The Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Office of Computer Science in collaboration with the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) have partnered to provide Learning Blade, Career Blade and Ready for Industry to all Arkansas public and public charter schools, fully- funded.
At no charge to schools, these three systems – Learning Blade, Career Blade and Ready for Industry (launching Fall 2022) are available to all schools and student serving organizations. All training and support for these programs is also provided by the Arkansas Department of Education through Thinking Media – the creator of these resources.
Learning Blade is designed for grades 5-9 and contains 200+ hours of interactive STEM and computer science activities that engage students in exploring how careers and technologies solve real-world problems while practicing academic skills aligned to Arkansas standards. Learning Blade makes academics relevant. New for 2022 is a twenty-hour Intro to Coding course that meets the State’s coding block requirement. In addition, teachers have access to dozens of lesson plans that support innovative STEM project-based learning using common materials found in the classroom. Request your FREE Learning Blade account at www.learningblade.com/AR.
Schools that complete 5,000 online interactive lessons in the 2022-2023 school year will receive a FREE 3D printer from Learning Blade. Limit one per school.
Career Blade is a web-based K-12 resource for teachers to integrate career pathways relevant to their specific economic region and introduce students to the companies in their local area. Any K-12 teacher is able to visit the website and easily find downloadable, subject-based and grade-appropriate lesson plans for actual career pathways offered in the school’s economic region as well as the contact information of companies that want to engage with schools. Go to www.careerbladearkansas.com/ to access the lesson plan portal and select your school and grade level.
Ready for Industry is designed for grades 10-Adult. Ready for Industry contains five-5 , twenty-hour courses each focused on a high-demand workforce industry: Construction, Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, Logistics and Information Technology. Students complete one or more of the courses for the purpose of in-depth career preparation for internships or entry level positions. Students who successfully fulfill course requirements including an assessment will receive certificates of completion. To sign up for your account visit www.ReadyforIndustry.com/AR .
Arkansas students have completed over 1.5 million lessons in Learning Blade and leads the nation in completing online Learning Blade lessons to support Governor Hutchinson's Computer Science Initiative; the level of interest in computer science careers is higher in Arkansas than in other states, according to the Learning Blade survey. Responding to this survey, 28% of students indicated an interest in computer science careers, which included a 61% increase after using Learning Blade.
To learn how you can access any of these resources or to request information or training for any of these systems please contact info@learningblade.com.