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EdTech Show Daily Wednesday, June 28, 2017 8 INNOVATIONS IN JOB-EMBEDDED MATH PD DreamBox Learning ® has announced a new, personalized approach to profes- sional learning for educators developed with a research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. By using real-time student progress and profi- ciency data, DreamBox built a proto- type that guides math educators to self- directed, on-demand professional development modules that relate to the specific mathematics topics their stu- dents are learning in class, empowering educators to improve student out- comes. "Educators have always focused on meeting students right where they are so that we can engage them in differentiated learning experiences and provide a safe space to learn and grow," said Tim Hudson, Vice President of Learning at DreamBox. "But there hasn't always been that same commitment when it comes to personalizing professional development for teachers. We hope to improve the achievement of all students by making easily accessible, job-embed- ded professional development highly rel- evant to the mathematics concepts that are most important in each teacher's classroom." Research and publications from leading organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Learning Forward have suggested that when edu- cators have a deeper understanding of the mathematics concepts they're teaching, their students have higher achievement. Furthermore, A recent publication (www.learningforward.org/publications/t eacher-agency) from Learning Forward's Laurie Calvert specifically advocates teacher agency over development focus areas, citing these five design principles for choosing the topics and skills to address in PD sessions: teacher-identified learning objectives; based on data (including observations); focused on teachers' and students' con- tinuous growth; topics that address specific classroom challenges; and teachers deciding what they need to learn. To study the impact of seamless integration of real-time student data with job-embedded professional development for teachers, DreamBox leveraged its Intelligent Adaptive Learning™ engine to create a prototype platform and com- pare how teacher usage correlated with student progress and proficiency. Teachers using this prototype were able to access recommended, math-specific professional development modules on specific topics where a student or group of students were learning, growing or struggling with at that moment. The initial phase of the study focused on grades three, four and five, and yielded encouraging research results. For example, in all three grade levels, the correlations suggest that when teachers accessed DreamBox's professional development modules, their students showed greater growth in proficiency of grade-level concepts. In addition, greater frequency of profes- sional development usage was associated with greater student growth overall, including proficiency below, at or above grade level. Furthermore, teacher usage of the professional development modules appears to have had a "catch- up" effect because there were correla- tions between teacher usage and stu- dents' proficiency growth in math topics from prior grade levels. "These early findings are exciting and deserve additional exploration and research," Hudson said. "DreamBox Learning is deeply committed to inno- vations like this that empower teachers and help them be more confident in mathematics and effective in the class- room." DreamBox will launch a new professional development tool based on the researched prototype later this year. For more information, visit www .dreambox.com or stop by booth #520. IS CODING WITH ROBOTS DIFFERENT THAN CODING? Yes and no. Coding with robots is more engaging and hands-on. Students under- stand the fundamentals of coding better when they are making a robot move, dance, flash lights and navigate a maze. Yet the concepts of coding – sequence of events, variables, math functions, iterat- ing with loops – these are the same as found in languages such as Scratch that are often used with the Hour of Code. Even though 90 percent of parents want their children to study computer sci- ence, only 40 percent of schools offer coding or computer science (CS) classes. Often the reason is that teachers don't understand coding. Exploring Robotics wants to change that by providing robots and curriculum, professional develop- ment and support for teachers that can be implemented in a classroom, Maker Space or after school program. Every Exploring Robotics package helps teach coding concepts or a CS language with a fun robot or invention kit. These help provide the foundation skills for stu- dents' future success: critical thinking, logic, reasoning and communication. One of the most successful ways to teach coding is with curriculum that is self-paced with videos providing the instruction and step-by-step directions. Teachers use project-based learning methods to facilitate the courses. Lessons incorporate NGSS, CSTA, CTE, MATH, ELA and other standards. Exploring Robotics offers a Pathway for K-12 with coding and robots in every grade. Scratch, Blockly, Basic, Python and C languages are learned with fun robots and invention kits. Making, coding and robot- ics is a fun way to learn and embrace the latest global trends and 21st century job skills. The future job market will be ever more reliant on internet, computer science and engineering skills. This fact under- scores the need for schools to offer STEM-rich courses. The Exploring Robotics' Mobile Robots and Internet of Things (IoT) Pathway for K-12 gives administrators and teachers all the tools and support to teach coding, inventing, engineering, IoT, robotics, drone naviga- tion and many other technologies. Teachers are a key part of any successful implementa- tion. Exploring Robotics pro- vides PD to help teachers get started (one-on-one via video conference), online self- paced curricula that makes it easy to teach, and the techni- cal support needed to ensure everything works with existing technolo- gy. They also set up affordable within-dis- trict robot competitions that help to engage families and the community in STEAM. With a robot or invention pro- gram for every grade K-12, students are better prepared for 21st century jobs and for college engineering, electronics, robotics or computer science programs. For more information, stop by booth #1662, visit www.exploringrobots.com or call 760.650.2687. MATIAS WIRELESS ALUMINUM KEYBOARD Matias is a Canadian keyboard manufac- turer with operations in the U.S.A. and Asia, and distributors around the world. Matias has been making keyboards for over 15 years, and is especially well known for its Mac-oriented keyboards. Matias started out making specialty keyboards for the assistive technology market (and still does, with its "Half Keyboard" and "Half-QWERTY 508 Keyboard"), but when the mechanical switch based Apple Extended Keyboard was discontinued, Matias had a new role to play – saving Mac mechanical key- board technology for those people who still wanted it – so it launched the Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard, and is still making it 13 years later. More recently, there has been anoth- er hole in the Mac keyboard market – this time involving slim aluminum key- boards. The normal offering is for either a wireless keyboard which does not have a number pad, or a wired full size keyboard with number pad. Matias has finally filled the gap with the launch of its Matias Wireless Aluminum Keyboard. The Matias Wireless Aluminum Keyboard is a full size wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard with number pad that allows you to pair with up to four devices (e.g., Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone, PC, etc.) at the same time and eas- ily switch between them, while having a rechargeable battery that lasts up to a year before needing recharging. The Matias Wireless Aluminum Keyboard is $99, and comes in four beautiful anodized aluminum colors: silver, space gray, gold and rose gold. With beauty, performance and extra functionality, Matias has created the key- board that should have been made before now. For more information, go to www.matias.ca or call 905.265.8844 or 888.663.4263. WITH DELTAMAKER 3D PRINTERS, ENGINEERING MEETS AESTHETICS WITHOUT COMPROMISE DeltaMaker manufactures high-quality 3D printers with features and performance that far exceed the capabilities of other desktop 3D printers on the market. The company, founded in 2013, is headquar- tered in Orlando, Florida where it also manufactures its printers. DeltaMaker re- envisioned the 3D printer with a tall, open design for easier viewing of the printed objects, all-metal construction for more reliable printing and full wireless control for greater ease of use. The company's goal is to introduce educators to a new type of 3D printer; one that is ideal for use in their classrooms, media centers and school makerspaces. The DeltaMaker 3D printer is a sturdy, highly reliable 3D printer, constructed from indus- trial-strength components to meet the demands of today's hands-on classroom environment. DeltaMaker 3D printers are manufactured from high-strength, aircraft- grade aluminum to ensure they provide years of reliable operation. Continued on Page 22