ELIMINATING BOREDOM IN THE CLASSROOM

Fact: bored students don’t learn. I doubt you’re blown away by this but in case you need some reassuring, a new study from the University of Pittsburgh, coauthored by the University of Michigan looked at student engagement, and the key to helping students stay focused in the classroom.

WHY ARE WE TEACHING MATH THE SAME WAY WE DID 10 YEARS AGO?

If you were to buy a cell phone 10 years from now, do you think that it will be the same phone you bought a year ago? Probably not. If you buy a car 10 years from now you’d want it made with better technologies, right? The same thing should be applied to education. But rather than 10 years from now, we need to have that sort of change within 1 year.

LIST OF TOP COLLEGES FOR STEM MAJORS

If you want a career in a STEM related field, it makes sense that you should go to a school that grants the most STEM degrees right? So with that in mind here is some ofthe top-ranked STEM degree granting universities.

FOCUS ON PEOPLE NOT JUST TECHNOLOGY

I’m sure you’ve seen YouTube videos of young kids picking up iPads and operating them like it was second nature (if not here’s your chance). There’s also a chance that either you or someone you know has sat at a PC wondering how to make a table in Excel. Powerful and useful technology is useless if the design of it is convoluted.

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL TAKES NEW APPROACH TO LEARNING

How many of us remember dissecting a frog? Or perhaps you can complete this phrase: “I” before “e” except after… I rest my case. Teaching is one of the oldest professions and so are the majority of the approaches to subject matter.

The standard lecture, standing in front of a class with facts and formulas on a dry erase board are leaving children disengaged and wanting more (after all, didn’t we dream of school being less boring?). Some schools, like Manor New Technology High School in Texas, have tossed away the textbooks and advance placement classes and replaced them with project-based learning.

GE GRANT PROVIDES HELPS MATH PROFICIENCY AND GRADUATION RATES

Unfortunately, almost everyone has a friend that didn’t graduate from high school. Sometimes this person excels with tests but never does their homework, it could be that friend’s home life makes school incredibly difficult to get through, or there’s the friend who lands an awesome job programming and decides they don’t need school anymore. There are many reasons for dropping out but a common factor is a lack of an understanding of basic education ideas, like math for example. GE understands this and has responded to this with the introduction of the GE Foundation's Developing Futures in Education program.

MUSEUMS OPEN DOORS TO INFORMAL MATH LEARNING

Math students are notorious for asking the question: When will I ever use this? The answer isn’t simple, (or convincing to most teens) and has been known to keep math teachers up at night, at least I think it does, to be honest I have no idea if a math teacher even sleeps but I digress. The point is math is not exactly a “sexy” subject in the eyes of many K-12 students… until now.

The National Museum of Mathematics in New York City is attempting to change math’s image problem and make it cool to learn about. In conjunction with other math exhibits around the nation (side note: the National Museum of Mathematics is the only museum dedicated to the subject in the country), curators are inviting the public to look and think about math in a hands-on, fun way. Sounds awfully similar to what we do here at RobotsLAB with the BOX.

MINIROBOT UNVEILS AFFORDABLE CUSTOMIZABLE ROBOT MOWAYDUINO

Who doesn’t want their own personal robot right!? If you’re reading this blog, chances are you either want one, or already bought/built one.... or you’re a teacher and can’tafford one. However, not everyone has the means to buy or build one… until now.

Introducing mOwayduino a programmable Arduino-based robot toy from Minirobots, designed to be used in conjunction with mobile apps (like using your smart-phone’s accelerometer to control the robot), and hardware add-ons like a camera and Wi-Fi receiver. The goal is to create a rich environment for learning by encouraging experimentation on both the software and hardware side of robotics, including an open API so users can create their own apps.

OBAMA UNVEILS NEW PLAN TO BRING SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS INTO DIGITAL AGE

Just like kids shouldn’t be hitting chalk erasers together, teachers shouldn’t be writing on chalk boards either. 
I mean, chalk is dirty, it gets everywhere and every time youhave to write on it you inevitably make that screeching noise with it. Don’t get me started with dry erase boards either, we’ll be here all day with that one.

The Obama administration feels the same way about chalk/dry erase boards. At least I hope it does, which is why the President unveiled a new project called ConnectED which plans to get more electronic devices into the hands of teachers and students so that lessons can be taught digitally. Digitization of the classroom should lead to more engaged students, have less boredom, and better prepare them to compete in a highly industrialized economy. Tests are also digitized just like the lesson plans.

4 WAYS SCHOOLS CAN PREPARE FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CLASSROOM

Remember having to smash together chalk erasers when you got in trouble during class? It seems like an old punishment, but in fact some schools have been unable to adopt newer technologies, like white boards (or even more advanced: smart boards) in their classrooms. Despite how many times you personally had to clean the erasers, and how you may be fond of the taste of chalk dust, chalkboards (and thus their erasers) should be a thing of the past.

In a recent report, the Alliance for Excellent Education agrees, addressing four challenges that school leaders need to complete in order to give their students an advantage in the modern world and begin utilizing new digital learning and education technologies.