Celebrate Super Bowl LVIII with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit!

Last year, more than 10,000 educators scored big with this Super Bowl themed Animated Character activity, created with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit. And Taylor Swift wasn’t even at that game! Ready to join the crowd to engage and excite your students this year? Here’s the lesson plan, with everything you need to know (except the […]

BirdBrain Technologies featured on Pittsburgh Technology Council One Mic Stand show

BirdBrain Technologies’ mission is to inspire deep and joyful hands-on learning in all students. BirdBrain Technologies cultivates creativity and makes abstract concepts hands-on by providing flexible and inspiring classroom tools: the Finch Robot, the Hummingbird Robotics Kit, and the new Owlet Math Tools collection. BirdBrain Founder Tom Lauwers and Learning/Community Manager Sarah FitzHenry step up […]

Heidi’s Hoots: Concrete, Representational, and Abstract Thinking in Action

When I first began my career in 1989 (yes that was pre-internet for those of you youngsters out there!), part of my training in mathematics was on the CRA approach: Concrete Representational Abstract. Jerome Bruner, a 1960’s American psychologist, believed that the nature of abstract learning was a ‘mystery’ to many children. He found that […]

New Podcast Episode: Tonya Coats is Flocking Amazing

Tonya Coats is a Technology Curriculum Coordinator, award-winning educator, and STEM superstar who wants to help you build a supportive and inspiring professional network. And she’s flocking amazing. Resources: Bambi Brewer Cecilia Hillway Helen G Jasmine Florentine CSTA Sustainable Development Goals micro:bit Do Your Bit Challenge Tonya on CBS Mission Unstoppable DOWNLOAD FLOCKING AMAZING EPISODES HERE, […]

From Terrified to Teaching Legislators, by guest blogger Tiffany Pace

Terrified. That would be the word to describe how I felt about micro:bits and the Hummingbird Robotics kit.  In fact, through a grant I had purchased a Classroom Flock for my STEAM lab over a year ago and the kits sat on my counter just like a giant monster in the corner.  Throughout the school […]

New Podcast Episode: Passion Bradley is Flocking Amazing

Passion Bradley is a middle school STEM teacher, instructional coach, Mama Bear, and advocate for warm, supportive computer science experiences for kids. And she’s flocking amazing. DOWNLOAD FLOCKING AMAZING EPISODES HERE, OR LISTEN TO THEM VIA YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST STREAMING SERVICE. LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR? SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE US A REVIEW! 

Heidi’s Hoots: Small Group ‘Math Talk’ with Owlet

When Response to Intervention (RTI) was first introduced in 2004, districts began looking further into the impacts of small group instruction as part of their second tier support services. Our grade level teams would look at assessment data and determine which groups of students were struggling on specific concepts. We would use this data to […]

Seasonal Celebrations: Robotics Activities for November and December

Halloween may be over, but the scariest time of year for educators is right around the corner… the weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter break. In this short block of time, with student excitement, unpredictable weather, and so many special events at school, it can feel impossible to cover content. (And did we mention student excitement? […]