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TryEngineering: Fostering Next Generation of Innovators
TryEngineering has empowered educators to foster the next generation of technology innovators through STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) since 2006. As the home for IEEE’s pre-university educational resources, activities, and hands-on experiences that engage and inspire, TryEngineering serves as a hub of resources for IEEE volunteers and educators alike. Motivated by the vision of being an indispensable source for tools that foster interest in engineering and technology careers, TryEngineering has served web-based users in more than 100 countries on five continents. Over the years, the number of TryEngineering users has grown by as much as 25% each year, reaching over 700,000 unique platform users in the past year.
Lesson Plans
The hallmark of TryEngineering is the more than 130 hands-on, engineering lesson plans at no cost to the user. Providing free web-based access to culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate and educationally sound instructional resources for teachers and community volunteers helps IEEE achieve its mission to advance technology for the benefit of humanity. Baked into the TryEngineering website is a translation tool so that users can share the lesson plan within their communities.
This vast collection of lesson plans features curated content in IEEE’s fields of interest, as well as other engineering disciplines. Developed by teachers and content subject matter experts, each lesson plan targets specific age ranges and aligns with education standards to allow teachers and students to apply engineering principles in the classroom. For example, resources related to Climate Change were featured in support of IEEE’s efforts to recognize this global crisis and help combat the effects through proactive education. Another example is the partnership with the SEMI Foundation, which highlights the resources on semiconductors, a topic of great interest to IEEE members.
Other popular lesson plans accessed by volunteers and educators include:
Philanthropic Investment Helping to Grow Resources
Donor investment in TryEngineering is helping the program grow its reach and impact. For example, the content focused on semiconductors will be greatly expanded thanks to a generous grant from the onsemi’s Giving Now Program to develop new, interactive lessons for use in middle school classrooms, worldwide, as well as professional development opportunities. Watch for these new lessons and resources for teachers in early 2025.
Through a generous donation from Keysight Technologies, a number of lesson plans including the extremely popular lesson, Series & Parallel Circuits, are being promoted through social media accounts and newsletters to bring new learning to teachers and STEM enthusiasts around the world. Additionally, in collaboration with Keysight Technologies, new lessons will be launched in 2024, which introduce younger students to concepts of circuits, and older students to machine learning.
Visit the TryEngineering website to discover the vast number of resources currently available for volunteers and educators to use. Willing to help TryEngineering expand its pool of resources? Contact Eileen R. Heltzer, CFRE at e.heltzer@ieee.org or call + 732 799-4431 or make a gift online.
