The Owl Labs team originally developed their 360-degree cameras and the software for use outside education—typically for corporate settings. As the pandemic and remote and hybrid learning set in, however, this tech quickly helped to redefine how kids accessed instruction. Jump to today and their virtual meeting tools continue to positively impact student engagement.
Today’s four most common learning styles include visual learning, auditory learning, kinesthetic learning, and, finally, reading and writing. Almost all of our students fall into one of these categories and, as you may guess, since it combines hands-on exploring with solving problems, kinesthetic learning is the one that’s most often associated with hands-on STEM education.
With real improvements to availability, value, reliability, and effectiveness in today’s STEM tools for students, it might be easy to make purchases from the first store you find. Over the years, however, we like to think that we’ve created a very unique shopping experience for teachers and want to make sure you’re aware of the benefits of buying EdTech tools from a reseller.
To create environments and experiences that are conducive to helping kids build design thinking skills, there are a few key areas that educators should focus on. Since a K–12 makerspace, for example, is a notably open-ended environment, combining play-based exploration with design thinking could be effective, especially when compared to traditional instruction.
So many factors go into how education leaders ensure students are ready for the real world and, often, it involves STEM. Factors like technology, the economy, emerging careers, and the state of the workforce each continue to affect how teachers introduce students to STEM. And, as of now, there isn’t much indication that the elements fueling STEM education will slow.
Blended learning is an effective instructional strategy for teachers and students. Even more so since the onset of remote and hybrid learning, blended models have been both necessary and effective. Though it’s not as common as it used to be, it still happens in many schools and it’s highly effective for students who learn differently.
The Meeting Owl Pro packs plenty of versatility in its compact form. Though under 11 inches in height, it helps educators create enhanced inclusion, drive engagement, and ensure everyone’s voice is heard. It’s actually a three-in-one camera, microphone, and speaker that helps educators unlock active learning in any environment.
An art-inspired platform, Storybird is designed to help students become better writers. One of the most important soft skills in today’s world, we know that communication is key in any future career. Since so much of today’s workforce requires a reliance on digital technologies, it’s easy to see why educators place such an emphasis on writing skills.
Microlearning has emerged as a more widely talked about form of instruction. Though previously uncommon in K-12 education, this method has been used in other areas. By definition, microlearning consists of much shorter lessons filled with content that’s straight to the point with teachers working to eliminate any potential ‘filler’ content.
The hands-on, physical skills students build through experiences are commonly referred to as hard skills and they’re certainly valuable to their futures. What about soft skills, though? What are they, why are they so widely talked about, and what can K-12 teachers do to help make sure their students develop these beneficial skills, too?
