Workbench Partners With 2 STEM Curriculum and Content Providers
Workbench, which until
recently was known as CWIST, has partnered with two more
education-related
companies to create online communities known as "workbenches."
Workbench
develops and maintains a platform that accommodates online communities
in which
users can interact with a company and with one another to share
programs,
lessons and experiences. In addition, the content created in these
workbenches
can be leveraged by educators to drive interactive, hands-on learning
in the
classroom.
The
two new partner companies are SparkFun and Parrot.
SparkFun
provides maker kits that allow students to use
sensors, switches and controllers to learn skills related to geometry,
science,
art, physics and coding.
"Our
goal is to make the world of electronics accessible to
everyone by providing the tools, resources and support to help budding
inventors fulfill their vision," said Nathan Seidle, founder and CEO of
SparkFun.
Parrot
uses educational tools to create projects involving
drones and robots to help students develop similar skills.
With
an integrated and custom learning management system
within Workbench, teachers can use it to assign lessons and monitor
student
progress. Workbench will begin working with schools and districts
across the
country to facilitate this maker-driven education later this year.
Workbench already has partnered with Sphero, which makes app-enabled
teachable
robots, and PowerUp Toys to offer its PowerUp
Flight Deck for building and using paper
airplane drones.
"We revolve around project-based learning, so we wanted our new name to
reflect this key focus on making, building and learning," said
Workbench Founder
and CEO Chris Sleat. "But this is not your father's workbench. These
online sites, or 'workbenches' provide fun, exciting learning
experiences that
teach programming, coding and other critical STEM skills."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.