Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/775803
EdTech Show Daily Wednesday, January 25, 2017 6 made from the kit are magnetically snapped together in seconds to create both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic sci- ence experiments. It is made of a rugged type of styrofoam with the mechanical parts tucked safely inside. The parts snap together with magnets, meaning it can be reconfigured easily in just a few minutes. When it hits a wall, it just bounces. If it falls, it can easily be snapped back together. Students are excited to use it, and teachers are excited by all the science topics they can teach with it. ESD: Tell our readers about your company. LN-P: Interactive Media Publishing was founded in 1996 to produce online cours- es and interactive content. We began cre- ating curriculum for robots and selling robots as a Value Added Reseller under the Exploring Robotics brand in 2012. ESD: How do you plan to integrate this new product? LN-P: The Airblock Drone fits well into the middle school part of our Mobile Robots and Internet of Things pathway of products. It works well with the physical science and math concepts that can be taught in grades 7-9. It also uses Scratch for coding, so it fits well with other prod- ucts we offer that use Scratch. By using the Airblock Drone as the hardware piece to our Exploring Drones curriculum, we are able to explore sever- al different aspects of drone technology covering land, sea and air while creating a safe environment to learn about the lat- est drone technology. ESD: What is unique about the curricu- lum? LN-P: The Exploring Robotics curricu- lum is self-paced, with videos. We also provide professional development and support for teachers. We're including content from NASA in the curriculum for aerodynamics. While planning a flight route, students will use math to calculate weight, height, angles of rotation and speed. They will also consider physical science concepts of airlift, force and energy transfer. Concepts such as friction and buoyancy are easy to grasp with activities in air, on land and in water. Other topics include safety, flight physics, mimic drones in industry, sys- tems, Scratch coding, career opportuni- ties and lots of fun competitions! ESD: How do the students control the drone? LN-P: Students use apps on a tablet to control the Airblock Drone or Hovercraft. They can also customize the actions with Scratch code with a drag and drop puzzle-like interface in Windows or Mac OS. They send code to the Arduino microcontroller brain on the drone with a Bluetooth connection for easy control in activities and competitions. For more information, stop by booths #2010 and #1452, visit www.exploring robots.com and www.makeblock.com or call 760.650.2687. Exploring Robotics (Cont'd. from p. 1) FOCUSING ON SPECIAL STUDENT SERVICES Think stability. Marvel ® has been in the manufacturing business for 70 years and all of its furniture is "Made in America," never imported. It is never out of stock. Every Marvel product is designed to work daily in today's classroom. Marvel Vizion ® products are ergonomi- cally engineered as true teaching plat- forms with features simply not found in competitors. Large adjustable height work surfaces, furniture grade writing surfaces, built in rack capabilities, sound options, I/R friendly acrylic or security steel doors, safety no-tip bases and safety close no-pinch designs are a few of the features built into many of the products. Many Marvel Vizion products arrive completely assembled and ready to use or require minimal assembly at your facility, saving you time and money. Marvel Vizion products are working pieces of furniture that feature high pressure laminate tops and heavy duty steel construction. The same quality it pro- vides in its commercial furniture lines is built into Marvel Vizion products. Many Marvel products carry a Lifetime Warranty. Marvel has just been recognized by United Laboratories as a 20 year Certified member of the ISO program and is currently ISO 9001:2008 certified by ULDQS Inc, the most difficult accred- itation, the most difficult standard to attain and retain. All Marvel product passes and is listed for the appropriate UL Standard. Choose from charging stations, 3D printer carts, deluxe lecterns, interactive teaching stations and more. Vizion products are designed to support various technologies and options. They are engineered with rack or freestanding component areas, wire and cable management channels, strategically placed knock-outs, grommets and access panels for easy installation. Do you need help with your floor- plan? Marvel's interior design and space planning experts will help you make the best choices for your classroom. Visit Marvel at booth #1442. For more information, go to www.marvelvizion.com or www.marvelgroup.com. TO LECTURE OR NOT TO LECTURE - THAT IS THE QUESTION When you hear the word "lecture," an image comes to mind of a professor in a tweed jacket, glasses perched upon the tip of his nose, droning on at the podium. Schools have tried to distance themselves from this image with gadg- ets and software, sold on the promise of individualized self-paced learning. The truth of the matter is that lec- ture still has tremendous value within the classroom. There is a reason that TED talks have become wildly popu- lar. It isn't sitting in the computer lab that develops a love for learning; it is passionate teachers with the ability to bring subjects to life. How do we make classroom lec- tures more effective? The key is encouraging active classroom partici- pation. Think back through the hours of professional development you've gone through. What made the differ- ence? Was the lecturer talking to you, or with you? Students will be more actively engaged if they can give feed- back, ask questions and share. Many times the most valuable part of the lec- ture can come about because of a ques- tion posed by a student. So why is it so hard to get some students to partici- pate? Studies have shown that a teacher's voice loses up to 45 per- cent of its intelligibility by the time it reaches the back row, and that is when the teacher is facing them. On average, where do the students that typically participate in classroom discussions tend to sit? At the front, right? And stu- dents that don't typically participate? Yes, that's right, in the back. What happens when a student in the front asks or answers a question? Odds are, the students in the back are going to have an even more difficult time hear- ing their peers than they do their teacher, especially if they are already distracted. This can create a vicious cycle. Rather than raise their hand and ask to repeat what was said, the student can spend the next couple of minutes trying piece togeth- er what was said, rather than following along with the discussion, potentially missing out on a vital information. The student can then become so lost that they just check out completely. In order to help remedy this prob- lem, the Qball has been developed – a throwable wireless microphone. The Qball is a fun, hands-on approach to getting students to actively participate in classroom discussions, while mak- ing sure their voice is heard. For more information, visit booth #1158.