The CREST-Center for Innovation, Research, and Education in Environmental Nanotechnology (CIRE2N) and the Center for the Advancement of Wearable technology main goal is to contribute to the development of a competitive STEM workforce and strengthen the outputs of the current technologies being developed at the University of Puerto Rico, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), with participants from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, Mayagüez, and Cayey Campuses. The centers are dedicated to the development of nanomaterials and wearable devices to address environmental and health issues. The centers overarching philosophy base on the fundamental understanding that research and education are vehicles to achieve self-sustainability and develop the future Hispanic STEM workforce. In both initiatives we confronted the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19 by adapting activities to virtual modality to continue making significant contributions to communities, teaching and learning, research, and discovery in Environmental Nanotechnology and Wearable Technology. This video presents CIRE2N and CAWT challenges and histories of success during the pandemic developing new online learning resources for teaching and learning and their impact on the community and K-16 students.
Science, Emerging Technologies, Integrating STEM and CS
Univ of Puerto Rico
Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST), EPSCoR Research Infrastructure (EPSCoR)
Good morning. Wonderful to see how much you were able to do during the pandemic using virtual technology. The video visits to the labs and the emphasis on Latina women in science were my favorite parts. Our project is also encouraging Latina women to enter STEM fields.
2
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Jennifer Gil
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 02:42 p.m.
Dear Rosalind
It is great to know that you also work to increase the number of Latinas in Science. It will be great if in the near future we can join efforts. In this link, you can find information about our annual symposium The power of women in scieneHttps://steamlatinas2021.wixsite.com/simposio
And in this link you can download our book Mujeres latinas en las ciencias:
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Jennifer Gil
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Facilitator Postdoctoral Researcher
May 11, 2021 | 11:22 a.m.
Your work is a testimony to the resilience and scientific ingenuity in the face of tremendous obstacles! It is fascinating how you found multiple ways to keep forging forward, broadening participation, and educating both the broader community and those who might want to pursue STEM careers.
Could you comment a bit more if and how you measured the impact of the activities such as lab visits on students’ STEM interest and/or learning? Did you have specific activities for science teachers?
Congratulations on this critically important work!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 02:49 p.m.
Dear Dalila:
Thanks for taking the time to watch our video. In order to measure the impact of our initiatives, we have a longitudinal tracking of the students after their visits to our laboratories. Most of the first visits were during the summer, and during the academic year we have meetings with the students, and some of them performed projects for the science fairs.
Some of the metrics that we use to measure the impact are:
Number of scientific project presented in Science Fairs
Additional visits to our facilities
Application to STEM programs ( for students in 12 grade)
Written reports and pre/post-test related to the research area
2
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Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Jennifer Gil
Ileana Feliciano
Co-Presenter Assistant Professor
May 11, 2021 | 04:11 p.m.
This video present the use of virtual technology during the pandemic and your impact in the reseach, community and education. Excelent work.
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Keyla Soto Hidalgo
Jennifer Gil
Suzanne Otto
Facilitator Teacher / Fellow
May 11, 2021 | 09:07 p.m.
I am so impressed with the breadth of your program and the creative ways that you've found to still provide opportunities, despite all the challenges that the year brought. Your flexibility and determination are to be commended.
As teachers, we keep hearing that a year of forced virtual learning has changed the way that we will do education from here on. I'm curious - are there parts of your outreach efforts that you've found are more effectively done virtually (and will be retained going forward)? Also - are there virtual efforts that weren't as effective as in-person experiences (that you'll gladly set down)? What has a year of virtual outreach taught you about the need for direct relationships with those you serve?
1
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Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 03:07 p.m.
Dear Suzanne:
During the pandemic, we learned that in the future the use of a hybrid mechanism will be the best approach for our outreach and education activities.
For example, the visits to a research laboratory to learn about techniques and execute experiments is something that can not be substituted through virtual environments, these skills need to be done in real laboratories.
But scientific seminars, interventions to talk about careers, the development of educational videos, some virtual workshops were more successful through virtual environments. Some of the biggest achievement of our online events was that the impact was broader and we impacted students and teacher from different regions of P.R and even from other contries.
2
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Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Jennifer Gil
Buen trabajo a todos los involucrados! Como puertorriqueña me hace sentir orgullosa ver cómo mi gente se sigue adaptando sin importar las circunstancias. Felicidades!
1
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Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 03:08 p.m.
Liandra:
Muchas gracias por tomarte el tiempo de ver nuestro video y por tus palabras de apoyo!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 03:20 p.m.
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video. In it, we presented the efforts during the year 2020, a year full of challenges that went from a series of earthquakes that immobilized our country to the global pandemic. A year in which all of us rediscovered how important is to effectively communicate science to society, to provide the tools to make decisions and face challenges.
I am really happy to be able to see all the great projects presented this year on this platform, all are testimony to the resilience of the scientific community in the face of the pandemic.
Congratulations to all presenters and the organizers!
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Jennifer Gil
Jennifer Gil
Co-Presenter Graduate Student
May 12, 2021 | 03:45 p.m.
I am very grateful to have been part of the team. By doing educational virtual videos I learn news skills in editing videos and creating scripts.
The Seminar about empowering women was very useful for me. It gave me the motivation to keep going with my dreams.
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 11:05 p.m.
We are very privileged to have you on our team! It's great to know that you enjoyed the activities. This new academic year we are going for more!
Daniella Vargas Figueroa
Co-Presenter student
May 12, 2021 | 06:52 p.m.
It was an honor to work on this video and showing everybody how we coped to the virtual scenarios. It was amazing to see our outcome and how much we accomplished during this difficult year of COVID-19. Loved the initiative of empowering women in STEAM careers.
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 11:01 p.m.
We are very proud of all your achievements and your resilience. There are no limits! You can achieve everything that you dream of!! Keep the amazing work you are doing!
Hola, Liz y colegas. Quedé supremamente inspirado tras ver su video y las formas en que adaptaron el proyecto a la pandemia.
Algo que nosotros encontramos inesperadamente en nuestro proyecto fue lo positivo que fue poder expandir el alcance geográfico al cambiar nuestra estrategia al mundo virtual.
Me pregunto qué partes del proyecto piensan continuar así como lo hicieron en 2020 aún cuando la situación de COVID no impida tener eventos en persona?
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 08:52 p.m.
Saludos Daniel:
Al igual que ustedes el ofrecer algunas actividades como el simposio nos permitio impactar estudiantes y profesionales de otros paises y el alcance aumento por un factor de 10.
En el futuro continuaremos con practicas híbridas, porque en definitiva las plataformas virtuales resultaron una excelente herramienta para la diseminación y promoción de modelos en las ciencias.
Seria excelente que colaboremos en el futuro!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 12, 2021 | 08:57 p.m.
Daniel en este enlace encontraras información sobre el simposio que realizamos el que esperamos realizar nuevamente en el 2022, en formato hibrido. También puedes encontrar el libro que preparamos Https://steamlatinas2021.wixsite.com/simposio
1
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Luego me gustaría que conversamos. Para si es posible establecer una colaboración e invitarlos para que presenten su proyecto a nuestras estudiantes y profesoras!
Keyla Soto Hidalgo
Co-Presenter professor
May 12, 2021 | 08:23 p.m.
Thank you very much for all your comments, it has been a difficult year but we have been able to achieve our goals. In the virtual mode we have adapted scientific activities with homemade materials so that students can have their class with a laboratory. Seeing the excitement of the students doing their experiments is our greatest satisfaction in these times of pandemic.
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Jennifer Gil
María
Parent
May 12, 2021 | 09:03 p.m.
Demostraron que si se puede! Ante tantas dificultades. 👏
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Ileana Feliciano
Co-Presenter Assistant Professor
May 12, 2021 | 09:03 p.m.
I am very proud to have been part of the team dedicated to science education and research.
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Jennifer Gil
Lourdes Milan
K-12 Teacher
May 12, 2021 | 09:23 p.m.
Great work!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:48 p.m.
Thank you for visiting our video and for your support!
Noel Motta
Higher Ed Faculty
May 13, 2021 | 08:20 a.m.
Bravo Liz!!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:48 p.m.
Noel muchas gracias por sacar tiempo para apoyarnos viendo nuestro video y dejando tu comentario!
Jorge Colón
Higher Ed Faculty
May 13, 2021 | 12:38 p.m.
Great and inspiring work! Congratulations!
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Jennifer Gil
Jorge L. Colón
Higher Ed Faculty
May 13, 2021 | 12:38 p.m.
Great and inspiring work! Congratulations!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:47 p.m.
Jorge
Thank you for visiting our video and for your support!
Lorell Hernández
Higher Ed Faculty
May 13, 2021 | 12:46 p.m.
Thank you for all the time, dedication and effort. Your team has done a magnificent work!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:47 p.m.
Lorell Thanks for visiting our video and your kind words!
Yazmín Gorgas
Graduate Student
May 13, 2021 | 12:48 p.m.
Excelente labor, muy necesaria para fomentar el interés en el estudio de carreras en las ciencias. Mientras a su vez, se adiestra a los nuevos científicos a comunicar la ciencia de manera amena y a un nivel que personas que no sean del área puedan entender. ¡Sigan adelante!¡Mucho éxito¡
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 14, 2021 | 09:57 p.m.
¡Yazmin muchas gracias por sus palabras! Así mismo es muy importante seguir educando a las nuevas generaciones ya que la mayoría de los trabajos van a requerir conocimiento en las disciplinas STEAM!
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Jennifer Gil
Lilliana Arzuaga
May 13, 2021 | 12:55 p.m.
Buenos dias me interesa me envien informacion sobre actividades que realicen proximamente.
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 15, 2021 | 07:39 p.m.
Saludos Lilliana:
Muchas gracias por tomarse de su tiempo para ver nuestro video y dejarnos sus comentarios. Proximamente estaremos ofreciendo nuestros campamentos de verano. Puede seguirnos en nuestras redes sociales
Fabebook @ CAWTEducation, @CIRE2NEducation , o en nuestra pagina de internet: http://www.cire2n.upr.edu/
Tambien puede escribirme a mi correo electronico y con gusto le envio la informacion de nuestras proximas actividades.
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 11:18 a.m.
Saludos Lilliana:
Ya esta disponible nuestra solicitud al campamento de verano puede encontrar información en este enlace:
I love the way you incorporated virtual lab tours and invited the community to participate in your virtual events. Would love to learn more about these events.
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 15, 2021 | 07:29 p.m.
Dear Robin:
Thanks for taking the time to watch our videos. In order to incorporate virtual tours we used two mechanisms, we did synchronous intervention through live events using social media platforms such as FB and IG, and Zoom to directly connect with invited groups. In this type of intervention, we were able to make tours and interact with the public answering the questions at the moment. We made two events for the general public each semester (Nanodays) in this activity we include scientific forums, demonstrations, and tours through our facilities. In this link, you can watch the one video of these events:
But also make tours as were requested by different teachers. The second modality for the tours is asynchronous interventions through video tours were made available on our youtube and FB platform.
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Jennifer Gil
Pati Ruiz
Facilitator Learning Sciences Researcher
May 13, 2021 | 05:13 p.m.
Muchas gracias por compartir su proyecto y los recursos en el sitio web (http://www.cire2n.upr.edu/nanoday-ciencia-arte-... mi pregunta en inglés - How did you leverage the synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to reach students in remote areas of Puerto Rico? Are there activites that worked better than others in this distance learning environment? Finally, were students able to participate successfully despite learning at a distance? If so, how did you measure this participation? Thank you again!
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Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 15, 2021 | 07:16 p.m.
Dear Pati:
Thanks for watching our video. To leverage the synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to reach students in remote areas of Puerto Rico, we offered training to teachers to reach students through their intervention. We also made available materials that teachers distribute to their students, such as our educative magazine NanoAmbiente Revista Nanoambiente – CIREN (upr.edu) and experiment kits.
Scientific forums and symposiums were more effective in the online learning environment, allowing to have a broader impact, reaching a higher number of participants even for other countries. But hands-on experiments, through online platforms, were limited to the ones that use household materials.
Students could actively participate despite learning at a distance thanks to platforms such as zoom where we use breakout room to have smaller groups interventions and Q&A sections. We performed experiments with groups of students provided with laboratory kits through drive throw to our campus mechanism.
To measure the participation we have Q& A sections, pre-post activity surveys, and tests.
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It is great to hear that you were able to expand your audience and reach students in more remote regions of Puerto Rico. Increased access to online programming seems to be a silver lining of the the various challenges caused by Covid.
2
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Jennifer Gil
Elena Ortiz
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:44 p.m.
Alexandra:
Thank you for watching our video and for your words!
Although at the beginning the adaptation to online platforms was challenging, definitively their use provides more flexibility and allowed us to reach other public that through traditional on-campus activities we were not able to impact due to localization issues among other factors.
Y mandenles saludos a mi hermanito Dr Humberto Ortiz Zuazaga :)
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Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 15, 2021 | 06:43 p.m.
Saludos Elena:
Gracias por tomar el tiempo de ver nuestro video. Que bueno saber que conoces a Humberto, el es uno de nuestros colaboradores y director del Departamento de Ciencia de Cómputos de nuestro Recinto.
Recientemente escribo este blog en apoyo a nuestra iniciativa de empoderar a las niñas y jóvenes:
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Yajaira PhD
K-12 Teacher
May 16, 2021 | 08:24 p.m.
Felicitaciones por su gran labor y esfuerzo durante momentos intensos. Son el vivo ejemplo del trabajo en equipo, la resiliencia y la dedicación. Gracias por cada actividad, por cada experiencia y los recursos para los estudiantes. Sigan Adelante y Mucho Éxito!!!
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 17, 2021 | 10:38 p.m.
Saludos Yahaira
Muchas gracias por sus palabras de apoyo, con nuestro trabajo esperamos contribuir a que mas estudiantes, maestros e investigadores tengan los recursos para desarrollarse en las disciplinas SEAM y así contribuir al avance de las ciencias
Agradecida por sus palabras!.
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Great work during a challenging time. What are some of your biggest lessons from this project in being able to reach the broadest set of students, and what is your longer term strategy for incorporating those? (Apology if this was answered earlier in the chat stream.)
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Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 11:13 a.m.
Dear Lance
Although the adaptation and change to virtual scenarios were abrupt, several of the practices adopted during the pandemic deserve to be incorporated into educational settings permanently. Among these practices, we can mention the use of digital resources, more creative assessment methods, effective communication between teachers, students, researchers, online feedback, and the adaptation of learning experiences to teach in the context of our environment. As a researcher and professor at the university level, I have observed the enormous potential that technology has to deepen and support learning outside the classroom. Before the pandemic, the online learning environment existed mainly as space where our course and EOD materials were placed, rather than where learning took place. We assimilate that this online space can be attractive, enriching, and accessible to educate outside the classroom with a greater degree of flexibility during the pandemic. For the long term, we are developing digital platforms, including youtube channels, post cast, among other resources, making available all the materials to teacher and student free access. Also, we are planning to offer scientific conference summer camps and other activities in a hybrid format. We are also in conversations with different educational institutions to establish alliances to share online content and plan virtual activities.
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Thank you Liz! We too, like most folks, adapted as well. I appreciate you sharing your experience so we can all learn and craft the best approaches going forward.
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Ana Fernandez
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 11:02 a.m.
This is an explicit display of resilience. Congratulations peers!
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 11:14 a.m.
Thanks Ana!
Ileana Feliciano
Co-Presenter Assistant Professor
May 18, 2021 | 11:29 a.m.
Muchas gracias por su apoyo!
Marielys Torres Díaz
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 01:48 p.m.
This video makes me very proud of the students and professors in Puerto Rico. Professors and mentors evolved to maintain the quality of the courses and activities offered to the students and the community. Definitely, a great example for the next generation of scientists and educators.
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Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 01:55 p.m.
Dear Marielys:
Thank you for your comment, your contribution to our efforts to empower the next generation of Puerto Ricans in STEAM.
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Ileana Feliciano
Co-Presenter Assistant Professor
May 18, 2021 | 02:43 p.m.
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video! This video present the work realized during the pandemic COVID 19 in Puerto Rico.
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José Ramírez-Colon
Co-Presenter Undergraduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 04:47 p.m.
I feel immensely fortunate to have been part of this team and program during the last year. Not only have I been able to keep conducting research as part of my undergraduate studies experience; but also, our team has remained involved with the community by offering empowering outreach activities, summer camps, and symposiums.
Resilience is the first word that comes to my mind in describing all the efforts we have put in during the last year to keep inspiring and training, from an inclusive perspective, the next generation of STEAM professionals.
Congratulations!!
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Jennifer Gil
Jennifer Gil
Co-Presenter Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 04:59 p.m.
Congratulations to everyone ! Big things can be done when working together :)
Liz Santiago Martoral
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 05:06 p.m.
¡Excelente trabajo! Estoy muy orgullosa del trabajo que se hace en la UPR. ¿Tienen en mente otras colaboraciones para ampliar la población alcanzada?
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 07:15 p.m.
Saludos Liz
Estamos trabajando en establecer alianzas con escuelas, universidades e instituciones sin fines de lucro de diferentes jurisdicciones para ampliar el impacto de nuestras iniciativas.
Solimar Pinto
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 07:29 p.m.
This video proves how resilient Puerto Rican scientists are. Great job!
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 07:46 p.m.
Thank you Solimar for your contribution to our initiatives! It had been a challenging year for our students and scientists, but at the same time, a year in which new opportunities were discovered! But more important, it was a year in which we reaffirmed that we are stronger together!
Namir Huertas
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 07:37 p.m.
👏🏼 It amazes me how much everyone in this center has evolved and adapted to tough and unpredictable circumstances.
I hope this legacy can reach and inspire the emerging scientists and activists of our beautiful island and beyond.
Great job everyone!
Namir Huertas
Graduate Student
May 18, 2021 | 07:37 p.m.
👏🏼 It amazes me how much everyone in this center has evolved and adapted to tough and unpredictable circumstances.
I hope this legacy can reach and inspire the emerging scientists and activists of our beautiful island and beyond.
Great job everyone!
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 07:40 p.m.
Thank you Namir! Our students are our inspiration!
Liz Diaz
Lead Presenter Associate Professor- Researcher
May 18, 2021 | 07:38 p.m.
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video and for your encouraging words. But moreover, thank you all for a week full of emotions and excitement. It was wonderful to see how your different initiatives adapted to continue STEM education during the Pandemic.
Our team is looking forward to new collaborations and the next STEM for all video showcases! Let's kept working for more inclusive opportunities in STEAM!
Gustavo Torres
Undergraduate Student
May 19, 2021 | 01:26 p.m.
It has been a great experience working alongside this excellent group of people! Thanks to Dr. Diaz Research Group.
Rosalind Cook
Good morning. Wonderful to see how much you were able to do during the pandemic using virtual technology. The video visits to the labs and the emphasis on Latina women in science were my favorite parts. Our project is also encouraging Latina women to enter STEM fields.
Jennifer Gil
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Rosalind
It is great to know that you also work to increase the number of Latinas in Science. It will be great if in the near future we can join efforts. In this link, you can find information about our annual symposium The power of women in scieneHttps://steamlatinas2021.wixsite.com/simposio
And in this link you can download our book Mujeres latinas en las ciencias:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SGnajdALCG267P...
Jennifer Gil
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Postdoctoral Researcher
Your work is a testimony to the resilience and scientific ingenuity in the face of tremendous obstacles! It is fascinating how you found multiple ways to keep forging forward, broadening participation, and educating both the broader community and those who might want to pursue STEM careers.
Could you comment a bit more if and how you measured the impact of the activities such as lab visits on students’ STEM interest and/or learning? Did you have specific activities for science teachers?
Congratulations on this critically important work!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Dalila:
Thanks for taking the time to watch our video. In order to measure the impact of our initiatives, we have a longitudinal tracking of the students after their visits to our laboratories. Most of the first visits were during the summer, and during the academic year we have meetings with the students, and some of them performed projects for the science fairs.
Some of the metrics that we use to measure the impact are:
Number of scientific project presented in Science Fairs
Additional visits to our facilities
Application to STEM programs ( for students in 12 grade)
Written reports and pre/post-test related to the research area
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Jennifer Gil
Ileana Feliciano
Assistant Professor
This video present the use of virtual technology during the pandemic and your impact in the reseach, community and education. Excelent work.
Keyla Soto Hidalgo
Jennifer Gil
Suzanne Otto
Teacher / Fellow
I am so impressed with the breadth of your program and the creative ways that you've found to still provide opportunities, despite all the challenges that the year brought. Your flexibility and determination are to be commended.
As teachers, we keep hearing that a year of forced virtual learning has changed the way that we will do education from here on. I'm curious - are there parts of your outreach efforts that you've found are more effectively done virtually (and will be retained going forward)? Also - are there virtual efforts that weren't as effective as in-person experiences (that you'll gladly set down)? What has a year of virtual outreach taught you about the need for direct relationships with those you serve?
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Suzanne:
During the pandemic, we learned that in the future the use of a hybrid mechanism will be the best approach for our outreach and education activities.
For example, the visits to a research laboratory to learn about techniques and execute experiments is something that can not be substituted through virtual environments, these skills need to be done in real laboratories.
But scientific seminars, interventions to talk about careers, the development of educational videos, some virtual workshops were more successful through virtual environments. Some of the biggest achievement of our online events was that the impact was broader and we impacted students and teacher from different regions of P.R and even from other contries.
Dalila Dragnic-Cindric
Jennifer Gil
Liandra Larsen
Buen trabajo a todos los involucrados! Como puertorriqueña me hace sentir orgullosa ver cómo mi gente se sigue adaptando sin importar las circunstancias. Felicidades!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Liandra:
Muchas gracias por tomarte el tiempo de ver nuestro video y por tus palabras de apoyo!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video. In it, we presented the efforts during the year 2020, a year full of challenges that went from a series of earthquakes that immobilized our country to the global pandemic. A year in which all of us rediscovered how important is to effectively communicate science to society, to provide the tools to make decisions and face challenges.
I am really happy to be able to see all the great projects presented this year on this platform, all are testimony to the resilience of the scientific community in the face of the pandemic.
Congratulations to all presenters and the organizers!
Jennifer Gil
Jennifer Gil
Graduate Student
I am very grateful to have been part of the team. By doing educational virtual videos I learn news skills in editing videos and creating scripts.
The Seminar about empowering women was very useful for me. It gave me the motivation to keep going with my dreams.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
We are very privileged to have you on our team! It's great to know that you enjoyed the activities. This new academic year we are going for more!
Daniella Vargas Figueroa
student
It was an honor to work on this video and showing everybody how we coped to the virtual scenarios. It was amazing to see our outcome and how much we accomplished during this difficult year of COVID-19. Loved the initiative of empowering women in STEAM careers.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
We are very proud of all your achievements and your resilience. There are no limits! You can achieve everything that you dream of!! Keep the amazing work you are doing!
Daniel Serrano
Hola, Liz y colegas. Quedé supremamente inspirado tras ver su video y las formas en que adaptaron el proyecto a la pandemia.
Algo que nosotros encontramos inesperadamente en nuestro proyecto fue lo positivo que fue poder expandir el alcance geográfico al cambiar nuestra estrategia al mundo virtual.
Me pregunto qué partes del proyecto piensan continuar así como lo hicieron en 2020 aún cuando la situación de COVID no impida tener eventos en persona?
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Daniel:
Al igual que ustedes el ofrecer algunas actividades como el simposio nos permitio impactar estudiantes y profesionales de otros paises y el alcance aumento por un factor de 10.
En el futuro continuaremos con practicas híbridas, porque en definitiva las plataformas virtuales resultaron una excelente herramienta para la diseminación y promoción de modelos en las ciencias.
Seria excelente que colaboremos en el futuro!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Daniel en este enlace encontraras información sobre el simposio que realizamos el que esperamos realizar nuevamente en el 2022, en formato hibrido. También puedes encontrar el libro que preparamos Https://steamlatinas2021.wixsite.com/simposio
Jennifer Gil
Daniel Serrano
Gracias, Liz!
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Luego me gustaría que conversamos. Para si es posible establecer una colaboración e invitarlos para que presenten su proyecto a nuestras estudiantes y profesoras!
Keyla Soto Hidalgo
professor
Thank you very much for all your comments, it has been a difficult year but we have been able to achieve our goals. In the virtual mode we have adapted scientific activities with homemade materials so that students can have their class with a laboratory. Seeing the excitement of the students doing their experiments is our greatest satisfaction in these times of pandemic.
Jennifer Gil
María
Demostraron que si se puede! Ante tantas dificultades. 👏
Jennifer Gil
Ileana Feliciano
Assistant Professor
I am very proud to have been part of the team dedicated to science education and research.
Jennifer Gil
Lourdes Milan
Great work!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thank you for visiting our video and for your support!
Noel Motta
Bravo Liz!!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Noel muchas gracias por sacar tiempo para apoyarnos viendo nuestro video y dejando tu comentario!
Jorge Colón
Great and inspiring work! Congratulations!
Jennifer Gil
Jorge L. Colón
Great and inspiring work! Congratulations!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Jorge
Thank you for visiting our video and for your support!
Lorell Hernández
Thank you for all the time, dedication and effort. Your team has done a magnificent work!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Lorell Thanks for visiting our video and your kind words!
Yazmín Gorgas
Excelente labor, muy necesaria para fomentar el interés en el estudio de carreras en las ciencias. Mientras a su vez, se adiestra a los nuevos científicos a comunicar la ciencia de manera amena y a un nivel que personas que no sean del área puedan entender. ¡Sigan adelante!¡Mucho éxito¡
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
¡Yazmin muchas gracias por sus palabras! Así mismo es muy importante seguir educando a las nuevas generaciones ya que la mayoría de los trabajos van a requerir conocimiento en las disciplinas STEAM!
Jennifer Gil
Lilliana Arzuaga
Buenos dias me interesa me envien informacion sobre actividades que realicen proximamente.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Lilliana:
Muchas gracias por tomarse de su tiempo para ver nuestro video y dejarnos sus comentarios. Proximamente estaremos ofreciendo nuestros campamentos de verano. Puede seguirnos en nuestras redes sociales
Fabebook @ CAWTEducation, @CIRE2NEducation , o en nuestra pagina de internet: http://www.cire2n.upr.edu/
Tambien puede escribirme a mi correo electronico y con gusto le envio la informacion de nuestras proximas actividades.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Lilliana:
Ya esta disponible nuestra solicitud al campamento de verano puede encontrar información en este enlace:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2523938833...
Robin Cotter
I love the way you incorporated virtual lab tours and invited the community to participate in your virtual events. Would love to learn more about these events.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Robin:
Thanks for taking the time to watch our videos. In order to incorporate virtual tours we used two mechanisms, we did synchronous intervention through live events using social media platforms such as FB and IG, and Zoom to directly connect with invited groups. In this type of intervention, we were able to make tours and interact with the public answering the questions at the moment. We made two events for the general public each semester (Nanodays) in this activity we include scientific forums, demonstrations, and tours through our facilities. In this link, you can watch the one video of these events:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RUMtVyvcR8
But also make tours as were requested by different teachers. The second modality for the tours is asynchronous interventions through video tours were made available on our youtube and FB platform.
Jennifer Gil
Pati Ruiz
Learning Sciences Researcher
Muchas gracias por compartir su proyecto y los recursos en el sitio web (http://www.cire2n.upr.edu/nanoday-ciencia-arte-... mi pregunta en inglés - How did you leverage the synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to reach students in remote areas of Puerto Rico? Are there activites that worked better than others in this distance learning environment? Finally, were students able to participate successfully despite learning at a distance? If so, how did you measure this participation? Thank you again!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Pati:
Thanks for watching our video. To leverage the synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to reach students in remote areas of Puerto Rico, we offered training to teachers to reach students through their intervention. We also made available materials that teachers distribute to their students, such as our educative magazine NanoAmbiente Revista Nanoambiente – CIREN (upr.edu) and experiment kits.
Scientific forums and symposiums were more effective in the online learning environment, allowing to have a broader impact, reaching a higher number of participants even for other countries. But hands-on experiments, through online platforms, were limited to the ones that use household materials.
Students could actively participate despite learning at a distance thanks to platforms such as zoom where we use breakout room to have smaller groups interventions and Q&A sections. We performed experiments with groups of students provided with laboratory kits through drive throw to our campus mechanism.
To measure the participation we have Q& A sections, pre-post activity surveys, and tests.
Jennifer Gil
Alexandra Puritz
It is great to hear that you were able to expand your audience and reach students in more remote regions of Puerto Rico. Increased access to online programming seems to be a silver lining of the the various challenges caused by Covid.
Jennifer Gil
Elena Ortiz
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Alexandra:
Thank you for watching our video and for your words!
Although at the beginning the adaptation to online platforms was challenging, definitively their use provides more flexibility and allowed us to reach other public that through traditional on-campus activities we were not able to impact due to localization issues among other factors.
Cassandra Bell
Congratulations on all that you accomplished during the pandemic! Your creativity and resilience are inspiring!
Jennifer Gil
Elena Ortiz
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thanks for taking the time to watch our video and comment!
we really appreciate you encouraging words!
Jennifer Gil
Susan Warshaw
Amazing work! Keep moving..
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Susan
Thanks for watching our video and your comment!
Elena Ortiz
Que bonito video y que buenas ideas e inspiracion para todes en las HSIs. Pa’lante Boricuas!
Jennifer Gil
Keyla Soto Hidalgo
professor
Muchas Gracias por el apoyo!!
Jennifer Gil
Elena Ortiz
Y mandenles saludos a mi hermanito Dr Humberto Ortiz Zuazaga :)
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Elena:
Gracias por tomar el tiempo de ver nuestro video. Que bueno saber que conoces a Humberto, el es uno de nuestros colaboradores y director del Departamento de Ciencia de Cómputos de nuestro Recinto.
Recientemente escribo este blog en apoyo a nuestra iniciativa de empoderar a las niñas y jóvenes:
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https:%2F%2Fccom.uprrp.edu%2F~humberto%2Fmujeres-en-la-ciencia-de-c%25C3%25B3mputos.html&data=04%7C01%7Cliz.diaz2%40upr.edu%7C8b25b960c9c44de26a3508d91586b011%7C0dfa5dc0036f461599e494af822f2b84%7C0%7C0%7C637564490489904709%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=VKUBz0a7EIhkDXQWGPiSknS1B%2FMCXCWsaeDDW%2BdV8Xk%3D&reserved=0
Jennifer Gil
Yajaira PhD
Felicitaciones por su gran labor y esfuerzo durante momentos intensos. Son el vivo ejemplo del trabajo en equipo, la resiliencia y la dedicación. Gracias por cada actividad, por cada experiencia y los recursos para los estudiantes. Sigan Adelante y Mucho Éxito!!!
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Yahaira
Muchas gracias por sus palabras de apoyo, con nuestro trabajo esperamos contribuir a que mas estudiantes, maestros e investigadores tengan los recursos para desarrollarse en las disciplinas SEAM y así contribuir al avance de las ciencias
Agradecida por sus palabras!.
Jennifer Gil
Lance Bush
Liz and team -
Great work during a challenging time. What are some of your biggest lessons from this project in being able to reach the broadest set of students, and what is your longer term strategy for incorporating those? (Apology if this was answered earlier in the chat stream.)
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Lance
Although the adaptation and change to virtual scenarios were abrupt, several of the practices adopted during the pandemic deserve to be incorporated into educational settings permanently. Among these practices, we can mention the use of digital resources, more creative assessment methods, effective communication between teachers, students, researchers, online feedback, and the adaptation of learning experiences to teach in the context of our environment. As a researcher and professor at the university level, I have observed the enormous potential that technology has to deepen and support learning outside the classroom.
Before the pandemic, the online learning environment existed mainly as space where our course and EOD materials were placed, rather than where learning took place. We assimilate that this online space can be attractive, enriching, and accessible to educate outside the classroom with a greater degree of flexibility during the pandemic.
For the long term, we are developing digital platforms, including youtube channels, post cast, among other resources, making available all the materials to teacher and student free access. Also, we are planning to offer scientific conference summer camps and other activities in a hybrid format. We are also in conversations with different educational institutions to establish alliances to share online content and plan virtual activities.
Jennifer Gil
Lance Bush
Thank you Liz! We too, like most folks, adapted as well. I appreciate you sharing your experience so we can all learn and craft the best approaches going forward.
Jennifer Gil
Ana Fernandez
This is an explicit display of resilience. Congratulations peers!
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thanks Ana!
Ileana Feliciano
Assistant Professor
Muchas gracias por su apoyo!
Marielys Torres Díaz
This video makes me very proud of the students and professors in Puerto Rico. Professors and mentors evolved to maintain the quality of the courses and activities offered to the students and the community. Definitely, a great example for the next generation of scientists and educators.
Jennifer Gil
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Dear Marielys:
Thank you for your comment, your contribution to our efforts to empower the next generation of Puerto Ricans in STEAM.
Jennifer Gil
Ileana Feliciano
Assistant Professor
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video! This video present the work realized during the pandemic COVID 19 in Puerto Rico.
Jennifer Gil
José Ramírez-Colon
Undergraduate Student
I feel immensely fortunate to have been part of this team and program during the last year. Not only have I been able to keep conducting research as part of my undergraduate studies experience; but also, our team has remained involved with the community by offering empowering outreach activities, summer camps, and symposiums.
Resilience is the first word that comes to my mind in describing all the efforts we have put in during the last year to keep inspiring and training, from an inclusive perspective, the next generation of STEAM professionals.
Congratulations!!
Jennifer Gil
Jennifer Gil
Graduate Student
Congratulations to everyone ! Big things can be done when working together :)
Liz Santiago Martoral
¡Excelente trabajo! Estoy muy orgullosa del trabajo que se hace en la UPR. ¿Tienen en mente otras colaboraciones para ampliar la población alcanzada?
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Saludos Liz
Estamos trabajando en establecer alianzas con escuelas, universidades e instituciones sin fines de lucro de diferentes jurisdicciones para ampliar el impacto de nuestras iniciativas.
Solimar Pinto
This video proves how resilient Puerto Rican scientists are. Great job!
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thank you Solimar for your contribution to our initiatives! It had been a challenging year for our students and scientists, but at the same time, a year in which new opportunities were discovered! But more important, it was a year in which we reaffirmed that we are stronger together!
Namir Huertas
👏🏼 It amazes me how much everyone in this center has evolved and adapted to tough and unpredictable circumstances.
I hope this legacy can reach and inspire the emerging scientists and activists of our beautiful island and beyond.
Great job everyone!
Namir Huertas
👏🏼 It amazes me how much everyone in this center has evolved and adapted to tough and unpredictable circumstances.
I hope this legacy can reach and inspire the emerging scientists and activists of our beautiful island and beyond.
Great job everyone!
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thank you Namir! Our students are our inspiration!
Liz Diaz
Associate Professor- Researcher
Thanks to all for taking the time to watch our video and for your encouraging words. But moreover, thank you all for a week full of emotions and excitement. It was wonderful to see how your different initiatives adapted to continue STEM education during the Pandemic.
Our team is looking forward to new collaborations and the next STEM for all video showcases!
Let's kept working for more inclusive opportunities in STEAM!
Gustavo Torres
It has been a great experience working alongside this excellent group of people! Thanks to Dr. Diaz Research Group.
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.