Well, it’s been a little while since we told you about some of the new educational technology tools we've added to our store. Of course, the best way to keep up with what’s new is to subscribe to our newsletter, where you’ll find all the latest announcements and news regarding new additions to our store. We try to keep adding new items for educators regularly, opening up as many avenues as possible for teaching with new technologies. We know that STEM instruction is important to just about everyone today, so we try to make EdTech shopping as easy as possible. Anyway, we have some new products from big-name STEM brands and some all-new models as well for you to read about as you recover from Thanksgiving.

pi-top [3]

We’ve worked with pi-top for a few years now and the London-based company recently revamped their DIY computer. For those who don’t know, the pi-top is a modular computer that students can build themselves and then use like they would a regular laptop. They can also practice their coding techniques right on the screen of the computer they’ve built! The pi-top is best for students who have a little bit of programming experience already as it mainly makes use of the Python programming language. The biggest shift in this new model is the fact that it offers students more than a screen-based learning experience, like what was the case with the previous models. The pi-top 3 is designed to be much more hands-on and help students learn more about the computer as a system as they build their knowledge. 

One of the reasons the new pi-top model is so great is that it uses the physical components of a computer in combination with coding. This helps students to be able to see how the code they create directly affects the responses of the computer. As has been the case with the previous pi-top models, the heart of the computer is the Raspberry Pi, which allows for a greater variety of programming. It also enables them to be a part of a global community of learners as they invent, code, and grow. The best addition to the pi-top 3 model that's on our store might be the addition of the Inventor’s Kit, which comes in every pi-top box and includes components like LEDs, buzzers, speakers, and more. Students can build games or even interactive robots while they put their coding, problem solving, and collaborative skills to the test! 

Once assembled, the pi-top 3’s keyboard slides down and reveals an adapter, where students can connect their Raspberry Pi. In this space, students can build all sorts of inventions using the components in the Inventor’s Kit. The pi-top 3 also has a versatile operating system with a range of apps available for use right on the computer. Right on the screen, they can access things like Scratch, Minecraft, Microsoft Office programs, and even 3D printing software. With all of its improvements, the pi-top 3 is definitely capable of being the maker’s laptop. To learn more about it, check out our recent blog post for getting set up and started and to purchase a pi-top 3 for your school, classroom, library, or makerspace, head over to our store. 

Sphero RVR

You may have seen or heard about the completely hackable Sphero RVR robot already, but, if not, you’re in luck because we’re going to tell you all about it! The RVR is the latest in Sphero’s long line of affordable and dependable robots for teaching students more about coding. This particular model, however, does a lot more than that as it can be used to teach students additional skills, like engineering, hacking, and even how to control various sensors. The RVR is fitted with a number of sensors, including some that are likely new to students and makers of any age. It has a color sensor, light sensor, IR, magnetometer, accelerometer, and a gyroscope, which all help students accomplish more with the RVR. In the RVR package, you’ll get one RVR robot, one battery, one roll cage, one mounting plate, and one cable, setting your students up to take on coding in a whole new way! 

In designing this robot, Sphero wanted it to be completely customizable for students and all users. For that reason, it works with a number of third-party hardware products, including the Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, and Arduino. Students can attach these devices and create a customized robot that they can then program with the Sphero Edu app—the same app that has helped tons of students learn coding skills with other Sphero robots. Also, the RVR models on our store are equipped with a pair of powerful, all-terrain treads, allowing for students to use it on just about any surface. With this particular model, Sphero has really made it possible for students to design and build a personalized robot but also one that they can still do a lot with. 

The RVR can be driven right out of the box and students can use its 4-pin UART to connect the third-party hardware devices without any complicated assembly required. It’s equipped with a highly technical control system that’s very accurate and doesn’t get deterred by obstacles. The RVR also runs on a removable and rechargeable battery that’s strong enough to power both the robot and any third-party additions. And, finally, the RVR can be programmed using the same techniques students may have previously used to code with other Sphero Robots— their Draw & Drive, Scratch, or JavaScript writing modes within the Sphero Edu app. To learn more about the RVR, check out some of our other blog posts or head over to our store, where you’ll find the single units and the RVR 5-pack!

Cubelets Classroom Bundles

Cubelets’ modular, robotic blocks are great for teaching kids about robotics, engineering, coding, and problem solving. They already offered a number of kits in a variety of sizes for teachers to bring into the classroom and now they’ve gone a step further to include classroom bundles designed specifically for students in different grades. The Cubelets Classroom Bundles come in four different setups and cover each K-12 grade. The age breakdown goes like this: Pre-K and kindergarten, Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, and Grades 7-12. Each bundle includes a booklet of valuable educational resources, but it is important to mention that these bundles do not come with any of the Cubelets blocks because they are meant to supplement the Cubelets kits that educators already have in the classroom. 

The bundles include collections of the best Cubelets lessons that have been developed either by Modular Robotics (the creators of Cubelets) or by educators who have used them in the classroom. They also come with additional digital resources and physical accessories so that educators can mix up how they teach with Cubelets in the classroom. These accessories include a flashlight, a pack of activity cards, magnets, and a poster. Of course, the content in each bundle is grade-specific and they really do a great job in supplementing STEM lessons with Cubelets. The content that comes in these bundles is not only valuable to students, but to teachers as well. With it, they can make sure they’re maximizing how they teach with technology and get inspired to use Cubelets to facilitate some brand-new learning experiences!

In terms of specific content in each bundle, the Pre-K and kindergarten bundle includes instructions for students to build their first simple robot as well as valuable information to help them understand some of the foundational concepts of computer science. The 1-3 bundle focuses on helping students use their Cubelets to tell a story and how the robots they build can be creatively incorporated in different types of learning while the 4-6 bundle provides lessons aligned with what upper elementary students are learning, specifically how to build separate robots and attach them using other blocks. Finally, the 7-12 bundle includes Cubelets’ toughest challenges. Students can learn about different programming systems, including Blockly, and they’ll learn a lot about the built-in components within the blocks! To learn more about Cubelets and to grab a bundle of your own, head over to our store!

Sphero Mini Activity Kit

Not only did Sphero recently start shipping the RVR, they also revamped their offerings for early education. For a while now, Sphero’s staple in the early education space has been the Sphero Mini, which offers younger students a chance to program something smaller but still enjoy a worthwhile computer science education experience. If you’ve seen the Sphero Mini in the past or used it in the classroom, you might be familiar with the colorful designs of the old model—pink, green, orange, and blue. Well, the biggest change to the new Sphero Mini model is that the shell is completely transparent, giving students the opportunity to see the inside of the robot. Sphero did this on purpose after receiving feedback from teachers and wanted to make sure to do something to help students see how the tiny technology inside the Sphero Mini works when they use it. 

The New Sphero Mini essentially works in the same way as the original models and is compatible with iOS devices (10+) and Android devices (5.0+). It takes as little as one hour for charging the Sphero Mini and that charge provides students with at least 45 minutes of continuous use. Students can use the Mini with the Sphero Edu app or the Sphero Play app, allowing them to experience all the elements of coding and learning with Sphero. They can drive, game, and code with the Sphero Mini, including driving it in several different modes: Joystick, Tilt, Slingshot, and Kick Drive. For gaming, they can play educational games within the Sphero Edu app and use the robot as a joystick. And, for coding, students can program the Sphero Mini in one of Sphero’s three traditional methods: Draw, Blocks, and Text. 

The new Mini is equipped with the same sensors as other robots in the Sphero line, including motor encoders, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer. The Mini also has a set of LED lights that students can manipulate with code and it can travel up to 2.2 mph (or 1 meter per second). Inside the activity kit, you’ll find all your accessories, including six mini traffic cones, six mini bowling pins, and connectable barriers. These barriers are either straight or form a U shape and can be connected together to form mazes and challenges for the Mini. They can build a perfect bowling alley for use with the Sphero Play app’s bowling functions, for example. To learn more about the new Sphero Mini Activity Kit, be sure to find it on our store or read more about it on our blog!

Google Expeditions Cart and Call

We’ve been hyping up the Google Expeditions virtual reality systems for a while now and rightfully so since they provide students with amazingly immersive and in-depth learning experiences. They have a wide variety of kits—with routers, without routers, with rolling cases, without rolling cases—that cover classrooms with as many as 30 students. The kits are designed to serve 10, 20, or 30 students but could also be stretched to serve two or three times that if educators allow students to work in groups when using Google Expeditions. Now, we have a couple of new offerings to be added to the fray when it comes to using Google Expeditions in the classroom. The first of those is a VR cart, which allows teachers to store and transport the headsets, and the second is a set-up service call, which helps ensure everything gets situated correctly from the get-go.

Google Expeditions helps extend the immersive possibilities of learning with its exciting educational application. There are over 900 virtual reality tours students can take part in and each one gets more lifelike than the last. There is, however, a considerable amount of hardware that goes into creating the Google Expeditions experience and it would be a lot easier if educators could move it if they wanted to. With the Google Expeditions VR Cart, they can do just that! This mobile unit can store and transport up to 30 student headsets, making relocating much easier on educators. Plus, it comes as an add-on to the 30-student pack, so everything that normally comes with a Google Expeditions set (minus the router and rolling case) is included with the purchase of the 30-pack with the VR cart. 

The other piece of help we’re now able to offer to educators who are interested in integrating Google Expeditions into instruction is a set-up service call. We know that getting the system set up and functioning optimally can be tricky or overwhelming to some teachers, especially those who have never used something quite like this before. The way it works is that a Google Expeditions expert from the Synnex Corporation will lead a 30-minute conference call for any teachers who are interested in receiving help with setting up Google Expeditions. Up to five participants can be on the call and it can be done entirely remotely. You can purchase this option directly on our store and, once you do, a member of our team will be in touch with you!

We hope you’ll head over to our store to learn more about some of these new items and remind you that we always accept purchase orders from educators. For the latest EdTech, STEM, and 21st century education news, follow Eduporium on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or sign up for our newsletter for announcements on the best EdTech deals around! Have an idea for the next Eduporium Weekly theme? Send us a message on any of our social media accounts!