The Eduporium team recently cemented a new partnership with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. Out of Norristown, Pa., the MCIU is one of 29 intermediate units that provides support for local schools and districts.
“We’re really excited to partner with an organization like MCIU,” said Eduporium co-founder, Irina Tuule. “We believe that we can work together to create some wonderful mutually beneficial opportunities in the name of innovative education.”
The MCIU provides dynamic programs and services to its teachers and students, including workshops, academies, and other offerings. Eduporium attended MCIU’s Maker Learning Resource Fair in March 2017, which promoted the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in building 21st century skills, leading to the establishment of this partnership.
“MCIU is honored to partner with Eduporium,” said STEM Program Administrator, Stephanie Schwab. “This relationship has allowed us to build our capacity around STEM education and the integration of EdTech tools into the curriculum. By partnering, professional development is taken to the next level with relevant, experiential learning.”
The MCIU went on to apply for Eduporium’s monthly EdTech grant and was selected as the winner in June 2017, leading to the finalization of the partnership the following month. The technology products awarded to MCIU will go towards stocking their new makerspace.
“Access to Eduporium’s resources, combined with facilitated professional learning opportunities, gives teachers the confidence to transfer theory into practice. We are excited about the potential of this partnership,” said Schwab.
As this relationship continues to grow, Eduporium sees a lot of potential for helping these educators enhance their programs using technology like 3D printers, robotics, and even virtual reality.
“We are a place where schools can get everything they need in terms of STEM tools—basically like a one-stop shop for innovative education,” said Eduporium President and CEO, Rick Fredkin. “They needed some specific tools and we knew exactly what to recommend.”
As partners, Eduporium and the MCIU hope to leverage educational technology to better provide teachers with the means to help students reach their full potential.
“They want to bolster their STEM programs by giving their teachers access to a wide variety of tools—the tools that we research, know, and have in our store, so it’s a win-win,” said Tuule.
Eduporium has also provided the MCIU with an online portal to select tech tools, publish and distribute lesson plans, share projects, and quickly buy technology. Most notably, all MCIU users will now receive Eduporium’s Educator Discount (between 5 and 20% when purchasing new EdTech).
The two organizations will continue working together and hope to establish a long-lasting, cooperative effort for innovation in the classroom as the 2017-18 school year gets underway. Other academic organizations interested in partnering with Eduporium can contact us to learn more.