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EdTech Show Daily Tuesday, February 7, 2017 8 FIVE REASONS TO START A ROBOTICS COMPETITION TEAM Some benefits of robotics competition teams are the same as any extracurricu- lar activity: social development, improving self-esteem, helping bolster a college application, giving kids a sense of belonging, etc. But, robotics competitions do even more. They inspire young people to pursue STEM careers and to be leaders in science and technology. Here are just a few com- pelling reasons to start a VEX Robotics Competition team. Prepare for the Real World In VEX Robotics competitions, students must work as a team to design, build and program their own robot. Not only are they responsible for all aspects of plan- ning and preparing for the competition, but if a robot breaks or malfunctions while competing, students must think on their feet and work together to come up with a solution. This teaches what it's like to work as a team to creatively solve problems under the pressure of a dead- line. Foster Learning at All Levels If you've been part of a robotics compe- tition team, you know that they're any- thing but dull. Competitions immerse students in dynamic teamwork, creative challenges, technical problems, project planning, time management and more. As teams work to apply the engineering process to real-world problems, they must figure out how to work within the parameters given and also figure out how to be as creative as possible. This adds up to a lot of STEM learning as students plan, iterate, prototype, design and redesign their robots. Get Interested in STEM Did you know that three- quarters of the fastest grow- ing occupations require sig- nificant mathematics or sci- ence preparation, and that by 2018, there could be 2.4 mil- lion unfilled STEM jobs in the U.S? Did you know that 28 percent of U.S. companies say that at least half of their new entry-level hires lack basic STEM literacy? One way to stop this "STEM crisis" is to get more kids inter- ested in pursuing STEM careers, and VEX Robotics Competitions are a great way to do that. By using STEM concepts to solve real-world problems, students get to apply their math and science skills in a fun and interesting way, and this can help spark life-long interest in STEM. Fun for Everyone While building and programming your robot may be the team's focus, there's a lot more involved. Just like any company, the team needs people who can design logos, create team mer- chandise, help with fundraising, track spend- ing, coordinate and manage logistics, and additional tasks that aren't directly related to engineering. This is a great way for kids to see how their skills can add value in a STEM-related field. Why VEX People of all ages love robots, and every- one gets fired up about competition. Because of this, students get excited about STEM without even realizing they're learning. The VEX Robotics Competition is the largest and fastest- growing educational robotics competi- tion for middle school through college- aged students in the world. Last season, more than 10,000 teams from more than 30 nations participated in the VEX Robotics Competition. For more information, visit booth #1149. SOLO 8: DURABLE, AFFORDABLE DOCUMENT CAMERA The Solo 8 is an engineering masterpiece designed to leverage the processing power of a computer. While it has the capabilities to zoom with multiple con- trol functions, it doesn't incorporate any large or expensive optical parts found in traditional document cameras. This results in a patented new document cam- era that is compact, durable and afford- able. Using a Solo 8 helps teachers visual- ly communicate concepts in ways that allow for students to comprehend infor- mation quicker. Since its debut in 2010, more than 200,000 HoverCams are being used in classrooms across North America. One of the highest-rated capabili- ties included in the Solo 8 is its ability to create videos. With its built-in microphone and exceptional HD quali- ty, it is easy for teachers to create instructional flipped learning videos in one simple step. Only the HoverCam Solo 8 can deliver seamless clarity through the use of 8-megapixel resolution and a 30 frames-per-second refresh rate, giving live viewing the illusion of a 4k HDTV. Live video images this good means no distrac- tions caused by the equipment malfunctions during instruc- tion. In addition, the Solo 8 allows for teachers to record HD 1080p video directly to a hard drive to later play back, annotate and edit to enhance their class- room lessons. This is all accomplished with HoverCam's industry leading software, which allows you to scan, crop, man- age and share files and more. It even works with interactive technologies, allowing you to easily show captured images and live video on an interactive board. The Solo 8 has been an industry game-changer for classrooms in many ways, but it doesn't stop there. The Solo 8 has been enhancing distance learning and remote conferenc- ing, as well. This is why HoverCam is known as an innovative and reliable company designed to deliver advanced product technology in order to save teachers' time and schools' money. Interested in trying a HoverCam in your classroom for free for up to 30 days? HoverCam offers schools an opportunity to evaluate a unit. Sign up for your evaluation today. For more information, visit booth #2435. THE UP BOX+: THE LARGE FORMAT, HIGH-RES 3D PRINTER The UP BOX+ is the latest in the UP 3D printer family and comes loaded with fea- tures. The UP BOX+ is designed for large format, high-resolution 3D print jobs as large as 8 inches by 8 inches by10 inches. The UP BOX+ features include a fully enclosed build environment with HEPA filtering, Wi-Fi connectivity, high- resolution output and a variety of build surfaces and material options. The fully enclosed printing environ- ment with UP's proprietary multi-pur- pose, easy-to-clean and re-useable UP- Flex™ build surface ensures the highest quality output. The UP BOX+ operates in near- silence and utilizes UP ClearAir™ tech- nology – Tiertime's integrated HEPA fil- tering system. The UP BOX+ includes the power- ful UP Studio™ software, a simple-to- use, feature-rich software that is easy for 3D printing novices yet advanced enough for professionals. The UP Studio software features Smart-Support™ technology. The indus- try-leading support-generation algorithm automatically places a support structure only where it is needed, then breaks away with ease, allowing you to print even more complex models. Another feature is auto-cali- bration with Level-Lok™. UP's auto-nozzle detection feature in conjunction with Tiertime's Level-Lok fixed level calibration means that printing is consistent and trouble-free with incredibly low fail- ure rates. The UP BOX+ also includes UP Active-Resume™. If a print job needs to be stopped, UP Active-Resume allows you to seamlessly complete your print job where you left off. Also, UP Fila- detect™ senses when your printer is run- ning out of filament, then automatically powers down using UP Active-Resume. Simply reload filament and resume your print to finish the job. UP 3D printers also come with inte- grated Wi-Fi connectivity that lets users send jobs with ease from iOS, Android or PC devices. The UP Studio software also supports variable temperature control with upCTRL™. This allows the temperature for both the extruder as well as the build-platform to be controlled depending on the type of material being printed. Supported printing materials include ABS, ABS+ and PLA. The UP BOX+ also accepts 500g to 1000g filament spool sizes. Contact your local UP Trusted Partner, Education 2000, to learn more. For more information, visit booth #831, call 713.683.8061 or go to www.edu2000plus.com. WIRELESS CHARGING IS ABOUT TO GET A LOT BETTER By John Barry, Ventev Mobile, Head of Product Consumers and phone makers have been slow to adopt wireless charging. Wireless charging was slow and required a good amount of Do-It-Yourself to get the parts to work with your phone. If you used your phone to stream music while charging wirelessly, you'd often use more energy than you gained. That changes this year. New wireless charging advance- ments are making fast, powerful wireless charging a reality. Higher power wireless charging will allow the phones to go from five watt charging up to 15 watt charging. The increase in power could reduce your charging times by 66 percent. These improvements have paved the way for new accessories. Wireless car chargers, for example, weren't very use- ful. Drivers using GPS or streaming music would arrive at their destination with less juice than when they'd left. Our new wirelesspro dock solves this problem. It clips to car vents and it's compatible with PMA, Qi and fast wire- less charging to supply up to 15 watts of power. That's enough to go from 0 to 60 percent in 30 minutes. Look for more phone makers to pick up wireless charging. Look for more smartphone users to jump on board. Look for Ventev's line of high-powered wire- less chargers in the spring of 2017. For more information, visit www.ventev.com.