Studies continue to reinforce two issues upon which our company is built:

1. Students need help with mathematics
   1. The American Diploma Project estimates that “in 62 percent of American jobs over the next 10 years, entry-level workers will need to be proficient in algebra, geometry, data interpretation, probability and statistics."
   2. According to research from Harvard University, "the percentages of high-achieving math students in the U.S.— and most of its individual states — are shockingly below those of many of the world’s leading industrialized nations."
   3. Twenty-nine countries outperformed the United States in mathematics by a significant margin according to The Program for International Student Assessment.
2. Humans are visual learners
   1. The U.S. Dept. of Labor has found that information was retained significantly better when presented visually and orally in combination.
   2. Visual aids improve learning by 400%
   3. Even brain insights (those 'A-ha' moments) are being discovered in the brain's visual cortex

With all of this in mind, we are very pleased to announce two new resources for teachers looking to make STEM subjects like mathematics more engaging and more visual.  We have developed tablet-based curriculum to accompany two of the more interesting products we have come across recently.  Both of these will be publicly demonstrated for the first time next week at ISTE.

The first is the MathBall, which is a combination of the 94Fifty® Smart Sensor Basketball and RobotsLAB's accompanying tablet and curriculum.  Designed to improve basketball skills using advanced sensors within the ball, the MathBall takes that same sensor data and has combined it with standards-aligned lessons for middle and high school students.  Teachers simply turn on the MathBall and the accompanying tablet and math lesson topics such as velocity, trajectory, parabola, radians, speed, distance, sine and probability will gain completely new relevance for students.

For example, teachers can now introduce the concepts of statistics and probability in relation to Stephen Curry's three-point shot. Students will develop a deeper understanding of math and science concepts through hands-on usage and experience.  The MathBall quantifies and analyzes subjective forces and motion by capturing thousands of movements per second via its sensor suite, and then provides clear, instant feedback.  Students learn to describe their own motions playing basketball using math and science terms.

For more information on the MathBall, please click here.

Our second new offering is Cubelets, a hands-on computer science curriculum for K-4 students.  Our first offering for elementary school students, Cubelets are magnetic robot blocks that can be snapped together to make an endless variety of robots with no programming and no wires.  Young learners can build robots that drive around on a tabletop; sing; respond to light, sound, and temperature; and generally have surprisingly lifelike behavior.

While playing with the Cubelets, students will be introduced to procedural thinking, cause and effect, decomposition of complex tasks, pattern recognition, and more.  RobotsLAB has designed a Cubelets-based program for teachers to introduce to their entire classroom, along with accompanying curriculum on a handy tablet computer.

For more information on Cubelets, please click here.

As we mentioned, RobotsLAB will be demonstrating the MathBall and Cubelets at the International Society for Technology in Education, ISTE, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA.  ISTE runs from June 28 to July 1, and you can find us in Booth 3057.

Please come by if you are attending the show, or contact us to schedule a meeting or demonstration.