Nonprofits in eight states are first to partner with developer of popular educational robots; Wonder Workshop initiative will provide teachers with professional development to support state-of-the-art coding and robotics education.

SAN MATEO, Calif., March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wonder Workshop, creator of the popular Dash, Dot, and Cue robots now used in over 15,000 elementary and middle schools in the US, today announced the Teach Wonder initiative, a collaboration with state-based nonprofit partners designed to give every educator the knowledge and skills needed to bring state-of-the-art coding and robotics experiences into the classroom.

Launched in partnership with the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM), Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU), mindSpark Learning, New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE), and Teachers Teaching Tech (T3), Teach Wonder will offer educators in Colorado, Maine, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wyoming the resources to support the integration of coding and robotics skills into everyday teaching and learning, along with the opportunity for continuing education credits through participation in online courses.

Providing educators with training to teach coding and robotics is necessary for schools and districts to meet the growing demand for these skills from parents, teachers, and principals. Recent research from Gallup found that 42 percent of principals and 73 percent of superintendents cite inadequate training as a barrier to expanding access to computer science within their schools and districts.

Local nonprofit partners like ACTEM, DCIU, mindSpark Learning, NYSCATE, and T3 are playing a critical role in supporting the development of great teachers and leaders. Through the Teach Wonder initiative, state-based partners will support professional learning experiences that address topics ranging from classroom design to lesson planning; along with access to lesson plans, student activities, and other resources that are critical to creating engaging learning experiences. By completing meaningful activities with Wonder Workshop's programmable robots, teachers will establish a working knowledge of computer science that can be applied throughout their daily instructional practice.

"Robotics can be a powerful way to spark an interest in STEM for young learners, but it can also be challenging for teachers looking to thoughtfully integrate coding and robotics into the classroom," said Kellie Lauth, Chief Executive Officer of mindSpark Learning. "Wonder Workshop's collaboration with organizations that are already engaged with educators at the state level makes sense, and we are excited to provide this opportunity to educators in Colorado."

"The Teach Wonder program will provide New York's teachers with the tools and support they need to introduce foundational 21st-century knowledge into their classrooms," said Dr. Amy S. DelCorvo, CEO and Executive Director of NYSCATE. "We are excited to bring this program to the teachers in New York, so that every student in every school can have the opportunity to develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are gained through learning to code and applying their coding skills through robotics."

Teach Wonder program combines the highly engaging and effective robots, Dash, Dot, and Cue, with 12-hour high quality, in-depth online lesson that educate teachers on the background for Computer Science and Robotics, and how to best integrate these tools into their classrooms. The nonprofits in each state are not only making the program available to the teachers in their state at a low price, they are including the robot as a part of the program.

"We are inspired by the number of teachers who have introduced coding and robotics into their classrooms, and we're committed to providing not just access, but quality. We are excited to partner with organizations like ACTEM, DCIU, mindSpark Learning, NYSCATE, and T3 so that they can bring this program to their state's teachers," said Vikas Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Wonder Workshop.

The Teach Wonder program is available to all teachers at www.teachwonder.com.

About Wonder Workshop

Founded in 2012, Wonder Workshop's mission is to spark creativity with kids of all ages, inspiring lifelong learning through our clever robotics platform. The company is committed to helping children succeed in the 21st century and developing in-depth experiences that balance fun and learning, promote collaboration, and provide enduring value to both girls and boys at home and in the classroom. Our award-winning products are used at home and in more than 15,000 elementary and middle schools in the United States.