Many teachers, students, and parents are proving to be remarkably resilient during this time when it comes to the effects of the pandemic on school, education, and student learning.

Virtual teaching is not replicating what you do in classroom with what they are doing online. It’s important to shift that way of thinking and continue to adapt

It is not easy to teach in a physical classroom one day and turn it into a virtual classroom the next. Most college and university teacher prep programs do not have a course focusing on virtual teaching and learning. This adaptation is not easy, but we have to start looking at the parts of virtual teaching that are not working and let them go, and begin looking at the places where we can go a little bit deeper.

The piece that is a bit different between teaching in the physical classroom and the virtual classroom is the amount of “control” the teacher has over student engagement.

Teachers can use:

• Their physical proximity to engage students
• The promise of a good or bad grade
• The threat of a loss of some privilege
• The promise of an incentive, or one of their other positive social-emotional tricks of the trade.

To address above issue we would require to do apart from online teaching

• Engagement of students with interactive, engaging, adaptive, game based content which is self spaced and students are able to do at any time and any place.
• Students need to measure their understanding and performance more deeper so, working with assessment software which has available resources based on standards, proctoring tool and customizable to address different learners.
• Ensue that technology is stable and reliable. Teachers are well trained and provided with all technical support.
• Making students accountable for their learning.
• Use of technology platform which gives teachers best access teaching and learning with seamless integration with all ends.
• As school leaders, supporting teachers and students socially-emotionally and academically by engaging in their live classroom chats with students

STEM is a well-known abbreviation that stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are some of the most prominent criteria in education to which many students are subjected to from the start of their studies up to the last point, to which they would then be required to apply them in real life. STEM can be defined as an interdisciplinary approach where the basic academic concepts learned at school are combined with real-world lessons or experiences. It requires students to apply the four terminologies, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in conditions or circumstances that connect the classroom and the world that surrounds them.

This curriculum. STEM is based on the idea of educating students in the four disciplines mentioned above as a whole rather than separate and teach them as discrete subjects in class. Its main aim is to improve how students comprehend and apply science not only in class and science fairs but also outside of schools and in real-life situations. STEM is focussed on project-based learning in classrooms and includes technology to emphasize the application of science.

A STEM lab is, therefore, a unique replacement or solution to the traditional method of teaching science in the classroom like literature, whereby tutors use chalk and board or digital content worksheets. They are a supplemental educational resource created by VEX Robotics that aim to support educators with STEM lesson plans that are in line with the best scholarly standards. Each lab contains hands-on lessons that encourage the practical application and learning of all the four combined disciplines within STEM by supporting teamwork and collaboration among students. This helps students learn better as they directly involve themselves in the various practical and in-learning processes enabling them to retain more than what they usually do in classrooms.

Steps Involved

1. Inspire the students

The students are taught the properties of each material they deal with in the lab which helps them relate to those within their environment. With the guidance of the instructor, the student construct models using the available materials assisting in the development of the hand-mind skill whereby the student can put into practice what they have learned and easily replicate it using other materials.

2. Engage the students

The students build various models to give them a practical understanding of the concept being taught and develop their analytical thinking capacities. They also develop imaginative and creative prowess by exploring the ‘what if’ scenarios of every project.

3. Prepare for the real-world

The students develop the necessary skills needed for practical application by understanding how the concept is used in real life and revises these concepts using the ‘Activity Plan Manual.’

Stem labs have been incorporated in many K-12 schools within the different Arabic States such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. These labs are set up in line with the countries’ vision of providing top-class education for the success of all the students, within an organization, in science.

The benefits of STEM education in K-12 educational systems

They foster Ingenuity and creativity among students

Through the hands-on application of various projects by students, ingenuity, and creativity pairs with STEM and results in new and inspiring ideas as well as innovations among them. Without these two skills, the recent unique developments in digital learning would not have been possible as the people responsible also had an excellent K-12 STEM education experience. Students also gain the ability to come up with new ideas that would help them apply whatever they may have learned, from the many various projects, in real-life.

It encourages experimentation

Development is all about risk-taking as the famous and well-renowned inventors or scientists wouldn’t have come up with such technological advancements used today if they did not experiment. Learning or education takes a similar route when it comes to tutoring students and exposing them to the knowledge and skills; they need to make it in life. This theory is also applied in STEM Labs, where students get to test and experiment with various projects. This allows them to take the necessary risks during learning activities and therefore, find out the right methods of doing things in real-life scenarios.

It builds resilience among students

When students are involved in STEM learning activities, they learn in a safe environment that allows them to fail without fear of being judged by their peers or presented in front of their tutors. This enables students to experiment on various projects and when they fail, they are allowed to try again and again, unlike in classrooms during exams. With this, students are capable of building confidence and resilience enabling them never to give up even when things get tough. They learn that failure without giving up ultimately leads to success.

It promotes teamwork and collaboration

STEM education is applied to students with different levels of abilities and understanding. During projects, these different students work together with the system encouraging the maximum contribution of every person and focusing on individual learning needs whereby certain students can gain assistance on weak areas so that they can be at par with everyone else. This motivates the students to learn more and gain the skills they would require for use in real-life. Co-operation, teamwork, and collaboration are promoted as students work together on experiments and help each other succeed in the world of science and technology.

Facilitates the use of tech

In STEM Labs, students learn all about the power of technology in the modern world and are exposed to many advanced and intriguing inventions that would blow their minds. Apart from raising interest in the children, it also allows them t embrace technology whenever they encounter new devices enabling them to fit in into the ever-growing tech-world.

Promotes the application of knowledge and skills

By using STEM education, students are taught various skills that they can apply in the real world and thus are motivated to learn more. The ability to apply their knowledge allows them to impact their communities and their loved ones positively.

Conclusion

The application of innovation STEM Labs in K-12 educational systems within schools has significantly helped improve the success and development of students. It has allowed many students to be aware of their surroundings and gain the necessary skills to not only help them in their classroom tests but also apply them in real-life situations.

School Radio

School Radio is a creative, engaging, and exciting medium that would allow your students to:

• Express their views, engage in lively debates and explore their creativity.
• Develop their speaking and listening skills, build confidence and raise literacy standards.
• Your students will also gain real world skills using the same tools as professional radio broadcasters!

Benefits of School Radio

• Inclusion – A School Radio station run by the students and for the students will help build an inclusive atmosphere in the school. Radio is all about communication and running a radio show takes commitment and teamwork in order for it to be a success. Our systems are easy enough to use that all students, regardless of age or ability can get involved.
• Building Confidence – Most people find talking to a ‘mic’ in a closed room far less intimidating than appearing on camera or on stage. This allows students to express their views and build their confidence whether it is discussing important issues or sharing ideas, radio gives your students a confident voice within your school.
• Develop Speaking & Listening Skills – Radio is about speaking and listening. Whether you are presenting or just listening to a show, these vital skills are not only fundamental in radio but are essential for ‘real world’ skills.
• Improving Literacy – Seems strange to be talking about writing skills in radio but the first time a student looks at the ‘mic’ and then asks what they should say, they realize they need to write scripts and prepare between links. Extend this preparation for talk shows, radio drama or telephone interviews and it is clear that writing plays a big role in radio and extends to meeting the National Curriculum in many ways.
• National Curriculum – School Radio helps schools and academies to supplement learning and meet the National Curriculum in ways that you may not even realize. It’s also a great way to keep staff, student and parents/guardians alike updated with school life.
• Giving Students A Voice and Empowerment – School Radio offers a platform for your students to discuss the issues that matter to them in a non-confrontational format. Whether it is discussing important issues or sharing the music they love, radio gives your students a voice within your school.
• Teamwork – Planning and presenting radio shows requires a great deal of teamwork. Many schools run their School Radio station like a ‘real’ station assigning roles and responsibilities for presenters, engineers, and station management.

LEGO® Education

We are LEGO® Education. For more than 37 years we have been working with teachers and educational specialists like you to deliver playful learning experiences that bring subjects to life in the classroom and make learning fun and impactful. We have a wide range of physical and digital educational resources that encourage students to think creatively, reason systematically and release their potential to shape their own future.

Our solutions for teaching and hands-on learning inspire interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), targeted at preschool, elementary and middle school. These are based on the LEGO® system for playful learning combined with curriculum-relevant material and digital resources. With educational sets, lesson plans and curriculum material, assessment tools and teacher training and support, we can help you meet your curriculum objectives and provide you with the tools you need to make learning inspiring, engaging and effective.

We believe that expanding knowledge and building academic and 21st-century skills will create active, collaborative, lifelong learners. Together with educators, we aim to enable every student to succeed in education and be prepared for future life challenges.

Early Learning from LEGO® Education

LEGO® Education introduces the early learning of early math, science, and language. It encourages a passion for invention and researches to support the students develop interpersonal skills that will keep them up for a successful learning entire life. The solutions from LEGO®Education for young children help them learn the critical early Science, Math, and Language skills. The social and emotional skills that they need to succeed in their school and life can be acquired through these creative intuitive solutions.

LEGO® Education Early learning Solutions

The LEGO® Educations Solutions help them to:

1. Build Confidence – Children are born curious and eager to learn. Our Early Learning solutions stimulate children’s natural curiosity while encouraging young children to learn through play.

2. Build Early Skills – Focus on building your students’ skills with solutions designed to stimulate their curiosity.

3. Boost their passion – Add to the fun with special booster sets which give endless opportunities to explore, play, and learn.

4. Fun and Engaging Lessons – Our solutions integrated with Lego Education easily integrate into classroom lessons to make learning fun and engaging.

LEGO® Education STEAM Park

Builds on every child’s natural curiosity and desire to create, explore, and investigate the world of early science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) through creative play. Children grow their understanding of gears, motion, measurement, and solving problems together in a fun and engaging way.

LEGO® Education Coding Express

Inspire early learners to explore early coding concepts such as sequencing, looping and conditional coding, while developing problem solving skills, critical thinking, collaboration and social and emotional skills.

LEGO® Education Solutions for Primary School

LEGO® offers engaging and hands-on experiences students need to explore and learn the core STEAM concepts and relate them to the real world. With students, ideas evolve as they solve problems and find out how science, technology, engineering, arts, and math impact their daily lives.

LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0

Brings to life 280 building elements that motivate students to collaborate, build, problem-solve, and explore, all while deepening their STEAM learning and developing 21st-century skills. The combination of physical LEGO® bricks, standards-aligned activities, and intuitive block-based coding environment means that interactive, creative learning is easier than ever to achieve – students can see their builds in action and test and refine their problem-solving skills!

LEGO® Education Solutions for Secondary School

The solutions for secondary school grow with students as they engage at every level, providing hands-on experiences that stimulate communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. When students learn with LEGO® bricks, coding tools, and supporting lesson plans for teachers, they ignite their natural curiosity and sharpen their scientific inquiry, engineering design, and data analysis skills — so they can succeed in their STEM classes today and realize their full potential as digital citizens and leaders tomorrow.

The LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime

The LEGO® Education SPIKE Prime Set is the go-to STEAM learning tool for grade 6-8 students. Combining colorfulLEGO®building elements, easy-to-use hardware, and an intuitive drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch, SPIKE Prime continuously engages students through playful learning activities to think critically and solve complex problems, regardless of their learning level. From easy-entry projects to limitless creative design possibilities, SPIKE Prime helps students learn the essential STEAM and 21st century skills needed to become the innovative minds of tomorrow… while having fun!

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 is a hands-on, cross-curricular solution that engages and challenges students to practice STEM and robotics skills in a “near real world” environment, preparing them for college and career in the technology infused world.

LEGO® Education Simple & Powered Machines

It uses LEGO® bricks and creative activities to make interactive, exploration-based learning easier than ever to achieve.Powered mechanical and hands-on solutions that link textbook instruction to real-world experiences are the focus of this curriculum activity pack and set for grades 6–8. Students cover a broad range of concepts, such as force, motion, and energy, using 396 LEGO Technic bricks and a motor to model physical behaviours.

K-12, a term often used in education, is an abbreviation for the publicly-supported school grades before college or university. The grades here refer to Kindergarten (K) through to the 12th grade. Children taught through such a system are enrolled at the ages of 4-6 and continue in this system up till they are 17-19. The K-12 educational system is widely applied in schools within North America and also in countries including Australia, the Philippines, and Turkey, to name a few. The K-12 system has also been recently incorporated into Arabic regions, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and even Saudi Arabia, owing to its effectiveness in providing fundamental knowledge to students. At Knowledge Hub, we specialize in rendering Artificial Intelligence courses designed to the needs of students within Dubai and the UAE.

Artificial Intelligence, also known as machine intelligence, is the intelligence demonstrated by machines that are different or in contrast to the ones shown by humans. It can also be termed as the ability of a computer-controlled robot to do various tasks typically associated with human beings. Over the years, there have been debates on the topic of AI, as some people see it as a revolution aimed at eliminating the need of humans in the workspace. However, AI, in actuality, has transformed the face of education by opening new doors that lead to higher productivity, more successful students, and lower cost for the highly populated public-school system.

Benefits of Applying AI into K-12 Education

Can be Adapted to Individual Student Needs

In public school systems, the number of students usually tend to be higher than the available resources. In such an environment, it would be difficult for teachers to cater to the individual needs of all their students. AI facilitates the application of higher levels of individualized learning through interactive and innovative learning programs. An AI-based educational system caters to individual student needs by putting more focus into specific topics and redoing the areas that the students have not quite clearly understood and thereby guiding students to accomplish a lot and at their pace.

Artificial Intelligence solutions are also the answer for assisting students at different educational levels to work together. The teachers here won’t be left behind; they have a significant role to play in this scenario, first by facilitating learning through A.I. and secondly by providing emotional and physical support when needed.

Identify Areas for Improvement

Unlike automated machines, tutors may not be able to spot gaps in their lessons, and it may put students in a confused state of mind on specific concepts. AI technology helps to simplify the process of identifying weak spots in students by shining a light on them and also help them understand these concepts better. For example, when numerous students give an incorrect answer to a specific question, the system would notify the teacher for such an occurrence and also inform them of the particular concept from which the common wrong answer came about. Additionally, it also sends customized messages to students, offering them guidelines towards getting the right solution and thereby ensures that all students are working on similar conceptual foundations.

One of the most tedious activities in any educational curriculum is to prepare exams and grade students, especially when it’s the sole responsibility of the teacher. Such a scenario can also give rise to human error due to either emotional or psychological responses such as exhaustion. Furthermore, the time used for grading is usually substantial, which can otherwise be used to communicate with the students and work towards their development. AI-technology has shown significant process in evaluating tests, and its ability can be seemingly compared to that of humans. Our AI-based solutions enable tutors to effortlessly grade both multiple-choice as well as “fill-in-the-blanks” questions, thereby providing the tutors with spare time that they can focus on in-class activities.

Collect Meaningful and Immediate Feedback

As mentioned, AI helps tutors to craft lessons that are tailored to individual student needs. Additionally, it also offers essential feedback to students and teachers on lessons or subjects where improvement is needed. In short, by incorporating Artificial Intelligence courses, schools can monitor individual students and alert tutors on the various areas of weakness. The AI-system also relays feedback on how to approach the concept in which the weakness has been identified. Such a system can prove to be helpful when applied together with other methods of learning.

Added Support from AI Tutors

Yes, human teachers provide a variety of things that are fundamental to the growth and development of the student, and which the machines are simply incapable of delivering. An example being the emotional and physical support that tutors can only provide during lessons such as P.E. However, Artificial Intelligence courses can play a significant role in helping students learn subjects such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, and more. The course enables students to understand the fundamental concepts behind specific topics better and thereby provide additional support to human-based tutors.

Simplifies the Trial-and-Error Learning Process

Knowledge Hub’s AI-Based Learning Solutions

TECHNO AI

Techno AI (Artificial Intelligence) project will help students to understand the fundamental concepts behind Artificial Intelligence Technology. The course is designed to help students learn the necessary steps involved in developing an AI-based project. This project explores the idea of machine learning through which students will develop a clear understanding of AI-based Facial Recognition, Image Classification, and Object Tagging. Students will be encouraged to use scratch software to develop applications of their own.

Integrated Skills: Machine Learning, Coding, Image Processing.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about Artificial Intelligence
• Understand the concept of Machine Learning
• Understand Image Analysis
• Apply Scratch Coding for Facial Recognition
• Implementing image tagging application using scratch and IBM support

Learning Outcomes:

• To understand the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence
• To understand the need for machine learning in AI
• To create facial recognition project using scratch
• To develop a project to classify and tag the objects
• To apply the AI technology in real life

TECHNO AI Sr

Techno AI Sr (Artificial Intelligence for Senior) project is designed to help learners of all ages to understand the basic concepts behind Artificial Intelligence technology. Students can gain a greater understanding of the basics of neural networks, machine learning, and deep learning. The project makes use of Python and Google Collaborate Tool to develop facial recognition and other AI-based application. The project also explores the application of AI in the medical field and also helps students to learn Natural Language Processing and develop chatbot applications.

Integrated Skills: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, NLP, Python Coding, Image Processing

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about Artificial Intelligence
• Understand the concepts of Machine Learning and Deep Learning
• Implement python coding for Machine Learning
• Develop projects on Google Collaborate for image recognition, classification, and tagging.
• Learn to create Chatbots using NLP.

Learning Outcomes:

• To understand the basics of Artificial Intelligence
• To understand the need for Machine Learning and Deep Learning in AI
• To create facial recognition project using python
• To apply deep learning concept in Image Recognition, Classification, & Tagging
• Understand the application of AI technology in Medical Field
• To implement a Chatbot using NLP

Final thoughts

According to modern teaching experts, concepts can’t be provided or facilitated merely with textbooks, as practical lab experiments play a key role in better understanding of the perception, along with the field trips and three dimensional (3D) models etc. For this, AR/VR technologies have introduced in the classrooms with experienced and cooperating methods to provide better understanding and learning to the students.

For learning, students have to enter into the new and immersive world. Just like if the teacher is explaining and giving the concept of solar system, VR will take this learning and teaching to the next level. Students would be boarding the space ship and visiting the planets of the solar systems along with the information of that planet. There would be a fun element involved in this learning and students will grab more attention from this experience. Furthermore, hearing and seeing the thing that has been explained in the class before would help the students to retain the learning.

This type of immersive experience has helped the student to engage more with the lecture and hence resulting in more learning. A study on the VR and memory in Maryland has shown that the student’s recall has been improved by 8.8% with the immersive experience as compared to the simple desktop screens experience. Along with this, 40% of the participant students got an increase in recall with the usage of VR.
So, we have explained below how this AR and VR are changing the classroom atmosphere and how it is benefiting the students and their learning.

Technology is continually playing a vital role in the education sector as more tools are being curated for the students for more and better opportunities and customized lessons based on the student requirement. AR technology can render hard objects that are even difficult to imagine. This AR can turn those objects into a 3D model which is making it easy for the students to grasp the content easily. This is exceptional for the students who are visual learners as they can easily convert the theoretical concept into practical material.

Like, it is very beneficial for the biology students in their concepts just like anatomy. This difficulty can be solved by virtual anatomy lessons. And the VR will help them to understand the complete interior phases of different body parts like bones, organs, etc. This can make the concept more engaging and interesting for the student

Increase in Range and Accuracy

The AR/VR is increasing the range for students and their connectivity with the teachers as they can connect with each other from any part of the globe. The range of the things that students can achieve is carried out by the diversity in the content. There are a lot of AR/VR applications where you have the option to enter the same atmosphere and any change that one make can be seen by all. This technology has revolutionized the learning process for the students

User-controlled interactions

As the same depicts, AR/VR allows the students to control different interactions. The only thing you have to do is download an app on your smartphone and get access to trigger anything that is facilitated by AR/VR. You can also monitor everyone’s performance and evaluate the results. So, you can see how AR/VR is changing the learning process of students.

Next level Technology

The next level technologies in the field of AR VR is Leap Motion technology. You can use your hand gestures to explore the VR environment. You can literally use the hand gestures like push, pull or even twirl objects in the VR setting. This atmosphere is really shaping the learning process of the students.

Conclusion

So, you have seen that how AR and VR have changed the atmosphere of the classroom and how further enhancement in this field will help the students. This technology is converting the most boring and tedious subjects into most engaging and interesting for every student. This industry is definitely redefining the learning and teaching process and converting the experience into more interactive and efficient. So that every student has a thirst to get more knowledge.