CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
NASA | June 09, 2022
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson helped hand out food with an extra serving of STEM activities to children and families at New Beginnings Church – The Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, June 3. Called NASA Artemis Learning Lunchboxes, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, created the kits aimed at inspiring and educating youth and families in communities underrepresented in STEM about NASA's upcoming Artemis missions.
NASA's Artemis missions include returning humans to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. Among the plans, NASA will land the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface as missions at the Moon pave the way for human exploration of Mars.
COSI developed the NASA Artemis Learning Lunchbox to inspire today's students – the Artemis Generation – to consider and pursue careers in tomorrow's STEM workforce. Made possible through NASA's Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program, the lunchboxes contain five space-focused learning activities that showcase the diversity of STEM at NASA and the importance of STEM education for the future of our workforce.
"Every child has a dream, and every child needs to achieve that dream, and when you talk to adults who are now astronauts or aerospace engineers, it all started with a spark – being taught something that inspired their life. We need to make sure every kid, regardless of zip code or socioeconomic status, has the promise to achieve that because they may be the next astronaut or scientific mind that will get us further in our exploration of space, It's all about partnerships. We can't thank NASA enough for their generosity in both dollars and support of this great initiative."
-Dr. Frederic Bertley, president & CEO, COSI.
Along with COSI, NASA's partners on the initiative also include Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and Orlando Science Center.
The kickoff event supplied 500 NASA Artemis Learning Lunchboxes to students and families, while COSI plans to distribute a total of 30,000 to local food banks across the country. COSI will continue to partner with local nonprofit organizations like the Orlando Science Center where they can showcase interactive dry ice experiments first-hand for children across the country. This innovative, community-based model will bring together other science centers and museums, afterschool providers, and community leaders to highlight the importance of STEM education.
TEAM II awards are funded through NASA's Next Generation (Next Gen) STEM project, which is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity. By connecting K-12 students and their formal and informal educators to NASA's endeavors in exploration and discovery, Next Gen STEM strives to reduce the barriers to participation in STEM and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts.
Read More
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
ViewSonic | June 30, 2022
The New Taipei City Government in Taiwan and ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions, have partnered to promote UNIVERSE by ViewSonic, an immersive 3D virtual environment designed for education, to schools at all levels in the city. This initiative will benefit about 400,000 K–12 students. The two organizations inked an agreement of collaboration to help schools become digital learning environments following a successful pilot program at Long Pu Elementary School in New Taipei City. Additionally, this week, ViewSonic showcased UNIVERSE in New Orleans, USA, at the ISTE Live 22 Conference & Expo.
"New Taipei City has been devoted to digital learning for years. We have observed that current online learning faces numerous challenges, such as a lack of interaction and sense of participation. UNIVERSE by ViewSonic simulates real-world interactions. Teachers and students can create personalized avatars to further engage with each other in this 3D space. Moreover, UNIVERSE can also be applied to cross-school teaching, thereby bridging the resource gap between schools. We look forward to having New Taipei City as the world's first city to adopt Metaverse for all levels of education, leading the way for schools all over the world in transforming how we teach and learn digitally."
- Chang Ming-Wen, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner
"Current online education platforms still focus on unidirectional communication. It not only limits the development of interactive courses for educators but also makes it difficult to evaluate studentengagement during classes. Students cannot easily interact with peers and are prone to feel isolated. UNIVERSE by ViewSonic is the strongest solution to resolve these issues by making online learning feel as if it were in-person. Through the cooperation with New Taipei City, all teachers and students will benefit from the most innovative learning pedagogies.
- James Chu, Chairman and CEO of ViewSonic
Immersive virtual learning environments, including classrooms, lecture halls, and collaborative areas, are offered by UNIVERSE by ViewSonic. Emojis, chat messages, and realistic spatialized audio are just a few of the simple and user-friendly alternatives available to participants for various forms of communication. Teachers can project content, design pop quizzes, and separate students into breakout rooms for group discussions thanks to digital teaching aids. Teachers can also connect to ViewSonic's myViewBoard platform and use its cutting-edge teaching capabilities through the built-in browser.
Read More
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
ISTE | June 24, 2022
ISTE Live 22 Conference & Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 27–29, 2022, will feature UNIVERSE by ViewSonic, the newest EdTech solution from ViewSonic Corp., a major global provider of visual solutions. An immersive 3D virtual world designed for learning is shown in the beta edition of ViewSonic's UNIVERSE. For times when classes cannot be together in the same physical space, it allows interactive learning experiences that drive engagement, enhance collaboration, and foster a feeling of belonging.
"The pandemic has changed the education landscape, and we've seen how digital innovation and technology has helped the education community overcome unforeseen challenges during this time. Through ViewSonic's continuous commitment to innovation in EdTech, we've created an immersive digital learning platform designed to enhance out-of-classroom learning experiences. UNIVERSE by ViewSonic aims to support educators teach with more creative freedom within online learning environments."
- Kevin Chu, director of UNIVERSE Business Unit at ViewSonic
Immersive virtual learning environments like classrooms, lecture halls, and collaborative areas are offered by ViewSonic's UNIVERSE. Through individualized avatars, students can communicate with peers and express themselves. They can interact with classmates in a secure digital environment using intuitive controls, making it easy for them to form a personal and meaningful connection. Emojis, realistic spatialized audio, private and group conversations, and all forms of communication can be carried out naturally.
To best meet the needs of each class, teachers can use all-inclusive teaching methods like screen-sharing, showing a video feed, and developing pop quizzes. While this is going on, students can work together in the main learning area through open conversations or separate into individual meeting rooms for more concentrated talks.
Depending on the learning circumstance, teachers can switch between the Lecture Mode and Discussion Mode using features designed specifically for classroom management. Additionally, after every session, teachers may get thorough learning reports that give them data-driven insights for better learning outcomes in a digital learning environment. These reports also give insight into the engagement levels of the students.
Read More