10 Things Educators Need to Know About Our Sensor Kit
Have you read about the Because Learning Sensor Kit and want to know more? Here are 10 things every educator should know about whether it’s the right fit for your classrooms.
1. Whether you teach science, technology, engineering, or math, there are lessons for your students.
In our lessons portal, you’ll find lessons organized by grade level, subject, or specific sensor. This makes it easy to find a lesson that fits your curriculum.
2. The Sensor Kit is a great starting point for teaching kids to code.
One challenge in learning to code is feeling overwhelmed at the options. Teachers and students know they need to learn to code, but they don’t know where to begin. The Sensor Kit was designed with this problem in mind, giving students (and teachers!) careful lessons that build on each other and provide fundamentals of coding.
3. Teachers don’t need to have any coding experience to learn engaging, fun lessons with the Sensor Kit.
The rise in district standards requiring coding to be taught in classrooms has many teachers worried about learning a new skill. The good news? The Sensor Kit activities are presented in a way that allows teachers to learn coding along with their students, and it’s easier than you might think – even if you’re not tech-savvy.
4. It’s easy to use and requires no soldering.
With the breadboard (included in the Sensor Kit), students can connect different parts without needing extra equipment. No soldering iron, no special adhesive – just the Sensor Kit is all you need.
5. But you’ll need access to a computer and the internet for some experiments.
If you want to use the Sensor Kit to measure and record data, you’ll need to connect it to a computer. You’ll also need to access our Lessons platform with an active login.
6. The lessons are designed by experienced educators.
Our Learning Team – Ben and Lindsey – both have experience in the education space. Most recently, Lindsey taught both high school math and science for over 10 years.
Plus, each lesson also includes the following:
- Additional resources for the teacher (like videos) they can share with students
- Teacher guides that include additional instruction
- Worksheets teachers can use to enhance the lesson
7. Additionally, each lesson is designed around educational standards.
We understand you’re busy trying to meet all your required learning standards, so we made our lessons all standards-based. Most lessons cover multiple standards, so a single activity could meet multiple standards requirements!
8. The cost of the Sensor Kit is actually less than buying the parts separately – plus you get the software platform.
Each Sensor Kit includes lots of high-quality sensors and add-ons. This gives the kit lots of flexibility for different types of experiments and 100+ lessons and activities with new ones added every month. Since it’s based on the Arduino platform, you can also add to it using open source hardware.
9. Though we designed the Sensor Kit to be used in the classroom, it’s also great for after-school and other at home activities.
One of the most common questions we were asked was, “How do I get one of these kits to take home?” We’ve made that easier than ever by offering individual subscriptions to our Lessons, and we’re throwing in a free Sensor Kit. Not bad for just $18/month when you pay quarterly.
10. The most important thing? Just start!
It’s always possible to find reasons to wait. But when it comes to coding – which teaches students critical 21st century skills – the most important thing is to start! Experiment, try, fail, and eventually learn how hardware and software interact through coding. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s rewarding, but only if you give it a try!
More Questions? Ask Us!
Our team works with educators across the world to help bring coding to their classrooms. If you’ve got a question about the Sensor Kit (or want to get started!) simply contact us. We’re happy to help any way we can!
