Kenai’s own Challenger Learning Center of Alaska has long supported innovative, unique methods of STEM education on the Kenai Peninsula. They are now increasingly utilizing efforts to take STEM education statewide through an increasing arsenal of virtual programs. According to a release from Challenger, they aim to “deliver new programs that continue to impact student learning and promote future thinking and creativity.”
Alaska Meets Bermuda, the program which acted as the pilot for Challenger’s new online format was awarded the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Innovation in Education last summer.
Marnie Olcott of the Challenger Learning Center spoke to KSRM on Friday to discuss the Center’s strategy for 2021, which includes increased outreach to students across the state: “We’ve always done a degree of virtual programs with our e-missions, and when COVID hit, it was clear that we needed to quickly develop additional resources to meet the needs of the teachers, students, and parents. So, not just our homeschool population, but also the teachers and students that were now forced to work from home, versus their in-classroom environments.”
The COVID pandemic allowed Challenger’s team an opportunity to develop an educational program that continues their usual educational standards, but allowing even schools from across Alaska to take advantage of the curriculum: “We are seeing, actually, a pretty large uptick in virtual programming being booked by school teachers, and that is coming into play even after school has come in, because they have students back in the classroom, and they are utilizing virtual resources because schools from Anchorage and around the state, obviously, cannot come to us as schools start to open back up in-person. They’re still restricting travel for field trips and that kind of thing. Now, they are looking at our virtual option. We’re seeing an uptick in that, certainly.”
She added: “What we did when we did our virtual program option is that we really, really worked hard in trying to maintain that Challenger model. We didn’t want just another virtual program where kids are sitting in front of a computer. We ship materials to each and every student that is engaging in our programs, so we don’t lose that hands-on activity. Then, also, the direct engagement with an instructor, not just an automated screen, and in addition to that, we’ve formulated programs featuring teamwork and communication – it’s always been such a huge part of the Challenger model.”
Anyone interested in contributing or seeing what programs are being featured at the Challenger Center are invited to visit them online at AKChallenger.org. or via telephone at (907) 283-2000.
