KinderLab Offers Robotics Resources to Help Teachers and Parents with Online Learning
To assist during this time of school closures, the company is providing free STEAM lessons and webinars, along with an affordable home robotics course
(Waltham, MA) April 14, 2020 – In order to best serve teachers and parents during these challenging times, KinderLab, maker of KIBO – The Playful STEAM Robot, today announced a number of virtual offerings for students in the home. These programs include:
“No KIBO? No Problem!”” STEM Activities
To teach robotics concepts without a robot, the “No KIBO? No Problem!” booklet offers screen-free activities to help teachers and parents teach building, engineering and design, and coding without technology. The STEAM activities are intended for students 3-7 years old and come from KinderLab’s standards-aligned curriculum. Each activity includes guidance on learning objectives and the resources needed to complete the project.
Daily KIBO Webinars and Virtual Office Hours
To inspire educators and others who are working from home to share ideas, deepen connections, and expand skills, these free KIBO informational webinars and virtual office hours are open to all. Sessions take place at 12:30–1:30 EST.
Course offerings include:
- Virtual office hours: Meet Jason, our KIBO trainer;
- Introduction to KIBO;
- KIBO projects at home for your students, or for your own kids;
- The 6 benefits of introducing robotics to early learners; and
- Advanced coding with KIBO: Learn more about conditionals, sensors, and Advanced Coding Extension Set (ACES).
District Webinar About Incorporating Robotics into your Technology Strategy
On April 27th from 2 PM–3 PM EST, KinderLab will present the webinar “Incorporating Creative Robotics into your Technology Strategy for PreK-5th Grade.”
Two leading district-level STEM educators from Newport News Public Schools and San Francisco Unified School District will discuss the importance of robotics as part of a technology strategy and how key district-level decision makers have used KIBO to help them build a comprehensive computer science pathway from preK to grade 5.
Speakers include:
- Jennifer Barker, STEM instructional specialist in the PK-8 Curriculum & Development at Newport News Public Schools;
- Bill Marsland, computer science content specialist in the SFUSD Curriculum & Instruction STEM Office, San Francisco Unified School District; and
- Jason Innes, manager of training and curriculum development, KinderLab Robotics
Educators can register for the online webinar at no cost.
“In this time of unprecedented disruption for everyone involved in education, KinderLab is committed to offering these free resources to help students continue their STEAM education,” said Innes. “For those educators or parents who want to go to the next level and offer a full, hands-on robotics course at home—without the cost of buying a robot—we’re also offering a program that pairs a rented robot with a detailed STEAM curriculum.”
The KIBO Home Robotics Course offers an affordable way to provide an engaging, shared parent-child learning experience during these weeks when schools are closed. It includes a step-by-step curriculum and a rented KIBO robot to easily teach coding, robotics, and STEAM concepts in the home.
About KIBO – The Playful STEAM Robot
KIBO is a robot kit that allows children aged 4–7 to build, program, decorate, and bring their own robot to life without requiring any screen time on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. It is an open platform on which students can envision and create their own robot. With art and engineering, students transform KIBO into imagined animals, vehicles, storybook characters, and more. Students plan a coding sequence using wooden programming blocks, then scan their sequence with the built-in barcode scanner, press its button—and the robot comes alive.
When children build, code, and decorate their own robot, they perceive it as play, but they are learning invaluable STEAM skills. Not only are these hands-on experiences inherently rewarding, but they help children understand the technology in their world and can even improve their future job prospects.
About KinderLab Robotics
KinderLab Robotics is the creator of the award-winning KIBO, a playful educational STEAM robot kit based on 20 years of child development research with thousands of children, teachers, and parents. Developed specifically for teachers by Dr. Marina Umaschi Bers at Tufts University, KIBO is currently used in 60+ countries and has proven efficacy in helping kids learn STEAM—and getting them excited about it! KinderLab offers a complete suite of teaching materials that help integrate STEAM elements into a wide range of curricula, including art, cultural studies, and reading literacy.
For more information, please visit KinderLabRobotics.com.
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