Tag Archives: education

This Tetris-like Analog Game Keeps Your Kids Entertained and Their Minds Active

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In the digital age, it is refreshing to see a game that not only captures the nostalgia of classic 80s-90s gaming but also incorporates cutting-edge technology to create an engaging and educational experience. Super Slide, developed by Giiker, reminds me of the good old ‘Nintendo Game Boy’ but with a screen for varied use. It is a game that combines the charm of retro design with the convenience of modern interactivity. This innovative sliding puzzle game is taking the world of edutainment by storm, offering a range of benefits for both kids and adults.

Designer: FS GiiKER Technology Co., Ltd

Super Slide is not just a game; it’s a complete puzzle experience. This innovative game breaks the limitations of traditional question cards by gathering a whopping 500+ challenges into one compact console. These challenges are displayed on an LED screen, eliminating the need for physical cards and making the game more environmentally friendly.

To enhance the replay value and boost confidence, Super Slide expands its repertoire of questions and organizes them into levels ranging from easy to hard. This approach ensures that players of all ages and skill levels can enjoy the game, from beginners to seasoned puzzle enthusiasts.

The game not only reduces screen time but also instills competitiveness among players, encouraging them to strive for improvement. Additionally, the learning mode helps users build momentum and gain a better understanding of the game, effectively training their minds while having fun.

One of the standout features of Super Slide is its attention to detail. The game board and tiles are equipped with magnets, providing a satisfying sense of touch as players rearrange the pieces. This tactile feedback enhances spatial rearrangement skills and concentration, making Super Slide a valuable tool for cognitive development.

Giiker, the technology company behind Super Slide, is dedicated to the development of smart and connected edutainment products. Their mission is to provide children and adults with engaging, educational, and interactive experiences that promote problem-solving skills, logical thinking, and hand-eye coordination.

While Super Slide is designed with kids in mind, it has proven to be a hit with adults as well. Its blend of nostalgia and innovation makes it an enjoyable pastime for the whole family. In a world dominated by digital distractions, Super Slide encourages families to come together and spend quality time in an interactive and educational way.

Super Slide is designed to be as portable as your smartphone. Its small and lightweight form factor means it can easily fit in your bag, making it an ideal companion for travel or keeping kids entertained at gatherings. Whether you’re on a long road trip or attending a boring party, Super Slide can turn downtime into a fun and engaging learning experience.

Super Slide by Giiker is a shining example of how technology and classic gameplay can be seamlessly combined to create an edutainment product that offers numerous benefits. It fosters problem-solving skills, reduces screen time, promotes competitiveness, and brings families closer together. With its nostalgic design and innovative features, Super Slide is not just a game; it’s a learning tool that encourages spatial reasoning, concentration, logical thinking, planning skills, and hand-eye coordination. So, it’s no wonder that this game has earned the green light from both kids and adults alike.

The post This Tetris-like Analog Game Keeps Your Kids Entertained and Their Minds Active first appeared on Yanko Design.

Duolingo will soon offer gamified music lessons

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Duolingo is best known for its language learning app, but it recently branched into teaching math and will soon offer music learning, the company announced. Through a series of "hundreds of bite-sized lessons," users will be able to learn notes and how to play tunes from a library of over 200+ songs. Using the app's gamified learning experience, the Music course "teaches you to read and play music anytime, through interactive lessons," according to Duolingo. 

"We know math and music, much like language, transcend cultures and connect people," Duolingo cofounder and CTO Severin Hacker. "Soon you will be able to learn math and music in the same Duolingo app — all with the same fun, engaging, and effective experience you know from learning languages with us."

Duolingo will soon teach you to play music
Duolingo

Several screenshots show musical notation paired with piano keys (above), along with games like "fill in the blanks" and "match the pairs." The app will appear alongside languages and math at the top of the main Duolingo screen. The math app is already available for iOS, with levels ranging from elementary to more advanced, all using interactive, gamified lessons. 

A job posting spotted earlier this year provided hints that the company was working on a music app. Duolingo didn't give many details other than a few screenshots, but did say that "the course is free, fun and effective. It plans to reveal the app fully at its Duocon conference on October 11th. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/duolingo-will-soon-offer-gamified-music-lessons-120010824.html?src=rss

An Iowa school district is using AI to ban books

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It certainly didn't take long for AI's other shoe to drop, what with the emergent technology already being perverted to commit confidence scams and generate spam content. We can now add censorship to that list as the Globe Gazette reports the school board of Mason City, Iowa has begun leveraging AI technology to cultivate lists of potentially bannable books from the district's libraries ahead of the 2023/24 school year. 

In May, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed, and Governor Kim Reynolds subsequently signed, Senate File 496 (SF 496), which enacted sweeping changes to the state's education curriculum. Specifically it limits what books can be made available in school libraries and classrooms, requiring titles to be "age appropriate” and without “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act,” per Iowa Code 702.17.

But ensuring that every book in the district's archives adhere to these new rules is quickly turning into a mammoth undertaking. "Our classroom and school libraries have vast collections, consisting of texts purchased, donated, and found," Bridgette Exman, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Mason City Community School District, said in a statement. "It is simply not feasible to read every book and filter for these new requirements." 

As such, the Mason City School District is bringing in AI to parse suspect texts for banned ideas and descriptions since there are simply too many titles for human reviewers to cover on their own. Per the district, a "master list" is first cobbled together from "several sources" based on whether there were previous complaints of sexual content. Books from that list are then scanned by "AI software" which tells the state censors whether or not there actually is a depiction of sex in the book. 

“Frankly, we have more important things to do than spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to protect kids from books,” Exman told PopSci via email. “At the same time, we do have a legal and ethical obligation to comply with the law. Our goal here really is a defensible process.”

So far, the AI has flagged 19 books for removal. They are as follows:

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mason-city-iowa-school-district-ai-book-ban-censorship-202541565.html?src=rss

Colorado education department discloses data breach spanning 16 years

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After a ransomware attack in June, the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) notified students on Friday of a potential data leak. In June, "unauthorized actor(s)" not yet publicly identified accessed CDHE systems in a ransomware attack. While authorities continue to investigate the full extent of the damage, the department has disclosed that the attack breached personally identifiable information like names and social security numbers.

"The review of the impacted records is ongoing and once complete, CDHE will be notifying individuals who are potentially impacted by mail or email to the extent we have contact information," CDHE wrote in a Notice of Data Incident. But the department warns students that the impact of the breach reaches across programs, from public schools to adult education initiatives, over a 16 year time period.

In response, CDHE is offering free access to Experian credit monitoring and identity theft protection to protect their data. The department recommends impacted groups keep an eye on their account statements and credit reports for suspicious activity. 

Education systems are a popular target for ransomware attacks. In 2022, at least 44 colleges and 45 school districts reported ransomware attacks, compared to 88 total education departments in 2021, according to data from Emsisoft. The Government Accountability Office recommended that the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security coordinate to evaluate school cybersecurity efforts across the country. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/colorado-department-of-education-data-leak-personal-information-143001196.html?src=rss

How the Schools and Classes of The Future Merge Tech with Hands-on Learning

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In today’s digital age, children are growing up with a deep familiarity and comfort in both the real and virtual worlds. As technology continues to evolve and become more pervasive, there is an opportunity to enhance traditional teaching tools with virtual reality (VR) devices. SQUASHY, a groundbreaking virtual reality wearable device for children, aims to bridge the gap between the digital and physical realms, offering a transformative formative education experience. By stimulating the five senses, SQUASHY replaces traditional teaching aids and introduces an exciting and immersive approach to learning.

Designer: Eunhye Sim

The application of virtual reality and digital technology opens up new possibilities for education, providing children with a broader and more captivating learning experience. SQUASHY recognizes that while digital education offers convenience and accessibility, it is essential to preserve and complement the unique aspects of reality-based education. The device seamlessly integrates virtual and physical worlds to provide a comprehensive educational experience that sparks curiosity and fosters engagement.

SQUASHY acknowledges the invaluable role of hands-on learning and the tactile experiences that traditional teaching aids offer. Clay, as a symbol of formative education, has the power to stimulate children’s creativity and imagination. With SQUASHY, children can experience the multidimensional nature of formative education by transforming virtual clay into desired shapes using their hands. By combining the freedom of self-expression with systematic guidance, SQUASHY empowers children to explore various formative gestures and processes.

Understanding the importance of comfort and accessibility, the creators of SQUASHY have taken into consideration the average hand size of 6-year-old boys and girls. The device’s size allows children to hold it effortlessly, regardless of whether they use one or both hands. This ergonomic design ensures that children can fully engage with the device, maximizing their learning potential and enjoyment.

SQUASHY’s training program offers a diverse range of forms for children to complete. With the guidance provided, they can learn step-by-step formative processes and gestures. The device incorporates a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor within its silicon column, which recognizes the user’s hand motions to deform the virtual clay. Should the device lose its shape, a simple press of the top reset button restores it to its original circular form. This interaction is made possible by the integration of memory foam and an internal air blow device.

Charging SQUASHY is a hassle-free experience thanks to its magnetic coupling cradle. When the device is placed on the cradle, it securely connects and charges. Additionally, the cradle doubles as a Bluetooth pairing hub, allowing the VR device and SQUASHY to pair effortlessly. This functionality ensures that children can carry SQUASHY with them without the need for any further operations on the device itself.

One of the remarkable features of SQUASHY is its ability to bridge the gap between the virtual and real worlds. Children’s virtual modeling data can be 3D printed, enabling them to hold their creations in their hands and experience a tangible sense of accomplishment. This seamless integration of digital data with physical objects adds a new dimension to their learning journey, further enhancing their satisfaction and sense of achievement.

While SQUASHY offers convenience and state-of-the-art technology, it lacks the importance of children interacting with real materials in a natural manner. By introducing textures and encouraging the use of SQUASHY in conjunction with traditional craft lessons in schools, children can enjoy the best of both worlds. They can explore the convenience and creativity of virtual reality while still experiencing the tactile nature of real-world materials.

SQUASHY represents a transformative shift in children’s formative education, combining the immersive capabilities of virtual reality with the physicality of real-world experiences. By stimulating the five senses and seamlessly integrating digital and analog learning, SQUASHY offers a holistic educational approach. With its intuitive design, tailored size, and convenient features, SQUASHY empowers children to unleash their creativity, explore diverse forms, and embark on a captivating educational journey that prepares them for the evolving digital landscape while preserving the unique qualities of reality-based education.

The post How the Schools and Classes of The Future Merge Tech with Hands-on Learning first appeared on Yanko Design.

Samsung Wallet gets digital school ID support for campuses across the US

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Students at 68 colleges and universities across the US will easily be able to use their Samsung phones to tap for access and purchases. Samsung's Wallet app now supports digital student IDs, so long as it's on the United States versions of the brand's latest devices. Some of the educational institutions that have enabled ID integration for Samsung Wallet are Penn State, the University of Florida, Central Michigan University, University of North Alabama and the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Apple has supported contact-free student ID cards since 2018, allowing students to tap their phones to access facilities and, say, get food at the cafeteria. Google Pay also launched student ID integration in 2020 in partnership with a company called Transact, which offers solutions for tuition and other student expense payment. That's the same company Samsung has teamed up with to enable this integration, which means users will have to download the Transact eAccounts mobile app from Google Play, as well.

Like other digital student ID integrations, Samsung Wallet allows students to access school facilities with their phone. The app's Fast Mode feature will let users tap their phone without having to unlock their screen, while Power Reserve means they can use their digital ID even if their phone has switched off due to low battery reserves. That said, the capability to pay using NFC at on-campus stores and vending machines aren't available at all of the participating institutions.

At the moment, students can only use Samsung Wallet's digital ID support if they have a Galaxy S20 phone or later, a Note 20, a Galaxy Flip or Fold device, or a Galaxy A53. Galaxy Watch support is coming this fall. Samsung also says that it's working to expand the offering and make it available for students in more institutions. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-wallet-gets-digital-school-id-support-for-campuses-across-the-us-064807761.html?src=rss

University professors in Texas are suing the state over ‘unconstitutional’ TikTok ban

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A group of college professors sued Texas today for banning TikTok on state devices and networks, as reported byThe Washington Post. The plaintiffs say the prohibition compromises their research and teaching while “preventing or seriously impeding faculty from pursuing research that relates to TikTok,” including studying the very disinformation and data-collection practices the restriction claims to address. The plaintiffs say the ban makes it “almost impossible for faculty to use TikTok in their classrooms — whether to teach about TikTok or to use content from TikTok to teach about other subjects.”

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit in the name of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, an academic research advocacy group the Texas professors are members of. The lawsuit names Governor Greg Abbott and 14 other state and public education officials as defendants. “The government’s authority to control their research and teaching… cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny,” the complaint says.

One example cited by the plaintiffs is Jacqueline Vickery, Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts at the University of North Texas, who studies and teaches how young people use social media for expression and political organizing. “The ban has forced her to suspend research projects and change her research agenda, alter her teaching methodology, and eliminate course materials,” the complaint reads. “It has also undermined her ability to respond to student questions and to review the work of other researchers, including as part of the peer-review process.”

The lawsuit says that, although faculty at public universities are public employees, the First Amendment shields them from government control over their research and teaching. “Imposing a broad restraint on the research and teaching of public university faculty is not a constitutionally permissible means of protecting Texans’ ‘way of life’ or countering the threat of disinformation,” the suit says, citing Abbott’s comments that he feared the Chinese government “wields TikTok to attack our way of life.” The suit also condemns the double standard of claiming to care about Texans’ privacy while still allowing Meta, Google and Twitter (all American companies) to harvest much of the same data as TikTok.

“The ban is suppressing research about the very concerns that Governor Abbott has raised, about disinformation, about data collection,” Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Washington Post. “There are other ways to address those concerns that don’t impose the same severe burden on faculty and researchers’ First Amendment rights,” he added, as well as their “ability to continue studying what has, like it or not, become a hugely popular and influential communications platform.”

This is the third lawsuit this year challenging state TikTok bans. Two Montana lawsuits funded by the Chinese social media company claim the prohibition violates free speech rights. According toThe New York Times, TikTok is not involved with the Texas suit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/university-professors-in-texas-are-suing-the-state-over-unconstitutional-tiktok-ban-173100334.html?src=rss

Figma is now free for all US school students

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Instead of pen and paper, many students are now carrying a laptop with them, using it for everything from taking notes to doing research. Companies are responding with programs designed for tech-centric learning, including Figma, a cloud-based design tool. The company has announced that Figma is now free for all US students in K-12, in partnership with Google for Education. The initiative started in beta last year, with 50 high schools across the country getting free access to Figma and FigJam, a collaborative whiteboard.

While Figma offers a free version, it only allows users to have three files for each program. Instead, schools can access the company's most advanced tier, Figma Enterprise, for free (typically $75 per person monthly). It includes unlimited files, individual and shared project options, dedicated workspaces and more sophisticated design features, among other perks. Schools will need Chromebooks to utilize the program, but they can apply for access if they have non-Google systems. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 94 percent of schools provided devices like laptops and tablets to students who needed them for the 2022 to 2023 school year.

Figma's fate is a bit up in the air after Adobe entered into an agreement to buy the competitor in September 2022 for $20 billion in cash and shares. Regulators across the US, UK and EU are investigating whether the deal violates antitrust policies, with the first barrier emerging in February with reports that the US Justice Department was preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal. The UK followed in May with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcing it was launching an inquiry into the agreement. Most recently came reports that European antitrust regulators plan to initiate an investigation into the merger later this year.

As for free Figma access for students, the initiative holds promise, with the company sharing positive reviews from educators involved in the beta program. Educators can now sign up to bring Figma to their schools in the US — plus, the company is taking its Chromebook partnership global, starting with Google schools in Japan.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/figma-is-now-free-for-all-us-school-students-105514037.html?src=rss

Figma is now free for all US school students

Posted on by

Instead of pen and paper, many students are now carrying a laptop with them, using it for everything from taking notes to doing research. Companies are responding with programs designed for tech-centric learning, including Figma, a cloud-based design tool. The company has announced that Figma is now free for all US students in K-12, in partnership with Google for Education. The initiative started in beta last year, with 50 high schools across the country getting free access to Figma and FigJam, a collaborative whiteboard.

While Figma offers a free version, it only allows users to have three files for each program. Instead, schools can access the company's most advanced tier, Figma Enterprise, for free (typically $75 per person monthly). It includes unlimited files, individual and shared project options, dedicated workspaces and more sophisticated design features, among other perks. Schools will need Chromebooks to utilize the program, but they can apply for access if they have non-Google systems. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 94 percent of schools provided devices like laptops and tablets to students who needed them for the 2022 to 2023 school year.

Figma's fate is a bit up in the air after Adobe entered into an agreement to buy the competitor in September 2022 for $20 billion in cash and shares. Regulators across the US, UK and EU are investigating whether the deal violates antitrust policies, with the first barrier emerging in February with reports that the US Justice Department was preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal. The UK followed in May with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcing it was launching an inquiry into the agreement. Most recently came reports that European antitrust regulators plan to initiate an investigation into the merger later this year.

As for free Figma access for students, the initiative holds promise, with the company sharing positive reviews from educators involved in the beta program. Educators can now sign up to bring Figma to their schools in the US — plus, the company is taking its Chromebook partnership global, starting with Google schools in Japan.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/figma-is-now-free-for-all-us-school-students-105514037.html?src=rss

Google’s new Classroom tools include a ‘reader mode’ for people with dyslexia

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Google is making it easier for people with reading challenges, such as dyslexia, to be able to make out articles and text posts online. The tech giant has launched "reader mode" for Chrome, which takes a site's primary content and puts it into the sidebar to reduce clutter and distractions. Users will also be able to change the text's typeface, font size and spacing, as well as its color and background color, to find the combination that works best for them. 

Reader mode is but one of the new features and updates Google has rolled out for education users. Another new feature for Google Classroom gives educators the ability to add interactive questions to YouTube videos. That will allow students to answer them and get immediate feedback, giving teachers an insight on how well they understand the subject matter. 

Google is also giving teachers a way to share practice sets with other verified educators in their domain, so that they can expand the availability of materials their students have access to. For particularly difficult mathematical and scientific concepts, for instance, more examples mean more opportunity to better understand them. The company has released a new web player for Screencast on Chrome OS, as well, allowing users to watch casts in any browser on any platform. Plus, it has expanded language options for Screencast closed captions and for practice sets. 

Classes using Meet for online lectures will also find a new and useful feature: Hand raise gesture detection powered by AI. Apparently, when a student raises a hand in real life, the video conferencing app can now automatically activate its Hand Raise icon. In addition, two teachers can now also manage slides concurrently on Meet and co-present lectures together. Google has been growing and improving its education-related tools for years, though it has perhaps kicked things up a notch after schools shut down during the pandemic. It released a slew of updates to make virtual classrooms more usable since then, and it looks like it hasn't forgotten online-based education even though schools have mostly gone back to in-person learning. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-new-classroom-tools-include-a-reader-mode-for-people-with-dyslexia-120046174.html?src=rss