In 1951, Isaac Asimov wrote a short science fiction called The Fun They Had. In this tale, kids in the future world marvel at the concept of human teachers and schools filled with peers—things that, to them, are relics of a distant past. Their education is a solitary affair, delivered by cold, impersonal machines that spew out assignments and tests with ruthless efficiency.
Decades passed, and luckily, none of these in the story came true. We’re still living in a world where little Margie complains to her mom after school about how little Tommy made a silly face, and how she failed to answer Mr. Robinson’s questions. This bittersweetness, this essence of human interaction in class, remains today.
This essence is also valued by us at WhalesBot. Unlike the mechanical teachers in Asimov’s story, our products aren’t here to replace human teachers. Instead, we see teachers as captains of their classrooms, guiding students across the sea of knowledge and through the mists of the unknown. And that’s why we keep providing things to empower teachers.
What we provide
As an innovator of STEM education, we infuse humanity into our product design, and provide a whole package of STEM solutions that consist of building blocks, coding methods, and curricula.
Building blocks with structural and electronic functions
Remember LEGOs? Those colorful blocks generating countless architectural marvels. There’s something magical about dumping a box of those blocks onto the floor and watching them turn into castles or spaceships. They prove that sometimes the best way to build young minds is to let them build stuff.
At WhalesBot, we look at LEGO and think like, “Right, that’s good. But what if we could make these things actually do stuff?” Not content with static creations, we decide to give our blocks a bit of spark.
So we have colorful structural parts in our kits, and transmission parts like gears or bolts for delicate movement, and also—most importantly—electronic parts that help make the blocks alive. In each robot kit, we provide controllers, actuators, and sensors for robots to see, feel, think, and act. Take line following as an example. For this type of function, we provide, in some of our kits, a 5-in-1 grayscale sensor for robots to sense light reflection from a surface. By using this, kids will see how their robots reach a destination through the course they want.
Coding tools for different age groups
However, electronic parts alone are not enough for robots to actually do stuff. Without coding, these creations are like newborns—have a mouth, but don’t know what to eat; have hands, but don’t know what to hold. So here, we bring coding tools for kids of different ages to give robots clear instructions.
For youngest kids, we start with magnet coding blocks. What they need to do is only to connect these blocks in sequence, and see if a light will turn on and off, or if a fan will spin. As they grow older, they can grab a coding pen and tap a variety of coding cards to let their robots move around, lift arms, or make sounds. Or, they can turn to coding panels for some more complex instructions. When they are big enough to get curious about coding logic and sequence, they can start our special software to do Scratch coding, as well as learn about C and Python coding.
Curricula designed by experts
When thinking about what makes humanity special on the planet Earth, we at WhalesBot believe it’s the passing on of human knowledge. So that’s why we decide to do something beyond robotics. We have a content team that develops high-quality curricula to introduce STEM knowledge into kids’ daily experience. For users or institutions that have bought our robot kits, we provide projected-based curricula for free. All projects or curricula are designed based on parts in related robot kits and tailored to kids of target age groups. So it will be easier for kids to learn step by step.
How we help teachers overcome challenges
With this integration of building blocks, coding tools, and curricula, we think we can help teachers in their STEM teaching. And the market proves that our thinking is right. Be STEM Ready, an educational institution that has been our client for years, shows us how this integration helps their teachers overcome challenges in STEM education.
Need for rich and updating education resources
In STEM fields, things have been developing at a fast speed. What’s cutting-edge today might be old news tomorrow. Teachers are constantly adapting, trying to keep up with the latest advancements and incorporate them into their lessons.
So at WhalesBot, we’re constantly updating and improving our tools to keep pace with the rapidly evolving STEM fields. This means teachers always have access to the latest and greatest, without the hassle of constantly sourcing new equipment. We offer a wide range of project-based curricula that align with educational standards across different ages. This extensive library of resources cuts down on preparation time, allowing teachers to focus on what they do best—inspiring students. Here’s what Camila, CEO of Be STEM Ready, says about it:
“WhalesBot is dedicated to continuous innovation, constantly developing new technologies and features to enhance the educational value of their products.”
“WhalesBot offers comprehensive teacher guidebooks and curriculum materials that align with educational standards, making it easy for educators to integrate robotics and drone technology into their classrooms.”
Interdisciplinary teaching
STEM, which is short for science, technology, engineering, and math, has an interdisciplinary nature. STEM teaching is not just about throwing math into a science experiment or something like this. Teachers need to meaningfully integrate multiple subjects, showing students how these fields interact in the real world. This requires a whole new level of creativity and planning.
At WhalesBot, we care about real-world applications of STEM knowledge. For example, our curricula or projects always start with a gadget or phenomenon in the real world, and then try to unveil the mechanism behind. When using our products in these projects, students may start by building models, but soon they’re incorporating principles of physics to optimize robot movement, using math to calculate trajectories, and learning basic or even text-based coding. Also, we’ve designed our robots, coding tools, and curricula with a “grow-with-me” approach. This progressive learning naturally weaves together different STEM disciplines as students advance. Camila says that we really help a lot with this:
“WhalesBot emphasizes the practical applications of robotics and drones in various industries, inspiring students to explore potential career paths in STEM fields.”
“The products cater to a wide range of skill levels, from block-based coding for beginners to text-based coding for advanced learners, ensuring a progressive learning experience.”
Get students focused and engaged
In today’s world of instant and constant digital stimulation, capturing and holding students’ attention in STEM subjects can be quite a task for teachers. So here at WhalesBot, we try to make our robots cute and colorful enough to attract students’ attention. Also, we’ve been focusing on user-friendliness in our design, making our products easy to use. So, kids may not easily get frustrated and distracted by temporary failure. And we actually make it, considering the feedback from Camila:
“The combination of colors are attractive.”
“The products are designed with user-friendliness in mind, featuring intuitive software interfaces and hardware that is easy to assemble and program, even for beginners.”
Safety issues
Kids are naturally curious and full of energy. They’re eager to explore, touch, and try everything in sight. This enthusiasm is fantastic for learning, but it can also lead to some tricky situations in a STEM classroom. The thing is, kids this age are still developing their awareness of potential dangers. They might not realize that the tools they’re using to build a project could slip and cause injury if not handled carefully.
This is why safety becomes such a challenging part of STEM teaching. We want to encourage that natural curiosity and hands-on learning, but we also need to make sure everyone stays safe in the process. So at WhalesBot, we provide rounded-edge large building blocks, like the makeU series, specially for kids of 3-4. We also prioritize safety when designing other product series. Let’s see what Camila says about Eagle, our drone products:
“WhalesBot prioritizes safety in their drone designs, incorporating features like propeller guards and lightweight materials to minimize risks during classroom activities.”
Conclusion
It’s good to know that our solutions help teachers with all these challenges. In our vision, the STEM classroom of tomorrow is vibrant with discussion, alive with hands-on exploration, and rich with those "aha!" moments that only a skilled teacher can cultivate. It’s a place where technology enhances human interaction rather than replacing it, where each student’s potential is recognized and nurtured by an attentive educator. We at WhalesBot are, and will be, continuously dedicated to it.
