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Learn Drone Basics with Robolink’s CoDrone!

Flight Movement

Ever wonder why drones are popular these days? Drones are a wonder of modern technology that support industries such as film production, aerial photography and drone engineering not to mention that drones are also a favorite when it comes to STEM learning. Yes, you heard it right! In schools, a lot of drone kits are being used for learning as there are specific drone models that are programmable, these have become an increasingly critical element of a modern education.

Codable Drones

Codable drones are designed for educational purposes to help students improve skills while having fun at the same time. These drones will let students learn how to code, but more than that, they can learn skills in leadership, community involvement, communicating across different technology platforms, finding their passion and teamwork, which will position them for success well beyond their school years.

Start your drone journey with Robolink Codrone Pro programmable and educational drone kit. Robolink is a Robotics education company that aims to encourage students to engage with STEM. Their mission is to make STEM education accessible, engaging and fun! They offer lots of awesome kits and will teach you how to code drones.

What a great way to start is with their starter kit, CoDrone Lite. This is one of the codable drones they offer for STEM education.  This drone is a basic aerial drone suitable for ages 10 and up. Included in the kit is a CoDrone unit, a battery and charger, extra propellers, and a Bluetooth-capable pre-made circuit board. This will teach you basic programming skills on how to navigate and even give some tips and tricks on how to fly drones with style! Learn how to program your own custom flight patterns, programming remotes, how to navigate through obstacles, and more.

Another Robolink’s innovation that can get you more interested in drone programming is their latest drone, the CoDrone Mini! It uses radio frequency to connect the remote and drone, so the range and connection is stronger. Use code to make the CoDrone Mini zip around, flash colors, do flips, and even grab sensor readings.

Flight Movement

Throttle, Yaw, Pitch, Roll

Some of the great features is to experience the flight code of the drone – you can program your drone to do drone throttle, pitch, yaw and roll. Throttle controls the vertical up and down motion of the drone. Positive throttle will make the drone fly higher and negative throttle will make the drone fly lower. Yaw is the left and right rotation of the drone. Positive yaw will make the drone turn to the right and negative yaw will make the drone turn to the left. Pitch is the forward and backward tilt of the drone. A positive pitch will make the drone tilt and move forward and negative pitch will make the drone tilt and move backwards. Roll is the side to side tilt of the drone.  Positive roll will make the drone tilt to the right and negative roll will make the drone tilt to the left.

Throttle, Pitch, Yaw, Roll

CoDrone has a lot more to offer! You can play with it and do more tricks other than the basic flight movements. You can code it to do pattern flying, motion tracking, auto hovering, turtle turn, and so much more! Try it and figure out some cool movements that this tiny quadcopter can do.

These are just a few of the many awesome flight tricks you can do with your drone. Coding drones will not only make your kids learn the basic engineering and robotics skills, but this will also give them the opportunity to enjoy what they’re doing – this is a smart way to involve kids at their young age to boost their love for learning.

OTHER DRONE FEATURES

References:

https://shop.robolink.com/pages/codrone-pro-lite

https://learn.robolink.com/product/codrone-mini/

https://ozrobotics.com/shop/codrone-lite-for-audiences-who-want-a-simple-intro-to-programming/

https://engineering.purdue.edu/INSPIRE/Reviews/toys/codrone-lite

https://www.robolink.com/snap-lesson-3/

How to be Successful in Writing Grant Proposals with Dr. Todd Ullah

Grant Webinar with Dr. Todd

What makes an Ideal Grant Application?

Research

  • Conducting targeted research helps you find the right funders to partner with and to support your organization’s work. Sending the right proposal to the right funders is the key to any grant in funding a match. Your interest must align with what you’re looking for. 

Present a logical solution to a problem

  • Think about your proposal as a story with a beginning as the problem or opportunity then a need statement in the middle part of the journey which is your solution to the program and then the ending is the result of what you hope for the overall outcome. Some funders say that they get lost when they read proposals. The solution for this is to present the problem that makes sense to the funder.

Tell your readers, right up front, what you’re going to do with that grant

  • Who’s going to benefit? Why should they care? Those are the key points in what makes a grant proposal ideal or good. 

Convince the Funder you know what you are doing.

  • Proposals must demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of what the needs are in your community and a strong programmatic response.
  • After reading your proposal, the funder should feel that your organization will be a responsible steward of their funds. They’re particularly interested in how you’re going to steward their funds, how you’re going to play into their overall objective in terms of funding your needs and meeting theirs as well. So, present a solid plan and highlight the skills, experience of the team involved. 
  • When you write a proposal, you get a letter of acceptance, support. Make it a real letter from the funder. Try not to make a form letter as people see right through that. 

Tell the same story in the budget and the proposal narrative

  • Crosswalk what’s in the proposal to what’s in your budget. Make it as narrative as possible. The project budget is another opportunity to tell your story and it demonstrates your credibility which is really important. Many funders tell that budget is often the first thing they look at — what does the budget narrative say? What are the budget documents? Do they align with the grant objectives of the organization? How does the narrative support that? Everything in the budget should be reflected in the narrative as the last thing you want is a budget that raises more questions than answers.

Make a phone call when appropriate.

– Another thing, especially to non-profit organizations, is to make a phone call to the funder when appropriate instead of relying solely on emails or letters. Foundation staff are often receptive to phone calls as they want to help. They are willing to talk to you about pre-proposal, what they’re looking for.

Read and discuss the RFP, RFA and RFI with your team – Know it Backwards and Forwards

  • In terms of big proposals, evaluation is king. You’re looking at three real kinds of proposals — RFP, RFA and RFI. RFP is usually something that teachers or school people don’t see. It’s a business document that announces a project that entities are funding and a proposed solution. RFA is something you will see from the classroom to the state house door in terms of wanting to write for a grant. This is the most common form you’ll find so when you search things, look for RFAs. RFI is a solicitation document. Often, districts propose those.

Tips:

Brevity is of the essence. Simple is better.

  1. Spell out the need
  • Being succinct and spelling out what you need is important. Why are you applying for a particular grant? Because you need funding is not a good answer. To increase the chance of being accepted, clearly describe the need for your project, how the project will meet a community need, how it will make a significant impact for good given the equity and access issues that our nation and the world face. 
  1. Differentiate yourself
  • Tell how your organizations work. How they are different from other educational institutions, non-profits or schools. Make sure that you highlight the relationship that could be existing with a foundation where you have a common interest. 
  1. Target a specific project for your proposal
  • Oftentimes, we write grants with the scope and sequence too wide so you want to be focused on what you really want to say. Majority of the grants are awarded to a specific cause as opposed to just general support. By focusing your grant application on a single project like sixth grade science immersion, seventh grade computer science or middle school. That is more tangible than saying you’re going to do something k-12 and you’re going to study that. Being specific will ensure your chances of getting funded. 
  1. Eliminate industry words and jargon
  • A lot of industry words and jargon are not associated with funders. A lot of educators are sometimes lost in translation which can hurt your application.Gear your proposal into specific initiatives and programs 
  1. Be brief and keep focused on your challenge(s)

Grant Resources

If you’re looking for STEM grants, here’s a list of good resources:

STEM Grants for K-12 & Nonprofits

http://stemgrants.com/stem-grants-for-k-12-nonprofits/

State Grants (CA)

https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/af/

State Grants (PA)

https://www.pasmart.gov/funding/

Federal Grants

https://www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencyCode=ED

Amazon Future Engineer/BootUp Grant Applications for Elementary School (no deadline)

https://afebootup.smapply.org/prog/amazon_future_engineer_bootup_elementary_computer_science_initiative/

What happens if I don’t win a proposal?

  1. Don’t take it personally. There is a lot of competition!
  2. Make sure you ask for feedback from the funder and review comments with your team and with the funder. Get it written according to a rubric so you can come back strong the next time you apply.
  3. Check if communication about the context was spot on
GRANTS AND FUNDING

Educational Companies for Providing Hands-on Experience to Make STEM Fun and Enjoyable for Kids

GoldieBlox

Kids begin their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math as early as 5 years old when they learn to play with their toys and explore things like how they are made, how they are being operated, how can they move and even spend more time on gadgets like computers, laptops and smartphones. As this kids’ market is vast, many companies, especially robotics, technology and science companies, add some flavor to their services and products through STEM-based lessons and activities to engage these kids to STEM education. We’ve come up with a list of companies, in no particular order, that offer educational kits to learn STEM. 

Project Scientist

Project Scientist is a company that began in 2011 with a dream to increase diversity in STEM by inspiring girls. Yes, the company focuses mainly on inspiring young girls to increase diversity in STEM. They established a STEM pathway to make sure that students stay on track in their academic and professional STEM achievements.

Project Scientist

Project Scientist STEM Club, a live online STEM enrichment for girls ages 4-12, includes a 90-minute of hands-on experiment and activities with Project Scientist certified instructors and a lab kit delivered door to door every month, along with access to their virtual community of mentors and like-minded girls. 

Recommended Camps

Home Science Tools

Home Science Tools has been in the industry for over 25 years bringing homeschool families to experience the wonder and joy of discovering the world through science. Their primary focus is making hands-on STEM-based kits and activities to homeschooled kids. It’s purpose is to ignite a joy for learning science and ensure learning through hands-on science discovery at home.

Home Science Tools

Home Science Tools offers a variety of kits for learning biology, chemistry, earth science, physics and engineering at home or school. As kids will study bacteria or life that exists beyond the naked eye, they offer microscopes for sale and will help you decide which one you need as the microscope has different types. They also design a science homeschool curriculum to make it easier for parents and educators to teach multiple ages together.

Recommended Camps

GoldieBlox

GoldieBlox is a media and entertainment company where STEM can be learned in a fun different way through storytelling. Their goal is to educate and empower young girls by creating engaging content, fun toys and interesting resources that will help build their confidence and their dreams. 

GoldieBlox

Looking for fun activities and design tools? GoldieBlox offers kits and step by step procedures to help with your DIY projects like slime, rock candy sticks, soap, glitter, and so much more. Their team also offers Games and Puzzles, Printable Hacks to follow and some coloring pages that can be easily downloaded for your convenience. Videos are also available on their YouTube account which is available in public. 

Recommended Camps

Robolink

Robolink was established in 2012 in San Diego, California to encourage students to engage with STEM. Their purpose is to make fun and approachable robotics kits that teach coding and engineering in a way that’s exciting to children and teens. 

Robolink

Robolink has a wide variety of virtual classes from monthly to camps. They offer courses to grades K-12 to different parts of the world as long as their class time works for you whether it’s a one-on-one approach with a more personalized curriculum or group lessons with your friends and new classmates. Kits, manufactured by the company, will be delivered to your house before the lesson starts. Subjects are more on coding, game design and robotics such as Drone Programming, Python Coding, Robotics Fundamentals, and more.

Recommended Camps

Sphero 

Sphero was founded in 2010 with millions of students, 40,000+ educators, 20,000+ education institutions in 80 different countries. Their mission is to make undeniably cool, programmable robots and STEAM-based educational tools that transform the way kids learn, create, and invent through coding, science, music, and the arts.

Sphero

Sphero has developed curriculum plans for educators. Its Computer Science Foundations program, for example, is aligned to various national and international benchmarks, including the Next Generation Science Standards. Meanwhile, the littleBits Code Kit is meant for at-home education, and teaches kids the basics of coding.

Sphero designed lesson plans and activities perfect for educators. Sphero Edu activities teaches computational thinking and programming or do some activities to hone the student’s skills in Math, Science, Language or Arts. Computer Science Foundations is a standards-aligned, supplemental curriculum built on the K12 Computer Science Framework Principles. littleBits Class activities bring STEAM education into the classroom to dive deeper into engineering and invention cycles with lessons and guides to help you.

Recommended Camps

Genius Brands International

Genius Brands International was formed in 2013 is a NASDAQ publicly traded global children’s media company that creates and licenses animated entertainment content. They have partnered with award-winning creators and producers to distribute enriching and diverse entertainment worldwide. 

Genius Brands International

Genius Brands International basically offers the items related to what you see on their website. For instance, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab offers slime kits, building robot sets, and many more. The company has many Emmy-winning staff that can definitely help kids improve their coding and programming skills.

Recommended Camps
OTHER RECOMMENDED STEM EDUCATION

REFERENCES:

https://projectscientist.org/about-us/about-us

https://www.homesciencetools.com/

https://goldieblox.com/

https://shop.robolink.com/pages/about-us

https://sphero.com/pages/about-us

https://www.facebook.com/GeniusBrands/photos/483421568461964

https://www.gnusbrands.com/brands

The 10 Best STEM kits for Kids in 2021

VEX GO

Do you want to develop STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills with your kids? Skills that will not just prepare them for their future but also for them to have fun while learning. One of the most exciting ways to let kids be involved in STEM learning is through STEM kits. The following kits are packed with powerful pieces and components that your kids will surely learn from and enjoy. Let’s dig in to the top 10 best STEM kits for kids this year 2021.

CoDrone mini

CoDrone Mini

If you or your kids are learning just the basics of coding and robotics, then CoDrone mini is best for you. It is a mini drone smaller to its cousins, CoDrone Pro and Lite. This power-packed kit comes with free online tutorials, the drone itself, batteries and a remote control so that it can be flown straight out of the box or you can fly it by programming codes with Blockly and Python.  It is also compatible in Mac, PC and Chromebook, making it incredibly adaptable to all who wants to learn the basics of drones and coding.

CoDrone Mini is also designed and recommended for Ages 8 and up, good to be used as stem kits age 8 and for younger audiences who want to learn foundational concepts behind coding. This is the best drone so start exploring coding and programming while you enjoy flying drones and hey, it is much affordable compared to other brands! Price starts at $89.99 at Robolink store – not bad for your first programmable drone.

Micro:bit

Microbit

Do you want to see a micro-computer packed with awesome features and designed to help kids engage in coding and software development? Then Micro:bit is what you’re looking for! Manufactured by the BBC company as part of its Make it Digital initiative, the micro:bit is one of the world’s smallest programmable computers. It’s a micro controller with extra sensors and I/O connectors, designed to be programmed from another device – be it a computer, tablet, laptop or a smartphone.

You can do a lot of projects with a micro:bit computer and just by selecting a wide range of projects on the BBC website, you can start with the simple tutorial guide that introduces three projects: an alarm, a synthesizer and a raindrop-catching game. There are four coding options to choose from and all are available on their website, www.microbit.co.uk – choose from Code Kingdoms’ JavaScript, Microsoft Block Editor, Microsoft Touch Develop, and the old standard, Python.

This is an incredible tool to start educating kids with coding to create games, robot techniques and other devices yet to be made. It’s small size and built-in sensors make it easy to code and entertaining to use. Designed really for education, Micro:bit can give endless opportunities for learning even more exciting projects and inspire the next generation of engineers, coders and computer programming professionals in the future.

Piper mini

Piper Mini

Piper mini is a one great tool to introduce your kids into STEM learning. It’s the smaller version of the Piper computer kit, complete with all Piper features minus the add-ons. It has the powerful Raspberry Pi which is the Piper software and levels, and all the hardware components you need for each level that you want to build. This super kit promises to teach fundamental knowledge of how computers work and teaches children computer science concepts like how hardware works and how it interacts with the codes you will program.

The Piper Mini is as remarkable as the Minecraft game itself. It focuses on children who have a passion for building gadgets, a huge interest in creating their own PC, and are big Minecraft players. This kit is categorized under the stem kits age 8 and above. The kit comes with a large blueprint poster with clear illustrations and all components are completely labeled, including the screws and connectors. Kids will love to build and work on this controller as it will give instructions to connect wires and at the same time they are also playing a game where the character moves forward every time you progress in each step.

The game also includes a storyline where you are asked to have a mission – For example: You are a robot in outer space and it is your mission to stop an asteroid from destroying Earth. This game will include solving puzzles and building tools towards the end. The game also gives the kids an opportunity to navigate with switches and lights in the breadboard. This kit is one amazing introduction to kids in STEM learning!   

Zumi

Zumi

Zumi is a friendly, self-driving car kit that helps Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning approachable and accessible for everyone. You can program this car robot to identify colors, learn gestures, recognize faces and a whole lot more! While teaching Zumi how to do tricks and actions, you also learn in a fun way at the same time! Your kids will learn skills that will soon become an essential skill set for the future. Zumi can teach about AI topics such as basic robotics, mapping & navigation, machine vision, decision-making and also machine learning. This may include programs to identify obstacles on the road, recognize movements of your hand to follow directions and can also be trained to recognize your face.

This awesome self-driving car can be programmed using Blockly for block-based coding and also with Python for more text-based coding. The company and manufacturer Robolink knows that coding and programming Zumi can be intimidating, that’s why they have created teaching tools and online step-by-step tutorials available for free to all interested users.

Just a couple years back, Zumi won an award in the CES 2019 with the best of innovation award in robotics and drone. This is definitely recommended for those who want to learn and enjoy STEM learning in a fun and cool way!

VEX GO

VEX GO

One fun and smart way to introduce your kids with STEM learning is with VEX GO. VEX GO is an affordable construction system that teaches fundamentals of STEM through hands-on activities that help your kids perceive coding and engineering in a fun and positive way! This super kit includes components that lets you build numerous projects that you can ever imagine – complete with building block plastic pieces, motors, batteries, sensors and switches.

VEX GO can be programmed using VEXcode blocks powered by Scratch blocks – this is an easy way to program your robot as it has drag & drop features and a device management that is simple, flexible and powerful. It also has minimal instructions so that students can easily start building and coding right away.

VEX also offers free online tutorials to their teachers resources, VEX GO activities, Cumulative pacing guide and STEM Lab units that contain structured activities for iteration, engineering, real world applications and chance for students to build teamwork and collaboration skills.

This awesome kit is also pre-sorted into a convenient re-usable case that keeps all the parts organized and easily accessible. This is designed and categorized under stem kits age 9 and up and is ideal as stem kits for distance learning with online educators focused with COVID-19 related STEM alternatives and resources. Articles available on their website includes teaching with one robot per child, using VEXcode VR when students are remote, and a disinfecting guide for VEX products. 

Ozobot Evo

Ozobot Evo

Looking for a tiny robot with big features to learn and play with? Ozobot Evo is your pal. The Ozobot Evo is a fun robot toy with a multi-step on-ramp to coding, appealing to a wide range of ages. It is a miniature robot that can perform maneuvers and amazing tricks. This might be treated as a toy at a first glance but this miniature robot is an educational tool allowing kids and educators alike to learn robotics and coding. This super robot is lightweight and user-friendly. You can use it right away after unpacking just by pressing a button and placing the robot on a drawn line and it will immediately start to play with Color Codes.

One great thing about the Ozobot is the high quality of electronics inside. IT has a couple of separate propelled motors, multiple sensors, LED lights and a speaker all packed and programmed into one little robot – now that’s amazing! Ozobot can definitely provide a unique hands-on learning experience for coding.

This super robot can be programmed using OzoBlockly where you can choose four different levels of complexity – from icons-only novice mode to a complex advanced version, everything with complex math functions good and can be categorized under stem kits age 8 and up which can be more challenging with the difficulty modes it has – from novice to master. The advanced mode that is ideal for the older kids includes more complex programs where you can encounter some functions involving math.

Ozobot is definitely a robot for all ages – Younger kids can just draw thick lines on a piece of paper and the Bit will follow it. While in older kids, they can enjoy graphical programming with OzoBlockly. It can also be used for more serious programming projects. But overall, the OzoBot is a toy that can teach kids and teenagers how to code. 

Osmo Genius Kit

Osmo Genius Kit

Osmo Genius Kit is designed to be used with iPads that interact with actual hand held pieces with the iPad, bringing the child’s game pieces and actions to life. This super kit includes the Osmo base (stand & reflector) and three boxes of game pieces for Tangram, Numbers, and Words.

Masterpiece and Newton can be played with a piece of paper. When the child starts up an Osmo iPad game, the red reflector will place an image of what they see on the iPad screen onto the table in front of them. From there, children can engage in different activities in areas of art, math, science, literacy, and more.

This super kit can be categorized under stem kits age 6 and up. Kids can learn a wide array of subjects that include coding, Math, drawing, spelling, fundamentals of Physics, spatial relational skills and even world geography. Through this kit, you can integrate fun and learning at the same time – best of both worlds and kids won’t even notice that they are learning while having fun. 

All of the games included in the Osmo Genius Kit are engaging, fun, and will provide plenty of interactive play. Also, the games help kids improve their creative thinking. All the components are well-made and designed for kids. And what’s more interesting is that Osmo provides additional lesson plans on their website that can be used with the games. 

iRobot Root

iRobot Root

Manufactured by iRobot, Root is a robot that can be programmed to do a long list of activities, including drawing, climbing walls, and playing musical notes. It is a two-wheeled, mobile robot designed for STEM learning for kids. You can operate this super robot through the coding commands that you will make via the companion iRobot Coding App.

The company’s vision is to provide a way for children of any skill-level, from pre-readers to experts, to learn to code. True enough, they offer two versions of Root – a lower-cost version for those seeking quality STEM building kits at-home, and the original Root designed as stem classroom kits and stem kits for elementary classrooms. This can definitely make learning to code more accessible to educators, students and parents alike.

This incredible robot can be accessed with the Root coding app that is packed with lessons, projects and activities to begin your hands-on problem solving with Root right out of the box. This robot is also perfect for those that are just starting with code programming as well as experienced users. You can switch the coding interface from graphical blocks for non-readers or beginners to full text for advanced coders.

This cool robot is recommended and categorized as stem kits age 6 and up. This is indeed a fun, easy and highly visible way to learn how to draw the connection between coding and robots. 

Wonder Workshop Dash

Wonder Workshop Dash

While some STEM kits require kids to build and code robots first, Wonder Workshop Dash uses a different method. The Wonder Workshop Dash robot gives you pre-assembled and ready to teach programming lessons right out of the box. The brightly colored automaton, which looks like a set of three turquoise balls with an infrared eye and wheels below, is amazingly stunning.

Kids who can’t even read all the text directions in the software, will learn a lot from Dash and even more from optional accessories like the Sketch kit. This delightful rolling robot is very entertaining and is packed with a colorful personality. Kids at a young age will not have a problem navigating through the interface and writing simple programs in the available apps.

This incredible robot is not just a toy, but it’s a learning tool designed to engage young minds and help them understand the basics of coding. The Dash robot has sensors (infrared, proximity, and potentiometers) all over its frame. It’s built tough like a kid-friendly toy should be, which is more accessible compared to some make-your-own kits that produce robots that you’d probably have to repair following a long step-by-step procedure.

This one amazing robot is a wonderful learning toy for kids who want to learn the basics of coding and programming. While this robot is more expensive than the others, the durability, design and the no-assembly required characteristics makes it an investment worth spending. 

Birdbrain Technologies Hummingbird Robotics Kit

Birdbrain Technologies Hummingbird Robotics Kit

Manufactured by Birdbrain Technologies in Pittsburgh and developed at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, the Hummingbird Robotics kit lets you make a robot with cardboard wrapped in tin foil that looks like R2D2 that can twirl, flash lights and even make amazing tricks.

The Hummingbird DUO Robotics kit is the second generation of Birdbrain Technologies’ STEM kit. It is a super kit recommended and categorized as a stem kit age 10 and up. The Hummingbird Duo is simply two boards in one, operating as either an original Hummingbird controller or as an Arduino Leonardo with an integrated motor/servo shield and improved connectors. Arduino is built right into the controller of Hummingbird Duo, allowing the user to immediately move to that next step.

Most STEM robotic kits focus more on building robots, but Hummingbird considers robotics as just one element combined with craft materials and text to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings. The kit consists of a customized control board, lights, sensors, and motors that can be connected to the controller by inserting parts into plastic clamps on the board. They navigate their creations on a computer by dragging and dropping icons, so they don’t need to learn coding or programming languages.

Educators also testified that students who have experimented with this kit fostered interest in technology among students ages 11 and up. The programming interface of the Hummingbird is also simple even for small children. They can create expressions on a robot’s face, making the colors of the lights green that will represent the eyes of a happy face and for an angry face he or she could drag the slider towards red eyes. And they can control motors to slant eyebrows up or down.

So what now?

Definitely, a cool and fun way to learn how to operate a robot while letting you integrate your children’s creativity and STEM skills, giving them confidence to use technology even at their young age is the best way to choose which STEM kit suits your kids best!

References:

https://shop.robolink.com/pages/codrone-mini

https://www.itpro.co.uk/desktop-pcs/26689/bbc-microbit-review

https://www.playpiper.com/products/piper-mini?_pos=1&_psq=piper%20mini&_ss=e&_v=1.0

https://www.digitaltrends.com/?review=piper-computer-kit-review

https://www.stemfinity.com/Zumi

https://www.vexrobotics.com/go

https://sea.pcmag.com/ozobot-evo/22295/ozobot-evo

https://everyavenuelife.com/2019/12/osmo-review-genius-kit/

https://www.reviewed.com/parenting/features/irobot-root-coding-robot-kids-review

https://www.therobotreport.com/irobot-root-rt0-coding-robot-for-kids/

https://www.lifewire.com/wonder-workshop-dash-review-4774568

https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/portal/hummingbirdbit/

https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/slideshow/birdbrain_technologies_hummingbird_duo_robotics_kit/

Best Online/Virtual STEM Camps 2021

virtual-stem-camp

What is STEM? 

STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Technology holds the future of humanity. STEM camps are the best avenue to introduce our kids to the world of advancement such as coding and programming. It is valuable to gain skills that can be used by our children in their future careers. With the pandemic situation, the education system is greatly affected so schools have transitioned from face-to-face learning to virtual approaches like offering online tech camps, computer programming camps or tech summer camps for high school students, tech camps for youth, summer tech camps online for kids and teens, etc. Children can learn different things such as communication, team work, decision making, problem solving and creativity that can be applied in the real world in these camps.

The good news is a lot of online STEM camps are being offered in almost all cities in the US making it efficient, convenient and accessible for parents to enroll their kids without being physically present in a school. To help you decide, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best online/virtual STEM Camps in 2021. 

6 Best Online STEM Camps 2021

Robolink

Robolink was established in 2012 in San Diego, California to encourage students to engage with STEM. They make fun and approachable robotics kits that teach coding and engineering in a way that’s exciting to children and teens. With their online classes, they can teach students using the cutting edge of technology! They were the first to make a programmable educational drone as well as a self-driving car kit that teaches artificial intelligence.

Their Afterschool & Weekend Camps have unique, stand-alone projects and activities so your child can engage with new friends. Learn new skills and mix and match weeks to find your child’s favorite program!

Robolink’s afterschool and weekend camps have unique, stand-alone projects and activities so kids can learn new skills in web development, game development, data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. It can be a one-to-one for a more customized learning experience or group class to meet new friends and do some fun activities with them. You can choose between a 2-day weekend camp or 5-day afterschool camp. 

STEM Camp Robolink

Robolink is also offering virtual classes if you’re looking for a regular class to further enhance your skills in coding and programming. They have 1:1 or group lessons for Drone Programming, Artificial Intelligence with Zumi, Python Coding, Robotics Fundamentals and Virtual Robotics with VEXcode VR. All of their kits are also supported with online lessons for your reference so you can dive deeper even after the camp or virtual subscription.

iD Tech

iD Tech pioneered the very first tech camps for kids and teens in 1999. They’ve grown from 280 to 50,000 students per year. Whether you want at-home experience or onsite, iD Tech camps and academies in over 150+ university locations can give you what you are looking for in tech summer camps. With their record of long-term student success, and reputation in the world of STEM education, they can be one of the world’s go-to summer STEM educators. 

Their tech camps online are being offered in multiple time zones from Mondays-Fridays with Python, Java, Minecraft, Roblox, Unity, Adobe, 3D modeling as their top taken courses. Their courses cater the grades 7-12 students with an average of 5 students per instructor in 2 hours of live instruction and peer collaboration + 2 hours of self-paced project development per day. 

iD Tech Camps

If you want a curriculum tailored to your kid’s interests and skill level, you can also go with their 60-minute online private sessions from single lessons to multi-packs. And with their newest offer, you wouldn’t hesitate to hit their enroll button — your child can bring a sibling (or friend) to their sessions for free!

There are a lot of iD Tech camps reviews that can support how impressive their camp is. Most kids normally have an enjoyable, engaging and immersive experience after their camp sessions.

CodaKid

CodaKid is an online kids coding academy and tech camp that teaches kids to create games, apps, and Minecraft mods using real programming languages and professional tools. They’ve been teaching over 30,000 students to code in about 100 countries since 2016. CodaKid’s mission is to educate the next generation of coders who will use their skills and knowledge to make the world a better place.

codakid

They have around 58 computer coding courses, 220 online coding quests and 600 computer coding challenges and adding more to offer you whether self-paced or 1-on-1 private lessons. The courses include 15 Minecraft Coding, 11 Roblox Coding, 9 Game Programming, 15 Scratch Programming, 2 Specialty Courses.

The coolest thing about CodaKid is their support system. If your child requires set up assistance, has a question, or needs support, their amazing engineers and coders are ready to support as soon as possible to make sure that kids have easy access to the support they need to really understand the code they’re trying to learn. 

You can try CodaKid for free for 14 days to see if their course suits your kids needs. They have an affordable monthly subscription and no contracts where you can cancel anytime.

Digital Media Academy

Digital Media Academy (DMA) was launched by STEM educators on the campus of Stanford University in 2002. According to DMA, their online platform is the best place for students to get their start as designers, developers, programmers, engineers, animators, musicians, filmmakers, and creators.

DMA tech camp caters to ages 9-18 years old with their around 99 courses. They have courses in Software Development and Coding, Digital Photography and Graphic Design, Game Design, Java Programming, App Development, Music Production, Illustration and 2D Animation, Roblox Game Development and a lot more. 

Digital Media Academy

Their students go on to big things after camp. One of the students who took Audio and Music Production was able to become a professional mixer when his track was chosen to be the official Sony-released remix out of over 2,000 remix entries. A graphic design student, who earned recognition as one of District 207’s Best in the area of technology innovation, is now an intern at AmericanEagle.com, a web design and development company. A Digital Media academy student is now an intern at Microsoft-stopping to shadow the VP of Trust and Safety at Google. These are just some of the students who turned their interest into passion and begin their journey at DMA.

Galileo

Galileo has been leading tens of thousands of kids to become solution-oriented innovators since 2002. They have served more than 225,000 campers with their 115 mission driven programs at 50+ camp locations mainly in metro areas such as San Francisco Bay, Southern California, Chicagoland and Denver. 

Galileo

They are consistently awarded “Best Camp” in the community they serve with an excellent Yelp rating of 82 listing and average rating of 4.5 stars. They were awarded as one of the best places to work in the Bay Area for nine years and named one of Forbes’ Best Small Companies In America in 2017.

Galileo offers summer camps on-site this 2021 to young innovators with a whole new different approach for a safe yet enjoyable environment. Aside from their on-site camps, Galileo online is bringing the fun, engaging camp experience virtually with their online classes. Innovator’s club for little campers from Pre-K to 3rd graders helps bring the kids’ ideas to life with simple materials through crafting, constructing and building. If you’re looking into tech winter camps or tech summer camps, Galileo’s Break Camps are offered to maximize kids’ time during holiday breaks like Spring, Thanksgiving and Winter with hands-on activities. 

WhiteHat Jr

WhiteHat Jr is an online learning giant that introduces and prepares kids ages 6-18 for this new coding world. Students will learn the fundamentals of coding to generate creative outcomes like animations and apps. All of their classes are being taught through their live 1:1 sessions at the comfort of your home. The company believes that kids’ creativity is at its best at the age of 5-6 and gradually declines as they grow older. So, the earlier your kids are introduced to the world of coding and programming, the better their future holds. 

WhiteHat Jr Class

WhiteHat Jr was featured in Business Standard, TechCrunch, Your Story and CNBC TV18.

WhiteHat Jr online class mainly focuses on basics of coding for their 1-month course that includes Sequence, Fundamentals Coding blocks and Loops. Their 6-month course, which is their most popular online course, targets more on Events/UI, Conditionals, Complex Loop, Logic Structures and Turtle Coding. Their more advanced course covers extended UI/UX, Rich GUI app, Space Tech simulation in Space Lab / Game Lab, Professional Game Design good for 18 months. Students will receive certificates at the end of their course curriculum. 

They also made it easier for parents to enroll their kids and try their online platform through your phone. You may now book a free trial class with their mobile app that can be downloaded on Google Playstore or App store. 

Conclusion:

STEM camps are being offered anywhere these days, whether it is on-site or online. You can definitely find a great camp that would enhance your kids knowledge and skills in STEM education. 

I have listed 6 best camps that I know can help you get your kid dive deeper into coding, math, science, robotics or even arts, animation and music in a fun, engaging and innovative way. But there are a lot more out there that you can consider to get the suitable one for your child so don’t be afraid to search and look into it. 

Whatever you choose, do not forget to tell your kids to have fun as online camps are way more different than before but can give the same memorable experience and have a lasting impact as they grow up. 

References:

https://summercamphub.com/best-stem-summer-camps/

https://www.education.wa.edu.au/what-is-stem

https://www.robolink.com/

https://www.idtech.com/virtual

https://codakid.com/

https://helpwevegotkids.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/virtual-stem-camp.jpg

https://techcamps.digitalmediaacademy.org/

https://galileo-camps.com/

https://galileo-camps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020_CGA_MagicShowMakers_HY_01-1-e1609955064563.jpg

https://www.whitehatjr.com/

Get your driving skills into the world of Artificial Intelligence with Zumi!

zumicurve

With the advanced technology, humanity’s future might turn to the world of digital technologies with robotics and artificial intelligence that will greatly impact the future generations. Introducing programmable robots will allow children to learn in a fun and innovative way about the world of programming and robotics.

The company

Robolink is a robotics company established in 2012 with a mission to make STEM education accessible, engaging, and fun. They make their own robotics kits that teach coding and engineering that caters to children and teens. Their CoDrone, the first programmable drone, is a great success and used in many schools to teach coding and programming. Then in 2019, they introduced the first self-driving car that helps you learn AI (artificial intelligence) — Zumi!

What is Zumi?

According to Robolink, Zumi is a curious little self-driving car that’s all about learning AI. You can teach this smart robot to recognize colors, learn gestures, recognize faces, and more! With Zumi Blockly, you can use block-based coding to get Zumi learn the environment while Zumi Python can be used if you’re more into text-based coding. During Zumi’s launch in 2019, it won an award as the CES 2019 Best of Innovation Award in the Robotics & Drone.

Zumi

Zumi’s features

Zumi robot is compatible with Arduino that is mainly built from a Raspberry Pi Zero. The robot also contains a gyrometer, accelerometer, 2 DC Motors, Pi Cam, On-Board Buzzer, 128 x 64 OLED, 6 IR Sensors and a 60-min battery life. 

Inside of Zumi

What can Zumi do?

Robolink Zumi, referred to as “she” by the company, can constantly learn by training her to navigate an environment. She can do the following:

  • can be programmed to calculate and use the optimal route on the road
  • can be programmed to identify obstacles on the road and act accordingly
  • can be trained to recognize the movements of your hand to follow the directions you will indicate with
  • can be trained to recognize your face as that of your friends or family

Tutorials and Community Forum for Zumi

Coding a robot or driving an AI car as a first timer could be troublesome that’s why Robolink has creative teaching tools or Step-by-step tutorials & curriculum that are made available for free to all its users. A community forum was also established to support this AI education tool for any technical issues or concerns. They also offer an online course, Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Zumi, to grades 6-12 with Python code to dive deeper into the world of Zumi to know how self-driving cars work while learning real-world code. 

Purchase on Robolink

References:

https://www.techagekids.com/2019/02/zumi-by-robolink-kids-learn-ai-automated-cars.html

https://shop.robolink.com/pages/zumi

https://learn.robolink.com/product/zumi/

https://www.atlabme.com/driving-world-artificial-intelligence-zumi/

Understanding AI better and easier with Teachable Machine

Teachable Machine

Nowadays, a lot of people are using AI to look closely on how innovative the world can be and how to improve the lives of many. Intelligence is not a skill but it’s how you can learn new things easily and skillfully. With Teachable Machine, a web-based tool launched by Google, people can now start having their own machine learning, AI models or teachable machine projects fast, easy and accessible to anyone.

It’s for innovators, educators, students or even to those who are new to machine learning but really want to explore the world of AI. This tool doesn’t need any experience or AI knowledge to get started. 

There are now two versions of Teachable Machine. The first one lets anyone teach their computer to recognize images using a webcam. The latest version, 2.0, is much more advanced where you can train your own machine learning project with just a click, no coding required and then export it to websites, apps, and more. It can also recognize sounds and poses.

Teachable machine v1 lets you learn more about the tool and has an easy-to-follow teachable machine tutorial to understand it better. It is developed to train and run machine learning models locally in the browser. The code for this is open sourced on teachable machine github. 

How teachable machine works? You only need to train your computer to recognize your images like waving your hands, sitting down with your arms down or simply pose without writing any machine learning code. In just a few minutes, you can export your model or projects to your sites, apps and a lot more.

How to use Teachable Machine

Some awesome teachable machine examples are being made available for you to check out and see how people take advantage of this free of charge web-based tool. Take a look at this epic teaching machine Arduino project — A DIY experiment connecting Arduino + Teachable Machine.

Aside from Teachable Machine, there are other teachable machine alternative, web application or tools to train a machine learning model such as AWS Machine Learning, Open Mind or Gradient.

Ready to dive in to this phenomenal machine learning web-based tool? Get started now here: https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/

OTHER RECOMMENDED AI LESSONS

References:

https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/

https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/faq

https://blog.google/technology/ai/teachable-machine/

A Cool and Exciting Way to Build Robots, Thanks to Vex IQ!

VEX_IQ

Do you want to build a robot? But not just an ordinary robot but one that has an amazing look and feel to it – something that includes multiple motors and sensors with a cool remote control. VEX IQ kit is the answer! VEX IQ is a robotic platform created for STEM learning that enables you to build, customize and program your own robots.  The kit includes plastic pieces that easily snap together and specifically designed for young hands. Also, the kit has provided simple step by step colorful instructions to guide you on how to build your first ever robot, so you don’t need any experience with robotics or coding when you start.

The VEX IQ super kit comes with 850+ pieces of construction components including cables and connectors where you can design on your own or try following the build options provided in the box. VEX parts that include the VEX IQ sensors which includes a color sensor, gyroscope and potentiometer helps students to build more advanced robots and also an opportunity to teach new tips and tricks in robotics. The included Smart motors and complete array of sensors provide momentous learning chances for middle-aged kids.

VEX Robotics is a robotics program being offered to grade school up to college students that teaches robotics, mechanical engineering, computer programming and also helps them develop problem-solving and computational thinking skills. But VEX IQ alone is designed for Grades 5 to 8 students who want to be challenged more with their coding and analytical skills.

Need to be challenged some more? Kids can also participate in robotics competitions. In fact, there are a number of robotics kits in the market, but what separates VEX kit from others is that it has its own international robotics competition. One of them is the VEX IQ competition where students are put together in a team to compete by designing and building a robot to play with other teams in a game-based engineering challenge. They recently introduced the 2020-2021 VEX IQ Challenge, Rise Above! Two robots compete in the Teamwork Challenge as an alliance in 60 second long teamwork matches, working collaboratively to score points. Check the video below to learn more!

OTHER RECOMMENDED STEM LEARNING KITS

References:

https://www.vexrobotics.com/

https://www.vexrobotics.com/iq?___store=vexroboticsap&___from_store=vexrobotics

https://www.hexbug.com/vex-iq-robotics-construction-kit-1.html

http://robotfanatics.com/what-is-vex/#What_is_Vex_Vex_IQ_pros_and_cons

https://www.rapidonline.com/vex-iq-super-kit-70-7891

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VEX_Robotics

Learn How to Build Robots in fun and easy ways with VEX GO

VEXGOScreen_Kids_1920x1080_Flat_1

Do you want to involve your kids into STEM learning as early as their grade school years? There is this cool, fun and engaging robotics kit that includes creative building, robotics and coding all at the same time. This one powerful kit is called the Vex Robotics Kit. This incredible Kit is a reasonable STEM construction system that encourages children to use their creative juices and curiosity while they’re still young. At a young age, children’s brains are still teachable and would always have the capacity to absorb ideas and curiosity level is at its peak, that’s why it is perfect to start them young. Start them with this cool and amazing kit.       

But I want to focus more on one of their fancy educational robots, VEX GO! VEX GO Robotics is an affordable STEM construction system that teaches 3rd – 6th grade students through enjoyable and hands-on activities to understand coding and engineering better without getting easily bored of it.

Building your first basic robot with Vex Robotics Kits is as easy as 123 as the kit comes with a handy booklet with quite a few detailed instructions to assist you with your building. They say that Vex kit is approachable which means a child doesn’t need any experience in robotics or coding before getting started. They will learn skills like problem-solving, engineering and coding where they can carry through college for their robotics career in the future.

The VEX GO Kit comes with a color-coded storage to help instructors and students stay organized and access everything easily. VEX GO Classroom Bundles are made available for educators or schools who offer STEM Education in a classroom setup. It contains everything the instructors need to get started and proceed with engaging lessons. VEX GO price starts at $1,329 per kit.

VEX GO kit
VEX GO classroom bundles

Vex also offers free online access to their teachers resources, VEX GO build instructions, VEX GO activities, Cumulative pacing guide and VEX GO STEM Lab units that contain structured activities for iteration, engineering, real world applications and chance for students to build teamwork and collaboration skills. Start it with the First Time Users section, to get organized and access VEXcode GO — the platform for VEX GO coding.

In-Classroom STEM competitions are also being held such as VEX GO challenge that get students go head-to-head in online challenges that drive them to put their STEM skills to the test in a uniquely engaging setting.

Check their free webinar to get a fresh start with VEX GO!

CHECK OTHER STEM KITS HERE

References:

https://www.vexrobotics.com/

https://www.vexrobotics.com/go

https://www.vexrobotics.com/go/support/go-guide

https://blog.bestbuy.ca/toys/vex-iq-robotics-construction-kit-review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VEX_Robotics

https://kb.vex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049144232-Get-Started-with-a-GO-Kit

https://education.vex.com/stemlabs/go

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