Innovation Institute 2022

Join this interactive session to explore Career Blade, Learning Blade, and a new system for high school students launching in June 2022! These are free statewide STEM career awareness programs aligned to Arkansas academic standards.

Career Blade was introduced in Arkansas in February 2022. It is a free, web-based K-12 resource for teachers to integrate career pathways relevant to their specific economic region. For instance, a Springdale teacher will be able to visit the website and easily find downloadable, subject-based, and grade-appropriate lesson plans for actual career pathways offered in the Northwest Arkansas economic region. Lesson plans include everything you need to bring career exploration to life in the classroom, including contact information of companies that want to engage with students and meet their future workforce. Visit www.CareerBladeArkansas.com to access these free K-12 resources.

Learning Blade, designed for grades 5-9, contains hundreds of online STEM-focused “mission” lessons that lead students through exploring technologies and careers while practicing academic skills aligned to Arkansas standards. In addition, teachers have access to dozens of lesson plans that support innovative STEM project-based learning using common materials found in the classroom. Now includes a 20-hour "Intro to Coding" course designed to meet the Coding Block requirement in Middle School. Sign up for your free Learning Blade account provided by Governor Hutchinson's Ready for Life initiative, the ADE, in partnership with the APSRC at www.learningblade.com/AR.

The Sphero Edu program teaches students coding and 21st century skills, but our program goes #BeyondCode by incorporating robotics and technology with collaborative STEAM activities, nurturing students’ imaginations & fostering creativity, invention, exploration, & discovery.

Do you want to play with some LEGO robots? Obviously, the answer is yes! Come join us to gain hands on experience with programming and designing using LEGO robotics. You will have a ton of fun while getting a clear picture of how these tools could revolutionize learning in your class. We will also share about one specific way LEGO robotics can be used at your school: starting a FIRST LEGO League Robotics program!

Computer science, creativity, collaboration, problem solving...these are all characteristics of a FIRST LEGO League program. Starting an FLL program isn’t as hard as it sounds and it is an incredible chance to provide your students with life changing opportunities. While we will mostly be focused on providing hands on experience, we will also share about the benefits of FLL and provide some helpful tools to get you started. FLL is primarily for elementary through early junior high students, though all educators are welcome. You do not need any prior experience with robotics, LEGOs, or computer programming. You don’t even need a computer. Come join us, and learn about this excellent program your students will love!