EDU Blog
"I try to make sure that I create situations that have a little bit of intrigue, a lot of room to fail and [an understanding that] that’s what we expect to do! We expect it not to work the very first time. We expect it to be puzzling. We don’t expect to know it like a google answer. Because that’s where the mystery and the intrigue is--and that’s really where the skill of STEM and science comes in."
"What we are trying to do, is work with regular classroom teachers, that are not the specialists, as well as the specialist, to make sure they are comfortable in the process of science. So they are comfortable taking students through the process in a way that students can see that mistakes are exactly how science is made. And that the best part of learning is finding out what doesn’t work."
The crossover acts like two wires crossing over each other, but not touching each other. Electricity can move along each of the wires, but the crossing paths don’t interfere with each other. It would be impossible to create complicated circuits without wires that cross. Because the crossover allows the paths of the marbles to cross over each other without interfering with the path of the next marble, they are performing one small component of what happens in a circuit board.
"It was important that the application worked on tablets and mobile devices because my nephew doesn’t have access to a computer. I wanted to be able to see what he was thinking and make suggestions without struggling to explain it or have him wave the tablet around to show me. The first version of tumble together just let you drag parts into a grid that was shared with the other person. After adding a few more features it became clear it could be useful to others, so I polished it up and made it so lots of people could use it at once."
In Turing Tumble, ramps are like wires and the marbles are like electricity. When you place ramps on the board, you are making the paths the marbles can travel, just like how wires make the paths through which electricity can travel.
The switches in computer processors and in Turing Tumble are flipped by the same type of energy they control. This allows for one switch to cause another switch to flip. As you work through the puzzles in Turing Tumble, you’ll discover how this one, simple property makes it possible to build machines of limitless capability!
There is much to be learned in essential life skills and there couldn’t be a better time than now to include those kids or students in the process instead of trying to spin all the plates at once. So here are some ideas to give you some inspiration and keep those kids busy during this time. Most do not require a lot of parental involvement!
There are countless blogs to research to even look for a plan on how to create a STEAM event. So we decided to do the research for you and combine the best blogs, Pinterest boards and websites to point you in the right direction to set up your STEAM event along with a few helpful hints of our own. The following is what you need to get that STEAM night off of your wish-list and into the planning stages.
Turing Tumble has helped me conceptualize what is inside an electronic computer because it is a mechanical computer that allows us to feel, hear, and see how a computer works. It has helped me tremendously to visually interpret the path of switches connected together performing clever tasks. Turing Tumble not only engages learners with multiple modalities, it helps educators, who may be as confounded as I was, how to teach logic, coding and programming.