ITECH-STEM, a community-based organization, has been providing informal STEM learning opportunities for elementary-age children since 2016. Through a summer Technology STEM camp, ITECH-STEM engages students in grades 3-6 in hands-on STEM activities.

In collaboration with the UH-STEM Center (Dogan, 2020; Dogan & Itani, 2024), ITECH-STEM has been hosting an annual ITECH-STEM Summer Technology Camp since 2016.

The ITECH-STEM project aims to address gaps in the literature by exploring educational uses of digital storytelling, programming and coding, and 3-D modeling and printing. The current project focuses on understanding the feasibility and promise of teaching these emerging technology tools to elementary students in out-of-school settings. ITECH-STEM integrates STEM domains through authentic problem-solving projects, fostering a holistic learning experience.

Video Credits: Tim Peters, M.Ed. in Learning, Design and Technology, University of Houston

Resources:

Dogan, B. & Itani, A. (2024). Teaching and Developing Digital Stories through Artificial Intelligence in a summer STEM camp designed for elementary-aged students. In J. Cohen & G. Solano (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 411-416). Las Vegas, Nevada, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved April 12, 2025 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/223966/.

Dogan, B. (2020). A Summer Technology Camp’s Impact on Elementary Students’ Stem Attitudes, Spatial Thinking, 21st Century Skills, and Growth Mindset: The Innovative Technology Challenges for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (ITECH-STEM). In D. Schmidt-Crawford (Ed.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1733-1741). Online: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved April 12, 2025 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/216051/.