The world is beautiful when you are curious
We help schools succeed
Curiosity Creativity Persistence
Mentors
Parents
Curriculum, Tools
Educators
“Higher order” cognitive traits are important
Iridescent has two experiential, mentoring programs:
Both use online platforms to provide access to high quality resources and mentors - at scale.
We have reached 30,000 participants with 2500 engineers, scientists & mentors across 60+ countries.
1,000,000
Curiosity Machine: We train Engineers & Scientists to develop and teach hands-on Family Science Courses to local communities
Mentor Online
so families anywhere can learn directly from scientists and engineers
Train Scientists & Engineers
to develop and teach design challenges to underserved families
Produce & Share Videos Online
to inspire and make science accessible to everyone
Train Parents & Educators
to use online curriculum
and reach more families
An Engineering Company can use our “plug and play” model and benefit in four ways:
Vocabulary |
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Learning Strategies |
Modeling |
Scaffolding & Fading |
Reflection |
Exploration |
In Order |
Increasing Complexity |
Increasing Diversity |
Global before local skills |
|
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Social Learning |
Role Models |
Team Work |
Competition with emphasis on process (not product) |
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Cognitive Apprenticeship, Collins et al, 1987
We help schools develop self-driven learners
Online Platform provides access to high-quality STEM content and experts
WATCH & BE INSPIRED
BUILD & DOCUMENT
REFLECT & GET FEEDBACK
http://youtu.be/nXITvycKNb4
Simple Materials ($1/CHILD)
Teachers benefit from:
120 team members
Dashboard Analytics help Teachers see each Child’s Gains
Score | Persistence | Creativity | Curiosity | Engineering Design Process |
1 | No comfort with failure: Prompted, but unwilling to discuss failure | No difference in shape/arrangement/features of the design | Did not ask mentor any questions | Did not document testing |
2 | Some comfort with failure: Noting failure in their original design | Difference in shape/arrangement/features of the design | Student asks question about how their design works | Documentation (video, picture or written description of the test) |
3 | Full comfort with failure: Discussing failure thoroughly and reflecting upon it | Completely new design incorporating novel thinking | Student asks question about design challenge (DC) content | Analysis (student recommends improvements based on testing) |
4 | Building upon failure: Explaining failure and making an improvement upon their design | | Student asked mentor how things work outside of DC, connecting content to other areas | Went through a second iteration of EDP and documented it |
http://youtu.be/IFRLF8BHhQ4
Our approach works.
94%
Children are more persistent, less averse to challenges and understand science better
[NSF funded 5-yr Longitudinal Impact Study conducted by Center for Children & Technology, EDC]
It changes parents’ behavior
90%
Low-income parents do more hands-on science projects at home - after Iridescent’s programs
[NSF funded 5-yr Longitudinal Impact Study conducted by Center for Children & Technology, EDC]
It dramatically expands students’ horizons
120 team members
Curiosity Club Membership
Each School will receive:
Online Sequenced Training for Parent Leaders & Teachers
Access to trained STEM online mentors
Benefit to each Student:
Year-round, one-on-one mentoring
To maintain Membership Privileges:
Each school convenes 2 Curiosity Machine Courses (5-week each) annually
Each family needs to upload 10 projects online annually
120 team members
Educator and Parent Training Modules
Pedagogical Concepts:
Growth Mindset
Engineering Design Process
Asking Open-Ended Questions
Gender bias awareness
Motivating learners
Scientific Concepts:
Forces, Motion, Gravity, Fluid Dynamics, Light, Radiation, Pressure, Material Science, Electricity, Magnetism
Iridescent has two experiential, mentoring programs:
Both use online platforms to provide access to high quality resources and mentors - at scale.
https://youtu.be/cRb5iel-3Ck
Technovation’s
Mission
To build a young woman’s sense of self-efficacy that she can solve hard problems & start new things - using technology
Teams Create Mobile App Startups
Ideation
Identify a problem in
their community
Mentor
Entrepreneurship
Build a business plan
Pitch
Take it to market
Prototyping
Develop a mobile app solution
How it works
Girls
Teams of up to 5 middle or high school students
Coach
Teacher, parent, or
afterschool coordinator
Mentor
Technology or business
professional who serves as
an advisor
Mentor
Girls
12 week program
Identify local challenge to solve through a mobile app
Research app idea, market feasibility and business planning
Code app to solve the problem
Develop business plan and marketing pitch
Present app and business plan via video and presentation
Pitch events
Teams participate in Regional Pitch event, judged by tech professionals
Regional winners flown to World Pitch in Silicon Valley for finals
How to launch a tech-startup in 12 weeks
Technovation is the only tech-entrepreneurship program with:
Technovation was “one of the most important experiences in my life. It really changed my life--I never thought I could start a company and make a product.. I never thought I could do it, until I pushed myself...At World Pitch I looked back and saw that I had done it.” - Qiuyue Liu
Moldova: Clean Water
Nigeria: Waste Management
Kenya: Eradicate Mosquitoes
US: Cleaning Graffiti
Mexico: Making buses accessible to the blind
US: Managing School Field Trips
Notable Technovation Apps
2009 participant Jasmine Gao went on to
found her own start up
Technovation makes a lasting impact on a girl’s life
��46% intend to major in CS in college after the program
�70% are more interested in entrepreneurship
�70% take further courses in CS when given the opportunity
�
Each girl learns that she can create technology – not just use it
Women Mentors Become Leaders
58% increased their technical skills
�67% increased their knowledge about entrepreneurship
�70% learned to be effective mentors
�73% agreed that Technovation expanded their professional network
Mentor experience
“It was so inspiring to work with a group of girls who want to grow up to be leaders in the technology industry. We met once per week to go over the Technovation curriculum, and work on the app and business plan. I am so lucky that I was able to be a Technovation mentor.”
Jennifer Volk, Google
Teacher experience
“Introducing young girls in Peace Corps countries to software development and entrepreneurship opens a door to a career path which might be an avenue out of poverty. Furthermore, the program might have an impact on the volunteers, like myself for example. Technovation not only changed my girls' lives, but it has changed mine as well, finally helping me to realize how I can get into a fulfilling career that meets my needs. I love Technovation.”
Chip Moreland, Peace Corps Moldova
120 team members
Start Technovation
http://youtu.be/2IV24SB32ag?list=PLB6E628EAA3F649D8
FUNDING PARTNERS
PROGRAM PARTNERS
PRESS
Top tier partners got us here. But we can do so much more with your help.
We have a 15-year plan to scale up through our “Train the trainer” technology-based model
1,000,000
Engineers Parents Educators Children
15,000 Engineers
520,000 Parents
21,000 Educators
1.2 Million Children
http://youtu.be/PQ-3FlOzX9c
Lets Start!