Description
Product description
About the Author
Tim Needles is an artist and educator from Port Jefferson, New York. His work has been featured on NPR and in The New York Times, as well as at The Columbus Museum of Art, The Norman Rockwell Museum and The Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He’s taught art and media in Smithtown, New York, for 20 years and worked as an Adobe Education Leader and an educational consultant for The Japan Society. Needles is the recipient of the ISTE Creativity Award from the Art and Technology Professional Learning Network, the National Art Educators Association 2016 AET Outstanding Teaching Award and The Lab School’s Robert Rauschenberg Power of Art Award at The National Gallery of Art. He’s also been featured on the “Talks With Teachers” podcast, Art Ed Radio, “Edspiration,” Short & Sweet NYC and The Zen Teacher Blog.
There are numerous books on STEAM, but most are either arts and crafts project books designed for children or high-level books that can be weighty and inaccessible for new teachers. As an artist/educator who has taught art and technology for years, Tim Needles brings a fresh and unique approach to these topics, focusing on creativity, innovation and collaboration. This accessible and engaging book offers creative ideas for blending arts and STEM learning (STEAM). It covers the fundamentals of STEAM, with project ideas and best practices, while providing insight from educators in the field. Technologies covered include: coding, robotics, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, photography, video, animation and digital drawing. In addition, the book addresses several different approaches to bringing STEAM learning to the next level, such as collaboration, global learning, project-based learning, makerspaces and social-emotional learning.
Amanda Manno –
Great STEAM read
A terrific STEAM read with lots of fun projects and ideas for kids!
M. Astor –
An Amazing STEAM Resource that’s also a fun and easy read!
STEAM Power is an amazing book for any teacher that is looking for fun, creative, accessible ideas to infuse STEAM into their classroom. Not only is it an excellent resource with 18 lessons that a teacher can implement today in their classroom, but it’s an easy read!As an educator for over 25 years, Tim Needles shares stories from his own life and experiences and his passion for this subject comes through in STEAM Power. The book explains why the ‘A’ in STEAM curriculum is so important and why embracing the STEAM mindset can create an engaging environment for students and inspire creativity.The lessons and ideas in the book can be tailored for any age group and budget. Tim makes a point to share free and low-cost resources as well as low tech to high tech options for wherever you and your students may be on the tech continuum. Personally, some of my favorite lessons were the lower tech ones that use cardboard to create with and teach design and engineering (and a great way to up-cycle all those Amazon boxes!).
Louis L Lasser IV –
Inspiration Through Integration
Tim Needles has created a vast ocean of ideas, not just for students and teachers, but for the others, who may errantly deny they are either. There are many ideas that are annoyingly good. I wish I had the time to explore all of them. I’m an explorer of ideas to a fault and enjoy finding the way they may apply to other areas of life.STEM vs. STEAM: I was a math teacher for 12 years who’s been out of the game for a time, so these terms were not familiar to me. But the obvious correlation, the two acronyms only one letter in difference, is that a stem is the beginning of growth and steam is the evidence that a change happened. This elocution on education is both potential and kinetic.I loved the chapters about Artist Trading Cards, Upcycling, and Cardboard Chair Design. The last chapter, Sustainability, could have been the first. Here Needles opines on the mental health of students and teachers and how they have a direct correlation. These changing states of being are as important as feta cheese is to a salad in Athens. There is more flavor added in the form of integration and the embracing of technology. I’ve known and know many teachers who’ve been reluctant to embrace our cyborg nature. It’s on the horizon and the sun is setting on our analog past. I’d say for better or worse, but I must accept the better. It’s happening whether we are happy about it or not. This is evident in Tim’s writing. He is of the present and the future. And that makes me as happy as a morning coffee followed by a noontime beer. I should add that he doesn’t abandon the paint brush or the canvas, rather he is adding more tools to the artist’s shed. And these tools are presented in a way to be integrated with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. So often is art is kept in its own category and ignored as a means to learn about those subjects. That should not be the case.His bio could be shortened. It could have been, “Tim Needles has done many impressive things and will continue to do so. He is a force for good in the world. Start creating with him as a remote advisor.” I know him to be a warm and welcoming person. And while I’ve had the pleasure of having inspiring art teachers, he is the one I regret not having. This would be impossible since we are only a few years apart, but should I enroll in high school again, I would sign up for his class in a cocaine-riddled heartbeat. The truth is, I went to school with Tim and we were on the football team together. I was the young one. There was always a fair amount of testosterone, smelly shoulder pads and all, but Tim was the nicest upperclassmen I’d encountered. As a lineman, he could have driven me back to Ms. Daisy’s childhood garage, but instead he offered smiles and encouragement. He was a gem and still is.Selfishly, my favorite element of this book was the spark it provided for me in writing a book of a similar nature called Chandelier Theory. Don’t look it up, I take too long to finish things. But this book about creation and learning within the current system is a send from a higher power with tenure. STEAM POWER is rife with ideas and solutions. It’s concise and practical and organized. With many threads to pull, all you need is a Needles to begin the embroidery.Ok, one last thought for Tim. Please release an art book of your work and charge as much as you want. Tim’s work is a cartoon dream that drips from a snow cone on a summer afternoon.
Ricotta J. Pie –
Excellent, easy to use lesson plans for middle & high school
I’ve been teaching science for 16 years but just excepted a new STEAM teacher position. This book has SO many great, easy to understand, lesson plans that I’ll be able to use immediately. A great resource for an middle or HS STEAM teacher.
Christopher Sweeney –
Great STEAM book!
Great book by a wonderful art educator with tons of resources, buy it.