Education

EduSense could allow instructors to adjust their performance on the fly, based on real-time feedback

Good Thinking

Computer vision system tracks instructors' performance

Being a college lecturer – or at least, being a good one – involves more than just speaking at a podium. You also have to engage the students, and a new dual-camera system is designed to assess just how well instructors are doing so.

Dubbed the "85 percent rule," research suggests a certain degree of failure is vital to efficient learning

Science

Failing 15 percent of the time leads to better learning outcomes

Whether it's coming to grips with a new game, or honing a skill, there's an ideal sweet spot for learning, between too easy and too hard. A new study is suggesting that the optimal learning zone involves failing around 15 percent of the time.

The Arcade Coder is made up of a tactile, programmable game console and an iOS app

Games

Arcade Coder challenges kids to design games

Tech Will Save Us has launched the Arcade Coder that's designed to give kids the power to create custom games they can play.

All of the Beatbox components are mounted to reinforced cardboard housing

Music

Rhythmo reveals build-it-yourself beat machine in a cardboard box

Cardboard is generally used as packaging, to house new instruments during transit for example. But we've seen a number of gear innovations actually built using cardboard over the years, and the latest to join the cardboard band is the Beatbox, a MIDI drum machine built into cardboard housing.

Middle schoolers can experiment with electromagnetism, thermodynamics, kinetics and kinematics courtesy of the Arduino Science Kit Physics Lab

Children

Arduino and Google get middle schoolers kitted out for science

Open source hardware and software company Arduino has teamed up with Google to develop and launch the Arduino Science Kit Physics Lab. Designed for students aged 11 to 14, the kit helps kids experiment with forces, motion, magnetism and conductivity.

The Kano PC tasks students with building a tablet from a kit, and then learning to code and create

Computers

Kano partners with Microsoft for build-it-yourself laptop for kids

Making and coding are important skills for future engineers and technicians to master. With this in mind, Kano has partnered with Microsoft to release the Kano PC – a DIY Windows 10 computer for kids that gets them making , coding and creating.

DJI's RoboMaster S1 can respond to claps, hand gestures and visual markers

Robotics

DJI's first ground-level robot is built to race, battle and educate

An educational tool first and a toy for playtime second, DJI's RoboMaster S1 will bring some battle and racing fireworks to the living room floor, but overall is designed to offer a gentle pathway into the world of AI, engineering and robotics.

In a new study, higher education does seem to give Alzheimer's patients a cognitive head start allowing them to stay intellectually functional longer

Medical

Higher education doesn’t prevent Alzheimer’s but it can offer a cognitive head start

New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine is suggesting neurodegenerative disease can be just as prevalent in individuals with higher education but a greater cognitive reserve can temporarily mitigate the impact of Alzheimer’s pathology in one’s senior years.

The Which Way? Coding Game aids with cognitive thinking, problem solving and STEM learning

Sponsored Content

The Which Way? board game is a fun way for kids to learn coding skills ... without screens!

We need a great way to teach our kids how to harness their curiosity into something that can be used for later in life. What if we could teach our kids some of the skills that will need to know to be in an industry that is leading the future?

The Lego Braille Bricks project was launched today at the Sustainable Brands Conference in Paris, France

Children

Lego makes learning Braille fun and engaging

Though sets of colorful building bricks made of plastic can usually keep the kids entertained for hours at home, Lego is also used in the classroom. The Lego Foundation and the Lego Group have now unveiled some special bricks aimed at helping blind kids to learn braille through play.

Students will be able to program their Spike Prime creations using a farg-and-drop coding platform based on Scratch

Children

Lego gives middle schoolers coding confidence

Lego Education has launched a new STEAM learning package designed to give kids of all abilities more coding confidence. The Spike Prime set includes hundreds of Lego bricks, sensors and motors, a programmable multi-port Hub, and a companion app featuring a block-based coding environment.

The Sphero Rvr robot has been designed as a blank template for hacker creativity

Robotics

Sphero rolls out roving robot that's made for hacking

Sphero is probably best known for its BB-8 rolling droid, but has recently been aiming its products at future programmers and makers. The company has opted to take to Kickstarter for its latest bot, which has been designed to be tweaked and hacked by adult hobbyists and young roboticists alike.