As the coronavirus pandemic exposes educational inequality throughout the United States, LEGO is looking to revamp the way digitally disadvantaged elementary and middle school students learn via a new 'purposeful play' program funded by leaders in tech and education.
Esben Staerk, LEGO Education president, explained that the toy company division has joined the 'Creating Learning Connections' initiative meant to ensure every student has "access to quality devices and quality internet connection."
In partnership with CDW-G, GE, Intel, and First Book, the initiative poured $7 million into the fund to develop tools and products that guide teachers and entice students to engage with their learning materials.
"The pandemic has exacerbated the divide. A recent study by First Book actually indicates that around 40 percent of students lack access to quality devices and almost 40 percent lack access to quality internet connections," Staerk said.
The physical aspect of LEGO Education's learning tools, according to Staerk, makes learning fun and is a better source for information retention.
"All the LEGO Education solutions are based around hands-on learning, and they're based around a playful learning or learning to play approach," he explained.
As parents and teachers express having difficulties with children learning from home, Staerk said the purposeful play program isn't just meant to level the educational playing field but also to "make sure that these communities and these students are engaged in their learning."
For Staerk, the choice to join an equal education initiative was easy since the importance of access to quality education is essential for the ability to be "life-long learners," he noted.
"It's important that we spark student creativity, their problem solving, their critical thinking, but not least, also build their confidence in learning and their resilience," Staerk added.
The growth of the metaverse is bringing new challenges to managing safe, diverse communities. Helping Cheddar kick off Women's History Month, Tiffany Xingyu Wang, chief marketing officer for AI-powered content moderation company Spectrum Labs, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how platforms can help create safer, more inclusive online communities in the metaverse and about her own experience as a woman in technology. "Trust is really the new digital transformation, and it should not be a siloed task solely belonging to chief security officers, to privacy officers, or the people who were given the task of trust and safety," she said. "It should be a priority for all the C suite and a whole company to rally around."
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Vision Marine Technologies CEO discusses how e-boats will play a role in the fight against the climate crisis; Lasso CEO breaks down how the design behind these compression socks can prevent injuries and improve performance; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Tombs Of Egypt.'
Catriona Campbell, CTIO, UK and Ireland, EY, joins Cheddar News to discuss how business leaders can bridge the gap between their technology investments and their aspirations, and breaks down the human aspects of A.I.
Bamboo-based toilet paper company Cloud Paper raised $5 million in a recent funding round. Its product is a bamboo-based alternative to traditional toilet paper made from trees, and its mission is to end the deforestation caused by traditional paper products. Cloud Paper says the raise will allow it to make significant investments in its supply chain, product development, and hiring. Ryan Fritsch, a co-founder of Cloud Paper, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
