Teaching students about space exploration helps them see how practical applications of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) can lead to incredible real-world achievements. Union County Public Schools (UCPS) in North Carolina has adopted that practice via the integration of their recently-implemented Mimio MyBot educational robotics system from Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) with the Giant Moon Map™ and Giant Mars Map™ programs from ShareSpace Education (SSE), a key program of the Aldrin Family Foundation (AFF).
The integration is made possible by an ongoing collaboration between Boxlight and SSE. UCPS students in six sixth-grade classes will be working with 10 programmable Mimio MyBot rovers, which are equipped with various sensors that can read information from SSE’s vinyl floor maps and send that data to robotic controllers. Students can then use that data to formulate and test hypotheses about Mars and the moon. Additionally, they will learn basic Blockly code in order to program the rovers to navigate the maps.
“Coding and robotics activities provide hands-on and minds-on lessons for the student. Making math and science both fun and interesting helps the student to do much more than just learn,” stated Michael Pope, President at Boxlight. “With a continued commitment to strengthen Boxlight’s portfolio of STEM-based solutions including this important partnership with The Aldrin Family Foundation we are able to provide schools with innovative STEM and STEAM learning tools in hopes of helping them develop a passion for STEM-related topics and hopefully pursue a job in a STEM field.”
“The Boxlight Mimio MyBot bundle being used in conjunction with the Giant Mars and Moon Maps support the UCPS EmpowerED Instructional Framework,” said Brad Breedlove, Ed.D., UCPS’ Chief Academic Officer. “Specifically, these resources support our efforts to bring high-quality STEM lessons that connect the standards for instruction with meaningful learning experiences for our students. In addition, these resources provide opportunities for students to collaborate to solve real life problems while embedding a large amount of creativity into the learning experience.”
UCPS has partnered with Wingate University to promote experiential learning in conjunction with the Giant Moon and Mars Maps. Members of the faculty in Wingate’s Thayer School of Education developed lesson plans that incorporate hands-on activities using The Giant Moon Map. These lesson plans were published in January 2020 on ShareSpace.org and have been used in two UCPS schools thus far.
“We are working hard to give students hands on, engaging, relevant experiences during the school day. Using the maps and the MyBots together not only allows students to experience the learning but they allow students to use what they know in all of the STEM fields and synthesize information to make real-life decisions about the future,” said Casey Rimmer, UCPS Director of Innovation and EdTech, Teaching and Learning.
About Boxlight Corporation: Boxlight Corporation (Nasdaq: BOXL) (“Boxlight”) is a leading provider of technology solutions for the global learning market. The company aims to improve learning and engagement in classrooms and to help educators enhance student outcomes, by developing the products they need. The company develops, sells, and services its integrated, interactive solution suite including software, classroom technologies, professional development and support services. For more information about the Boxlight story, visit http://www.boxlight.com.
Forward Looking Statements: This press release may contain information about Boxlight’s view of its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from historical results or those indicated by these forward-looking statements because of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with its ability to maintain and grow its business, variability of operating results, its development and introduction of new products and services, marketing and other business development initiatives, competition in the industry, etc. Boxlight encourages you to review other factors that may affect its future results in Boxlight’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About the Aldrin Family Foundation: The Aldrin Family Foundation (AFF) strives to cultivate the next generation of space leaders, entrepreneurs and explorers who will extend human habitation beyond the Earth to the Moon and Mars. AFF’s STEAM-based educational tools, curriculum, and programs span from a child’s first classroom experience through graduate school and professional programs. This vertical pathway unites explorers at all levels to learn from each other’s vision for space, ultimately creating the first generation of Martians. Learn more at AldrinFoundation.org.
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