DESCARTES and EDISON Free For The Rest Of The School Year
Parametric Studio is working with schools around Iowa and the Midwest to help teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the biggest assets we can provide students is the ability to learn at home using the same technology we use to help them in the classroom.
We are devoted to providing young students with opportunities to have hands-on learning experiences with science, technology, engineering and mathematics even while they are self quarantining.
“We have a number of different STEM education platforms that are for different age groups and those are digital,” said Chris Whitmer, our founder and owner.
Those digital tools can be paired with regular home-based projects on your kitchen table.
“Because it’s all digital we’re thinking about offering it up to schools that need STEM resources,” Whitmer said. “It’s something that can easily be done from home with virtual teacher support.”
Schools and teachers can use our programs to continue the learning process. The pandemic is the entire reason we’re offering these tools.
“We normally would allow teachers to test it out with their class anyway,” Whitmer said. “And we have created measures that make our software suitable for use outside schools internal IT systems.”
“The advantage is you don’t have to physically be there. It makes it a little easier during these months when kids won’t be able to go to school.”
Our solution is to bring programs we’ve designed to these students for them to use as long as they have an internet connection. Through our programs teachers can interact with their students as though they’re in a class and send notes, goals, and encouragement.
“The advantage is you don’t have to physically be there,” Whitmer said. “It makes it a little easier during these months when kids won’t be able to go to school.”
Those same students will still be able to interact with education professionals and continue learning. It is essential during this time for students to continue their education. A pandemic shouldn’t stop students from learning. Some schools aren’t able to provide a classroom learning environment. Children are in a fragile time, education-wise, and we’re able to come in and fill the gaps. Our learning tools give students structure in an otherwise structureless time.
“We decided to offer it up until the end of the school year. Hopefully we can help some people out.”
“We decided to offer it up until the end of the school year,” Whitmer said. “Hopefully we can help some people out.”
At least 15 to 20 school districts are utilizing our tools to provide education to students.
“Descartes is available and it is free to use,” Whitmer said. “A lot of people are looking for quality materials, and it's hard to find good education material outside of the classroom right now.”
The Department of Education has added us to a list of online materials for students working from home.
“Descartes is integrated STEM. It’s science, math, and engineering working as the glue that holds it all together,” Whitmer said.
Students will work on engineering projects where they apply a concept from science and mathematics to reach a goal. While trying to reach the goal students work on a series of smaller projects to help them learn a variety of different skills. For example while learning about boats in a fourth grade level class the student will learn about volume and unit areas.
“It’s all tied into things that they’re learning about,” Whitmer said. “We’re adding more video content to help students along.”
All of these projects and programs are things we offer in the classroom setting. While videos don’t take the place of a classroom lecture, they do produce context that explains concepts.
“It’s not necessarily as deep of an experience as if you had a teacher giving a lesson in the classroom, but it’s definitely a rich experience for self-learning,”
As shelter in place orders are given around the country and students are taken out of the classroom we’re giving students, teachers and parents an opportunity to continue offering a learning environment.
“There’s a ton of resources out as part of our dashboard,” Whitmer said. “The resource is there and we really want people to use it. It’s free.”
Teachers can continue to use our tools after the pandemic is over.
“But, for now we want to be able to engage students,” Whitmer said. “It’s a way of doing project-based learning that can be managed in a distance based learning environment.”
