Teaching math and science has never been more engaging. A new product launched today, is allowing teachers to use quadcopters, robotic arms and rovers to teach math and science using dedicated educational apps aligned with mandated standards.
Students' aversion to math is clearly demonstrated by the fact that in 2011, upon graduation, only 32 percent of all US high school students were determined to be proficient in math. This creates a huge challenge as over the next ten years 62 percent of American jobs will require entry-level workers to be proficient in algebra, geometry and other STEM topics.
"We are bridging this gap using robotics," said Elad Inbar, CEO of RobotsLAB."Students are much more engaged and excited when seeing abstract subjects like algebra coming to life using robots. This repeating feedback has inspired us to create the BOX."
The revolutionary product utilizes robotics technology as an easy-to-use teaching-aid for STEM topics. A standards-aligned curriculum was developed with educators; each lesson is an app on the included tablet which controls the robots in the package. Every module comes with an instructional video, a demonstrative touch-based lesson, a quiz, and supplemental teaching materials.
The BOX is synergistic with President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign; aiding in the race towards the U.S. becoming one of the leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by inspiring students to be the next generation of makers, discoverers, and innovators and helping teachers to easily demonstrate abstract concepts such as quadratic equations in real life.
"You can open the box, turn-on the preloaded tablet and within minutes explain quadratic equations with a quadcopter," explains Professor Peter Stone of the University of Texas Austin."You don't need to be experienced with robotics or have a degree in computer science, just an enthusiasm for your subject area."
Stone is the head of the 14-teacher panel selected to review, experience and test the state-of-the-art RobotsLAB-BOX in classrooms prior to the launch.
The company set out to create an affordable solution for schools; equipping the BOX with several robots: AR.Drone the quadcopter, Sphero the robotic ball, ArmBot the robotic arm and Mobot the mobile robot that demonstrate core concepts in algebra, physics, geometry, trigonometry and calculus.
The standard edition of the BOX costs $3,500. It comes with 50 lessons, four robots, one tablet, 12 accessories and a one-year warranty, all in a transport case. The deluxe edition costs $3,999; it adds extended warranty and a yearly subscription for additional lessons.
Demonstrations are being held on Feb 6-8 at booth #2560 during the Texas Computer Education Association conference, inside the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. Workshops are also scheduled following the conference in various states.
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