The Startup Reinventing Invention Kits

11/08/18 • 39 min

What are the trends in educational kids’ toys today? How can programming kits be improved? How does an education business start and succeed? Entrepreneur Joseph Greer in Chicago discusses these issues as he describes his STEM education startup, MakeXchange, and its “Invention Lab” Arduino kit. The kit was designed to be more user-friendly and more organized than other Arduino kits. This is the start of Joseph’s goal to make the number one STEM education consumer product company. ***For a limited time this November, use the discount code K12ENGINEERING10 AT MakeXchange.com for a 10% discount. Related to this episode: • MakeXchange: https://www.makexchange.com/ • MakeXchange Inventor’s Kit: https://www.makexchange.com/collections/the-goods/products/electronics-invention-lab • Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide for Tweens: https://www.thetoyinsider.com/holiday_guide/tweens/ • Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/ • Ohm’s Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law • Accenture, consulting corporation: https://www.accenture.com/ • Marc Andreessen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen • Shawshank Redemption film spoilers: https://youtu.be/5y_O094dGDU • Lego Mindstorms robotics kits: https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms • MakeXchange Paper Airplane Launcher kit: https://www.makexchange.com/collections/the-goods/products/diy-paper-airplane-launcher-accessory • mHub Chicago, startup incubator: https://mhubchicago.com/ • Fat Brain Toys: https://www.fatbraintoys.com/ • My Science Shop: https://myscienceshop.com/ • MakeXchange YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC61eOn-djaK8ubdxzaRWfVA • Sparkiverse STEM education company: https://www.sparkiverselabs.com/ • Raspberry Pi computer: https://www.raspberrypi.org/ • Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago: https://polsky.uchicago.edu/ Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Previous Episode

Games and Simulations in Construction Engineering

Architectural and civil engineers are using rich digital tools to simulate constructed buildings. Similar tools are also being used in digital video games and virtual reality games that might teach future engineers. Dr. Fadi Castronovo speaks about his efforts to advance engineering education using simulations and games like these. Fadi is an engineering professor at California State University, East Bay (or Cal State East Bay), an architectural engineer by training, and an educational game designer. He also talks about his students’ game to teach sustainability practices, his favorite video games, and his background across the world. Related to this episode: • Dr. Fadi Castronovo: https://www.fadicastronovo.com/ • Download some of Fadi’s educational games: https://www.fadicastronovo.com/research-groups/stem-educational-gaming-research-group • Cal State East Bay engineering: http://www.csueastbay.edu/engineering/ • Cooper-Union engineering: https://cooper.edu/engineering • Penn State University engineering: https://www.engr.psu.edu/ • Dr. John Messner: https://news.psu.edu/expert/john-messner • Dr. Messner's lab: https://www.pennstatecic.org/people.html • Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS): https://www.pennstatecic.org/vcs.html • SimCity, video game series: https://www.ea.com/games/simcity • Rollercoaster Tycoon, video game: http://www.rollercoastertycoon.com/ • Think aloud methods for usability testing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_aloud_protocol • Experiential learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiential_learning • Attack of the Recyclops game background: https://peer.asee.org/board-63-development-of-a-virtual-reality-educational-game-for-waste-management-attack-of-the-recyclops • Sketchup 3D modeling software: https://www.sketchup.com/ • Unity game development engine: https://unity3d.com/ • Oculus Rift virtual reality platform: https://www.oculus.com/rift/ • HTC Vive: https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-virtual-reality-system/ • City of Austin composting program: https://austintexas.gov/austincomposts • City of Austin game development incentives: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/film-digital-media-production-incentives • Auti-Sim, Autism simulator game: http://www.gamesforchange.org/game/auti-sim/ • Civilization, video game: https://civilization.com/ • Magic Leap, company with augmented reality technology: https://www.magicleap.com/ • Dr. Steve Ayer, Arizona State University: https://ssebe.engineering.asu.edu/2018/08/steven-ayer/ Our closing music is “Yes And” by Steve Combs, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.

Next Episode

Statics

Engineers Sadhan and Pius continue an ongoing series of discussions on the fundamentals of mechanical engineering. Today they talk about what they remember about statics, forces, acceleration, moments, relativity, stars, and more. Related to this episode: • Statics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statics • Dynamics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(mechanics) • Force: https://physics.info/newton-first/ • Newton’s Third Law: https://physics.info/newton-third/ • Theory of Relativity: https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html • Moment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_(physics) • Golden Gate Bridge: http://www.goldengatebridge.org/ • Homeostasis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeostasis • Nuclear fusion: http://www.nuclearconnect.org/know-nuclear/science/nuclear-fusion • Supernovas: https://www.space.com/6638-supernova.html • Black holes: https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes Our opening music is called “Soar,” and our closing music is called “Polar,” both by artist Chris Pop, used with permission. You can find more music by Chris Pop on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chrispop99. Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.