Student Develops Platform for Teachers to Share Digital Resources
Rahul Bir, a freshman studying computer science at Diablo Valley College in California, noticed a gap in the availability of a centralized platform for teachers to share digital educational resources. As a result, he created AwesomeSTEAM, a small platform that collects open educational resources from around the web. It is an evolution of “awesome lists” used by coders to share information about specific programming languages. The platform, updated by teachers and students, is intended to be a shortcut for finding quality information without the hassle of sifting through endless search results.
The site currently has around 10,000 users, and teachers are finding it valuable. Christopher Faidley, a middle school computer science teacher who taught advanced technology to Bir, uses it as a resource for curious parents and eager students who want to explore concepts related to what they’re learning in school. The site features more than 600 resources, organized into five categories—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics—and further indexed by relevant courses or topics.
Bir’s AwesomeSTEAM platform has received positive feedback, including a K-12 teacher in Canada offering to translate the project into French. According to Bir, the platform’s advantage over traditional library resources is its ease of use for digital-native students. He aims to make high-quality digital educational resources easily accessible for teachers to utilize.
Citations:
Mollenkamp, D. (2023, April 25). This Student Saw Teachers Lacked a Place to Share Digital Resources. So He Created One. EdSurge.
