 | "Educate to Innovate" STEM Campaignposted by Tom Marx, Group AdministratorWednesday, November 25th 2009 @ 12:26 PM |
President Obama announced his "Educate to Innovate" Campaign on November 23, 2009. This initiative is meant to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Video games were mentioned as a means of engaging students. I think we will be seeing a lot more utilization of video games in education in the coming years. Tektoma is in the process of applying for a government grant to study the effectiveness of Tektoma tutorials in teaching STEM topics.
For more information about the new initiative, Wired has a good write up: Educate to Innovate.
| Teachers Earn Extra Income Running Computer Camps Part Timeposted by Tom Marx, Group AdministratorFriday, November 13th 2009 @ 4:18 PM |
My sister just retired as an elementary teacher after 25 years. She worked in a tough school and really paid some dues. I think she did one of the hardest jobs around. Now that she is retired, she still needs to work, however. Her retirement income isn't enough to support her and her kids. If you are a teacher, wouldn't it be great to avoid my sister's fate by earning extra income during the summer?
Why not offer Bits, Bytes & Bots Computer Adventure classes for a few weeks in the summer? Most licensees charge about $285 per half-day, week-long class, with up to 8 kids in a class. You can offer summer classes for as many weeks as you wish. You can hire others to teach classes with you or just teach them yourself, depending on how ambitious you are. You've already got contact with students and parents to help you get started.
So how can you start a Bits, Bytes & Bots computer camp while teaching full time? You'll need to work some nights and weekends, but you can do it. You'll want to start planning in early winter (December or January) so that you have enough time.
Marketing: After you purchase a license, we'll discuss marketing with you. You get free web pages for your location on www.bitsbytesbots.com. There are also camp fairs and advertising venues to be explored. Ad salespeople should be happy to work around your schedule.
Sign Ups: We strongly recommend using an online registration system. They keep some of your money but it allows people to sign up for your camps without any intervention on your part. They also make it easy to print rosters, keep track of enrollments, communicate with customers, etc. A previous blog post discusses two different online registration systems you can use for your classes.
Logistics: You will need to find a location to run your classes, buy equipment, find teachers and make sure they are up to speed on the curriculum, file some business papers, and make miscellaneous arrangements. This can be done at night and on weekends. We'll help you figure out equipment needs and what to buy, talk about finding good teachers and discuss the details of operating the business. Much of this is available online.
We've created our opportunity with teachers in mind. Whether you want to supplement your teacher salary or eventually run a full-time business, we're here to help. If you have more detailed questions about how you set up summer classes while working full time, please comment on this post or send me an email at tom@bitsbytesbots.com.
