Their natural curiosity and ingenuity help them envision possibilities and develop innovative solutions to difficult technology problems. eFUN ACADEMY will challenge your student with authentic, hands-on explorations. Prepare to be amazed at what your child can achieve – after all, Einstein and Newton were once children…
eFUN ACADEMY students are guided by an adult mentor and their own imaginations to solve real world-inspired Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics challenges. The point of eFun ACADEMY is to excite all students about science and technology. We want students to have fun – and they will have that fun while playing creatively and with a purpose! We offer a wide variety of courses:
TECH TIME (Grades 1-4)
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As Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on!” Children have vivid imaginations and they LOVE to tell stories. The LEGO Tech Time course series allows students to tell their stories in a fun and exciting way! Students will work collaboratively with a partner and use their creativity to dream up a story, photograph scenes to tell the story, and then use software to produce their graphic stories. Students will be encouraged to think about the beginning, middle, and end of their story while also developing the important elements of who, what, why, and where. Students will be taught everything they need to know to use the computers, digital cameras, StoryStarter software and LEGOs (lots and lots of LEGOs) that will be used to create the stories. At the end of the course, students’ stories will be made available so students can show their family and friends. Students work in pairs, so sign up with a friend for twice the fun! LEGO WeDo Introduction to Robotics (Grades 3-4)
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The LEGO WeDo: Introduction to Robotics series is designed as an early introduction to robotics and programming. Students will participate in engaging learning experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Each course introduces students to several theme-based LEGO models that feature different mechanical features, sensors, and programming techniques. Each course also features different models, so a student may take more than one course to extend their grasp of basic robotics. Students will be taught everything they need to know to use the computers, LEGO building instructions, LEGO WeDo software and LEGO sensors that will be used to create models in the Wild Animals, Amazing Mechanisms, Adventure Stories and Play Soccer series. Students will develop confidence in robotics programming and building skills that incorporate engineering thought processes in a fun, playful way. Students will also be encouraged to experiment, investigate, and draw conclusions about their learning experience. LEGO Challenge Robotics (Grades 5-8)
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Children are born explorers. Their natural curiosity and ingenuity help them envision possibilities and develop innovative solutions to difficult problems. eFUN ACADEMY will challenge your student with authentic, hands-on explorations and excite them about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Prepare to be amazed at what your child can achieve – after all, Einstein and Newton were once children…
No prior LEGO experience or course materials are required for any the eFun on the Go courses. Students will work in teams of two – friends are welcome to sign up as partners. Each course features a different collection of challenges. Students who take more than one course will be encouraged to use progressively more advanced techniques in their approaches to solving the challenges. LEGO Stop-Motion Moviemaking (Grades 5-8)
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Do you like to tell stories? Would you like to know how to make a movie? Do you LOVE building with LEGOs? If you said "yes" to any (or all) of these questions, then you'll love this course! You will work with a small team to brainstorm/storyboard the plot, design the set, write the script, film the stop-motion animation sequences, and edit/complete production of your masterpiece by adding the voice-overs and sound track. Computers, webcams, headsets, stop-motion animation software and LEGOs (lots and lots of LEGOs) will be used to create the movies. Game Programming I, II, III (Grades 5-12)
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Students in these courses will learn the programming basics for creating 2D games. Through this sequence of courses, students will learn progressively more complex techniques that are used to create games like Club Penguin, Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, Plants vs. Zombies, PacMan, Asteroids, Tank Battle, Super Mario Bros., Q-Bert, Civilization iV, Battlefield 2, Jewel Quest 5, etc. In addition to learning the basics, students will have lab time to implement games using step-by-step guided tutorials. No textbook is required, but students should bring a 4GB+ USB thumb drive. Software for the course will be provided for free and can be used at home. Smart-phone App Programming (Grades 8-12)
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These courses are an introduction to developing software applications that can be used on Apple, Android, Windows mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc.). Students will be introduced to basic app development techniques as they follow step-by-step tutorials to develop useful applications. Students will have lab time to try their hand at modifying the applications to enhance them for their own purposes. Game-Based Learning (Grades 3-8)
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Games can be powerful instructional tools. Games are intrinsically interesting, motivating, and engaging. When all that fun is used to deliver valuable educational content, the learning benefits can be enormous. EFUN ACADEMY has always embraced the experiential concept of “learn by doing”, which differs from learning by reading, studying, and memorizing. However, there can often be obstacles to “doing” in the real world: cost, risk, availability, etc. Well-designed games can deliver immersive experiences that help students more deeply understand concepts such as strategic thinking, cooperation, problem solving, etc., while reinforcing skills such as math. The goal of our Game-Based Learning series courses is to teach students the basics of games they can then teach to their friends and enjoy for years to come.
