SHENZHEN, CHINA — RAKwireless Technology Co., Ltd. (RAK), a pioneer in LPWA end-to-end solutions and IoT technology, announces today its partnership with One Planet Education Network to provide OPEN-RAK Do-It-Yourself (DIY) STEM Lab Sensor Wisblock kits to students. The mission is to bridge the digital divide by providing students everywhere with easy-to-use kits that teach students the real-life applications of IoT, with students deploying in their local communities for sustainable community development applications.Early applications would include deploying student-developed sensors for sustainable farming, climate change, and air quality monitoring.
The goal of the program is to build a global IoT sensor and data analytics education network. The network allows students across the world to come together and gain hands-on experience in building IoT devices and modules, sharing data across the globe with each other, and building skills to better their own communities through the use of this powerful versatile RAK technology, backed by OPEN education and research programs.
Students are given a kit with a variety of sensors and ready-to-build modules ranging from GPS trackers, CO2 gas, light sensors, temperature gauges, and humidity sensors.
Students use these tools to analyze, store and upload information on everything from local air pollution info, community farming, school garden weather data, and more. Each individual has the opportunity to collaborate through our IoT data servers and share their data and research findings with other student scientists around the world.
“We envision this IoT program will empower students from all around the world to think creatively,” said Maria Hernandez, Electronics Engineer and IoT education advocate at RAKwireless. “Two-thirds of today’s children will eventually work with technologies in fields that haven’t even yet come into existence. IoT community-applied applications take today’s tech-savvy students through a more creative learning process, helping them to think out-of-the-box about the many real-world problems we are facing as a society.Through such technology applications, we intend to inspire and prepare the future inventors, scientists, engineers, and social scientists of our world that will need to use technology to solve today’s environmental issues and global challenges, and the problems of tomorrow that our young students will encounter.”
Utilizing the WisBlock modular IoT development kit, students begin with an industrial-rated connector, enabling them to use the same component modules from the rapid prototyping stage to testing, to the final product. With the ready-to-use software blocks, it’s simple to create an application to match any solution requirement. Teachers and students are also guided by OPEN-RAK-Helium-Ubidots Partnership Teams, instructional videos, online tutorials, curricula, and Professional Development (PD) support.
“OPEN-RAKwireless have combined their talents to create an IoT product set and supporting education programs that take STEM education to a new level”, said George Newman, Founder, and CEO of OPEN.
“Together we have formed an IoT educational collaborative with other leading IoT industry partners, Helium and Ubidots.Each member brings specialized expertise and complementary offerings,providing a diverse array of industrial quality sensors built and programmed by students which can now be linked via a secure end-to-end network to a full-featured data visualization and analytics platform. This not only provides a powerful and unique education solution for schools worldwide but as we envision will allow students to apply their technology to address many of the environmental issues of our times while preparing them for the technology-centric job market ahead.
RAKwireless is a multinational technology company established in June 2014. Headquartered in Shenzhen, RAK is changing the IoT landscape by eliminating design complexity and accelerating time-to-market, for underserved and emerging markets, including open-source and industrial communities. Creating easy-to-deploy solutions and modular IoT products, RAKwireless is working to grow a community of system integrators, developers, and IoT solution providers, who are passionate about taking IoT solutions further than ever before.
About One Planet Education Network (OPEN) – Founded in 1998, OPEN creates and manages STEM Project-Based Learning (PBL) programs that focus on local sustainable community development.Participating schools/universities, relevant ministries, partner NGOs, OPEN’s interdisciplinary teams, and our IoT and related technology partners work together across borders on common real-world community development challenges.
OPEN’s products and services include project-based learning programs and international distance learning events which regularly link students to fellow students and students and teaches to top experts in their fields.Other offerings include OPEN-RAK IoT sensor network STEM+ labs Integrated within OPEN RAK-Helium Ubidots networks; ESRI GIS digital mapping technologies; game-based learning content; webinar-based professional development for teachers and techs. Other programs include scientist and expert interview series – WhySci?, Women in Sci-Tech, and the Imcon International “mobile classroom” Internet Backpack connectivity platform.
Featured Image: RAKwireless.
