On the 12th day of techXmas, Eduporium gave to you...three extra days! If you’ve ever explored our site (if you haven’t, now is a pretty good time), you’ve likely seen hundreds of different EdTech tools, including some for every single age group and ones that cover just about every STEM area imaginable. You also may be familiar with the song about the 12 days and the partridge in the pear tree. Well, we’ve got a beneficial technology gift for each of the 15 days of techXmas and, hopefully, you can learn a great deal about each of these tools that we recommend kids use all year long.
The First Three Days...For the First Three Years
On the first day of techXmas, my parents gave to me...a wooden robot that that teaches kids to code when they’re three. A few too many syllables, but at least it rhymes. The first gift of techXmas is the Cubetto Robot—a simple toy that toddlers can use to start understanding very basic concepts of coding. It uses plastic blocks, which each represent a value (left, right, forward, etc.) and even introduces functions. All kids do is place the blocks into the slots on the top of Cubetto and start it up. The robot then moves around based on the mini program kids have built. When it reaches the function block, Cubetto will then execute the program created in the function field, helping ease kids into coding adventures from a very early age!
On the second day of techXmas, it’s time to give the gift of Marbotic kits. Chances are that if there’s a tablet in your house and you have a toddler, they’ve probably already enjoyed a number of fun hours finding and playing some new games. Sure, there are some educational apps kids can use, but a tactile learning experience is much more fun and beneficial. Marbotic has created smart numbers and letters that help toddlers learn the basics of math and phonics in a game-based environment. The various kits include all 10 digits and all 26 letters and feature games designed specifically for kids aged three to six. The engaging Marbotic apps provide simple equations or words and kids use the physical blocks to stamp the correct answer on the tablet screen, moving onto the next level once they’ve mastered their challenges!
The last gift idea for the younger crowd is another tactile learning experience. So, on the third day of techXmas, we’d love it for kids to get some Puzzlets kits. The easy-to-use, fun-to-play Puzzlets are here to give children a first foray into computational thinking and logical reasoning—without them even knowing that they’re learning! With a focus on 21st century skills, Puzzlets activates the whole brain by engaging kids with challenging puzzles they’ll have a blast solving. The three different Puzzlets apps (with one game currently available and two more in the works) are designed with future-focused learning in mind, allowing kids as young as 5 to learn at their own pace without even realizing they’re developing programming skills. Each of these tools is designed so that toddlers can start using technology meaningfully and shape their journey towards future readiness.
Days 4-6 Will Open up New Opportunities
On the fourth day of techXmas, my parents gave to me...a hands-on kit designed to get girls interested in engineering. Wow, that one doesn’t even rhyme. Sorry. Anyway, Roominate is a fantastically designed STEM kit made specifically to get girls intrigued by the possibilities of STEM education. Its creators like to think of it as a modern twist on one of the most classic children’s toys—the dollhouse. Using Roominate, young girls can work on design skills, engineering, creativity, and problem solving while they play and have fun. It’s a perfect toy for guiding them towards STEM in the future and a very affordable way to introduce them to innovative concepts early on in their lives. With hundreds of design possibilities and a number of ways to get creative, Roominate would make a great Holiday gift this season (or any time of the year)!
Your kids might also enjoy playing video games in their free time, but it’s not likely that they ever think about how they are made. To create video games, there is actually a tremendous amount of science and coding involved. What if there was a simple tool to help them conceptualize what it takes to become a game developer? We’re not that good at the suspenseful plot twists, so, by now, you probably already guessed that there is such a tool. Bloxels is a way for kids to design their own video game scenes and learn about what it takes to do this in the real world. It comes with a simple board and hundreds of tiny, little blocks in a variety of colors. These colors can be used to create images on the board, which kids can then take a picture of and upload to the Bloxels app. Now, when they’re playing the game, they’ll see the scene they created appear on the screen as their character travels through, giving them the thrill of being a beginner-level developer!
On the sixth day of techXmas, go with a Makey Makey. Not going to lie, I don’t see myself typing out all the lyrics for every day. Have you ever actually sung the whole song? Doubt it. So, yes, Makey Makey. If you already have a laptop or desktop computer, the Makey Makey is a very affordable way to teach kids about conductivity, creativity, and inventiveness. The Makey Makey is a tiny computer interface with a number of ports that represent the parts of an authentic computer, like the mouse, spacebar, and arrow keys. Using the natural conductivity found inside their bodies, kids can attach alligator clips to the board and hold the other end in their hands. They’ll then connect another clip to the board and its other end to an object. If it completes the circuit, they’ll know that object is conductive! You won’t believe how many different everyday objects are conductive and kids will constantly be testing out new ones to go along with fruits, water, foil, graphite, and more!
The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Days
Why was the sixth day afraid of the seventh day? Ha ha. But, seriously, on the seventh day of techXmas, the new Cue in Education Robot from Wonder Workshop is a good choice to make. As we progress up the 15 days of techXmas, the gift suggestions will get a bit more complex every day, so now we’re in the range for 10-12-year-olds. This witty and fast-moving robot is powered by emotive AI, meaning it’s smart enough to display its emotions for kids to interact with while they learn. Using the Cue, kids can chat, code, and create a fully customized robot that’s entirely their own. Designed to increase coding exposure, the Cue develops new abilities the more it’s used and it enables interactive communication unlike any other bot! The best part is kids can truly make it their own, choosing from four fun and extremely unique avatars that allow them to solve problems with different forms of help. With the Cue app, students can chat with their robot—a first for many of them—and create instructions for the Cue to follow using block-based code!
Getting away from robotics for a bit, the eighth day of techXmas is dedicated to E-Blox. What’s E-Blox, you ask? Well, they’re electronic LEGOs. Seriously, LEGOs can be electronic now and they’re awesome for helping kids combine circuitry and engineering while learning about cool concepts, such as design thinking and short circuits. The founders of E-Blox are actually related to the founder of Snap Circuits, so some certainly see E-Blox as a modern-day improvement over its predecessor. In total, we have 13 different E-Blox kits on our store, which include the Circuit Builder kits, pARTS kits, and kits that highlight other STEAM disciplines as well. They’re also pretty affordable, if you ask us, and kids could even get creative and combine the components from the different kits to build more impressive LEGO structures then light them up and make them their own!
On the ninth day of techXmas, you could use some littleBits. We think littleBits are great because they could have been introduced on any of the days of techXmas. There are kits designed for young and old students alike, spanning just about the entire K-12 spectrum. Now, littleBits is getting more into shaping totally modern inventors and their kits have a greater focus on coding, building, and remote controlling. For elementary and middle school kids, the littleBits Code Kit is a fantastic way to combine learning and fun this Holiday season. This kit guides students as they explore coding fundamentals and helps them master the skills to break out and invent on their own! It uses fun as the fuel for igniting imagination as kids can craft the circuits and then create the code to get them functioning, adding an important element of interactivity to their education. Inside the kit, students will find comprehensive instructions for completing four different coding endeavors and devices they can control with the Code Kit app.
Onto Toys for the Older Kids
If you’ve made it this far, first of all thank you for not clicking away from our poor attempt at humor. Second of all, we’re now into the double digits, so that’s exciting. That also means the recommendations are going to get a bit more complex. On the 10th day of techXmas, Eduporium recommended to me...the Edison Robot. If you’ve ever read any of our blogs before, we talk about this tool a lot. That’s because it’s so versatile and appropriate for students of just about any age. With Edison, kids can control robotic movements in a number of different ways and learn about the information that barcodes are capable of storing. They can move their Edison by making sound, shining light, or in some other ways. Depending on which barcode they use to program it, Edison will work in that mode and, once they get more skilled, they can ditch the barcodes and write their own programs in Edison’s Python, Blockly, or EdWare language!
On the 11th day of techXmas, there’s another orange tech tool waiting under your proverbial tree. We know...not everyone has trees during the Holiday’s. That’s why it’s only proverbial. That second orange box under “there” is the Kano Computer Kit. Why is this kit so exciting? Well, it’s a pretty decently functioning computer. But, kids build it entirely themselves! That’s right, there’s some very easy-to-follow booklets in the Kano’s box that guide kids through the entire building process. So, they’re learning some engineering and problem-solving skills, but the real fun comes once they have it built. That’s when they can start experimenting with its capabilities. With various programs included with the Kano and some of its old-school games, kids get the chance to practice coding by creating some sample programs and putting them to the test. Just visit our store to buy a Kano kit. If you try Googling it, you might find a British rapper. Trust us. It happens a lot.
It’s the 12th day of techXmas and it’s a good thing we’re not limited to stopping there. On that 12th day, get an Ozobot. Have you seen an Ozobot before? If you have, you don’t even need us to tell you why. If you haven’t, we’ll tell you why. The Ozobot is a microrobot that’s no bigger than a ping pong ball. It is, however, equipped with a bunch of tiny sensors on its bottom that can read colors and decipher color codes. It can also follow lines and, when it arrives at a color code, which kids can draw or generate on a tablet, by the way, it will perform a pre-programmed action. Who knew kids could learn programming using something so small and affordable? Well, some of you might have known. But, again, we have to explain it anyway. Hopefully you still learned something new. If not, Ozobot’s maximum speed is 3 inches per second. Bet you didn’t know that. Get your Ozobot Evo, Classroom Kits, and accssories on our store.
Finishing Things off with Stuff for Older Kids
Around the Holiday’s, some of us (not naming names) like to think long and hard about the desserts we’re going to eat in addition to the gifts we’re going to buy. Some like apple pie, others prefer pumpkin, and still others enjoy something else, I’m sure. Well, we’re here to tell you about Raspberry Pi. Right, on the 13th day of techXmas (that sounds weird), Eduporium gave to me...some Raspberry Pi. A Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer that can legitimately replace the big, huge CPU you currently use. It also opens up opportunities for students to explore coding and programming using a Linux-based system. On top of that, Raspberry Pi’s can be used in a number of DIY gadgets, like weather stations and basic security systems. They’re perfect for those kids (or adults) who enjoy inventing, problem solving, and just building stuff that might not be all that practical, but is still impressively creative.
On the 14th day of techXmas, we want you to meet SAM Labs. We don’t know if the first day of techXmas is Dec. 25, though, or if it should have begun on Dec. 10. So, you might be waiting to meet SAM Labs until mid-January at this point. In any case, the SAM Labs STEAM kits come from a UK-based company who have created three hands-on kits for kids to learn about programming and other STEM concepts. They’re kind of like a jazzed-up version of littleBits as they feature magnetic modules that snap together. Only, with SAM Labs and the SAM space app, kids can control the functions of each of the blocks through programming. Each kit comes with unique components, including a light sensor, tilt sensor, DC Motor, and guided activities among plenty of other components. Plus, set-up is completely wireless and definitely a breeze for children and parents who want to get more involved with programming and inventing!
Good news. We made it to the 15th day. Some two-plus weeks later, on the 15th day of techXmas, Eduporium gave to me...a Piper computer. Piper is a build-your-own-computer—similar to the Kano Computer—that kids can use to bolster their engineering skills. Oh, and then they can play this game called Minecraft on it once they have it built. Again, they’re getting the engineering and problem-solving practice and then some more basic coding and problem solving while they’re engaged in a game they probably enjoy. Putting Piper together is actually fairly challenging, so it’s intended a bit more for older students, say between sixth and eighth grade. They’ll learn a ton, though, including how the parts of a computer come together to make it function and get practice with hooking things up in the places they need to go. Don't forget to check out the Piper computer, and all the other cool things we’ve recommended! You could even get (dare we say it) 10 Piper’s piping. Finally, we would like to wish a very happy Holiday Season to all!
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