Eduporium Blog

When schools first started to shut down, we saw how STEM and MakerEd really began to take a back seat in favor of more traditional educational requirements as teachers tried to find a rhythm in remote learning. At the same time, however, we—and plenty of others—knew just how important and beneficial STEM learning could be.

We’ve transitioned into another new month, and that means we have some news regarding the awarding of our EdTech grant from last month. For this latest award, we’ve presented the grant to Carla Neely, who is a fourth and fifth grade STEM teacher at an all-girls school in Cleveland, Ohio—and she works with a lot of Title I students as

Like so many teachers, students, parents, and administrators, we’re uncertain about what this school year will bring, especially as school doors slowly start to reopen. Whether learning is going to be taking place in person, at home, or as part of a hybrid model, we know that we couldn’t let STEM learning opportunities fall by the wayside.

To use their littleBits micro:bit Adapter, kids will need a micro:bit V2, which are available on our store separately. The micro:bit board slides easily into the slot on the top of their micro:bit Adapter and fastens securely, allowing students to incorporate MakeCode programs in littleBits circuits. Read on to learn more about this valuable STEAM and CS accessory.

Like fellow members of the education world, we’ve realized there’s a bit more to educating the whole child than simply ensuring they have a strong foundational background in STEM. As the school year begins, STEM remains important, but we’re also committed to ensuring students have the chance to focus on social-emotional restoration. 

In our latest Rising Resources post, we’re exploring the Edublogs platform, which is an online tool students can use for practicing some key real-world skills like writing, blogging, and written communication. Usually thought of as more of a soft skill, communication is nonetheless extremely important for students as they prepare to enter the workforce in the coming years.

We’re starting to learn more about the plans in the country’s largest school districts, which include remote learning, hybrid reopenings, and an attempt at full in-person education. But, there are still those educators who feel like it remains too unsafe to fully return to normal and probably plenty of others who aren’t completely comfortable with going back part-time either.

In our newest Eduporium Featured Educator interview, we hear from April Leonard, who serves the students of the Mississippi Heights Elementary school in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District. She’s done a lot with coding, including using the Dash and Dot and LEGO WeDo with goals of welcoming 1,000 students to a common makerspace in the future. 

Despite so much uncertainty, there’s one thing we know for sure: We don’t want students to veer off course in terms of STEM and real-world skills development, so we’ve been working on creating custom STEAM kits that can be used to help educators teach key topics, allow students to work independently, and are conducive to different environments.

Reopening our school buildings will likely involve one of three action plans: in-person learning, hybrid learning, and remote learning. Once schools first physically closed doors in March, we did not think that things would still be in such a state of uncertainty come August, but the reality is that almost all school leaders are preparing for a back-to-school season unlike