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Overview of Active STEM Education with HARDWARIO

Traditional education systems and teaching approaches have long relied on passive, receptive learning, in which teachers depend on lecturing and direct instruction. The rapid technological progress of this century, the internet above all, has exposed the limits of this passive approach. Teaching subjects in isolation is getting harder and harder: the classic teacher, textbook and test model cannot keep pace with the exponential growth of information. New technologies appear almost every day, so students need to be able to experiment actively with new devices and put them to use.

STEM is an educational concept in which science, technology, engineering and mathematics are taught together to solve real problems.

Active STEM learning​

The best form of STEM education is active learning, in which students take an active part in solving a real problem. They read, write, experiment and discuss; they analyze, synthesize and evaluate. They do things and think about what they are doing, at a metacognitive level. The question is always which problems students should solve in active lessons and which tools they should use. The answer is the HARDWARIO active STEM learning system, in which students work on Internet of Things (IoT) projects.

Bringing the Internet of Things into active STEM learning​

IoT is one of the defining phenomena of our time. New technologies make it possible to connect almost any physical device to the internet, then control it remotely and work with its data. IoT is a multidisciplinary field that draws not only on STEM knowledge but also on other subjects, such as economics or geography. This meets one of the basic requirements of STEM learning: the chosen problems should be solved as a whole, holistically. Working on real IoT projects gives active lessons excellent content, and students find the lessons appealing because they use their own digital devices in a meaningful way.

The pedagogical framework of active STEM learning with HARDWARIO​

HARDWARIO offers carefully prepared lessons for active STEM learning with a consistent structure: theoretical preparation, experiment, project work and reflection.

Our pedagogical framework makes it much easier to prepare, run and assess lessons, because it keeps the set learning goals in focus throughout. Active STEM lessons with HARDWARIO are built on the HARDWARIO TOWER kit, from which students can easily build IoT devices for their projects. Technical and professional support for teachers is an equally important part of the HARDWARIO system: detailed guides, online documentation, webinars, a technical support form and a community forum.

Sample active STEM lessons from HARDWARIO​

Our active STEM lessons are based on real Internet of Things projects in homes, schools and industry. We offer lessons at both basic and advanced levels. We welcome your feedback, criticism and suggestions for improvement.