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• Strategies to motivate students in science

• Personalizing learning with makerspaces

• It’s OK for students to struggle—here’s why

• Using STEAM in storytelling

• Essentials for a school makerspace

• How to inspire girls to pursue STEM

• Why STEM and STEAM are critical for

the nation’s future

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Guides About eSN Guides

We are excited to bring you the latest in the eSchool News Guides series. eSchoolNews Guides are full of resources, tips, trends, and insights from industry experts on avariety of topics that are essential to the classroom, school, and district.The February Guide, the eSchool News STEM, STEAM, & Makerspaces Guide,

offers insight on the best approaches to STEM, STEAM, and makerspaces. The guide alsohighlights some resources and tools educators can use in the classroom to engage students,improve classroom climate, and create interactive classroom environments.In the guide, we take a look at how educators are implementing STEAM projects for very

young learners. Plus, we examine one school’s successful transition from STEM to STEAMlearning, and we learn some of the most-needed components for a successful makerspace.Have you dreamed of starting a makerspace in your school, but you’re not quite sure

where to start or what you might need in the space? Maybe you’re hoping to learn the bestway to introduce STEM across all disciplines, or perhaps you want to learn how to engagekey groups of students, including underrepresented groups like girls and minorities, inSTEM and STEAM learning. Or maybe you just want to know some facts about STEMeducation and where it’s going. In the eSchool News STEM, STEAM, & MakerspacesGuide, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular tools for classrooms.We highlight examples of how real educators are using STEAM learning and makerspaces

to personalize education and engage students with relevant learning challenges and topics.You also can find a complete list of STEM, STEAM, and makerspace partners and com-

panies in the guide.We’ll release a new guide at the beginning of each month, and we’ll feature content focused

around each guide’s topic throughout the month. Stay tuned for eSchool News Guides onlibrary media technology, online/blended learning, and more. Each guide also offers a compre-hensive index of all the companies involved in that month’s specific focus area.We hope you’ll share this eSchool News STEM, STEAM, & Makerspaces Guide

with your colleagues and use it to learn a bit more about how school leaders and educatorscan create engaging learning experiences for students.P.S. – If you missed any of our other Guides, such as the eSchool News Multimedia

Presentation Systems Guide or the eSchool News Digital & Mobile Learning Guide,you can find them here.

About eSchool News Guides

Contents

Thank you to our sponsors.We appreciate your support!

A look at the STEM landscapeSTEM, STEAM, and makerspaces–oh my! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

K-12 STEM/STEAM Trending NewsThis program is determined to support girls in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6How a productive struggle motivates students in math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Implementing STEAM projects in PreK and kindergarten classrooms . . . . . . . . . . .105 ways we’ve integrated STEAM education into storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11How our school transitioned from STEM to STEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

K-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Resources10 resources for STEM, STEAM, and makerspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

K-12 Makerspace Trending News8 questions to ask before creating a makerspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Using design thinking to support makerspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17The New Librarian: How I created a makerspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Company Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2020-2021 MONTHLY GUIDE EDITORIAL CALENDAR

March 2020 IT Solutions:Hardware & Management

April 2020 Online and Personal/Blended Learning

May 2020 Curriculum, SEL and Instructional Tools

June 2020 Library & MediaTechnology

July 2020 Wireless Products

August 2020 Data Management & Storage

September 2020 CommunicationTechnology

October 2020 Robotics

November 2020 Digital & MobileLearning

December 2020 School Safety

January 2021 MultimediaPresentation Systems

February 2021 STEM, STEAM, & Makerspaces

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Marketplace Update

A look at the STEM landscape

BY LAURA ASCIONEManaging Editor, Content Services

By now, we’ve all heard aboutSTEM, the acronym for science, tech-nology, engineering, and math educa-tion. Most people have heard ofSTEAM, which includes arts educationalong with STEM and allows studentsto be more creative in their explorationof more technical subjects.And it’s not a far leap to assume a lot

of educators are familiar with maker-spaces, which offer open-ended cre-ative spaces for students to explorethese concepts as they engage in proj-ect-based learning or attempt to solvereal-world challenges.But how are these three things impact-

ing classrooms and the students in them?STEM and STEAMWhen students engage in STEM and

STEAM learning, they’re buildingskills that will make them more mar-ketable as employees in an economythat increasingly demands STEM profi-ciency.Many of the jobs today’s students

will have don’t presently exist, but mostindustry leaders agree that these futurejobs will require STEM skills and theability to work collaboratively in aSTEM-focused workforce.Research says the earlier students

engage in STEM, the better–a 2019Brainly study notes that 84 percent ofpeople in a survey say they believe aneducational background in STEM makessomeone more hireable, and 76 percentsay people with STEM backgrounds earnhigher salaries than those with traditionaleducational backgrounds.Sixty-three percent of people in the

same survey say they prefer STEAMlearning methods over STEM learningmethods.The group 100Kin10, which works

to address the nation’s STEM teachershortage by training and supporting newSTEM teachers, emphasizes supportingstudents–especially students of color–by recruiting and supporting STEMteachers of color.The nation still struggles to meet the

need for teacher diversity, according to anew report from 100Kin10 that looks at2019 STEM trends and 2020 STEM pre-dictions. People of color represent 50 per-cent of students in the U.S., but less than20 percent of teachers–and abundantresearch shows that students are morelikely to pursue STEM education andcareer paths when they see themselves intheir teachers and industry experts.And STEM doesn’t just mean sci-

ence and math, though many tend tofocus on those two components. The“T” for technology is equally important.“Technology used to mean getting

hardware into schools, but as digital

tools have proliferated in classrooms,there is increased understanding thatstudents (and teachers!) need to movebeyond being consumers of technolo-gy,” according to the 100Kin10 report.“As daily activities at work and in per-sonal life are increasingly driven bytech, students need not only hard andsoft skills in technology, but also digitalliteracy and technological competency.”Spotlight on a STEAMlearning centerLast fall, the Groton Central School

District (GCSD) in rural New Yorkopened its new STEAM learning center.The $4.8 million center is a renovat-

ed 8,000-square-foot STEAM lab andshared-learning space. Ashley McGrawArchitects merged the district’s curricu-lum with the overarching concept usingform, light, and materials to create amodern learning environment whereboth teachers and students feel valued,focused, and inquisitive.According to 2017-2018 New York

State Education Department school

STEM, STEAM, and makerspaces–oh my!Learn how three increasingly important components of a 21st-century education—STEM, STEAM, and makerspaces—are helping students get a leg up on global competition

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Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Marketplace Update

report card data, less than 30 percent ofGroton students in 7th and 8th grade wereproficient in English, math, or science.The multi-purpose STEAM space

includes a photo, video, and music edit-ing studio and will be used for a varietyof educational programs that are indus-try-aligned, including: Building Trades,Computer Science, Engineering &Electronics, Agriculture Technology,and Communications & Media Arts.GCSD Superintendent Margo Martin

has gathered data, including Googlesurveys and social and emotional learn-ing evaluations, which measured howstudents feel about themselves as learn-ers. And teachers who are part of theSTEAM program have reported seeing“completely different students,” as

compared to the same students in thegeneral education courses.“This STEAM lab is poised to

become a regenerative project for us,”said Catherine Wolfe, a senior interiordesigner at Ashley McGraw. “And bythat, we mean that we expect the centerwill work toward helping studentsdevelop new skills and also help restorethe fabric of the surrounding communi-ty on environmental, social, and eco-nomic levels.” Community organiza-tions in the small town of 5,950 resi-dents have rallied around the redesignedspace as they recognize it has the possi-bility to become an economic engine.Maker educationMaker education and makerspaces

help students become more aware ofchallenges around them, and maker edu-

cation also helps students become moreequipped to tackle those challenges andchange the world for the better.Makerspaces give students open-

ended, interactive experiences that givestudents freedom to explore creationand solutions to various problems. It isoften cross-curricular, bringing in vari-ous core subjects and helping studentsbuild strong soft skills, or employabilityskills, such as creativity, critical think-ing, and collaboration.An important thing to remember

about a makerspace is that it does notnecessarily need technology to exist andto help students learn. Many maker-spaces offer tools such as robotics,while others feature popsicle sticks,LEGOs, fabric, and tape or glue. The

important thing is student-guided explo-ration.Vermont’s St. Albans City School

has a dedicated makerspace open toall students from preK-8. In addition toclass assignments in the space, open labtime is also available on a first-come,first-serve basis. Students use this timefor school and personal projects wheretech might not be required but could addvalue. Although they miss class foropen lab, the teachers recognize thebenefits of letting students explore tech-nology to help them achieve their per-sonal and educational goals.“One of the biggest learning curves

for students coming into the maker-space has been realizing the amount oftime it takes to make anything, especial-ly when you’re doing it from conceptionto the prototyping and then trying to

actually get a finished product afterthat,” said Grace Borst, one of two inno-vation specialists at the school. “Butthis has also been what has hookedmany of our students. They come in tostart one project and they have one idea,but they stick around because they fig-ure out all of the other possibilities thatthey can use the makerspace for—andthey keep coming back.”Actionable strategies to help school

leaders and teachers start STEAM pro-grams in their own schools include:1. Policy makers and school admin-

istrators should align budgets with thedemands of the future of work, stu-dents’ interest, and the potential forhigher achievement.2. Librarians and media specialists

should have access to professionaldevelopment resources so they cansuccessfully lead innovation.3. Staff meetings and school calen-

dars should be designed in a way thatlets librarians to interact more fre-quently with teachers. This will letthem better integrate maker activitieswith curriculum and scale those activi-ties beyond the library space.4. Rethinking the design of school

libraries will allow STEM and makerintegration, collaboration between stu-dents, and opportunities for knowledgesharing.5. Aligning maker activities with

community causes gives students theopportunity to become more active citi-zens and make more meaningful con-nections between what they do and theneeds of the community.

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

BY BARBARA SCHREMP, BRANHAM HIGH SCHOOLINSTRUCTORFew girls choose engineering classes

because they aspire to be engineers.Many choose their classes because theirfriends do. The sense of belonging isimportant to them, and girls in STEMwant to feel as if they belong. WhenMarsha* was young, she had no plans tobe an engineer.As she entered high school, many of

her new friends joined the robotics clubthat met after school. Marsha initiallydecided to not join her friends.However, after a few weeks she startedto feel left out of the daily conversationthat usually revolved around roboticsand their after school meetings.Consequently, Marsha found herselfstarting to attend every robotics meetingin order to keep up with the conversa-tion and her new friends’ interests.Ironically, Marsha realized how

interesting engineering actually was,and eventually decided to join the com-petitive girl’s robotics team that year.With Marsha’s help and with the guid-ance of a female robotics mentor, theteam qualified for an all-girls roboticscompetition. Marsha’s love for engi-neering was set.When Marsha’s peers were selecting

electives for the following year, sheheard that the 2nd year of engineeringwould be a continuation of what she hadalready learned in the robotics club, andthe same female teacher was again therobotics mentor. Marsha continued inengineering her junior and senior year,and has now decided to major in com-puter science.Marsha’s story illustrates some of the

key components required to recruit and

retain girls in STEM: community, focuson soft skills like written and verbalcommunication as well as technicalskills, the appeal of problem solving inthe real world, and relatable mentors orrole models. These components are anintegral part of the FlexFactor pro-gram, and they are why I am a strongsupporter of the initiative for its appealto students like Marsha.I’ve been teaching our school’s jun-

ior and senior engineering classes forfive years, and this is our third year par-ticipating in the FlexFactor program.The 5-week program introduces stu-dents to an industry they might notknow about, and motivates them to pur-sue an education and career in engineer-ing and advanced manufacturing for thefuture.FlexFactor prepares students for a

career in these fields by challengingthem to work in teams to identify a real-world problem and a solution. It hasgreat appeal for me, because it helped myengineering classes learn a bit moreabout the business aspects of productdevelopment, and it also gave them anopportunity to practice their presentationskills in a formal setting. It supports mygoals to attract female students and retainunder-served populations in engineering.When assigning the teams, I give girlsthe choice of working in teams withother girls to support community build-ing that keeps them engaged.For many girls, the appeal of learn-

ing about technology for technology’ssake is not inspiring. These studentssearch for a career that has a deeperconnection to solving society’s prob-lems. FlexFactor highlights how tech-nology solves critical human problemstoday. The real-world focus inspires stu-

dents to connect STEM areas of studyand their compassion for others.In addition, written documentation

and verbal communication are criticalsoft skills for any engineer. FlexFactorallows students to practice their com-munication skills describing a technicalproduct. This balanced emphasis ontechnical knowledge and communica-tion skills helps develop talents notemphasized in a more typical engineer-ing class. High school girls with strongcommunication skills are encouragedby this aspect of engineering.In her senior year engineering class,

Marsha learned that group presentationsto a variety of audiences were requiredand a significant part of her grade.Because she had good speaking skills,this gave her confidence in her ability tosucceed. Her group was the top per-former in the FlexFactor program andwon a place to compete in the regionalcompetition representing her school.Students in the FlexFactor program

can take on different roles to learn howmarketing, finance, and manufacturingand design are all critical parts of acompany. For some, this is the firstglance at how areas of study like STEMcan be split into different job functionswithin a company.One of the most difficult parts of

recruiting and retaining under-servedpopulations is finding successful exam-ples of people in that career. As part ofthe FlexFactor program, Industry Day isa field trip to a local high-tech company.Our students toured Jabil’s Blue Sky

This program is determined to supportgirls in STEMOne educator uses the FlexFactor program to show girls and underrepresented student groups how theycan pursue STEM careers

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Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

Center, which displays some of theworld’s cutting-edge technologies andshowcases examples of automation,product design, intelligent digital sup-ply chains, the Internet of Things, andmore. On this trip, students interactedwith a diverse panel of younger employ-ees and met the workforce first hand.It is important for students to be able

to see themselves in their career choice.Knowing that people with similar back-grounds are succeeding in a variety ofSTEM disciplines encourages students toconsider it as a career. Marsha questionedone of the female engineers on the panelabout her aspirations to be in STEM. Shewanted to know the panelist’s choice of

major in college and how that enabled herto work as a critical part of a team in thisvery innovative environment.As an educator, I’m very excited to

be able to offer my students theFlexFactor program. I have seen thenumbers of the under-served popula-tions, particularly girls, in the programexpand as positive “word-of mouth”about my class and this programinspires the next group of students toexplore engineering.

*name changed to protect privacy

Barbara Schremp has been a mathand engineering teacher at BranhamHigh School in San Jose, CA, for over a

decade. Passionate about teaching mathas a gateway to STEM careers, she wasinstrumental in starting the engineeringprogram. Today the program has grownfrom 100 initial students to over 300 stu-dents. As a Robotics Club adviser,Barbara has supported the growth from15 initial members to over 50 students.She championed the addition of computerscience classes and now is also the advis-er for the Girls Who Code Club. Barbaragraduated from Cal Poly San LuisObispo with a degree in ElectricalEngineering and enjoyed her initialcareer in semiconductor marketing. Shewas also awarded Teacher of the Year for2016-2017.

BY BARBARA PAPEWhile parts of the education system

have incorporated tailored methods tokeep students engaged, mathematics isoften still taught in traditional, non-dif-ferentiated ways. For example, manymath lessons focus on teaching the onecorrect path to reach the one rightanswer to a problem. Memorizing for-mulas and drilling in the “proper”approach through repetition too oftentake precedence over conceptual under-standing and experiencing multiplestrategies, both of which are importantaccording to research.In school systems where a one-size-

fits-all approach continues to be thenorm, it’s no wonder many students areturned off by math and begin to believe,“I’m just not a math person.” In addition,being the “only” in higher level mathclasses—the only girl in advanced alge-bra, the only black or brown boy in APcalculus—can also limit students’ abilityto perform to their full potential.Stereotype threat can affect performanceon tests and lead to a sinking feeling thatthey do not belong in that math class.A growing body of research has

revealed the diversity of studentstrengths and challenges and a wide vari-ety of pathways there are to effectivelearning. Given the latest evidence, it isincreasingly clear that a cookie-cutterapproach to education does not regularlyengage many students and leaves behindfar too many disconnected learners.Incorporate productivestruggle and a sense ofbelonging to improve mathlearningHow can educators transform their

approach and teach math in a way thateffectively addresses learner variabili-ty? In recent edWeb webinars, DigitalPromise’s Learner Variability Projectexplored two important strategies forhelping every student meet high expecta-tions in math: enabling productive strug-gle and creating a sense of belonging.Both of these approaches allow studentsto actively participate in math learningand feel more connected to math.Productive struggleProductive struggle focuses on the

math journey instead of simply the des-

tination. It recognizes that there aremultiple ways to tackle a problem andviews mistakes as opportunities forlearning rather than failures. It encour-ages students to actively experimentand to participate in discussions abouthow to approach problems. All of thiscreates space for students to find theapproaches that are most effective forthem and engage in active learning.During our webinar on productive

struggle, middle school math teacherand former National Council forTeachers of Mathematics (NCTM)board member Kevin Dykemaexplained his philosophy on the topic:“The thinking goes, if you were good atmemorizing, you’d be good at math.And if not, you were told to work hard-er, pay more attention, do your home-work.” Instead, he proposes we empow-er students to truly understand math,

How a productive struggle motivates students in math

instead of simply becoming “rule mem-orizers.” To get there, Dykema said,“Students will be required to struggle,and I’ll need to help them discover howto struggle productively.”Dykema shared several strategies

that he has successfully used to help stu-dents become “schoolhouse” mathe-maticians, including error analysis,math talks, and worked examples.Our own expert advisors for DigitalPromise’s Learner Variability Projectsuggest that these and similar strategiescan effectively motivate students to pro-ductively struggle in math and gain adeeper understanding of the concepts.“At its core, mathematics is problem

solving, and solving problems involvesuncertainty and struggle at times,” saidDr. Bethany Rittle-Johnson, Anita S.and Antonio M. Gotto Chair in ChildDevelopment and professor of psychol-ogy and human development atPeabody College, Vanderbilt University.“Students need to search for appropriatesolution strategies and flexibly chooseamong multiple strategies for solving aparticular problem.” She added that“having students compare and discussmultiple strategies with their peers isone effective form of productive strug-gle, which leads to greater flexibilityand understanding.”BelongingHow can we make students feel like

they belong in the math classroom? Dr.Jamaal Matthews, a former mathteacher turned researcher and professorat Montclair State University, recom-mends that teachers elicit informationfrom their students on the “4 Hs” tobuild student-centered instruction:home, hobbies, hopes, and heritage. Bypersonalizing learning to incorporatethese four elements of students’ lives,teachers can help students feel like theyare just as much a “math person” asanyone else.During our webinar on belonging,

Dr. Matthews discussed the importanceof expanding how we think about creat-ing a sense of belonging in the class-room. Many teachers have been trained

to think of belonging as only a productof classroom culture and student socialrelationships, that ultimately studentshave to learn to negotiate and navigate.However, Dr. Matthews’s researchhighlights how belonging extends to theinstructional choices and curricula usedby teachers, a theme that often comesup in research on culturally responsivepedagogy. What you teach and how youteach it plays a strong role in whetherstudents feel like they belong, particu-larly in math classrooms.“Teachers may understand the

importance of belonging for buildingpositive relationships with students orcomfortable class communities,”explained Dr. Matthews. “However,many may not recognize the power theyhave to promote belonging throughinstructional choices, what we callbelonging-centered instruction, whichgives students the opportunity to seethemselves reflected in the content theyare learning.”When students don’t feel a sense of

belonging, this may create opportunitiesfor disengagement from the material oreven for them to “act out” in class.Many webinar participants shared thatthey had not previously considered theconnection between belonging andbehavioral issues, motivation, andengagement. As one webinar participantwrote, quoting Dr. Matthews:“Disruptive, distracted, or disengagedbehaviors can be indicators of lack ofbelonging not just behavior problems.A-ha!”Tips for promoting mathengagementProductive struggle and belonging

represent two factors, supported byresearch, that help students more active-ly engage in math learning by teachingto the whole child. Both approachesemphasize the importance of contextand communication. As students partic-ipate in productive struggle, they haveopportunities to discuss and analyzewhat they’re doing and identify theapproaches that work best for them. It’salso important that they are presented

with content that speaks to their identi-ties and cultural contexts and makesthem feel like they belong in the mathclassroom.Dykema and Matthews concur that

establishing authentic relationships withtheir students is an essential first stepfor educators and both take the time toget to know and understand their stu-dents. Matthews studies the use of mathinterest interviews to help personalizethe math experience. These interviewsask learners to consider how math playsout in their family, hobbies, entertain-ment, workplace, and daily lives.Teachers can use these insights to createbelonging-centered curricula andinstructional strategies, such as wordproblems that relate math to students’lives outside the classroom. This strate-gy may be useful for any student, butparticularly students of color, who maynot see themselves represented in thatspecific class or even the school.“Both ‘productive struggle’ and

‘belonging’ urge us to go beyond sugar-coating or watering down math to makeit more palatable to students,” says Dr.Jeremy Roschelle, executive director oflearning sciences research at DigitalPromise. “The real rewards of mathe-matics are connected to feelings ofinsight and power that are achievedthrough working hard at a challenge;further, by sincerely caring about andrespecting what each student uniquelybrings to a challenge (and not just rightor wrong answers), we can cultivatetheir mathematical identity.”Explore these topics and strategies in

the Learner Variability Project’sNavigator web app by clicking onModels and selecting a grade range. Youcan also learn more about learner vari-ability as a part of Powerful Learningexperiences.[Editor’s note: This post originally

appeared online on the Digital Promiseblog, and is reposted here with permission.]

Barbara Pape is the communicationsdirector for Digital Promise’s LearnerVariability Project.

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

By RobotLAB

In a rapidly changing world, education should be constantly developing. Educa-tion needs to catch up with new ways of teaching, and moreover, it needs to learn to keep pace with new ways of learning.

Virtual reality can be used to enhance student learning and engagement. VR education can transform the way educa-tional content is delivered; it works on the premise of creating a virtual world — real or imagined — and allows users not only see it but also interact with it. Being im-mersed in what you’re learning motivates you to fully understand it. It’ll require less cognitive load to process the information.

RobotLAB has proudly partnered with Google Expeditions. These are some of the ways that using RobotLAB’s VR

and your school.

Minimal Setup For Maximum Engagement

It’s never been easier to take your students on an adventure of a lifetime in VR or AR. Hundreds of adventures for the classroomExpeditions explore history, science, the arts, and the natural world. Whether you’re roaming with dinosaurs or taking a look at Renaissance sculptures, there’s something amazing to explore for every

How Virtual Reality Is Changing The Way We Learn And Teach In EducationLearn what virtual reality is, how it is changing education,and how you can implement it at your school.

Unique Experiences Within Reach

The Expeditions app and Cardboard viewer and Cardboard Camera were built to bring immersive experiences to as many schools as possible.

Inspiring students’ creativity and imagination

By helping your students visualize infor-mation in a new way, you can positively impact their ability to retain information.

Create Your Own VirtualAdventures

With Tour Creator, teachers can build

create their own immersive tours. You can create a virtual reality tour using your own 360° or 180° photos or images from Street View directly in the browser

“The most frequent comment [from stu-dents] was that it was the best thing they

well. They were amazed at the things they could do and the places they could see.”

Michelle Guzman, Dartmouth Middle School

Lori Thompson began using the Ro-botLAB VR kit after searching for new technologies to engage her students in the

kits last school year. I did some research and found RobotLab’s kit to be the most economical” she said.

What she loves most about the kit, is the excitement that it brings for her students as they are learning. “I have used these

levels- and all ages of students (and teachers) get excited. I think the students like using technology and they like to be immersed in what it is they are studying”

The educational impact that Lori has noticed is that this technology allows students to go places they may never visit. “It is very engaging and it gets kids talking. They get excited about what they see and they want to share that with others”

Lori Believe that this kit has impacted the entire district. Students in all buildings of the school have been invited to use the de-vices. So far, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders have used them!

It’s here! With the virtual reality pack powered by RobotLAB, teachers can take

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

Implementing STEAM projects in PreKand kindergarten classroomsYoung students can be some of the most enthusiastic STEAM learners—here's how to incorporate engaging STEAM projects into early grades

BY ROBERT LOWPreparing young children for jobs that

haven’t been invented yet may sound likea difficult task for educators, but a recentedWebinar showed how preK and kinder-garten teachers can start developing theskills needed for future careers.Marnie Forestieri, the CEO of Young

Innovators, and Debby Mitchell, Ed.D., aYoung Innovators curriculum writer,explained the process for creating lessonplans that include projects introducingscience, technology, engineering, arts and

math (STEAM), noting that “STEAMhappens naturally in young children asthey explore and investigate the worldaround them.”Among the skills that can be devel-

oped and enhanced in preK and kinder-garten classes are four that have beenidentified as critical to the success of 21stcentury workers: creativity, communica-tion, collaboration, and critical thinking.These can all be integrated into STEAM-related projects, along with other keyskills such as analyzing information.

Creating an optimal STEAMlesson plan

Rather than teaching individual sub-jects in isolation as part of a STEAMproject, Forestieri and Mitchell recom-mend integrating activities to optimizelearning. This type of learning processis also aligned with real-world 21st cen-tury jobs, which are usually interdisci-plinary and rarely require just one skill.The way this can be done in a preK

or kindergarten class is through a lesson

plan and related project that includes allfive STEAM elements:Science: Studying the world around usTechnology: Using tools to learn andworkEngineering: Designing and buildingthingsArts: Making things attractive andengagingMath:Measuring things and resultsTo accomplish all this, STEAM les-

son plans need to start with a clear goal,such as acquiring knowledge about a

specific scientific topic. The planshould then include vocabulary devel-opment, the preparation and use of anymaterials, step-by-step instructions, andguiding questions that will promptyoung learners to investigate, forecast,and analyze results.Implementing a STEAMlesson plan effectivelyEspecially for young students, one key

aspect of the process is learning the relat-ed content-area vocabulary, which shouldbe supported by clear definitions as wellas the use of illustrations wherever possi-ble. In addition, the teacher needs tomodel the use of everyday languagerelated to the project, so students learn to“talk like engineers” rather than justlearning what individual words mean.Another important aspect is the use

of questioning strategies by the teacher,so the students are encouraged toobserve, discuss, predict, experiment,and reach evidence-based conclusions.Questions can also be used to promptstudents to do research and findanswers in books and videos, as well ason safe web sites.Meanwhile, the students need to par-

ticipate in hands-on activities and usetheir own senses as much as possible, inorder to make the learning processengaging and meaningful. The introduc-tion of STEAM careers should also bepart of the lesson plan through play-based intentional experiences. This caninclude dress-up activities, and can besupplemented by field trips or class-room visits. Making careers known toyoung children in this way can stimulatetheir interest and provide direction foradditional learning.Throughout the process, the teacher

should be documenting the learning that

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Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

takes place, using handwritten notes, acomputer or iPad, or photos or videos,as well as the students’ own work. Thisshould include things such as forecastsand predictions, so the students andteacher can then compare the results towhat was originally expected.As the STEAM project reaches its

conclusion, Forestieri and Mitchell rec-ommend using music and movement tohelp celebrate what has been accom-plished, because that can help studentsremember and integrate what they havelearned. It also continues the process ofintegrating the arts into the project andturning STEM into STEAM.About the presentersMarnie Forestieri, BS and CDA, is

the CEO and founder of YoungInnovators. She has been a preschool

teacher, director, writer and entrepre-neur in the early childhood field. She ispassionate about bringing solutions tothe current challenges of the industry.Dr. Debby Mitchell, EdD, is a cur-

riculum writer for Young Innovators.She recently retired from teaching in theCollege of Education at University ofCentral Florida. Her doctorate is inphysical education with a focus on earlychildhood. Her expertise and interestsinclude: STEAM, brain research, devel-opmentally appropriate movementactivities and music, dance andrhythms, children’s wellness, obesityand integrating technology into the cur-riculum.Join the communityClassroom Management for Early

Learning is a free professional learning

community on edWeb.net that helpsearly childhood educators shareresources, tools, best practices and moreto help them create healthy, creative andhappy learning environments that sup-port early learning and child develop-ment.This broadcast was sponsored by

Kaplan Early Learning Company.The recording of the edWebinar can beviewed by anyone here.

Robert Low has worked in education-al publishing for more than 30 years. Hisexperience ranges from editing and prod-uct management to online advertisingand content development. He also workswith edWeb.net to write articles on theirprofessional learning edWebinars.

BY CATE HEROMANWhen you think of a museum, the

image that comes to mind is keeping yourhands at your sides and looking at arti-facts. That isn’t what the Knock KnockChildren’s Museum is about. With a tar-get audience of birth through third grade,we encourage kids to learn through playabout a variety of topics using moderntechnology in combination with belovedstories—both old and new.Fourteen years of research went into

developing exhibits that involve learn-ing through play before the museumopened in August of 2017. STEAMeducation (science, technology, engi-neering, arts and mathematics) has blos-somed even more since we openedalmost two years ago, but we didn’t

want to sacrifice creativity and literacy.STEAM education is integrated in

every single learning zone throughoutthe museum, just as it is everywhere inlife. For example, in the Art Gardenchildren may be creating squishy cir-cuits with Play-Doh to make things lightup or buzz. In the Knock Knock MakerShop they may be building ScribblingMachines using motors and batteriesand are challenged to create a contrap-tion that moves across the page andleave a mark in its path. And in Go GoGarage, they may be designing carswith LEGOs, testing them on inclinedrace tracks, and then making adjust-ments so they can go faster.At the museum, we mesh storytelling

with technology by teaching children as

young as three how to program robotsand use other tech tools that help themcreate a narrative. We offer a variety ofrobots to meet the developmental needsof our visitors. If there’s a story behinda concept, kids get it. They listen to sto-ries every day. Logic comes easily whenthere are characters, a conflict, and aresolution. Here are a few ways we’veintegrated storytelling into teachingSTEAM education topics.Robots meet RapunzelYoung learners are more likely to

successfully engage in a new concept if

5 ways we’ve integrated STEAM educationinto storytellingOnce upon a time, there was a robot: Here’s how an early childhood consultant uses storytelling tointroduce children to robots, electricity, and otherSTEAM education topics

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

it’s tied into something they are alreadyfamiliar with. For our “Fairy Tale Tech”experience at the Baton Rouge MiniMaker Faire, children’s favorite fairy-tale came to life when we invited themto create their own characters usingopen-ended craft materials and card-board tubes. They attached their fairy-tale characters to one of our KIBOrobots and taught them how to programthe robot to move, shake, dance, andsing. They could also take their charac-ter to a stop-motion animation station,to create a short movie of their story.At the museum, children and adults

were fascinated using the Watercolor Bot.They drew a character or scene with theirfingers on the iPad. When done, they senttheir image to the Watercolor Bot—an artrobot that moves a paint brush to painttheir digital artwork onto paper using aset of watercolor paints.Making, tinkering, andengineering challengesinspired by storiesEarly literacy and STEAM go hand-

in-hand. Children’s books, especiallyfairy tales, provide a wonderful spring-board to launch design experiences.Using the problems characters face inthe stories is the best place to start.Whether you are building a sturdy chairfor the baby bear in Goldilocks and theThree Bears or a house that can with-stand strong wind in The Three LittlePigs, the possibilities are endless.During our Cardboard Challenge

month at the museum, one storyline weused revolved around the story ofRapunzel. In the story, she was tired ofpeople crawling up her braid, and sheneeded help. The children engineered acardboard castle and tower completewith a pulley system made from stringto get food and supplies up in the tower.For another story, children built a

troll-proof bridge for Three Billy Goats

Gruff. After designing and creating theirprops, children can retell a story in theirown words, or make up new parts of astory. When children retell stories, theyextend their learning and strengthentheir comprehension skills.Interactive digitalstoryboardsAt Knock Knock, we often collabo-

rate with Louisiana State University tointroduce children to new technologies.For example, children love exploringthe interactive digital storyboards creat-ed by Hye Yeon Nam from LSU’sDigital Arts Department. They’d createspecial puppets made from gloves thathad copper tape on the finger tips. Whenthey’d touch different parts of thescenery on the storyboard, they couldrecord their voice telling a story. Whenthey walked their hands across theboard, children could hear the storybeing played out across the board. Theycould use their imaginations to re-record new scenarios or endings to thestories. Integrating technology and theexploration of conductive materialswith storytelling added a new dimen-sion to a simple storytelling experience.PuppetryThe museum also holds puppetry

camps where children make a variety ofpuppets, including marionettes. It takesa lot of engineering and problem-solv-ing to craft, but children become deeplyengaged in exploring motion by movingthe strings of the marionette. We alsoinvite local puppetry artists to teachchildren how to make Muppet-like char-acters and put on puppet shows, but it’sno ordinary puppet show. We use greenscreens to display our story setting.Using technology in congruence withinteractive storytelling enriches notonly the puppeteer’s experience, but theviewer’s experience.

From the museum to theclassroom

When school groups come to themuseum and take part in these STEAMand storytelling activities, teachers areinspired to extend the experiences backto the classroom. They’ve seen theactivities in action, and we encouragethem to integrate STEAM topics intoactivities they’re already doing.Professional development is critical

for teachers, especially since manyteachers lack confidence in STEAMcontent areas. The museum offers a full-day session for teachers on making andtinkering. Our goal is to help teachersembrace a mindset for making and tin-kering through engaging, playful hands-on experiences. We investigate how tin-kering and making experiences supportfundamental STEAM thinking andlearning for young children using widevariety of activities and new tools. And,we show teachers how to integrate mak-ing and tinkering experiences into liter-acy and their existing curriculum.To me, integrating the arts, technolo-

gy and hands-on opportunities into edu-cation just makes sense. As childrenthink with their hands and representtheir thinking through the arts, they canmake sense of science, technology andengineering. When we add charactersinto their work, it becomes personal andmeaningful for each child.

Cate Heroman, a former teacher andstate early childhood/elementary admin-istrator, retired from Teaching Strategiesin 2012. She’s the author of Making andTinkering with STEM: Solving DesignChallenges for Young Children, andvolunteers as education chair and pastboard chair for the Knock KnockChildren’s Museum in Baton Rouge,Louisiana.

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Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

BY ALANA DAVISImagine this: You’re a teacher at a

school that’s been on board with STEMsince the first little whispers about how itcan provide unique learning experiencescentered on 21st-century skills. You andthe other teachers at your school encour-age students to stretch their critical think-ing skills and complete projects, but aftera couple of years, the STEM programhas lost its zest. It needs to grow and towork better for staff and students–but noone is quite sure what would add thatextra spark.That’s what led us to infuse arts into

our science, technology, engineeringand math program. A little more thanthree years ago, our new principal madethe decision to transition our schoolfrom STEM to STEAM.We knew the “A” in STEAM was

important for our students. When wedid STEM lessons and activities, wefound some kids felt blocked off cre-atively and felt that inspiration was hardto come by. When we added the “A”and transitioned from STEM toSTEAM, things changed. We startedteaching the arts standards alongsideother content standards, and we foundour spark.Shy and quiet students came to the

front of the class with their creativity.Teachers who felt stuck in the STEMbox came alive with new ideas to inte-grate different art modalities. The “A”allows teachers to give students a differ-ent learning experience. We thought toourselves: An artist goes through thesame design process as an engineer, sowhy not open up this channel for stu-

dents? We found that adding the “A”and transitioning from STEM toSTEAM created interdisciplinary learn-ing that facilitates content mastery andlends itself to whole child teaching.I discovered over time that STEM

learning was a way “in” with our elemen-tary school children. They light up whenwe pose a problem or challenge thatrequires them to work together to solveproblems using STEM skills, and you cansee it on their faces when they walk intothe STEAM Lab each day. Through theseactivities, they start to understand thatany future is possible for them, regardlessof what’s going on at home.This transition from STEM to

STEAM was a little nerve-wracking forsome of our teachers. How would theyintegrate arts into the curriculum? Manyschools across the nation are makingthis transition now, and it can be scaryfor them, too–but it doesn’t have to be.By integrating technology that teach-

ers are already familiar with, and usingthat technology as the vehicle for learn-ing, teachers can become comfortablewith the uncomfortable. As the innova-tion specialist, I get to play an importantrole for teachers providing the supportthey need to try new things in their

classrooms and use technology effec-tively with students.To begin, I modeled and coached

teachers on effective STEAM integra-tion strategies, including how to use aquick visual thinking strategy–an artsintegration strategy with famous piecesof artwork, like a Jackson Pollock paint-ing, when beginning a science lesson ormath lesson. This quick strategy asksstudents to look at a piece of artwork.The teacher asks what they notice, suchas colors, shapes, and technique, andmakes connection between the artworkand the science content standards.It might sound something like this:

“How do you think Jackson Pollockmade this painting? What type of forceor motion would he have to use in orderto create this artwork?” This integrationstrategy is just one example of how ourteachers teach art standards alongsidescience or math standards during les-sons throughout the week.A big part of the new spark in our

STEAM program has come from intro-ducing coding and programming. Iwork with teachers to help them feelcomfortable with that technology.For instance, we use Sphero robots,

which are app-enabled programmable

How our school transitioned from STEM to STEAMLearn how this district saw great success as itmoved from STEM toSTEAM and discover howyours can do the same

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GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM Trending News

robots that allow students to learn basiccoding language using commands suchas drive and draw. In addition, studentscan run programs using block coding andHTML text. All of this learning happensthrough the Sphero Edu app, which letsstudents and teachers connect, code, and

learn from others around the world. Thisrobot has allowed my teachers to inte-grate technology into content standardsfor other subjects and has increased stu-dent engagement and student interest incoding and programming.To assist this process, I created an

anchor chart for the classroom wall.Students can refer to it while they’relearning how to create block coding pro-grams, which tell the robot what to do.Imagine a classroom of 8- and 9-year-olds, huddled on the floor with a diagramof the water cycle, figuring out, withcoding commands, how to get a paint-dipped robot to follow the path of thatdiagram. When they succeed, the robotmakes colorful trails along the floor.Currently, I am working with a group

of three teachers to integrate Xinaboxmodular electronics that use weathersensors. Working with high school engi-

neering students next fall, our studentsin advanced 4th and 5th grade classeswill launch a weather station satelliteinto Low Earth Orbit to gather data onregional microclimates.We’ve also created partnerships that

bring STEAM career professionals into

our school to talk with students and helpthem envision their futures. Sometimesthose partnerships can lead to evenmore: Our partnership with the GeorgiaSpace Grant Consortium fromGeorgia Tech connected me with theHines Family Foundation, whichdonated weather kits and to us andtrained teachers on how to use them.Nonprofits and community centers

like this exist in just about every stateand region. Seek them out and explorehow you can work together.So, what’s it all for? The transition

from STEM to STEAM at our school hasdramatically improved student outcomes.On days when the entire school is

engaged in STEAM, attendance goes upand behavior referrals go down. Thispast year, there was significant growthin every area of our science test scores,the first year ever that there were

increases in every science domain. Wealso have seen more students attendingmagnet high schools after graduation.We’ve won state technology and digitalcompetitions using programmablerobots and 3D printing designs. And thetransiency rate dropped–more students

are staying at our school instead ofwithdrawing to go elsewhere.We think families in our community

see the value in the creative, cross-sub-ject work we’re doing.We are pushing our students further

each year, and our STEAM culture stillhas room to grow.

Alana Davis is the innovation spe-cialist at Mableton Elementary Schoolin Cobb County, Ga. In 2017, she wasthe Georgia Elementary ScienceTeacher of the Year and has beeninvolved in the CCSD Teacher LeaderAcademy and several STEAMInnovation Academies. In 2019, she wasnamed a Sphero Hero, which recognizespioneer teachers who use Sphero app-enabled robots and other educationaltools to transform teaching and learn-ing in their classrooms and beyond.

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Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Resources

BY LAURA ASCIONEManaging Editor, Content Services

It’s easy enough to decide to focusmore on a specific topic or skill, such asSTEM, in the classroom, but it’s some-times more difficult to find tools andresources to support that skill.Teachers have limited time, and it’s

often a challenge to search for and eval-uate the tools and resources found insearch results or blog posts.Here, we’ve gathered some

resources and tools focusing on STEM,STEAM, and makerspaces. Some maybe familiar to you, while others may benew to you–but we hope they all inspireyou to explore STEM or STEAM inyour classroom.1. STEM Like a Girl knows that

girls can’t become excited about some-thing if they aren’t exposed to it. Thisresouce-rich site emphasizes the criticalrole parents and other caregivers, aswell as positive female mentors, play inhelping girls grow their interest inSTEM. Resources include workshops,at-home activities, and links to other topSTEM education tools.2. Makey Makey works through

opening and closing circuits, just likeany other button. Instead of the circuitbeing closed underneath your keyboard,the circuit is closed through the conduc-tive objects you connect with alligatorclips, like your hand or your lunch orsome tinfoil. When the circuit is closed,the Makey Makey sends a command toyour computer, just like a buttonpressed on a keyboard. Educators willfind a teacher’s guide and sample lessonplans online as well.3. RobotLAB’s offerings include the

NAO Robot and tools that focus on cod-ing, engineering, virtual reality, andmakerspaces. RobotLAB’s OnlineLearning Platform is an interactive andhands-on learning experience organizedby eye-catching themes (such as soccer-

playing robots or autonomous cars).Students and teachers can access thebrowser-based learning ecosystem fromany device. RobotLAB’s STEM Labfeatures resources such as courses andlessons, apps, for different products,including an autonomous car, Ozobot,Sphero, 3D printers, and more.Educators also can search for lessonsfor any subject, age group, or robot–orthey can create their own lessons.4. MakerBot’s 3D printers help edu-

cators advance STEM education and helpstudents bring ideas and projects to life.The Replicator+ 3D printer comes withan educator’s guidebook and a MakerBotcertification program for teachers.MakerBot’s Thingiverse Education pro-vides over a hundred free lessons thatmake teaching with a 3D printer easierand more effective for a variety of gradelevels and subjects. It also provides acommunity where educators canexchange best practices or remix projects.5. Teach Engineering offers NGSS-

aligned STEM curriculum for elementarythrough high schools. Some of the mostpopular curricular units, lessons, activi-ties, and challenges include “PotatoPower,” creating an electromagnet, build-ing roller coasters, and designing bridges.6. Project Noah is a global citizen

science platform used to help peopleconnect with the natural world and iden-tify and learn about wildlife. ProjectNoah enables amateurs and profession-als alike to create and share multimedianature journals. On the site, educatorswill find project missions to completewith students.7. Kid Weather App is a true weather

app for kids designed by a 6 year old boy(and his meteorologist dad). The interac-tive app is power-packed with real-timeweather conditions, forecasts, science,and fun facts about the weather. It’sdesigned with STEM in mind to makeparents and teachers happy as well.

8. Maker Ed provides insight,resources, and professional learning inorder to ensure maker education is trans-formational for students and teachers,meeting the real-world learning needs ofstudents and focusing on student agency.9. Dr. Universe is here to answer

questions. Dr. Wendy Sue Universe is avery smart cat who investigates toughquestions from curious elementary andmiddle school students. Based out ofWashington State University, Dr.Universe teams up with professors,researchers, and experts in the field, totackle big questions like: What is fire?Why does soda fizz? Why is the oceansalty? Why is liquid nitrogen so cold?10. Girl Powered is supported by

Google, and was launched by TheRobotics Education & CompetitionFoundation and VEX Robotics. It iscommitted to showing how exciting it isto be involved with STEM, showcasingexamples of how women are changingthe world, providing tools for success,and enabling comfortable environmentswhere all students confidence and abili-ties can flourish. These real-life exam-ples and hands-on opportunities can helpmotivate more girls in STEM education. 11. Kid Spark Education’s hands-on,

easy-to-teach STEM program for kidswill prepare your elementary and middleschool students for a lifetime of interest inscience and technology. The program isso much more than a STEM kit thatteaches just one or two concepts—weprovide you with a comprehensive preK-8 STEM curriculum, teacher training, androbust and reusable Mobile STEM Labsthat encourage collaboration, creativity,and problem-solving.

11 resources for STEM,STEAM, and makerspaces

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GuidesK-12 Makerspace Trending News

BY DIANA FINGALYou wouldn’t just randomly choose a

tool from your toolbox and feel confi-dent it was the right one to cut a boardor attach a hinge. Same goes for aschool makerspace.Like everything in ed tech, it’s not

enough to have a bunch of shiny gadgetsin your makerspace. You need to have theright materials to meet your goals.Vinnie Vrotny, director of technolo-

gy at The Kinkaid School in Houston,Texas, understands how tempting it is tofill a space with the latest devices. Butbefore you do, here are eight questionsyou should ask to determine if you’rechoosing wisely.Important questions for yourmakerspace creation1. What is the experience you’re

trying to create?In other words, what is the purpose

of the makerspace? If you’re unclearabout what you want students to be ableto do when they leave the space, you’restarting off on the wrong foot. Makermagic lies in the disposition rather thana specific task or skill. Do you want stu-dents to be creative and take risks? Theoptions are many, but they need to bepart of the planning.2. What are the learning goals and

outcomes you want to achieve in thisspace?The learning goals must be tied to

the makerspace experience, and youwant students to apply knowledge anddemonstrate understanding of a con-cept, whether the subject is science, lit-erature, history or something else.For example, Vrotny’s school designed

transformed the traditional dioramaassignment into an interactive museumdisplay with engaging hooks. Students

dreamed up everything from a formativequiz that lights up an area when you pusha button to historical signs that show topo-graphically where an event occurred.3. Who will lead the student

experience?Someone needs to lead the student

experience. Vrotny suggests a STEMteacher, makerspace teacher, classroomteacher or librarian. Regardless of thetitle, the space needs a leader.4. Will you provide students a set

curriculum or more open-ended projects?Will you take a genius hour approach

where students are free to pursue pas-sion projects or will you introduce aparticular curriculum?The Kinkaid School does both. In a

curriculum-based maker project, forexample, their first graders did a read-ing study on leprechauns. In the maker-space, they prototyped leprechaun trapsand set them before spring break, thenreturned excited to see if they hadcaught one of the magical beings.Middle schoolers, on the other hand,created models of the two atomic bombsand the Enola Gay to reinforce a socialstudies unit. In other sessions, the stu-dents pursued their passion projects.5. What grade levels will your

space target?The tools you purchase for an ele-

mentary makerspace are different than aspace for older students. For elemen-tary, low-cost, low-tech solutions areoften sufficient. Add more complexitywith laser cutters and 3D printers at themiddle school levels. A high schoolmakerspace might evolve to band sawsand jigsaws, machines not suited for anelementary room.6. How will students access the

space?

Will your makerspace be part of aregularly scheduled class, will studentsattend to work on a particular project oris this an impromptu drop-in space theyuse during free time? Decide thesequestions first to make good use of thespace.7. How will educators learn how to

get the most from the makerspace?How will you provide professional

development? Will it be a one-time ses-sion to show teachers the space? Or doyou plan to hold regular meetings withgrade-level faculty to discuss curricu-lum and brainstorm ideas for makeractivities? There is no right or wronganswer; you just need to have ananswer.8. How will you assess the students

on their projects?Assessment ties back to learning

goals and outcomes. If your focus is onstudents feeling comfortable with riskand even failure, you might choose notto grade entirely on the quality of theartifact they built. If you want to teachcreativity, grit or persistence, reward itinstead of penalizing failure. Studentsneed a lot of encouragement to takerisks.Once you answer these eight ques-

tion, creating a makerspace becomespurposeful, affordable and fun.[Editor’s note: This post originally

appeared on the ISTE blog and isreposted here with permission.]

Diana Fingal is director of editorialcontent for ISTE.

8 questions to ask beforecreating a makerspaceMany components go into creating a school maker-space—here are a few important things to consider

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Guides K-12 Makerspace Trending News

BY STACEY PUSEYCreating makerspaces and incorpo-

rating them into schools involves morethan coming up with project ideas.Typically, when schools add maker-spaces, they’re also looking to shifttheir education goals and focus on skillsbeyond traditional curriculum.As Michelle Luhtala, library depart-

ment chair at New Canaan High School,CT, and Bill Derry, a consultant forschools and public libraries inConnecticut, explain in their edWebinar,“Design Models that Guide InnovativeThinking,” for educators looking to makethis transition, there are several differentmethodologies that complement the goalsof makerspaces and help students becomecreative problem solvers.While every design thinking model has

its own approach, Derry and Luhtala sayteachers will see some similar attributes:A focus on play, where students are

encouraged to try new ideas in an openenvironment. Derry says libraries oftenfind it easier to encourage play thanschools, which tend to be more closedenvironments.A focus on empathy and learning to

relate to all aspects of the problem andnot just the end result.A focus on the entrepreneurial mind-

set where students not only design asolution but develop a prototype thatcould be brought to market.Next, each methodology typically

includes several phases meant to guidestudents through the problem-solvingprocess. Each process also allows stu-dents the opportunity to fail and assesstheir failures so that they understand theneed for perseverance.• The Launch Cycle: This is a student-friendly model that takes studentsfrom awareness of the problem (Phase1) to the launch phase (Phase 6) wherethey put their product in front of anauthentic audience.

• uTEC Maker Model: In this system,students move from one level of expert-ise to the next—creating, experiment-ing, tinkering, and using. They not onlydevelop their own competencies at eachlevel, but they also learn to collaborateand use their group’s shared intelli-gence to reach their goals.• IDEO: Here, the idea of the creativethinker expands beyond students andeducation. While the model can beapplied to the classroom, this method-ology posits that anyone—from theP.E. teacher to the math teacher—canbe a creative thinker.Before educators adopt a design

thinking model, they should researchthe different strategies and find one thatfits their school’s goals. Of course, thesemethodologies can’t be implementedwithout significant impact on the cur-riculum and professional training. Moreimportant, administrators must also pro-vide adequate funding. While there aremany projects that can be done withcardboard boxes, building blocks, etc.,students thrive when they have theresources to tackle real-world projects.Finally, the main criticism that Derry

and Luhtala hear about using makerspacesis that there isn’t enough evaluation of thestudents and their work. Both agree,though, that that reflects more on what theeducators have built into the project ratherthan on makerspaces themselves.About the presentersMichelle Luhtala is the Library

Department Chair at New Canaan HighSchool in Connecticut and was one offive school librarians named as a “Moverand Shaker” by Library Journal in 2015.She is the winner of the 2011 “I Love MyLibrarian” Award and the LibraryAssociation’s 2010 OutstandingLibrarian Award. The New Canaan HighSchool Library won AASL’s NationalSchool Library Program of the year in

2010. Follow her on Twitter @mluhtala.Bill Derry most recently worked as

Director of Innovation at The WestportLibrary in Connecticut. He was the co-chair of the Westport Mini Maker Faireand one of the leaders of the creation ofthe makerspace. He was a principal writerof an IMLS national leadership grantreceived by the Westport Library in 2013.The grant, called MakerSpace 2.0:Retinkering Libraries, created a modelfor a participatory learning environmentfor public, academic and school libraries.Prior to joining the Westport Library in2011, Bill worked in education for over30 years as an elementary classroomteacher, drama-in-education teacher,library media specialist, supervisor oflibrary media K-12 and information andtechnology literacy coordinator K-12.Currently he is leading workshops andpresenting on the transformative powerof play, imagination, and making. FollowBill on Twitter @BillDerry.Join the communityEmerging Tech for Schools and

Libraries is a free professional learningcommunity on edWeb.net where schoollibrarians can explore all the ways tointegrate technology and 21st centurylearning into school library programs.This broadcast was sponsored by

Mackin Educational Resources. Therecording of the edWebinar can beviewed by anyone here.

Stacey Pusey is an education communi-cations consultant and writer. She assistseducation organizations with contentstrategy and teaches writing at the collegelevel. Stacey has worked in the preK-12education world for 20 years, spendingtime on school management and workingfor education associations including theAAP PreK-12 Learning Group. Stacey isworking with edWeb.net as a marketingcommunications adviser and writer.

Using design thinking to support makerspacesEducators should research different design thinking strategies and find one that fits their school’s goals for makerspaces

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GuidesK-12 Makerspace Trending News

BY TODD BURLESONAs an elementary educator for most of

my career, I’ve had the privilege of work-ing with a variety of learners—frominner-city students in North Carolina touniversity-level students in Chicago—butI found my true calling as the librarian atHubbard Woods Elementary inWinnetka, Illinois. I’ve been called the“Willy Wonka of school librarians”because I transformed our traditionallibrary into what I call an IDEA(Innovation, Design, Engineering, andArt) Lab complete with flexible furniture,robotics, engineering tools, iPads, lap-tops, and sewing machines.To get started, I used my experience

as a classroom educator to create across-curricular library curriculum thatsupports classroom teachers’ lessons,marrying the idea of books and bytes.Daily activities include robot bowling,using robots to paint pictures, and film-ing and producing music videos staring(you guessed it) robots!For other districts that want to turn

their libraries into IDEA labs, here aresome insights into how we made it allhappen.4 steps to turning your spaceinto a 21st-century library1. Create a dream binder. In 2015,

I received a lump sum of funding tohelp transform our traditional libraryinto a flexible, collaborative maker-space. One of the conditions of thefunding was that we needed to spend itin a certain amount of time, so we hadfour to five months to make some bigdecisions.Luckily, when the PTO asked what I

needed to create the space, I pulled outa three-ring binder of photos, drawings,and ideas I collected during my first fewyears as a librarian. I had been search-ing the Internet and library magazinesfor inspiration.The binder was ready before we

started, and that helped my PTO realizethat my dream was a good dream and

they wanted to support it. Using pic-tures of furniture and spaces was a greatway for me to communicate my ideasand make them come to life.2. Ask a lot of questions—and real-

ly listen to the answers. During theprocess of building our makerspace, agroup of parents and teachers visitedschools all over Illinois, Wisconsin, andColorado to see their spaces. We askedlibrarians and teachers thoughtful ques-tions about which tools they liked themost and which ones they could livewithout.At every school we visited, someone

said, “If we could do something differ-ent, when we were first starting out wewould not have gotten a 3D printer andinstead put that $3,000 into XYZ.”Because of that feedback, we didn’t

put a lot of money into 3D printers untillater on.3. Do all that you can to help edu-

cators see the cross-curricular value. Ilove to incorporate coding and roboticsinto my library, and the kids love it too.One of my favorite tools to introduceour youngest students to the world ofcoding is KIBO by KinderLabRobotics. Students link wooden blocksto create code, then use the robot to scanthe blocks and make it go. It’s a good,device-free way for students to learnabout coding and robotics.Part of my role is to help classroom

educators see the cross-curricular valueof coding and robotics. A big part of thefirst-grade curriculum is learning aboutour community. To support the class-room during library time, the studentsand I created a Lego city and usedKIBO to navigate around to the majorlandmarks. Students thoroughlyenjoyed the activity, and the classroomteacher saw the connection that roboticshas to the curriculum.4. Incorporate digital and physical

tools. We have a wide variety of engi-neering tools and materials that I usealongside traditional robots to encour-age students to prototype solutions to

problems. One of my favorites isRigamajig, a collection of woodenplanks, wheels, and pulleys that connecteasily with heavy-duty plastic wing nutsand bolts. The kids can prototype andbuild large things like cars, chairs, andbenches quickly and easily. With thesimple machine add-ons, we’ve beenable to introduce complex concepts likecams, cogs, and pulleys in ways thatkids can physically understand.Although some people think card-

board boxes and sewing machines arenon-traditional makerspace tools, Istrongly disagree. We believe in havingstudents learn valuable skills and appre-ciate the process as much as the finalproduct. To that end, we have empha-sized both hand- and machine-sewing inour K–4 progression. It’s exciting to seethem gain confidence and skill.We have a massive Lego wall and

tons of cardboard, cardboard tools, andhand tools. We know that saws anddrills can hurt children, but why keep agood tool away from them when youcan teach them how to use it safely andit makes the work easier?One of my idols, Gever Tulley, said,

“Children can build anything, and bybuilding anything, learn anything.”Our IDEA Lab is a balance of high-

and low-tech tools that encourages stu-dents to explore leaning in a whole newlight. Hanging in our IDEA Lab is agiant light bulb that I found online froma thrift shop in Paris. It glows the words“IDEA Lab” in our space, which is sym-bolic of the passion kids have for learn-ing about the world. I’m lucky that I getto have a space to help kids explore thethings that will “light up” their ownmetaphorical light bulbs!

Todd Burleson is a library mediaspecialist in the Winnetka SchoolDistrict in Winnetka, Ill. School LibraryJournal named Burleson the 2016School Librarian of the Year. Read hisblog here, and follow him on Twitter@todd_burleson.

The New Librarian: How I created a makerspace

19© eSchool Media Inc., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Company Profiles

ABC Mouse101 N. Brand Blvd., 8th FloorGlendale, CA 91213(866) 779-1872

Acellus Corporation26900 E Pink Hill RoadIndependence, MO 64057(816) 220-0300

Afinia 3D8150 Mallory CourtChanhassen, MN 55317(952) 556-1615

Amazon Web Services1200 12th Avenue South, Suite 1200Seattle, WA 98144(206) 266-7180

Anywhere Cart ClassroomSolutions42035 Zevo DriveTemecula, CA 92590(888) 650-4488

Archdiocese of Chicago Officeof Catholic Schools835 N. Rush StreetChicago, IL 60611(312) 534-5211

AutodeskOne Market, Suite 500San Francisco, CA 94105(415) 507-5000

AVRover1720 Military RoadBuffalo, NY 14217(716) 684-8200

BandH B2B420 9th AvenueNew York, NY 10001(212) 239-7500

Birdbrain Technologies544 Miltenberger StreetPittsburgh, PA 15219(888) 371-6161

Boxlight1045 Progress CircleLawrenceville, GA 30043(866) 972-1549

BrainPOP27 West 24th Street, Suite 605new york, NY 10010(212) 689-9923

Bytes of Learning, Inc.266 Elmwood Avenue, #256Buffalo, NY 14222-2202(800) 465-6428

Cambium Learning Group, Inc.17855 Dallas Parkway, Suite 400Dallas, TX 75287(214) 932-9500

Carnegie Learning, Inc.501 Grant St, Union Trust Bldg. Suite 1075Pittsburgh, PA 15219(888) 851-7094

Casio America, Inc.570 Mt. Pleasant AvenueDover, NJ 7801(973) 361-5400

CDI Technologies500 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 600Chicago, IL 60611(888) 226-5727

Challenger Center422 1st Street SE, 3rd FloorWashington, DC 20003(202) 827-1580

CoderZ18 Tsienneto RoadDerry, NH 3038(603) 413-2600

Connection Public SectorSolutions732 Milford RoadMerrimack, NH 3054(800) 800-0019

Copernicus EducationalProducts8194 County Road 109 RR#3Arthur, ON NOG 1AO(519) 848-3664

Defined Learning900 Skokie Blvd., Suite 118Northbrook, IL 60062(847) 841-8072

DEMCO InteriorsPO Box 8548Madison, WI 53708-8548(800) 747-7561

Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc.817 Pacific AvenueBremerton, WA 98337(360) 616-8915

Discovery Education4350 Congress St Suite 700,Charlotte, NC 28209(240) 662-2891

DreamBox Learning, Inc.600 108th Avenue North East,Suite 805Bellevue, WA 98004(425) 637-8900

Dremel DigiLab1800 W. Central RoadMt. Prospect, IL 60056(844) 800-3736

d'Vinci Interactive28 South Potomac Street, 4th FloorHagerstown, MD 21740(301) 797-2386

EdGate Correlation Services3413 56th Street, NW, Suite AGig Harbor, WA 98335(253) 853-7133

Elmo USA Corp6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 145Syosset, NY 11791(516) 501-1400

Company Profiles

20 © eSchool Media Inc., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Company Profiles

Empow Studios1776 Massachusetts AvenueLexington, MA 2420(617) 395-7527

EverFi3299 K Street NW, 4th FloorWashington, DC 20007(202) 297-2649

ExploreLearning110 Avon StreetCharlottsville, VA 22902(434) 293-7043

FIRST (For Inspiration andRecognition of Science andTechnology)200 Bedford StreetManchester, NH 3101(800) 871-8326

First in Math3311 Fox Hill RoadEaston, PA 18045(800) 242-4542

Gale Group/Cengage Learning27500 Drake RoadFarmington Hills, MI 48331(248) 699-4253

hand2mind500 Greenview CourtVernon Hills, IL 60061(800) 445-5985

Hooked on Phonics83 Wooster HeightsDanbury, CT 6810(888) 605-5055

HoverCam9985 Pacific heights Blvd., Suite 100San Diego, CA 92121(858) 750-3499

HP Computer Corporation3000 Hanover StreetPalo Alto, CA 94304-1185(650) 857-1501

Imagine Learning/ Think Through925 Liberty Avenue, 3rd FloorPittsburgh, PA 15222(412) 894-9941

Immersed Games640 Ellicott Street, Suite 108Buffalo, NY 14203(352) 641-0730

Infobase132 West 31st Street, 16th FloorNew York, NY 10001(212) 896-4337

LanSchool1009 Think Place Bldg 1 3J40Morrisville, NC 27560(888) 473-9485

Learning A-Z1840 E River Road, Suite 320Tucson, AZ 85718(866) 889-3729

Learning.com1620 SW Taylor, Suite 100Portland, OR 97205(503) 517-4447

Johnson Controls507 E Michigan StreetMilwaukee, WI 53202(414) 524-4500

At Johnson Controls, we transform the environmentswhere people live, work, learnand play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancingcomfort, we drive the outcomesthat matter most. We deliver ourpromise in industries such ashealthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 105,000experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the powerbehind our customers’ mission.

www.johnsoncontrols.com

Cheryl AquadroK-12 Market Director, JohnsonControls, Building SolutionsNorth Americacheryl.aquadro@jci.com(901) 351-1391

Judith MoutonProgram Director, Education,Johnson Controls, BuildingSolutions North America judith.a.mouton@jci.com(414) 559-1909

Julie BrownInstitutional Market Leader,Johnson Controls, BuildingSolutions North America julie.brown@jci.com(609) 720-4539

Kid Spark Education233 A St. #800, San Diego, CA 92101(858) 259-4433

Kid Spark Education is a nonprofit committed to helpingPre-K through 8th grade educators across the country and the world bring powerfulSTEM learning experiences totheir students. Our goal is that all children, especially those fromunderrepresented communities,develop STEM identity and technology fluency.

www.KidSparkEducation.org

Christine NorrisSenior Director of Program Saleschristinen@kidsparkeducation.org(858) 259-4413

Jena OlsonCEOjenao@kidsparkeducation.org(858) 257-4115

21© eSchool Media Inc., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

Guides K-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Company Profiles

LEGO Education501 Boylston Street, Suite 4103Boston, MA 02116(800) 362-4308

Lightspeed Systems2500 Bee Cave RoadAustin, TX 78746(512) 439-3995

Lightspeed Technologies, Inc.11509 SW Herman RoadTualatin, OR 97062(503) 684-5538

Lumens Integration, Inc.4116 Clipper CourtFremont, CA 94538(510) 252-0200

Mackin Educational Resources3505 County Road 42 WBurnsville, MN 55306(800) 245-9540

Makeblock Company, Ltd.2961 W MacArthur Blvd., Suite 213Santa Ana, CA 92704(213) 784-9176

MapleSoft615 Kumpf DriveWaterloo, ON Canada N2V 1K8(519) 747-2373

MAXCases130 McCormick Avenue, Suite 104Costa Mesa, CA 92626(888) 799-6837

Mentoring MindsOne International Place, Suite 1400Boston, MA 2110(800) 585-5258

Microsoft CorporationOne Microsoft WayRedmond, WA 98052-6399(425) 706-3470

MIND Research Institute, creator of ST Math5281 California Avenue, Suite 300Irvine, CA 92617(888) 751-5443

mindSpark Learning455 S. Pierce StreetLakewood, CO 80226(303) 963-5390

Mobile Edge1150 N. Miller StreetAnaheim, CA 92806(714) 399-1400

NASCO901 Janesville AvenueFort Atkinson, WI 53538-0901(800) 558-9595

Osmo195 Page Mill Road, Suite 105Palo Alto, CA 94306(617) 794-6167

Ozobot129 W. Torrance Blvd.Redondo Beach, CA 90277(310) 318-0070

Pearson EducationOne Lake StreetUpper Saddle River, NJ 7458(201) 934-3158

Piazza101 University Avenue, Ste 300Palo Alto, CA 94301(800) 818-4124

PIPER2415 3rd StreetSan Francisco, CA 94107(415) 949-2083

Pitsco EducationPO Box 1708, 915 East JeffersonPittsburg, KS 66762(620) 231-2424

POWERUP TOYS2201 Acacia Park DriveLyndhurst, OH 44124(786) 220-3408

MakerBot 1 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201(347) 334-6800

Maximize student and educatorssuccess with MakerBot 3D printers. With the most reliableclassroom 3D printing set-up,MakerBot Education also pro-vides you access to over 600+lesson plans, training available toboth you and your students, andclassroom-ready integrations.

www.makerbot.com/

MakerBot Salessales@makerbot.com(347) 835-5891

KinderLab Robotics, Inc.7 Sun StreetWaltham, MA 02453(781) 894-4022

KinderLab Robotics is the creatorof KIBO, a screen-free robot kitbased on 20 years of child development research, that lets4-7 year-olds build, code, decorate, and run their ownrobot. KIBO has proven efficacyin helping kids learn STEAM—andgetting them excited about it!Build. Art. Code. Play.

Kinderlabrobotics.com

Christina NawnDirector of Marketingchristina@kinderlabrobotics.com(978) 987-7878

Jeff MillerAccount Executivejeff@kinderlabrobotics.com(978) 289-0405

Mitch RosenbergCEO mitch@kinderlabrobotics.com(781) 894-4022

22 © eSchool Media Inc., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

GuidesK-12 STEM/STEAM/Makerspace Company Profiles

Prodigy Game1100 Burloak Drive, Suite 200Burlington, Ontario Canada L7L 6B2(866) 585-4655

Riverside InsightsOne Pierce Place, Suite 900WItasca, IL 60143(800) 323-9540

ROBO 3D, Inc.5070 Santa Fe Street CSan Diego, CA 92109(844) 476-2633

Robolink5677 Oberlin DriveSan Diego, CA 92121(858) 876-5123

Root Robotics2067 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02140(617) 945-8751

Sam LabsWeWork, 145 City RoadHoxton, London UK SE1 9LS+44 20 8089 3715

Samsung Electronics America, Inc.85 Challenger RoadRidgefield Park, NJ 7660(201) 807-3163

Scantron Technology Solutions1313 Lone Oak RoadSt Paul, MN 55121-1334(800) 722-6876

School SpecialtyW6316 Design DriveGreenville, WI 54942(888) 388-3224

Siemens Foundation170 Wood AvenueSouth Iselin, NJ 088301-800-SIEMENS

Softbank Robotics(Formerly Aldebaran Robotics)150 California Street, Floor 10San Francisco, CA 94111(844) 737-7371

Sony KOOV: Coding and Robotics Kit16535 Via Esprillo San DiegoSan Diego, CA 92127(858) 942-7769

Sphero4772 Walnut Street, Suite 206Boulder, CO 80301(888) 977-4376

Stacker 3D9303 Plymouth Avenue NorthMinneapolis, MD 55427(763) 331-0275

STEMfinity504 South 11th StreetBoise, ID 83702(800) 985-7836

STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning, Inc.5177 Richmond Avenue, #1075Houston, TX 77056(800) 531-0864

SYNNEX Corporation44201 Nobel DriveFremont, CA 94538(510) 656-3333

TeachersFirst /Source for Learning12355 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 625Reston, VA 20191(703) 860-9200

TechTerra Education5102 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.,Suite #210Durham, NC 27707(919) 519-9097

Terrapin955 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 2139(508) 487-8181

Texthelp Systems, Ltd.600 Unicorn Park DriveWoburn, MA 01801(781) 503-0424

The Marvel Group3843 W. 43rd StreetChicago, IL 60632(800) 621-8846

The Quest Institute for Quality Education100 Skyway DriveSan Jose, CA 95111(707) 622-6125

The Social Express162 S. Rancho Santa Fe RoadEncinitas, CA 92024(877) 360-0155

The Virtual High School4 Mill and Main Place, Suite 500Maynard, MA 1754(978) 450-0449

RobotLAB, Inc.75 Broadway Street, Suite 202San Francisco CA 94111(415) 702-3033

RobotLAB is the leading educational robotics integrator onthe market, serving educationalinstitutes for over a decade. Theteam here at RobotLAB providesyou with a vast experience indeploying educational roboticsprograms, for any budget, agegroup, and any subject. Everypurchase comes with training and our commitment to makeyour program successful!

www.RobotLAB.com

Cedric VaudelVP Salessales@RobotLAB.com(415) 702-3033

23© eSchool Media Inc., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

Guides K-12 Multimedia Company Profiles

Tools for SchoolsSt Nicholas House, 31 - 34 High StreetBristol, UK BS1 2AW (217) 636-3932

TutorOcean329 March RoadKanata, ON Canada K2K 2E1(888) 568-8867

Universal Laser Systems7845 E Paradise LaneScottsdales, AZ 85260(480) 483-1214

Unruly Splats2 Avenue de LafayetteBoston, MA 2111(617) 710-4364

Varitronics, LLC7200 93rd Avenue, N, Suite 120Brooklyn Park, MN 55445(763) 536-6443

Vernier Software & Technology13979 SW Millikan WayBeaverton, OR 97005(888) 837-6437

VEX Robotics6725 W FM 1570Greenville, TX 75402(903) 453-0802

ViewSonic10 Pointe Drive, Suite 200Brea, CA 92821(909) 444-8888

Vilros150 Oberlin Avenue N., Suite 11Lakewood, NJ 08701(855) 207-9254

Virtual Driver Interactive4505 Golden Foothill ParkwayEl Dorado Hills, CA 95762(877) 746-8332

VS America1940 Abbott StreetCharlotte, NC 28203(704) 378-6500

WER Architects901 West Third StreetLittle Rock, AR 72201(501) 374-5300

Wize Computing Academy513 Beacon Hill DriveCoppell, TX 75019(214) 226-4595

Wonder Workshop1500 Fashion Island Blvd,San Mateo, CA 94404(408) 785-7981

XYZ Printing, Inc.20191 Windrow Drive, Ste.BLake Forest, CA 92630(949) 484-7755

Zorbits Math34 Harvey Road, Suite 202St. John's, NL Canada A1C 2G1(709) 722-0140

zSpace490 De Guigne Drive, Suite 200Sunnyvale, CA 94085(408) 498-4130

Zyrobotics3522 Ashford Dunwoody Road,Suite 105Atlanta, GA 30319(678) 952-9976

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eSchool News covers the intersection of technology and innovation in education. We focus on how technology can help educators improve learningand deliver instruction more effectively, enhance the student experience, and transform their schools.

About eSchool NewseSchool News covers education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new prod-

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