Students exposed to coding and programming at an early age are well equipped to take on higher-level computer science courses in high school and have essential skills for future opportunities in the technology world. When Rob van Nood was hired as the educational technology specialist for Catlin Gabel School in Oregon, coding and computer science courses were only offered in grades 9-12 and not to students in the younger grades. The lack of coding curricula at the younger levels has left a significant teaching gap in 21st century skills such as problem solving, designing, and computation thinking.
Preparing young children for jobs that haven’t been invented yet may sound like a difficult task for educators, but a recent edWebinar showed how preK and kindergarten teachers can start developing the skills needed for future careers. Marnie Forestieri, the CEO of Young Innovators, and Debby Mitchell, Ed.D., a Young Innovators curriculum writer, explained the process for creating lesson plans that include projects introducing science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), noting that “STEAM happens naturally in young children as they explore and investigate the world around them.”
In this edWebinar, Rob van Nood, Educational Technology Specialist from Catlin Gabel School, will show you how to use coding and data-collection technology to enhance your students’ development of creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
Augmented Reality, or AR, is described by Jaime Donally in a recent edWebinar as a “digital layer in our real world that gives an illusion that it exists in our space.” She highlights that it is an exciting time, as emerging technologies associated with AR are feeling much more realistic. AR software such as Google Maps allows the viewer to have guidance as they are walking in a new area, and AR embedded browsers can display 3D animated objects in real-life environments. The key to giving students opportunities to engage in augmented reality begins with supporting teachers as they enhance learning experiences for students. Using AR software and tools such as 3DBear and MERGE, teachers have access to an abundance of activities and lesson plans that offer more in-depth content, provide opportunities for collaboration and exploration, and expand students learning experiences outside of classroom walls.
Storytelling can create educational environments where content is approachable and relatable, gives meaning to complex information, and creates new pathways to existing knowledge. According to the presenters of a recent edWebinar, Jenni Light, Senior Manager of Insights and Strategy for Cartoon Network, John Britt, Writer and Producer at Cartoon Network, Creative Group, and Chris Rettstatt, Product Manager at Wonder Workshop, STEM projects are designed to ensure that students have opportunities to learn problem-solving skills, engage in real-life experiments and analyze data. While these types of projects can be fun in their own right, adding a story and humor to the lesson increases overall student engagement.
Learn how co-design can help ensure that the activities and resources developed are meaningful and feasible, particularly for children from economically disadvantaged communities.
Join this edWebinar for a learning experience with LEGO® Education to explore how you can incorporate creativity, inquiry, and collaboration in early childhood instruction to build important foundations for student learning.
In this edWebinar, you’ll learn creative strategies to help you connect robotics to relatable real-world scenarios so that your students carry the learning with them beyond the project and classroom.
Discover ways you can engage young minds in STEAM learning to help them investigate questions, solve problems and think of potential improvements.
In this edWebinar, Jaime Donally, author, speaker, and consultant, will review the basics of AR, while exploring four lesson plans to use in any classroom.