Ben Flowers discusses the latest EdTech startups from the UK
Technology has already begun to completely change the way our children learn and develop, but apart from the occasional interactive whiteboard and our laughably retro ICT lessons, it is largely absent from our educational system. More children aged 2-3 years old can play video games than ride a bike (58% vs. 52%), which to some may be a scary statistic, but to many it’s seen as opportunity.
We can’t stop this trend - if you want to try and tell children where to spend their time, then good luck to you. But what these companies have done, instead of trying to force technology into our outdated teaching methods, is to use the technology to create new methods of teaching and engaging children with learning.
We can’t stop this trend - if you want to try and tell children where to spend their time, then good luck to you. But what these companies have done, instead of trying to force technology into our outdated teaching methods, is to use the technology to create new methods of teaching and engaging children with learning.
MakerClub
MakerClub say they want to give ‘Today’s learners Tomorrow’s skills’. To do this they’ve created a series of 3D printed robots that can be printed and constructed at home.
The projects, like the Carduino, come with their MakerConnect chip and app which allows all these robots to be controlled by your smartphone.
The projects, like the Carduino, come with their MakerConnect chip and app which allows all these robots to be controlled by your smartphone.
MakerClub, think 3D printing and electronic components may be the ‘perfect storm’ to get kids “creating technology rather than just consuming it”. Tech literacy is now an incredibly important part of growing up, with skills like coding and 3D design being an essential part of everyday life and desirable employment options.
Instead of dumbing down the projects to make them ‘child-friendly’, they intend to use a gamified learning system to ensure Makers of all ages and experience levels can create their projects, and to give them the skills and the science to go away and create their own custom builds.
But why robots? Founder and CEO of Maker Club, Simon Riley stated;
“ Robots are such great learning tools, giving people a hands on way to understand electronics, the basics of 3D design and then how to code. - it’s also a fantastic family activity”
These projects are available from their IndieGoGo campaign.
Instead of dumbing down the projects to make them ‘child-friendly’, they intend to use a gamified learning system to ensure Makers of all ages and experience levels can create their projects, and to give them the skills and the science to go away and create their own custom builds.
But why robots? Founder and CEO of Maker Club, Simon Riley stated;
“ Robots are such great learning tools, giving people a hands on way to understand electronics, the basics of 3D design and then how to code. - it’s also a fantastic family activity”
These projects are available from their IndieGoGo campaign.
BlockBuilders
Minecraft is a spectacular cultural phenomenon. With a creative canvas over 9.3 million times larger than the surface of the Earth, BlockBuilders see it as a perfect place for them to teach children social responsibility and engagement.
BlockBuilders run workshops where they encourage children to re-create their local areas in Minecraft, explore them using the Oculus Rift VR headset, and then present their ideas to the local council, thus engaging children in their local community in a way that is fun and relatable to them.
BlockBuilders run workshops where they encourage children to re-create their local areas in Minecraft, explore them using the Oculus Rift VR headset, and then present their ideas to the local council, thus engaging children in their local community in a way that is fun and relatable to them.
Arguably the most important part of any student’s school experience is social aspect. Our friends, enemies and role models we meet in our formative years are what shapes the person we become when we grow up, more, perhaps, than any of the curricular knowledge we acquire along the way.
That’s why projects such as BlockBuilders are so important - they teach children that, no matter their age, they have a voice and influence within their local community.
Follow BlockBuilders on twitter to hear about upcoming events.
That’s why projects such as BlockBuilders are so important - they teach children that, no matter their age, they have a voice and influence within their local community.
Follow BlockBuilders on twitter to hear about upcoming events.
Zondle
With well over 8 million iPads in education worldwide, and smartphones in the pockets of at least 1 in 5 kids and counting, it’s high time we capitalised on these rich digital assets in the classroom for something other than playing Angry Birds in a stuffy R.E lesson.
Zondle is a gamified learning app with over 60 different games used to support teaching, learning and assessment in ‘any subject, any language, anywhere’. They aim to harness the obsessive motivational power of an addictive video game, with ignorance as your nemesis and knowledge your only weapon.
According to the scientific research provided by the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, pleasure and rewards cause the creation of ‘synaptic dopamine’ - a chemical that causes that sense of achievement after a good meal or a solid days work - that aides the ‘long term encoding of memory’. So as kids beat levels, they feel a sense of achievement that they associate with learning, and that helps them remember what they’ve just learnt.
Zondle is available on both Google Play and iTunes.
Zondle is a gamified learning app with over 60 different games used to support teaching, learning and assessment in ‘any subject, any language, anywhere’. They aim to harness the obsessive motivational power of an addictive video game, with ignorance as your nemesis and knowledge your only weapon.
According to the scientific research provided by the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, pleasure and rewards cause the creation of ‘synaptic dopamine’ - a chemical that causes that sense of achievement after a good meal or a solid days work - that aides the ‘long term encoding of memory’. So as kids beat levels, they feel a sense of achievement that they associate with learning, and that helps them remember what they’ve just learnt.
Zondle is available on both Google Play and iTunes.
Gojimo
This is George Burgess. What he lacks in stubble makes up in pure entrepreneurial zeal. He created his first startup, Gojimo - ‘the Free app to help you pass your exams’, when he was only 17 years old, and raised a $1M seed fund.
The app itself is a series simple multiple choice quizzes, but what’s really impressive is it’s scope. Chemistry, French, Geography, Design Tech, Latin, Shakespeare; even Commercial Law and Etiquette!
The app itself is a series simple multiple choice quizzes, but what’s really impressive is it’s scope. Chemistry, French, Geography, Design Tech, Latin, Shakespeare; even Commercial Law and Etiquette!
In a similar way to Zondle, Gojimo uses a gamified learning process to help motivate students to actually revise on the go, rather than burying their heads in the proverbial sand in a sea of mountain dew and Fresh Prince reruns.
Dream Learners
I don’t know if it’s because he looks exactly like my dad, but I feel like I can trust something endorsed by the acclaimed scientist and presenter Robert Winston. As Bobby tells us, Dream Learners is a storytelling app designed to weave the curriculum into bedtime stories for young children.
Any parent knows that a child’s mind (and their scampering little bodies) is most active just as you want them to go to sleep, so combining extra-curricular learning with a soothing but engaging narrative sounds like a great way to kill two birds with one stone. I don’t know whether your children will dream of the alphabet or quadratic equations, but sleep has been shown to consolidate long-term memories and learning.
You can apply to beta test Dream Learners on their website.
Any parent knows that a child’s mind (and their scampering little bodies) is most active just as you want them to go to sleep, so combining extra-curricular learning with a soothing but engaging narrative sounds like a great way to kill two birds with one stone. I don’t know whether your children will dream of the alphabet or quadratic equations, but sleep has been shown to consolidate long-term memories and learning.
You can apply to beta test Dream Learners on their website.
Learning through stories from Dream Learners on Vimeo.
About the Author:
Ben Flowers an Ed tech writer and the Content Manager & Researcher at MakerClub.org, working to give Today's learners Tomorrow's skillswith 3D printed educational robotics. You can find him in the MakerLabHQ or at ben@makerclub.org.
MakerClub is currently running an IndieGoGo campaign, providing learners of all ages the skills to make 3D printed robotics.
Ben Flowers an Ed tech writer and the Content Manager & Researcher at MakerClub.org, working to give Today's learners Tomorrow's skillswith 3D printed educational robotics. You can find him in the MakerLabHQ or at ben@makerclub.org.
MakerClub is currently running an IndieGoGo campaign, providing learners of all ages the skills to make 3D printed robotics.
