Learning Resources was presented with an Education Resources Award in the ‘Primary Resource or Equipment – Curriculum learning resources including ICT’ category for its STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set. Held on the 18th of March, the awards honour the quality and diversity of products, schools and the most dedicated members of the education sector. In their eighteenth successful year, the awards are organised by BESA, the trade association representing educational suppliers in the UK sector, and Brilliant Marketing Solutions. New for 2016, The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set engages primary children as they build hands-on coding skills. Children create their very own maze using base tiles, tunnel pieces and walls and then programme Colby the Robot Mouse to find the cheese. Easy-to-use, Colby lights-up, makes sounds and features two speeds with colourful buttons that match coding cards for simple programming and sequencing.The judges, an independent panel of experienced educational professionals, most of whom are classroom teachers said, “the STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!â€Caroline Wright, director at BESA, comments: “What makes these awards different is that they focus on the resources, services and people that really make an impact on learning and the day-to-day work of the teachers in the classroom. The UK education sector is currently in the unprecedented position of offering ever improving standards of excellence. Thousands of educators from across the world visit the UK each year to review and buy products from our suppliers because of the quality offered. We would like to congratulate Learning Resources for its outstanding resource.†Elements of STEM learning are highlighted within the purpose of study across the Science, Mathematics and Technology curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2 in UK schools. The National Stem Centre has stated that the ‘government has long identified STEM education as a major priority at both school and HE level’ and that the ‘effective provision of STEM in schools requires a foundation of strong subject teaching.’ The STEM Robot Mouse supports parents and teachers to bring coding to life and create exciting learning experiences.Mrs Chimes from South Wootton Infant School tried the Robot Mouse with her class:“This product is absolutely fantastic for the new KS1 ICT curriculum and requirements for children to create a series of instructions and plan a journey for a programmable toy. The children could use the product without adult support and really enjoyed it.’â€Learning Resources were also finalists in the SEN-non ICT category with their All About Me Family Counter Activity Cards and the Primary- non ICT category with Plot Blocks Story Building Activity Set.
What is STEM? Emma Vanstone, the creator of Science Sparks and author of several books packed with fun science experiments for children, explores what is STEM, with easy ideas on STEM learning at home.
This month you have loved our award-winning STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set, the low cost solution to coding in primary classrooms! This must-have set provides an introduction to the concepts of coding and STEM learning. We are surrounded by technology like never before including video games, smart phones and tablets. They are all forms of communication that impact our lives every single day and what they have in common is that they all involve coding! This set provides early learners a fun, real-world application of these essential 21st century skills. Children can programme the sequence of steps, and then watch the mouse race to find the cheese!
What skills does the set promote?
Problem solving
Self-correcting errors
Critical thinking
Analytical thinking
Understanding cause and effect
Working collaboratively with others
Discussion and communication skills
Calculating distance
Spatial concepts
Perfect for individual or group play, children can create their own maze board using 16 interlocking tiles and then add obstacles such as walls and tunnel pieces. The block of cheese can be placed anywhere on the board, with the challenge of programming the mouse to find it! The mouse has two speeds to enable tabletop and floor play. Before programming the mouse, children can map out his journey using colourful coding cards provided. They are colour co-ordinated to match the buttons on the mouse featuring forward, reverse, left and right commands. They also feature an action card, which programmes the mouse to perform one of three random acts:
Move forward and back
Loud “SQUEAAKKâ€
CHIRP-CHIRP-CHIRP (and light-up eyes!)
The Robot Mouse has won the 2016 Education Resources Award for Best Primary Curriculum Resource (including ICT). The awards honour the quality and diversity of products, schools and the most dedicated members of the education sector. In their eighteenth successful year, the awards are organised by BESA, the trade association representing educational suppliers in the UK sector, and Brilliant Marketing Solutions. The judges, an independent panel of experienced educational professionals, most of whom are classroom teachers said “the STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!â€
Testimonials
Mrs Chimes, Class Teacher at South Wootton Infant School, said “this product is absolutely fantastic for the new Key Stage 1 ICT curriculum and requirements for children to create a series of instructions and plan a journey for a programmable toy. The children could use the product without adult support and really enjoyed itâ€. Emma Vanstone, blogger at Science Sparks, trialled the mouse with her coding club and said “Colby the Robot Mouse is a fantastic, hands on and visually appealing way to introduce coding to kids as well as helping to develop critical, logical and analytical thinking, spatial skills, teamwork and lots more. It’s been a big hit, both in my house and in a coding club I have been running at a local schoolâ€. Read her full review here.
Pictured: Louise Benstead (right), Learning Resources®, accepting the award from Chris Mahady (left), MD of Findel. Learning Resources’ pioneering work in developing hands-on STEM resources, has been recognised for the second time this year with a Findel ‘Best Product Innovation’ Award!Launched in January, the range comprises of six teacher-friendly kits meeting the STEM needs of primary classrooms. STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, and defines an approach to learning that asks children to solve real-world problems through enquiry based processes.Each Key Stage 1 STEM in Action kit includes:
Pre-printed worksheets and homework activities
The materials needed for up to 30 students
Double-sided teacher-led activity cards
‘Quick start’ preparation cards with helpful hints
A colourful story poster
Held at the Manchester United Football Conference Centre, eight awards were presented on the night, each recognising exceptional UK suppliers. Learning Resources® were commended for bringing a range to the UK education market ahead of the field, working closely with Findel in a highly valued partnership.Darren Baxendale, Purchasing Manager at Findel Education said: “Findel acknowledged the STEM in Action range from Learning Resources in this award as it was everything we were looking for in a supplier. The partnership and product innovation displayed in the STEM in Action range is a perfect fit for Findel’s customers, and the close working relationship Learning Resources has with Findel is of great benefit to both parties.â€Hannah Searle, STEM in Action Manager, said:
“Our exciting STEM in Action range of comprehensive hands-on kits for primary school children provide Key Stage 1 and 2 teachers with digestible and intuitive STEM projects. Each ready-to-use kit will save teachers up to 12 hours in preparation and planning, by providing teachers with everything they need right out of the box including: lesson plans, activity sheets, homework ideas and assessment tools. Primary teachers will not only save valuable time, but will see their confidence grow and the student’s attainment levels increase in the ever important area of STEM learning. Working in close partnership, Learning Resources and Findel Education have mutually benefitted from each other’s product development experience, distribution channels and sales & marketing expertise, to be the first to bring such an innovative range to market.â€
Find out more about the STEM in Action range and how it can help in your classroom.
Learning Resources was presented with an Education Resources Award in the ‘Primary Resource or Equipment – Curriculum learning resources including ICT’ category for its STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set. Held on the 18th of March, the awards honour the quality and diversity of products, schools and the most dedicated members of the education sector. In their eighteenth successful year, the awards are organised by BESA, the trade association representing educational suppliers in the UK sector, and Brilliant Marketing Solutions. New for 2016, The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set engages primary children as they build hands-on coding skills. Children create their very own maze using base tiles, tunnel pieces and walls and then programme Colby the Robot Mouse to find the cheese. Easy-to-use, Colby lights-up, makes sounds and features two speeds with colourful buttons that match coding cards for simple programming and sequencing.The judges, an independent panel of experienced educational professionals, most of whom are classroom teachers said, “the STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!â€Caroline Wright, director at BESA, comments: “What makes these awards different is that they focus on the resources, services and people that really make an impact on learning and the day-to-day work of the teachers in the classroom. The UK education sector is currently in the unprecedented position of offering ever improving standards of excellence. Thousands of educators from across the world visit the UK each year to review and buy products from our suppliers because of the quality offered. We would like to congratulate Learning Resources for its outstanding resource.†Elements of STEM learning are highlighted within the purpose of study across the Science, Mathematics and Technology curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2 in UK schools. The National Stem Centre has stated that the ‘government has long identified STEM education as a major priority at both school and HE level’ and that the ‘effective provision of STEM in schools requires a foundation of strong subject teaching.’ The STEM Robot Mouse supports parents and teachers to bring coding to life and create exciting learning experiences.Mrs Chimes from South Wootton Infant School tried the Robot Mouse with her class:“This product is absolutely fantastic for the new KS1 ICT curriculum and requirements for children to create a series of instructions and plan a journey for a programmable toy. The children could use the product without adult support and really enjoyed it.’â€Learning Resources were also finalists in the SEN-non ICT category with their All About Me Family Counter Activity Cards and the Primary- non ICT category with Plot Blocks Story Building Activity Set.
