If you follow us closely, you know March was a very busy month for us. Well, we’re happy to say that April looks to be just about full as well! We always get questions about where people can find us, so we thought we’d give you a few options for this month and publicize some of the events we’re taking part in at the same time. Once again, we’ll be out and about around New England in April, but we’re also hosting a first-of-its-kind virtual reality, event in our neck of the woods in the middle of the month. We hope you’ll come find us at some point!
NE ISTE Summit
You may recall we conducted a joint webinar with the New England International Society for Technology in Education during our busy month of March. Well, now we’ll be attending their exclusive vendor summit in the month of April!. This past Friday, April 7, we made our way down to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA to participate in a really unique event. Two of our co-founders, Rick Fredkin (President and CEO) and Irina Tuule (VP of Strategy) packed up and presented our objectives, missions, and values to the NE ISTE board! Only NE ISTE’s corporate partners were invited, so we are extremely excited to have had this opportunity to attend!
There were no more than eight vendors invited to this event, so we are extremely excited to have been chosen as one of the few presenters. Our 30-minutes presentation consisted of our background, offerings, and how we work directly with schools and educators to help them create an exceptional education experience for their students. We also got to hear a few of the other presentations and learn what other innovative ideas are being shared in the EdTech space. The new relationships we formed and new connections we made have set us up to continue improving our services for education reform both locally and nationally. Reconnecting with regional education leaders always gives us the chance to update them on our latest offerings and learn what schools are looking to do, so that we may cater our services to directly meet their needs!
The highlight of the day was the wrap-up networking dinner. Not only did it feature an incredible meal, we got to continue our conversations with fellow attendees and some of the hosts as well. We have been to Gillette Stadium a number of times for various other events, but, with the busy nature of them all, never really got to appreciate its beauty. This time, as spring was finally starting to set in across New England, we took a moment to appreciate the nice weather and the beauty of the entire campus. All in all, it was a long day, but a very important and productive one for our company’s future. Establishing and bolstering relationships with innovative companies like ISTE will go a very long way in helping us to continue providing the very best tools and services for K-12 leaders looking to innovate. We can’t wait until next year!
Virtual Reality Event and Hands-on Workshop
If we had to pick the highlight of our April calendar, it would have to be the signature event of the month—one which we also happen to be hosting! We receive dozens of inquiries from curious teachers at the large number of events attend about our thoughts on using virtual reality in K-12 and Higher Ed classrooms. So, we reached out to some experts, found a space, and now we’re bringing the best viewers in the business into one room for attendees to try for FREE! The event is taking place this coming Thursday from 3:00-5:30 pm at Cafe Escadrille in Burlington, MA. Space is limited, but there still are some slots available for those who would love the chance to be part of such a unique and education-altering event!
Given the title Virtual Reality: A Gamechanger, Deeper Than Games, this hands-on event will provide all attendees with the unique chance to try some of the most advanced VR tools currently available. Having sampled some of them ourselves, we can wholeheartedly attest to the mind-blowingly realistic experiences they create. At our event, everyone will have the opportunity to try the absolute best models, including the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and HTC Vive among some other innovative learning tools. Also attending will be Mindwise’s Caitlin Krause, an industry expert, who will share her insights on using immersive tech in education. Participants will even get the chance to network with other VR enthusiasts and discover a number of ways to use this technology in the education space.
The event starts at 3 pm on Thursday, April 13 with registration and networking opportunities taking place at that time. We will get underway with a welcoming address from Eduporium’s VP of Sales, Palo Peirce, at 3:15 before Caitlin takes the stage at 3:30 to discuss how virtual reality can truly become a gamechanger deeper than games. Following Caitlin, Eduporium co-founder and CEO, Rick Fredkin, will address the crowd regarding the next steps with virtual reality, including how it can be used in a number of industries, including in classrooms to prepare kids for attaining jobs in those industries. At 4:15 the roundtable demonstrations and hands-on demos will begin and refreshments will be served. The event will conclude promptly at 5:30 pm. We’ll have hors d’oeuvres and drinks available for you and the chance to try some awesome stuff!
NHSTE STEAM Tech Integration Summit
If you’re a little further north of us and still looking to kick off your long weekend with another exciting educational event, we’ve got something else happening on April 13 as well. While some of our team will be introducing and exploring VR in Burlington, other members will be up in Bedford, NH at STEAM Tech Integration Summit hosted by the New Hampshire Society for Technology in Education. That organization may sound familiar and that’s because it’s a local affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education, which we mentioned earlier, and do a lot of events with. Designed to educate teacher leaders on how to go full STEAM ahead in their classrooms, this day-long workshop will provide very valuable learning opportunities and hands-on professional development for teachers of all grades. Oh, and you’ll get the chance to meet us!
The conference will feature dozens of innovative EdTech companies, including our vibrant table of technology tools. We’ll be there answering questions and giving attendees the opportunity to try our samples right on the spot! Whether they’ve used products like this before or just want to explore, our inviting selection has been known to draw a crowd and our tech experts will be happy to show everybody how it’s done! On our table, you’ll be able to find EdTech toys, like the Makey Makey, Ozobot, littleBits, and plenty of other robots, coding kits, and more! We’re expecting another big crowd and we’re ready for another successful show. When you arrive, just look for the big, green Eduporium banner in the “technology playground” area and it will lead you directly to the best hands-on learning at the event!
Aside from our wonderful display, the day will be filled with plenty of exhilarating presentations from top-notch EdTech companies. If you attend the event, there are four different time slots of concurrent sessions beginning at 10 am and ending at around 3 pm with a break for lunch and general presentations in between. Registration opens at 8:30 am with the opening session getting underway promptly at 9:00. All day long, teachers will be presenting on how they have used STEAM tools to increase achievement in their classrooms and, trust us when we say, there will be tons of invaluable ideas and suggestions going around! We hope to see everyone there as we make our way up to the Granite State for some deep learning opportunities.
Cambridge Science Festival
The Cambridge Science Festival is a 10-day, citywide event that incorporates all kinds of innovative science activities for kids and parents and spans across the entire Boston area, giving kids some beneficial fun during their April vacation. This year’s festival is taking place from April 14-23 and will highlight some of the latest trends in STEM and science while teaching kids the power of staying curious. Unique in nature, the Cambridge Science Festival features some events at a central location, including the kickoff and wrap-up festivities, but most of the other events are held at various locations throughout the city. One morning kids could be in downtown Boston learning about electricity and that afternoon they could be an hour away in a suburb experimenting with insects. The beauty of the CSF is that it truly incorporates the entire science community in helping kids learn about some of the most fascinating things on the planet.
Each event featured as part of the festival is 100 percent hands-on, which gives kids the chance to learn by doing and celebrate the wonders of science rather than shy away from them. Many of the exhibits even incorporate some of the most relevant contemporary scientific areas, including artificial intelligence and climate change, teaching kids the foundational skills to be able to deal with these concerns later in life. Plus, kids also get the chance to hear from some of the STEM professionals at the host sites, including researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And, finally, the signature event of the CSF—the Science Carnival & Robot Zoo—gives children the chance to see STEM innovations in action as they witness the latest and greatest from the field of robotics!
The session we’re hosting is taking place on Thursday, April 20 from 3:00-4:30 pm in our techXplore room at Eduporium HQ and sold out in no time! There, we will have the coolest STEM tools on display for kids to actively try with an age-appropriate option for everyone. We’ll have plenty of robotics tools, coding games, and circuitry kits for kids to create interactive education right in the palms of their hands. We’ll also educate parents on the innovative services we offer while kids make, play, invent, and learn. We can’t wait to host for the second consecutive year. We’re very excited for another opportunity to partner with the Cambridge Science Festival and bring unique STEM opportunities to kids in the community!
CAIS Exhibitor Showcase
To close out the month, we’re making our longest trip as we head down I-95 to the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools Exhibitor Showcase in Mystic. We were lucky enough to be invited to participate in this special event, which features attendees from various private schools across Connecticut. Attendees all have interest in bettering their educational programs through the adoption of STEAM solutions, which is exactly why we jumped at the opportunity to attend! Sometimes, educators need a little positive reinforcement or a push in the right direction to put an end to their fears of adopting tech in the classroom. Others might just need some new ideas to make their EdTech programs pop. Whatever the case may be, we’ll help Connecticut’s connected educators make the most out of teaching with technology!
We are very excited to have begun this long-term partnership with the CAIS and look forward to collaborating, especially at the upcoming event. One of the reasons this event is so great is because there is something for almost every teacher. And, with teachers from almost every grade level and subject attending, we knew it was somewhere we needed to be. The CAIS is a pretty substantial organization and has been operating for well over 60 years. Serving over 30,000 students statewide, the CAIS makes use of volunteer contributions to provide students with the best education experience possible. Since we like providing students with the best education experience possible, we thought we should get in touch.
If you’re available on Thursday, April 27 and can get to the Mystic, Conn. area, this is a great showcase for teachers and administrators to attend. It takes place after school (3-6 pm) and is a great way for teachers to make some new connections and learn some new tricks before the end of the school year. The attendees will be from all areas of education, including technology directors, IT leaders, principals, admissions professionals, teachers, and more. Some of the top tickets on the agenda include a virtual reality tour to kick things off and plenty of opportunities for building professional networks throughout the afternoon. Just like at our FREE VR event this Thursday, attendees will have the chance to explore the possibilities of virtual reality in education and participate in interactive demonstrations. We can’t wait to take part in each of these April events and look forward to all the new teachers and education professionals we meet!
For the latest EdTech, STEM, and 21st century education news, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Like us on Facebook, too, or sign up for our newsletter for our latest product announcements and offerings. If you have an idea for an Eduporium Weekly theme, send us a message on social media or comment below.