It Real
Phubbing, smartphone addiction, mental health, app development
Building Algorithms
Algorithms, weighted categories, user input, automated
This free material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1759167. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. These free materials were authored by Dr. Jere Confrey, Dr. Erin Krupa, Dr. Michael Belcher, and the research team in the Department of STEM Education at North Carolina State University and JASON Learning. Contact us at design_pitch@ncsu.edu
Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose
Design thinking, prototype, waste, minimize environmental impact
Negate Noise
Active Noise Canceling, trigonometric functions, frequency, prototype, entrepreneurship
Routes Reimagined
Linear functions, piecewise functions (for Math 3 and Math 4), rate of change, intercept
Gaming for Change
Quadratic functions, projectile motion, model
This free material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2048332 Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Science Foundation. These free materials were authored by Dr. Erin Krupa, Dr. Robin Anderson, and Dr. Michael Belcher, and the research team in the Department of STEM Education at North Carolina State University and JASON Learning. Contact us at design_pitch@ncsu.edu
See how schools have utilized Design and Pitch Challenges in STEM in their districts!
Connected Storm Sanctuary Design Thinking Mission
Presented by UScellular™ and JASON Learning
UScellular Connected Storm Sanctuary Design Thinking Mission, brought to you by UScellular and JASON Learning.
Created in collaboration with UScellular, this innovative STEM learning experience, middle and high school students will imagine and prototype solutions that use mobile technologies to create a better storm sanctuary: a temporary space where families can come together, connect, engage, and be safe during, and immediately after, a natural disaster.
By applying design thinking strategies, students are encouraged to achieve the best possible outcome for the end user, who could be a person, an organization, or even your whole community. This methodology draws on logic, imagination, and intuition, as well as knowledge and reasoning, to explore, design, and test possible solutions.
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ReMA Recycling Collection
Help your students to become more environmentally conscious, understand the importance of preserving natural resources, and develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges with our open-source recycling collection.
ReMA & JASON Learning have developed a hands-on curriculum and challenge for teachers and students nationwide to understand both the importance of recycling and the recycling industry.
STEM Role Model Career Pathways
JASON Learning introduces students to careers in STEM through our live role model webcast series. In these live events, students meet scientists, engineers, designers, and other professionals who share their journey to their careers—from what sparked their passion to the courses they studied, the adventures they have been on, and their day-to-day experiences.
Take a journey into JASON’s past live events and explore the different career opportunities there are in STEM fields. Some of the industries covered are outlined below.
Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
Architecture and Construction
Arts and Digital Media
Business and Administrative
Education and Training
Government and Public Administration
Health Sciences
Hospitality and Tourism
Information Technology
Manufacturing
Marketing
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
CTE: Advanced Manufacturing – Building A Future-Ready Workforce
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR) … there’s a whole world of exciting jobs and careers available to those who have a basic understanding of how to use these Industry 4.0 technologies. In each module of CTE: Advanced Manufacturing – Building a Future-Ready Workforce, students will
- Investigate new technologies,
- Explore the ways they impact daily life, and
- Discover the jobs and career paths that utilize these technologies in their community.
Sensors Are Essential
Electronic components, interpreting circuits & schematics, basic programming syntax, microcontrollers, and data collection/analysis, etc.
Details Make All the Difference
Industry 4.0 technologies, engineering design, the digital thread, precision measurement, etc.
Climate Controlled: Comfort and Quality
Thermal comfort, built environment, humidity, airspeed, etc.
Innovating Through Digital Design
Boolean operation, plane, rotate, scale, snap grid, etc.
Click below for access
Building A Future-Ready Workforce
Virginia-Specific Open-Source Materials
SPARK — CTE: Advanced Manufacturing
The field of Advanced Manufacturing is at the center of innovation, providing exciting career opportunities in designing, building, and maintaining the devices and infrastructure that support our ever-changing world.
Free for school districts located in GO Virginia Region 5. Region 5 consists of the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg; and the counties of Accomack, Isle of Wight, James City, Northampton, Southampton, and York.
Enhancing with Peripherals
Engineering design process, computer aided drafting (CAD), customer requirements, rapid prototyping, and materials science, etc.
Cultivating the Digital Thread
Intellectual property, digital thread, patent, Industrial Internet of Things, business data, etc.
Fabricating Composite Materials
Additive manufacturing, composite, product lifecycle, composite products, etc.
SPARK: Setting Pathways that Activate Real-world Knowledge was developed in partnership between JASON Learning and Portsmouth Public Schools, supported by a GO Virginia Region 5 Economic Growth and Diversification grant.
Click below for access
SPARK - Advanced Manufacturing
VIMS — Marine Science: Microplastics
JASON Learning and the Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS) have partnered to give students compelling information about our diverse waterways and the environmental impact of common but destructive practices with plastics and waste.
Beyond the Water Bottle Challenge: Minimizing Microplastic Pollution
Design thinking, citizen science, microplastic debris, life cycle analysis, decomposition, circular economy, environmental impact, and prototype.
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VIMS - Marine Science
Pathways to Success — Career Exploration
JASON Learning (JASON) and Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS) have been awarded funding from GO Virginia to carry out a project called “Pathways to Success” that ensures middle schoolers in GO Virginia Region 6 are receiving career preparation and exploration and gaining workplace skills that employers desire in their future employees.
Getting Started: Imagine YOUR Future!
CyberHealth: Digital Data Check Up
Seas of Opportunity: Sharing the Harvest
Branching Out: Growing & Building
Innovative Communities: Work, Play, Stay
Academic & Career Plan: Pursuing Opportunities
Free for school districts located in GO Virginia Region 6. Email info@jason.org to get free access to the content.
GO Virginia Region 6, also known as the Mary Ball Washington Regional Council, consists of the city of Fredericksburg; and the counties of Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland.
