With real improvements to availability, value, reliability, and effectiveness in today’s STEM tools for students, it might be easy to make purchases from the first store you find. Over the years, however, we like to think that we’ve created a very unique shopping experience for teachers and want to make sure you’re aware of the benefits of buying EdTech tools
You probably know by now that we are huge advocates of makerspaces in K–12 schools. The added freedom for creating, hands-on experimentation, and exploration that they provide for students helps them learn in so many new ways. Now, many educators have even gone as far as to create their own makerspace curriculum after seeing all the benefits for students.
In large part, we created this grant program to help educators boost equity and access for any of their underserved students and we’ve loved how it’s evolved into one of the easiest technology grants for teachers to apply for. The program is open to all educators from classroom teachers and district administrators to technology directors, librarians, and makerspace leaders.
Detailed planning and commitment are both essential in managing student learning loss as educators work to understand the pandemic’s impact. Not only are tons of students experiencing new, academic-related gaps, others still need a whole lot of social-emotional support. And, it’s our belief that in returning to social-emotional norms, we can truly help kids academically.
Valerie is an author, educator, and huge proponent for STEM education. She’s helped lead hands-on STEM experiences for students and helped expand their minds with some of her favorite STEM-related books. Whether it’s hands-on coding or stimulating creative thoughts, Valerie definitely believes in the power of collaboration and community.
If you’ll be in Atlanta for the GAETC, we encourage you to come by to learn more about our offerings or to just say hi. Among the happenings at our booth, we’ll display some educator favorites, including tech tools for the classroom, library, and makerspace and share the benefits of some of the other services we provide.
As they’re becoming an increasingly important part of 21st century schools, libraries are evolving to better serve the needs of modern students. They’re being transformed into instant information hubs, innovation centers, and makerspaces as they grow into a tool for 21st century learning—breaking away from past standards.
The newest MakerBot 3D printer, the MakerBot METHOD, is a powerful STEAM tool that students can use to create 3D objects, but pairing it with the MakerBot Cloud software makes it much more valuable. Using MakerBot CloudPrint, students can collaborate and 3D print objects from anywhere, including their homes needing only an Internet connection.
Trying to look on the bright side, we’ve joined the optimistic crowd in questioning whether this unprecedented period provided educators, administrators, and learning designers with lessons on educational trends and regularities. To us, the yearlong experience of teaching through a pandemic validates the value of MakerEd and EdTech tools.
Our webinars have been well attended so far starting with the Ozobot broadcast last December. We’re very grateful for the efforts of our partners and, now, we’re looking to expand these broadcasts. Head inside to cast your vote for what you want us to cover next as we work to expand our webinar series this spring.
