Classroom Necessities - Engaging Students and Making Teachers Lives Easier
Posted by Staff on Sep 27th 2018
It’s that time again. Students return back to school, teachers set up their classrooms, and school administrators prepare for the year to come. This time of year can put an incredible amount of pressure on teachers and school administrators. They need to ensure the school is ready for students and also anticipate emerging educational trends. Each and every student must receive the best, most engaging and impactful education possible - and a little help can go a long way.
Here are some products and concepts that today’s teachers and school administrators can consider when working to develop the best learning environment possible.
Classroom and School Necessities
As teachers and schools continue to implement technology into the classroom, they are constantly in need of headphones, headsets, and ways to keep computers and media devices charged and ready for use. With all the other challenges that come along with a transforming educational landscape, it can be easy to let these important products become an afterthought. However, when a school invests in the right products, designed specifically to withstand the K-12 environment, they will not only save money, they will give their students products that are durable, reliable and help improve the learning environment.
Indestructible Headphones, Single-Construction | Designed for the K-12 environment, Flex-Phones come in kids and teens sizes as well as offer wireless options.
Even more Headphones and Headsets built to withstand kids of all ages
Build knowledge with an incredibly diverse selection of listening centers . Develop listening skills, sight vocabulary, model phrasing and fluency.
Make sure classrooms have the technology they need to play media in all of its forms. Media players are a crucial, must-have tool – play audiobooks, improve focus, second language proficiency, cognitive control, literacy and learning!
A Clean Classroom is a Productive Classroom
Keeping a classroom clean and healthy isn’t always simple. The average American child has six to 10 colds a year, causing more missed days of school than any other illness 1. Colds spread, infect teachers, and can completely derail a well-planned school year.
Along with colds, head lice continues to present a problem every single school year. The Mayo Clinic said head lice infestation is second only to the common cold among communicable diseases affecting school children 2. Thankfully, there are non-toxic, chemical free cleaning products that are perfectly suited for the classroom.
Learn more about the HygenX Series and find out why these products are a fantastic fit for the K-12 environment.
Engaging K-12 Students in STEM / STEAM Learning
One of the most important educational trends that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon is a renewed focus on STEM / STEAM subjects in the classroom. Teaching the information can be a challenge on its own, but making these subjects exciting and inspiring students to purse these fields, that can feel like an unachievable task.
Finding products that are not only fun and exciting, but include standards-aligned lesson plans and built with today’s curriculum in mind making classroom implantation easy for teachers and helps students better understand important STEM / STEAM subjects.
Many of the products listed below include
Free
Standards-Aligned Lesson Plans
. Find these and additional Teacher
Resources,
here.
Virtual Reality Learning
Virtual Reality (VR) technology is maturing quickly. What once was a cool novelty has now become an incredible tool for teachers and students. Students can travel the world, experience the solar system, or dive deep beneath the ocean, all without having to leave the classroom. The possibilities are endless in education. The infographic above showcases some incredible statistics of the potential future of Virtual Reality in the classroom.
Coding and Robotics
Teachers are working incredibly hard to prepare students for future careers. Many of today’s employers are looking for technology-literate candidates with a strong foundation of STEM / STEAM skills. Employment in STEM occupations has grown 79% since 1990, dramatically higher when compared to overall U.S. job growth, according to Pew Research Center .
Much of the effort to improve STEM education and expose students to the world of coding is focused toward middle and high school students. However, research shows that introducing STEM to children early on plays a vital role in cognitive development and capabilities later in life. With the right products and resources, schools can incorporate amazing technologies into the curriculum that work across grade-levels and deliver relevant, engaging, and exciting STEM education.
Products like Edison Educational Robot Kit provides students, ages 5+, with incredible coding and robotics experience. Learn more about these LEGO® compatible educational robots right here.
For a more in-depth look into robotics and coding, Robo-Arm for Arduino is a 4-axis robotic arm kit, designed to inspire interest in STEAM subjects. Students can build their very own robotic arm and operate it manually or program the robot to memorize and perform 100 movements. Learn more about this fantastic introduction to the world of repeated task automation.
Turning Consumers into Creators
The concept “Students as producers” is playing a larger role in todays education landscape. It covers gardening, media production, game design, programming and a host of other important life and STEAM / STEM skills. Turning consumers into creators and giving them access to the technologies that allow them to develop their ideas in an engaging way is invaluable as they will develop critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills as well as collaboration capabilities. Furthermore, teaching kid’s multimedia skills helps improve digital literacy, giving them an understanding of citizenship and creators rights.
Offering kids hands-on experience with multimedia technologies was traditionally challenging and expensive. As powerful technology becomes more affordable and innovative products continue to become readily available, developing these important skills is now easier.
The Green Screen Production Kit brings the power and excitement of a special effects studio into the classroom!
Kids can create their very own stop motion videos with HB Animation Studio Kit. The kit includes everything students will need to get started and the Animate It! software is powerful while still being user friendly for kids ages 8+.
Continue moving education forward with even more ways to improve multimedia skills .
Combining Art with STEM
STEM covers Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, but Art plays a vital role in developing new products and technologies, too. It takes a different, artistic perspective to design a product to be appealing to consumers while remaining functional. Adding Art in STEM turns it into STEAM education. This addition of a more creative side of STEM is a challenge to incorporate into the curriculum. Teachers need products that can offer students an artistic outlet while still remaining relevant to STEAM subjects.
Students can now get hands-on with a product like the 3D Magic Pen or the newer, 3X3D Magic Pen. Kids can hand-draw, three-dimensional objects to expand their imaginations and learn about construction and engineering in a fun and engaging way. They can build a suspension bridge or prototype inventions all with safe and powerful 3D printing pens.
See just how easy the 3X3D Magic Pen and 3D Magic Pen is to
use and what it can do to
improve
STEAM education!
Education is Everything
Education is everything. Students need to be prepared for their future and teachers need to right resources to deliver relevant information in an engaging way while making sure the classroom is a safe and healthy place for everyone. This is not an easy task. With a little help, the classroom will be ready for whatever new trends comes its way.
Locate
a dealer
and discover even more educational necessities, specially-designed
for the K-12 environment, today.