A Chattanooga company has developed a new application that allows students to do interactive tasks on the computer at home, even when they are not connected to the internet.
Thinking Media, which developed the computerized Learning Blade curriculum for high school students to learn about opportunities in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), introduced the new Learning Blade Backpack app this month to download their lessons and answers on the desktop Chromebook tablet. The app allows students to work on interactive classes on their Chromebooks, even when no Internet link is available.
The application is a fundamental step forward to help millions of students who do not have broadband internet to evaluate at home, either because it is not available where they live or because their parents do not subscribe to any service.
“When the pandemic hit in March, we immediately recognized that the digital divide (between those with the internet and those without access) would be even more divided and we needed to try to do something,” said Sheila Boyington, president and founder of Thinking Media, which offers STEM courses to thousands of students from 5th to 9th grade. “There is still a large segment of our population that does not have access to the Internet at home.”
Learning Blade is one of the first online curriculum programs that developed a Google application to allow students to do their work even when they are not connected online.
“When you’re at school or anywhere with an internet service, you can download our interactive classes,” said Boyington. “When you go home, you can take these interactive classes, even if you don’t have an internet connection. The next time they go back to the internet, whether at McDonald’s or Starbucks or at school, it will automatically load the results for that student . “
The Learning Blade curriculum is provided statewide in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri and South Carolina and is distributed to school districts in most other states. Learning Blade has provided its STEM curriculum across the country and more than 4.3 million of its individualized classes have been completed by high school students in the past five years, including more than 1.3 million classes in Tennessee.
The program is designed to encourage more students to consider careers and study in the STEM areas, which are designed to account for most of the highest paying jobs in the future.
After being enrolled in Learning Blade’s STEM programs, a survey by the Battelle research group found that 55% of students said they were more interested in a career in computer science, twice as many students said they were interested in a career related to science and 69% of students said they could use more of what they are learning at school later in life.
But until the application was developed, individualized and interactive programs required the student to be connected online to download and upload programs and assignments.
The Federal Communications Commission estimates that 21 million Americans do not have broadband access at home. In a separate survey, only 30 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools reported that students had access to the Internet at home.
“Until all students in our state have access to high-speed internet, our work will not be completed,” said Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, national leader in promoting computer science education. “Features like the new Learning Blade app are an innovative solution that allows us to offer students a way to work from home more efficiently as we continue to develop our broadband.”
Former US deputy Zach Wamp, who serves as president of Thinking Media, said that while America works to build its broadband network, new educational tools like the Backpack app are needed for students who are currently in areas without services. Internet.
“Rich stories are emerging from rural areas in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee,” said Wamp.
A Missouri teacher said she already has 140 students using the new Backpack app because they don’t have Internet access at home.
“I have a student who has been using it at home since she has no Internet, and she loves it,” said Professor Amy Polanowski of Missouri about the Learning Blade Backpack app. “She said it makes her feel like the other students and that she can get on with her job without having to rush.”
To limit the spread of COVID-19 since last March, millions of students have switched to online education, at least part of the time, creating gaps between those who can access programs on the Internet and those who cannot.
Schools tried to solve remote learning problems by purchasing low-cost computers for students to take home. The most common solution is Chromebooks, which can cost as little as $ 300. Technology research firm IDC estimates that more than 9 million Chromebooks were shipped in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 90% over the previous year. However, Chromebooks still rely on high-speed Internet connections for most tasks, which still leaves those without access to the Internet at home unable to do their homework.
“We believe this new app is a real game changer to help level the playing field and reduce the digital divide,” said Boyington.
Contact Dave Flessner at [email protected] or 423-757-6340.