Are apps the future of learning?
Pittsburgh-made tech fills education gaps
Pennsylvania, like most states, is facing a teacher shortage. Nearly 10,000 teachers in the Keystone State left the profession in the last two years, and there isn’t enough new talent to make up the difference. Point Park University is partnering with local tech company BloomBoard to train more teachers.
The key to finding new teachers? Look within, specifically to support staff like classroom aides and substitute teachers, who are already familiar with the work and often interested in career advancement.
Participating schools would allow support staff to use their time on the job as part of their Point Park coursework with lesson plans, teaching videos, and student work samples submitted through BloomBoard’s online platform.
School districts that use BloomBoard generally provide financial support to teachers-in-training and guarantee them a position upon graduation. In exchange, the new teacher has to agree to work at the district for several years.
BloomBoard has partnered on similar “Grow Your Own” programs with districts in Florida and Illinois.
Classroom aides, also known as paraprofessionals, are often paid less than $20 an hour for difficult work, and many school districts have trouble filling those positions. It remains to be seen whether programs like this will increase that shortage or encourage more people to become paraprofessionals as a pathway to getting a degree.
4 other smart things for kids
Pittsburgh is known for “eds and meds,” but let’s focus on ed for a second. Here are a few other Steel City-based ed-tech companies.
Of course, the big bird on the block is Duolingo. It’s helped millions of folks brush up on their high school Spanish, and immigrants have even used the app to learn the language of their new homeland. Now, Duolingo has added reading, math and music to its repertoire of more than 40 languages. And if that wasn’t enough, the company’s mascot, Duo, has become a legit TikTok star.
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Learning to read can be a struggle for the 20% of students with dyslexia. Reading specialists can help but are often spread thin. Luca.AI was designed to help fill the gap by using speech recognition to figure out which sounds or letter arrangements are a problem for a student. Luca makes lessons with AI-generated stories based on the student’s learning challenges and interests.
Toyz Electronics wants to get more kids, especially from underrepresented backgrounds, interested in tech careers by gamifying STEAM education. Black and Latino employees are especially unlikely to work in tech. Using the Toyz Dah-Varsity app, kids become superheroes and use STEAM skills to design, create, and sell their products. As they tell their unique superhero story, they learn job and entrepreneurship skills.
Kids love robots, and teachers love robot kits. Or that’s the thinking behind BirdBrain Technologies. The company sells hardware for three bird-themed robots – Hummingbird, Finch and Owlet – each designed for different ages. The Finch Robot 2.0 received an Educators Pick Best of STEM Award in 2023. But it’s not all just science and math. Teachers and students have even used the robots to create animated dioramas to bring poetry to life.
Quick hits
🤖 Beep boop: Carnegie Mellon alums built robots that can walk around and carry things. Now, Amazon is trying out the humanoid machinery in warehouses. [PG]
✏️ Noted: Abridge raised $30 million to expand its work turning conversations between doctors and patients into written notes. [Technical.ly]
🏅 Shiny: Pitt’s Rory Cooper won a White House medal for using technology to help people with disabilities. [WESA]