There is much speculation about what direction K-12 education should take. As a society, we are attempting to educate our children with skills and knowledge for a world that changes constantly and for jobs that don’t exist yet. Because of this, there is often disagreement among parents, teachers, administrators and politicians about which direction curriculum should take and what skills it should emphasize. However, many people agree that in the coming decades the necessity of computer skills, especially the ability to code, will be an important part of participating in the modern economy.
- Image: http://seanburrows.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/8/0/23800138/8871419.jpg?723
Researches at MIT found that the earlier that children are introduced to coding languages the easier it is for them to learn and the more likely they are to begin engaging in scientific thinking. In BC, our provincial government has made the explicit commitment to include coding skills at all levels of K-12 curriculum. Therefore, the product I have chosen to report on is OSMO, a stand and mirror system for iPad that responds to tangible objects placed on a flat surface and teaches kids skills like geometry, drawing and coding.
I believe that this product will provide long term value to the education system and learning market more broadly for several reasons. First, it is a simple adaptation on an otherwise widely available device, and therefore a relatively inexpensive system for schools to deploy if they already have iPads. Second, it is an intersectional activity that encourages learners to think using spatial awareness, problem solving, social communication, and other skills.
Personally, I am interested in exploring the connections between learning programming languages and developing skills in other scientific faculties. Learning more about the research behind the OSMO system will help me understand how they refined their product, and how they handled any design challenges. I am also curious to learn more about the backgrounds of the designers, to see how their research shaped the OSMO product and learning environment. It is a unique combination of tangible objects and learning based software that I think will become increasingly important in school aged education. Studying this product will help me understand the steps for bringing a product to market, with a special focus on products that modify the functionality of another existing product. For more information, please explore the resources section of this site.