Computer science remains an integral element of STEM education and, these days, of K-12 education as a whole. With so many connections to current or future career opportunities, learning computer science skills can unlock various professional benefits for today's students. Because much of computer science ties in to the STEM economy in so many ways, it truly began to boom in high schools over the last couple decades. Now, however, students are starting to get a taste of it as early as kindergarten. With that foundation, they can continue learning new and more intricate skills throughout elementary and middle school. This helps put them in a prime position to learn the more advanced skills and coding languages in high school. With hands-on coding experiences serving as a driving introductory force to learning computer science, tons of students continue to benefit.
It's truly possible to incorporate a computer science curriculum at all levels of education. Even if experiences happen only after school, kids of any ages could partake. As early on as kindergarten, children can explore screen-free coding and develop foundational CS skills with tools like the Cubetto Robot or Bee-Bot. And, moving into early elementary school, they can dive into digital coding with block-based challenges. This introduces them to some more important elements of computer science and includes robust solutions they can try in classrooms. Among them are the Ozobot Evo, Dash Robot, Root Robot, and tons of others. Then, in middle school, they could explore graphical coding further or get into text-based coding. Using tools like the Edison Robot, Finch 2.0, Marty V2, or others, they can try more. Then, they'll be ready for full text code in high school with the NAO AI, databot 2.0, or others.
Ready to fly into STEAM classrooms as the next huge thing in educational drones, the RoboMaster TT packs a pretty big punch. Kids can program it in a variety of coding languages and it comes with additional tech features that help to make it valuable throughout middle, high school, and even up into higher education. So, let’s take a look
Throughout 2022, we’ve hosted an Eduporium webinar series and focused on some of the newer technologies we offer. In this series, we collaborated with a few of our manufacturer partners, who each certainly shared helpful insights on their classroom tech solutions. Head inside to learn more about four of our newer teacher tools for advancing STEM learning opportunities.
Designed to closely resemble the tried-and-true Bee–Bot coding robot, the Blue–Bot Robot from Terrapin provides ECE teachers and students with an upgraded learning experience. It’s still simplistic enough for kids to use as part of Pre–K, kindergarten, and early elementary lessons but also features added Bluetooth functionality to ensure for progressive skills development.
The Root coding robot is one of the most versatile classroom robots in K–12 education. With three progressing programming levels and whiteboard climbing capabilities, it provides so much authentic value for both STEAM teachers and students—even helping introduce pre-readers to coding with its multitude of fun sensors and other programmable features.
The Finch Robot 2.0 is a tremendously versatile classroom coding solution and enables educators to lead STEAM lessons using various platforms and add-ons. With its six unique modes of programming and processing power from the micro:bit V2, the Finch 2.0 makes a lovely K–12 coding option for computer science students! Read on for more important classroom hints.
We joined Robotical’s Head of North America, Hal Speed, to talk about the Marty Robot V2. Beginning with its basics, Hal demonstrated how you can get started with these different coding environments and, in the replay, you can learn to insert the battery, how to program your Marty V2 in unplugged mode, and how to access the Marty Robot app.
Brian’s mission is to help all educators get comfortable with using more technology in their instruction—specifically technology tools that help students develop relevant skills. By sharing insights and focusing on how problem-solving technology fits into education, Brian’s community has grown, especially with his Code Breaker and Block Breaker books.
Like many educators, Jessica believes strongly in the power of STEM and community. She’s also seen, however, that it’s not always easy to achieve across-the-board excitement for some initiatives. That’s why she’s going to focus on student collaboration—particularly across disciplines—and help art and CS students build an interactive mural.
These class packs help ensure educators deliver efficient instruction, provide actionable feedback to students, and maximize the teaching potential of the Dash. Recently revamped, the latest Dash Classroom Packs are perfect for introductory coding lessons and continue to be an incredibly effective option for facilitating high-quality STEM lesson plans.
Since many students missed out on furthering their computer science development during the pandemic, online coding environments began booming as educators looked for alternative options to ensure they didn’t fully lose the skills they’d developed from previous experiences. One of those online coding tools is Robotify and it’s this week’s Rising Resource!
