Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

KidWind Supports New Children’s Book Featuring Women in Energy

(Saint Paul, Minn.) November 8, 2021 – Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, the authors of the upcoming book Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy have partnered with several energy companies. EDP Renewables North America, Enel North America, Orsted, and Pattern Energy are sponsoring copies of the book to be distributed via KidWind’s network of schools and through other national science initiatives for children.   

Everyday Superheroes is a nonfiction book series written by Erin Twamley and Joshua Sneideman focusing on the importance of multicultural representation of women in STEM. The second illustrated book in this series introduces elementary students to 26 energy careers and shows how heroes around the world are powering our planet from the national labs to large renewable energy farms.

“I have known Erin and Joshua for years, we recently reconnected at the 2021 Renewable Energy Education Summit (REES) we organized last winter, said Michael Arquin, founder of KidWind. “One of the major outcomes of REES was the need to broaden and diversify the renewable energy education workforce. With that in mind, I am thrilled to support these two authors as they work to get the book into the hands of as many students as possible.”…Read More

Kickstarter campaign funds new programmable robots

Programmable robots for kids exceed Kickstarter goal

cannybot-programmingA new Kickstarter campaign has already exceeded its funding goal to produce programmable robots that can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet.

Similar to Spheros, Cannybots, as the robots are known, help teach kids about robotics, programming, design, and 3D printing while they are playing.

The robots look like toy cars and can be programmed to move around a track and in a number of play scenarios such as high speed racing, time trials, sumo-wrestling, jousting and puzzle-solving. Students can also design new car bodies and use a 3D printer to realize their designs.…Read More

The 9 essentials of crowdfunding for the classroom

Fund your projects easily with these top tips

crowdfunding-classroomAs funding for public education continues to decline, districts, administrators, and classroom teachers struggle to find ways to fill gaps left by budget cuts. Traditional school fundraising methods, such as gift wrap sales, are time intensive and often only raise a small amount of capital.

Fortunately, the advent of the internet has created new fundraising opportunities for schools and educators. One such fundraising mechanism crowdfunding—uses the collective power of individual donors who are united in support of a common cause or goal. It’s been used successfully by movie producers, startup founders, and others with a truly great idea. Teachers are discovering it, too. In the classroom, crowdfunding can be used to fund exciting projects, purchase technology, or supplement resources.

Crowdfunding might sound like a lot of work, but it’s actually quite easy to implement. Here is what you need to know to get started and successfully fund your own projects.…Read More