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EdTech Show Daily 1 9 Friday, January 26, 2018 Boxlight Committed to STEM Education To help busy educators start or expand their STEM (and STEAM) instruction, K-12 digital classroom technology experts at Boxlight have made available two free STEM resources: monthly STEM lessons and "The Big Guide to STEM." Now, instead of teachers having to add the challenge of coming up with new STEM lesson ideas to an already hectic work load, they can access the MimioConnect™ Interactive Teaching Community to have a steady stream of ready-made, well-thought-out, easy-to- execute lessons right at their fingertips. The monthly lessons are centered on the use of sensors and data loggers (such as those embedded within the Labdisc portable STEM lab) in order to facilitate modern science standards requirements of inquiry-based learning and the devel- opment of students' problem solving skills. Some of the interactive STEM les- sons also utilize technology such as doc- ument cameras and IWBs. The collection of activities ranges from elementary to high school and cover science areas for biology, chemistry, environmental and physical science. In addition, they incor- porate opportunities for knowledge checks and student collaboration. Available at no charge at news.mimio.boxlight.com/stem-guide, "The Big Guide to STEM" is a 30-page comprehensive PDF that explains why STEM is critical for today's students and shares several ways to harness STE(A)M learning's potential for promoting critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, col- laboration, inquiry and teamwork. Links throughout the guide give readers easy access to a host of resources and supple- mentary information. Additionally, the guide includes an at-a-glance infographic on the cur- rent state of STEM pro- fessions and a collection of top 10 STEM lists for a variety of topics including apps, tech products, software solutions, blogs and online communities, websites, events, funding and resources for girls. Several educators with first-hand knowledge of how to integrate STEM into the classroom participated in the development of "The Big Guide to STEM." And they bring that expertise in what resources and techniques work in real classrooms to this guide. Each has included contact information so that readers can ask for more information or ideas via Twitter or email. Those educa- tors are as follows: elementary school principal Kelly Bielefeld; teacher Kristy Nerstheimer; assistant high school prin- cipal Travis Rink; and award-win- ning high school science teacher Denise Scribner. B o x l i g h t ' s commitment to STEM education has been documented through it's recent honor in being named a finalist in the sixth annual Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-ED) STEM Education awards program. The company was a nominee in the Corporate Outreach category following the success- ful Boxlight STEM Day initiative it launched in 2016 and due to it recently becoming the convening agency for the Georgia Girls STEM Collaborative formed under the auspices of the National Girls Collaborative Project. For more information, go to www .boxlight.com or stop by booth #13. Troxell Provides End-to-End Solutions for K-12 & Higher Ed An interview with Mike Ruprich, Chief Executive Officer & President, Troxell Communications. ESD: Tell our readers about your compa- ny and how it has evolved over the past five years. MR: While we started in the AV space, along with a vast selection of leading products, we now offer complete solu- tions – including 1:1 learning, collabora- tive learning spaces, campus safety, school asset management and an array of programs and services such as robust device refresh and asset buyback pro- gram, integration, installation and profes- sional development/training. So, whether Troxell is updating a single room or standardizing an entire district, we ensure the best quality and most budget-friendly education technolo- gy solutions – backed by our astounding- ly good service and support. ESD: What would you say makes your company unique? MR: In essence, we are the nation's lead- ing end-to-end solution provider for edu- cation technology and collaborative solu- tions in K-12, higher ed, government and corporate. With 65 offices nationwide and growing, we combine large-scale purchasing power with the high-touch, consultative approach of a local special- ist. ESD: What do you see as trending in education technology in 2018 and how is Troxell addressing these trends? MR: In less than two decades, the inter- net has gone from fun to fundamental. Statistics show that about 2.5 billion peo- ple are connected to the internet today. Experts are even saying they expect there to be about 4 billion users by 2020. As a result, the global digital economy is growing at more than 10 percent a year – that's more than the economy as a whole. So, it's an increasingly important source of growth, and frequently, jobs. So, for educators, there can be no greater purpose than to prepare students for this fast-growing dig- ital revolution. For Troxell, we feel it is more important than ever to make educational technology solutions an indispensable part of the classroom of tomorrow, today. ESD: Tell us about what type of solu- tions Troxell is introducing to meet these challenges. MR: Well, the fast-changing digital economy will require students and teach- ers to be fluent in digital technologies and highly adaptable to fast-changing technology trends. The 1:1 learning envi- ronment lights a spark for students and teachers and puts them on the path to life- time learning and discovery using tech- nology. We are helping empower stu- dents and teachers with our complete and integrated 1:1 Learning Suite solutions – featuring a wide range of devices, periph- erals, management platforms and appli- cations, as well as flexible financing options, configuration services and more. As for preparing 21st century stu- dents for a global society, collaboration is an essential skill for students. Collaborative learning spaces enable students to work in groups to solve problems, discuss ideas and experiment with different approaches. Furniture becomes modular and movable, audio-visual equipment can 'pop up' as needed and STEM gear invites discovery and learning. Making classrooms more col- laborative is just another of our solutions. We provide expert guidance to our cus- tomers, helping them create collaborative learning spaces needed to meet federal mandates and develop future leaders. ESD: What is the outlook for Troxell in 2018? MR: We will continue to build deep root- ed relationships with our customers, strive to understand current market needs and technological trends, and provide end-to-end solutions for K-12 and higher ed, all with the end goal of providing best-in-class solutions and products to engage the curious mind. For more information, go to www.troxell solutions.com, call 855.TROXELL or stop by booth #535. exteriors. Cue immediately hooks middle schoolers with its four different avatars – Charge, Zest, Smirk and Pep. With what we call "emotive AI," each avatar has a unique personality with different likes, dislikes and behaviors. Cue can tell inter- active stories, sing rock ballads, recite poetry and tell very witty jokes. Plus, Cue's enriched recording capabilities, sensor sensitivity and memory capacity draw students deeper into the possibili- ties of robotics. The completely new soft- ware allows Cue to be programmed using visual block icons, state machine com- mands or text-based code – we like to say Cue is multilingual! ESD: What kind of coding and robotics background does one need to use Cue? DS: None at all. Cue can be programmed by 'newbies' and experts alike. For those students new to coding, they can gain prac- tice with the in-app demo programs and coding adventure stories, which can help them get up to speed on the basics. For those ready for a bit of a challenge, they can delve into the sandbox experience of tog- gling between block-based coding to text- based coding; a great introduction to writ- ing in JavaScript. The creative possibilities are endless with the state machine inter- face; consider it fingerpainting with code. ESD: How does Cue take robotics to the next level when it comes to computer sci- ence? DS: Cue has extensive robotics capabili- ties within its two different programming environments. Download the Cue app for free. Then with Create, you can use a node-based interface that lets you control the flow of your program with a system of linked icons. Create lets you program Cue very precisely based on the sensor data that its constantly reading, and Cue can perform multiple commands simulta- Wonder Workshop (Cont'd. from p. 1) neously. With Code, built off of Microsoft's MakeCode platform, you can program Cue using block-based code or text-based JavaScript. Simply drag and connect the blocks together and then tog- gle over to text mode; add some text and toggle back to the block-based code. This scaffolded experience guides students who are eager to learn JavaScript. ESD: What core skills does Cue help teach? DS: While students can begin to master physical coding and applied robotics skills, as with all of our CleverBots, Cue helps cement those fundamental skills that encourage lifelong learning: critical thinking, design thinking, problem-solv- ing, collaboration, growth mindset and digital citizenship. In this day and age, it's crucial that students understand the importance of technology. In addition to knowing how to use technology, students must also learn to create technology, apply technology and understand the social impacts of technology. ESD: What will teachers and students be surprised by? DS: The endless possibilities! Both you and your students will be captivated by Cue's witty personalities and then drawn into the depth and variety of experiences. Cue not only fits into tech centers, com- puter labs and makerspaces, but the everyday classroom! Take a cross-curric- ular approach when introducing Cue to your students. Enhance your daily teach- ing and students' daily learnings with this award-winning CleverBot. Find more resources for Cue (and Dash & Dot!) at education.makewonder.com, and follow us on our social channels for the best classroom practices from our community of educators worldwide. For more information, go to www.make wonder.com or stop by booth #543.