Since more school systems are transitioning toward offering some kind of CTE program for students in high school grades, it’s becoming even more important they do this the right way. In many places, career and technical education (CTE) is taking off in colleges and universities, but also coming into play even earlier than that by necessity.
Tech tools have the ability to engage students and they help catalyze tech skills growth by default. While other factors can help spur some improved student engagement and achievement, the obvious answer in the 21st century is technology. And, whether in a classroom, library, or afterschool makerspace, there is a compatible tech tool for just about everyone.
Chances are your thoughts of traditional classrooms are different from how contemporary classrooms can—or at least should—be set up. Rows of desks and a chalkboard used to be staples but they don’t help prepare today’s kids for a hands-on future. They need collaboration, interaction, and active learning and it takes a different kind of classroom for this.
Teachers are often hoping that students spend their free time innovating in the makerspace and taking advantage of this unique way to learn. There’s only one small problem. There’s nowhere to put it. Makerspaces are super versatile, however, so if you are struggling with finding the right placement in your school (or any place), it shouldn’t bee too much of a challenge.
At a somewhat surprising rate, teachers are ditching traditional computer labs and rediscovering innovation with new hubs known as 3D printer labs. In these labs, kids get the added STEM experience and the school spends more money. Not so fast. Today, we’ve got five top-of-the-line and, more importantly, affordable 3D printers you should try out this school year.
Wouldn’t it be nice if students got everything they needed to know perfect every single time? Things would run so much more smoothly and everyone would be happier. Right? Wrong. Yes, failure is an absolutely critical part of student learning especially in many of today’s hands-on, STEM-focused atmosphere and making mistakes helps students grow.
Whether it’s because of a lack of good resources, lack of funds, or lack of knowing how easy it is to get started, many school and district leaders do not provide their students with CS education opportunities. Luckily, coding is becoming easier to learn, which also means it’s become easier to teach. While they may seem unlikely, here are some ways of doing so.
We’ve decided to do a bit more in terms of bulk EdTech fulfillment. Our research has told us that teachers like to have a number of compatible EdTech products for students to use collaboratively. So, we thought ‘Hey, that’s a pretty good idea,’ and set out to create custom tech bundles for our partners. Here are some of our favorites.
To us, being partners means that we’ll always help educators learn what’s best for their students and develop a plan to achieve those goals—not try to sell them the most expensive tools out there. See how we can partner with your school, library, or makerspace to help empower your students with technology they can use to build key skills.
Ah, the myth of having summers off. Those outside the teaching profession tend to become filled with jealousy every year about this time because they’re stuck at work and teachers are stuck…doing absolutely nothing. Or so that’s what they think. The fact is that, especially today, teachers cannot afford to take summers completely off.
