OLRC is a collaboration between the Minnesota State Career and Technical Education office, the eight Minnesota State Centers of Excellence, and the Minnesota Department of Education.

Objectives

PROVIDE MATERIALS

The Minnesota State Career and Technical Education Online Learning Resource Center (OLRC) is a consolidated source of instructional materials to help secondary and post-secondary educators adapt to the need for ongoing remote or blended instruction.

FREE RESOURCES

The resources in OLRC have been curated by educators and are free for educators to browse and use. Curation was performed using a selection criteria rubric, and content in OLRC is monitored and updated regularly to ensure its relevance and usefulness.​

Neither Minnesota State nor the Minnesota Department of Education endorses or promotes any of the resources in OLRC. 

Online Learning Instructional Content for Secondary Engineering, Science and Math Educators

Siemens STEM Curriculum

Siemens Engineering Design course 1 is perfect introductory curriculum for middle, high school and maker spaces. This course challenges students to work in teams to solve complex design problems. Seimens Manufacturing and Automation course 2 is designed for students who have experience with the Engineering Design course, providing students with experience in the creation of a design, preparing the design for machining and designing the automation necessary to control processes.

Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a web-based proprietary platform that allows users to collaborate on drawing, revising and sharing charts and diagrams. Allows for planning and communicating engineering processes and managing projects.

Online Curriculum Ideas

Various online curriculum ideas shared in this open shared google drive account (TJ Hendrickson). This includes 3D files & Ideas, Civil Engineering, Dremel 3D lesson plans, Electronics, E4USA (Engineeirng For Us All), projects, posters, trainings, videos and various tutorials. A plethora of various CTE online ideas.

MySolidworks

Free 30 day trial of SolidWorks. Solidworks is a 3D modeling software used by industry, engineering and manufacturing.

Mike Rowe Works SWEAT Pledge

There are 12 videos that explore each statement of The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge and the importance of four pillars— work ethic, personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and a positive attitude.

OnShape-Msandell Resources

Lessions for using Onshape which is a computer-aided design software system, delivered over the Internet. It makes use of cloud computing, and users are able to interact with the system via a web browser or the iOS and Android apps. These lessions for using Onshape is available through a shared google drive account (Mike Sandell).

Instructables

Instructables make it easy to learn how to make anything, one step at a time. From the stovetop to the workshop, you are sure to be inspired by the awesome projects that are shared everyday. Online community of makers, innovators, teachers and learners who share their projects and instructions on other projects.

PBS: Building Big

Explore large structures and what it takes to build them with BUILDING BIG™, a five-part PBS television series and Web site from WGBH Boston.

PBS: Design Squad

Explore large structures and what it takes to build them with BUILDING BIG™, a five-part PBS television series and Web site from WGBH Boston.

Numworx

Numworx Solutions provides access to high quality online couseware for mathematics and other science education. 3d visualization activites to assist students to work in 3d modeling world.

Blender

Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline.

Wevideo

WeVideo is an online, cloud-based video editing platform that works in web browsers and on mobile devices.

VR Vex Code

VEXcode VR lets you code a virtual robot using a block based coding environment powered by Scratch Blocks. … We all know that robots make Computer Science (CS) come to life with real world applications. Now STEM learning can continue while at home for students, teachers and mentors with no access to their VEX robots.

Tinkercad

Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. It’s used by teachers, kids, hobbyists, and designers to imagine, design, and make anything!

MDE: Sketchup

Statewide license for Sketchup is available. SketchUp is a 3D modeling computer program for a wide range of drawing applications such as architectural, interior design, landscape architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, film and video game design

Teach Engineering

TeachEngineering is a digital library comprised of standards-aligned engineering curricula for K-12 educators to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design.

Remote Learning Resources

STEM curriculum for K-12. Contains links to websites that are curating a collection of resources for educators for distance learning situations.

Computer Science Vex Code VR

VEXcode VR lets you code a virtual robot using a block based coding environment powered by Scratch Blocks or a text based coding powered by Python.

Gear Generator

Gear Generator is a tool for creating involute spur gears and download them in DXF or SVG format. Students can design gear trains and test the operation online.

STEM topics

The Free online science and technology book. It includes over 400 easy-to-understand articles, richly illustrated with clear artworks and animations, covering how things work, cutting-edge science, cool gadgets, and computers.

Edpuzzle

EDpuzzle is a teaching tool used to place interactive content into pre-existing videos from a variety of sources, such as TED or YouTube, or into videos you have made. Standardize the way K-12 teachers deliver their video lessons and allow students to access personalized video learning safely.

PhET: Free Online physics, biology, chemistry, Earth science and math

PhET simulations provide fun, interactive research-based simulations for use in K-12 and college STEM education. To help students visually comprehend concepts, PhET simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulations, sliders and radio buttons. In order to further encourage quantitative exploration, the simulations also offer measurement instruments including rulers, stop watches, voltmeters, and thermometers.

Boeing for Educators

Use virtual experiences and hands-on, standards-aligned STEM lessons to guide students as they explore key concepts in aerospace and engineering. Aligned standards include the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS: Math), and Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS: ELA).

Science Friday


Science Friday partners with educators and scientists to create free STEM activities, lessons, and resources for all learners

Smarter Every Day 

Episodes of Smarter Every Day feature Destin Sandlin as the host and narrator and revolve around scientific exploration and discovery. Sandlin’s primary interest and educational background are in flight and space, which appear frequently in his videos. Other notable topics have included the effects of hypoxia on the human brain, the Prince Rupert’s drop, the physics of potato guns, the usefulness of snatch blocks, and a nearly-impossible to ride bicycle whose wheel steers in the opposite direction of its handlebars.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY EDUCATION

A variety of industrial occupations are prepared for by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). These occupations include apprentice trades, technical occupations, and other industrial and service occupations. The purpose of Trade and Industry Education is to prepare students to enter skilled trades and service occupations that involve the design, production, processing, assembly, maintenance, servicing, or repair of any product or commodity. A career and technical education program in trade and industry is one of the most diverse.

Open-Source Engineering Textbooks

The Engineering Libraries division of ASEE provides open-source textbooks for engineering education. This resource promotes learning and provides access to engineering educational materials. Topics include general engineering categories, such as statics, fundamentals and CAD. Specific engineering discipline textbooks available; agriculture, biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical and computer, energy, environmental, manufacturing, industrial systems, materials science, mechanical, petroleum and mining, geological engineering and others.

Online Learning Pedagogy and Technologies for Educators

Visit the CTE OLRC Page

To provide feedback on OLRC or suggest other resources to be added, please send an email to  OLRCfeedback@minnstate.edu.