What works best in early childhood—hands-on experience with physical manipulatives and playful opportunities for self-directed knowledge construction—also works best for teaching AI. KIBO provides a research-proven method to explore computer science, engineering, and now AI concepts in early childhood STEM education. With KIBO, advanced and abstract concept like AI become accessible to young kids.
This new (and free!) AI curriculum, Thinking with KIBO: Introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Early Grades, is designed to help students in grades 1–3 understand how artificial intelligence works, what its limitations are and how to think critically about how these tools can improve lives in their communities.
Featuring five lessons, students explore fundamental ideas about AI through activities with the hands-on and screen-free KIBO robot. Thinking with KIBO engages with computer science concepts in K–5, alongside evolving content standards in artificial intelligence. The curriculum is ideal for a 5–6 week unit in computer science or technology/media classes, as well as afterschool programs, enrichment centers, libraries, makerspaces, and more.
The curriculum’s core learning objectives include:
• AI is a tool made by people. • AI systems (and robots!) make decisions based on input and rules. • AI doesn’t think like people do, and it’s not alive. • AI can help people solve difficult problems.
Based on 20+ years of early child development research by co-founder, Dr. Marina Bers, KIBO engages young students to learn STEAM concepts through play and creative self-expression. KIBO provides developmentally appropriate robotics and coding to young learners: teaching computer science, engineering, and computational thinking.
For these reasons and more, KIBO Robots is a Cool Tool Award Winner for “Best Robotics (for Learning, Education) Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
Arken Age, the upcoming single-player sci-fi shooter from Shadow Legend VR (2019) studio VitruviusVR, is almost here.
The team announce it’s completed the first large beta test with SteamVR users, and are currently sending out a second batch of codes, noting that a release date will be revealed in the “next couple weeks.”
With it, the studio also teased a new bit of gameplay, seen below:
Arken Age Update – For the past week we’ve been beta testing with a larger group of players on Steam VR and everything is looking great so far! We’re sending out the second round of keys today and hope to have a release date for you guys in the next couple weeks! #VR#PSVR… pic.twitter.com/MsPu3YaG1e
Slated to arrive on PSVR 2 and PC VR headsets, the single-player VR adventure isn’t just a sci-fi shooter; the studio says it will include fully customizable melee and ranged weapons, physics-based combat, boss fights, over two dozen unique areas, and a 10-15 hour campaign.
Here’s how VitruviusVR describes the story:
Your journey begins in Celestial Custodian’s Tower on the shores of the Bio-Chasm, a terraformed realm created to harvest Arkenite Energy. Its divine founder, the Grand Arborist, has ceased cultivation of your planet and every transmission sent to him has been met with abject silence. Uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the Grand Arborist, forge alliance with the Nara alien race, and take up arms against the usurper Hyperion & his legion of corrupted soldiers.
While we’re still waiting on an official release date, you can wishlist the game over on Steam and PSVR 2. Check out the announce trailer below, which includes a good bit of gameplay:
Robo 3D printers are the ultimate catalyst for Maker and DIY projects, offering a seamless experience for educators and students. They come ready-to-use, complete with access to MyStemKits, featuring an extensive library of standards-driven 3D-printable STEAM curriculum tailored to K-12.
One distinctive feature of Robo 3D printers is its safety; they are fully enclosed and equipped with HEPA filters, ensuring secure usage in both classrooms and school maker spaces. The Robo printers make 3D printing accessible even to the youngest students, setting the stage for key skills like creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.
Robo 3D printers have also adapted to the technological preferences of modern classrooms. They are Wi-Fi and Hot Spot enabled, aligning perfectly with the widespread use of Chromebooks and iPads in schools. Robo cloud printing further amplifies their accessibility. Educators and students can initiate projects from anywhere, including their homes, enhancing flexibility and promoting a sense of class community.
Robo 3D printers transform traditional, book-based learning into a more tactile and tangible educational experience. This approach empowers students to solidify their collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills which have direct applications in daily life, local communities, and even in addressing global challenges.
Through the entire process of 3D printing, from concept to completion, students gain confidence in their learning and open their eyes to a world of STEM-related career possibilities. For these reasons and more, Robo E3 3D Printer from Boxlight is a Cool Tool Awards Winner for “Best Maker / DIY Tools Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
Blade & Sorcery, arguably VR’s top physics-based combat sandbox, is leaving Early Access today on Steam, which comes alongside the long-awaited 1.0 update that brings its final major content drop: the ‘Crystal Hunt’ campaign.
Update (June 17th, 2024): Blade & Sorcery is complete, at least according to developer WarpFrog which is turning on its campaign mode today in what promises to bring 7+ hours of dungeoning carnage.
We’re still deep in review, although thus far Crystal Hunt marks a notabe departure from the game’s sandbox-focused arenas by tossing you into a number of linked maps that are underpinned by an honest to goodness narrative and a progression upgrade system all about collecting crystals scattered throughout the game.
Tune back in soon for our full review, which is coming as soon as possible as we fight through this thick slice of new content. The original article announcing Crystal Hunt’s release date follows below:
Original Article (June 11th, 2024): For many, Blade & Sorcery was everything they ever wanted in VR: a place to beat the ever-living crap out of whoever, wherever, and with whatever. Beyond its massive assortment of melee weapons and AI enemies ripe for the ganking, you can also mod it to be basically anything you want.
For some though, the fighting sandbox had all of the right bones, but lacked the story, progression, worldbuilding—the adventures only your imagination could create in their absence.
Now, a little over five years since its Early Access release on PC, Blade & Sorcery’s massive 1.0 drop is looking to change that, which is coming to the SteamVR version of the game on June 17th as a free update. Check out the trailer below:
Developer WarpFrog says the game’s ‘Crystal Hunt’ campaign is bringing along with it a progression mode, tons of new weapons and skills, lore, and a definitive ending to the story.
Here’s how the studio describes the action:
Deep in the mountains of Eraden, entrances to long lost Dalgarian ruins have Inexplicably revealed themselves, triggering what folk have begun referring to as The Crystal Hunt. Within weeks of the first entrance discovery, major factions across Eraden mobilized to compete in finding these ruins and securing the valuables within.
Taking up temporary residence in abandoned Outposts dotted all around Eraden, the factions race to map out the surrounding wildlands and discover new Dalgarian entrances. This is where Player come in; also motivated to find Dalgarian ruins, Player will visit these faction occupied Outposts to gather intel on potential ruin locations.
The Outposts are as you know them in Sandbox and will be occupied by one of four factions, each presenting different challenges and difficulty levels. Outposts will have loot scaled on that difficulty, from gold and valuables which the player can use to purchase new weapons and armour in the shop, to Crystal Shards, which are minor magical crystals that can be used to unlock new skills on the skill tree.
Blade & Sorcery: Nomad (2021), a pared-down version for Quest 2/3/Pro, is also getting the big 1.0 update at some point, however there’s no release date on the books yet. As one of the most popular games on Quest, we’re really hoping for sooner rather than later, although it may take time, the studio says.
“Once PCVR is released and stable, the team can switch to the Nomad update porting process, which will for sure take months as it is a mountain of work. However, take solace in the knowledge that it is our goal to attempt a full port of the PCVR update to Nomad,” the studio says in a Steam news update.
“In the decision to release Nomad as standalone and not merge both versions into one game, we essentially doubled our work because it meant we had two separate developments to support. However this was the only way to make sure PCVR development was not limited by the Quest 2 hardware, so this is why Nomad is a completely separated “made for Quest” sister-title,” the studio explains.
Notably, as it leaves Early Access on Steam on June 17th, there’s set to be a price bump from $20 to $30, marking what WarpFrog calls “our final major content update” outside of further patches for bugfixing, stabilization and QOL things. If you manage to grab it before then, you’ll of course get the big 1.0 update for free when it drops next week.
Founded by Michael and Fiona Holmstrom, leaders in the STEM education space through pedagogy and innovative, engaging STEM programs globally. STEM Punks originated as modest after-school garage classes, our initiative rapidly gained popularity among parents and educators.
STEM Punks is driven by the mission to ”Inspire Tomorrow’s Innovators,” a journey begun long before STEM education was part of the national curriculum in Michael and Fiona’s home country of Australia.
They offer a comprehensive range of online STEM programs meticulously crafted to nurture creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship for primary/high school students.
Some recent highlights:
Pioneering modern broadcasting techniques and digital technology delivers high-quality, cost-effective, ”STEM Punks TV”, bridging the equity gap in STEM education. Gained global recognition, attracting major players like Amazon Web Service and UNESCO, with over 200,000 interactions.
Collaborations with industry leaders, such as Lockheed Martin, Komatsu, and World Science Festival, to cultivate future-focused skills, essential for tomorrow’s workforce.
Innovation Sports, merging STEM, design thinking, and eSports, empowered over 500 Australian students with plans for expansion into the US through a partnership with NASEF.
Secured an eight-year contract with Lockheed Martin, shaping STEM career pathways for 40,000 high school students,
Introduced a three-year School Partner program benefiting 5,000 students and teachers in Chile, Peru, and Colombia.
Initiated SPACE 2101, five-day STEM and Design Thinking events across the UK, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia, and Thailand with astronauts, fostering new STEM skills and collaborative solutions for the space industry.
Collaborations with Vietnam National University introducing SMART gardens and micro bits.
Ensuring equality in STEM education, encouraging more girls to take part.
For these reasons and more, Michael and Fiona Holmstrom of STEM Punks were named Winners of The EdTech Leadership Awards for “Best Founder(s) / CEO” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
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