From Aug. 2-5 2016, the Eduporium team participated in the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES Making Learning Happen @ PBL NY in Syracuse. We were invited to the conference as an educational partner after spending much of the last couple of months working to create, procure and customize EdTech bundles for PK-12 students in the districts that the BOCES serve. Our team collaborated with OCM BOCES School Library System to gauge their needs and the end result were thoroughly comprehensive bundles covering some of the most important STEAM concepts in modern-day education, including circuitry, robotics, engineering and the environment.
People came from across the country and even Puerto Rico to attend as upwards of 250 participants flocked to this magnet for teachers and administrators who are passionate about employing makerspaces and project-based learning in their classrooms. There were wonderful keynote speakers and workshops running the whole time, including Leland Melvin (pictured), a former astronaut, giving a talk on 'The Right Stuff is the Never Give Up Stuff.'
At the event, our bundles lined the convention floor and we spent almost a week introducing attendees to the Mobile Maker Kits and offered advice for how they can implement project-based learning in the classroom. The OCM BOCES teamed up with the nationally acclaimed Buck Institute for Education to highlight the importance of the Maker Movement and PBL in modern-day education, using our bundles as an example.
Guests couldn’t get enough of the friendly robots and techy teaching tools and there were also some great workshops led by prominent EdTech entrepreneurs. We are extremely grateful for the chance to partner with the OCM BOCES SLS and enjoyed every minute of showing off the innovative packs we’ve created! In fact, all of them are soon to be lent to librarians within the OCM districts through the SLS Lending Library so they can try them out in their schools. Not only will this give children the chance for in-depth, hands-on learning, we'll be able to use feedback from them to continue to improve all of our created tech bundles. Our partnership with the OCM BOCES SLS has only just begun and we cannot wait to continue working together to help empower our students with technology!
Eduporium’s bubbling bundles incorporate five key STEAM areas of study into the curriculum—circuitry, robotics, music, coding or general technology. They provide a progressive and systemically organized pathway to enhancing education for everyone. Just like the kids who benefit from them, our bundles progress to intertwine with age-appropriate activities and concepts starting small and working up to large!
Check them out and get inspired to create meaningful memories through STEAM this upcoming school year!