EV3EVERYWHERE

“Students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past.” “To succeed in this information-based … society, “ - NSF  

We at EV3EVERYWHERE strive to deliver an equitable robotics education for students in unconventional learning/social paradigms. Our goal is to enable students limited by barriers, including physical, geographical, financial, medical, and other such inhibitors, to be given a world-class robotics education raising the standard of robotics education for everyone.

It is essential to provide these groups a solution furthering virtual learning quality, normalcy, connectivity, and engagement. This is pivotal in empowering such students to overcome learning barriers and diversify their learning opportunities, 

EV3EVERYWHERE uniquely leverage our virtual lab technology and global partners to facilitate and provide a competitive and joyful robotics experience that students previously could not access in a renewed virtual manner. 

An engaging robotics education at an early age is transformative. It empowers students to overcome barriers and seek advanced opportunities, so it is essential to enable many students to access a robust and virtual robotics experience. Students who face physical, geographical, financial, medical, and other such barriers can’t effectively gain an engaging and competitive robotics experience, the niche our solution works to resolve. Although millions of students learn and compete in robotics, dwarfing this figure is the billion other students who can’t access a robotics education. This disconnect inhibits accessibility and student interest, limiting participation and exposure to robotics/STEM opportunities. Nasdaq vice-chairman Bruce E. Aust wrote, “there [are] one million more computing jobs nationally than ... graduates to fill them, resulting in a $500-billion opportunity gap”. The key to filling this opportunity gap is to get students excited about robotics and technology at an early age!

For students, we intend to solve this by providing an enthralling robotics experience accessible with just the internet using our proprietary virtual lab, accompanied by our E-Learning platform on our website EV3EVERYWHERE.com.

For students facing the earlier described barriers, we solve this problem in a threefold approach comprising of the following steps: 

• equipping students with a robust and student-friendly e-learning robotics curriculum accessible on our website evaluated by experienced educators and experts, 

• allowing students to test their programs/projects in the curriculum through our proprietary virtual labs enabling students to engage with a robot in real-time, 

• connecting student robotics teams with dedicated and experienced mentors tying in their respective experience,

requiring only a willingness to participate and internet connection from the students.

At the core of this approach is our virtual lab, which allows students to see their work not in a simulation, a common alternative to robotics education, but live and in real-time. The EV3EVERYWHERE-virtual lab is an innovation that leverages edge devices/sensors, cloud computing, and gateway devices to deliver an equitable learning tool that students can engage within an interactive manner. We work to utilize machine learning and computer vision to make our labs more autonomous. Bringing features like automatic return to starting point allowing more students to use each lab and quick learning prompts and suggestions when a standard error/deviation is recognized.

We at EV3EVERYWHERE strive to deliver an equitable education to students who are in unconventional learning/social paradigms. Our goal is to enable students limited by barriers, including physical, geographical, financial, medical, and other such inhibitors, to be given a world-class robotics education raising the standard and floor for everyone.

Students who are:

Receiving severe treatment and must avoid contagious environments, due to sensitive immune systems for longer treatments miss out on traditional learning and socializing experiences;

In rural areas, where traditional robotics clubs may not exist and require them to travel for many hours to engage such opportunities, isolating such students from transformative robotics experiences;

Suffering, consequences of economic variability, like sanctions, steep import-export taxes, and failed monetary policies which could afford the opportunity at a fair market price, but cannot because of factors beyond their control, often tripling costs of entry into the same opportunity;

Facing more obvious financial barriers due to general poverty, but have access to the internet.

It is essential to provide these groups a solution furthering virtual learning quality, normalcy, connectivity, and engagement. This can prove pivotal in empowering such students to overcome learning barriers and diversify their learning opportunities, introducing them to global members with varying backgrounds and experiences while also offering a robust, ubiquitous robotics learning opportunity.

EV3EVERYWHERE works to engage students who traditionally can not access robotics education and related resources, precluded by barriers like physical location, state of health, financial inhibitors, and many others. EV3EVERYWHERE, uniquely and interactively, leverages our virtual lab technology and strategic global partners like FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and StarfALL Foundation to facilitate and provide a competitive and joyful robotics experience that students previously could not access. We work to create a powerful online learning experience using our uniquely robotics-centric E-Learning platform, allowing students to see their work come to life using our virtual labs.

Although we were able to successfully test our virtual lab with Plano Independent School District providing an innovative solution through the COVID-19 pandemic, we could bring our solution to a larger scale international level piloting a virtual competition. We believe this if done successfully, can be an inflection point enabling us to grow from servicing just Pakistan with StarfALL to providing a global solution with FIRST LEGO League. Because we are pilot-testing the virtual competition experience, we have marked us in the pilot phase.

EV3EVERYWHERE aims to provide an innovative approach to robotics learning. We are working to incorporate an e-learning platform where students can not just learn at their own pace but see their results in real-time, giving them a perspective they previously could not access. We tested our virtual lab approach with over 30 students during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In our preliminary tests, we wanted to gauge how student engagement and learning competencies varied between virtual learners (using our virtual labs) and traditional in-person robotics club students. Through our research, we found that students in remote learning, who previously had not participated in robotics before, were able to meet all programming and research goals that their in-person counterparts were able to. Although there was a slightly noticeable drop in engagement for virtual learners, we found a way to mitigate this by incorporating a competitive aspect drawing on FIRST LEGO League’s (FLL), a partner organization, competitive robotics method to create an esports variation for virtual learners a market FLL had not yet tapped into. We are in the midst of a pilot virtual competition with an FLL international partner, StarfALL Foundation, which offers FLL in Pakistan but had to go remote for this competition season due to COVID-19, salvaging an almost canceled season due to a health barrier. 

To date, we have worked with just over 1000 students, teachers, and mentors, typically working with a few hundred students every year. One year from now, we plan to leverage our E-Learning platform and district partners across North Texas to service 2000-3000 student at home and internationally, and in 5 years, we plan to leverage our strategic partnerships with global organizations like StarfALL Foundation, FLL, and LEGO to create a new kind of virtual robotics competition, based on our virtual lab technology, to service more than 100,000 students globally, per year, interactively and innovatively.

We tested our virtual lab approach with over 30 students during the COVID-19 pandemic across North Texas. In our preliminary tests, we wanted to gauge how student engagement and learning competencies varied between virtual learners (using our virtual labs) and traditional in-person robotics club students. Through our research, we found that students in remote learning, who previously had not participated in robotics before, were able to meet all programming and research goals that their in-person counterparts were able to. Although there was a slightly noticeable drop in engagement for virtual learners, we found a way to mitigate this by incorporating a competitive aspect drawing on FIRST LEGO League’s (FLL), a partner organization, competitive robotics method to create an esports variation for virtual learners a market FLL had not yet tapped into. 

Our main way to focus on our impact as we advance is through utilizing tracking metrics for our students on our website and virtual labs such as; Number of students, bounce rate, session duration, average time on page, grade distribution for our assessments, and learn page duration per anonymous user(as we do not collect personally identifying information). 

Leveraging the data gathered from these metrics, EV3EVERYWHERE will adjust and ensure continued successful growth and the effectiveness of our robotics curriculum. 

EV3EVERYWHERE is a volunteer-run and operated nonprofit with 26 current members.

Our team’s experience begins with over a decade of experience in FIRST LEGO League. For many years we were competitors in FLL as students, honing our skill with LEGO Robotics. We transitioned from there to coaching and mentoring teams, gaining a better understanding of the students’ needs when competing. This unique set of experiences positions us well to develop, deliver, and support a quality robotics education. We know the pitfalls and successes and how to take students from one side to the other, understanding what motivates students to stay engaged. Our experience starts as learners and participants of this robotics experience that inspired us so much. Developing EV3EVERYWHERE, we now set out to share this enthralling experience with whomever we can!

At EV3EVERYWHERE, Diversity in our workplace is key to building an equitable education. We understand that solving this problem requires the varied skills and perspectives of a diverse leadership team.

We root diversity, inclusion, equity, and representation into our core values. We do this by ensuring our leadership team connects directly with the members of the regions and populations we serve. Doing this ensures we provide a dynamic and informed decision-making process that positively impacts the individuals we work with and promotes the sustainability of our team. 

We ensure our team members exhibit exceptional character complimenting our organizational values. Including invaluable traits like building interpersonal trust with others, integrating diverse perspectives, optimizing the talents of individuals, keeping an adaptive mindset, and a willingness to confront complex problems to help bring results for everyone.

We, at EV3EVERYWHERE, have hit a point of growth with our virtual lab initiative and are applying to MIT Solve to seek mentorship in sustainable growth. Beyond funding to help with the resources required to set up our labs, we want to pursue a business model that prepares us for sustenance with guidance from the MIT Solve alumni mentor network to ensure good practices as we advance. We believe the media exposure that MIT Solve provides can enable us to serve students around the globe who may not have previously been aware of this unique opportunity. In conclusion, we see MIT Solve as a purpose-based opportunity to guide and position us to launch globally in an optimal manner.

We at EV3EVERYWHERE would like to partner with international education organizations to build our Labs and Lab Partners network. These organizations have a rich knowledge base on the best way to teach the students they serve. We would like to use their expertise to improve our virtual labs and e-learning platform, tailor our materials to best help the students, translate material, and adapt how we introduce different fundamental concepts. Alongside that, we are also interested in partnering with colleges and universities across the nation. College and universities act as strategic partnerships that would assist us in expanding our quality robotics education solution into school districts across the country. 

“To succeed in this new information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past.” - National Science Foundation

As we enter a world driven by STEM careers, Providing precluded groups facing physical, geographical, financial, medical, and other such barriers which can’t effectively obtain an engaging and competitive robotics experience is essential. We aim to provide quality virtual learning, creates normalcy, and improves global connectivity and engagement. EV3EVERYWHERE is uniquely positioned to leverage our virtual lab technology, e-learning platform, and strategic international partners like FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and StarfALL Foundation to facilitate and provide a competitive and engaging robotics experience. These early learning opportunities are pivotal to creating a 21st-century education and producing new avenues to higher education in STEM and careers beyond.

An engaging robotics education at an early age is transformative. It empowers students to overcome barriers and seek advanced opportunities, so it is essential to enable many students to access a robust and virtual robotics experience. Students who face physical, political, geographical, financial, medical, and other such barriers can’t effectively gain an engaging and competitive robotics experience, the niche our solution works to resolve. Millions of refugee students can’t access a robotics education. This disconnect inhibits accessibility and student interest, limiting participation and exposure to robotics/STEM opportunities. Nasdaq vice-chairman Bruce E. Aust wrote, “there [are] one million more computing jobs nationally than ... graduates to fill them, resulting in a $500-billion opportunity gap”. The key to filling this opportunity gap is to get students excited about robotics and technology at an early age!

For students, we intend to solve this by providing an enthralling robotics experience accessible with just the internet using our proprietary virtual lab, accompanied by our E-Learning platform on our website EV3EVERYWHERE.com.

Traditionally, there has been a stigma against women who want to be in STEM careers, especially in countries worldwide. EV3EVERYWHERE challenges this stigma by openly providing quality robotics education to students regardless of gender as long as they have a curious mind and an internet connection. We believe that a diverse and inclusive environment brings forth the best results. It is no different with early learning; this is an opportunity to close the gender divide in STEM and provide a pathway for Women into higher education and careers inspired by robotics.

EV3EVERYWHERE will use the Innovation for Women Prize to facilitate the growth of robotics education, providing safe stigma-free learning opportunities to Women globally. In addition, increased funding will allow us to create more labs and improve our labs’ quality and the autonomous solution.   

EV3EVERYWHERE works to engage students who traditionally can not access robotics education and related resources, precluded by barriers like physical location, state of health, financial inhibitors, and many others. EV3EVERYWHERE, uniquely and interactively, leverages our virtual lab technology and strategic global partners like FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and StarfALL Foundation, to facilitate and provide a competitive and joyful robotics experience that students previously could not access. We work to create a powerful online learning experience using our robotics-centric E-Learning platform, allowing students to see their work come to life using our virtual labs.

At the core of this approach is our virtual lab, which allows students to see their work, not in a simulation, a common alternative to robotics education, but live and in real-time. The EV3EVERYWHERE-virtual lab is an innovation that leverages edge devices/sensors, cloud computing, and gateway devices to deliver an equitable learning tool that students can engage within an interactive manner. We work to utilize machine learning and computer vision to make our labs more autonomous. Bringing features like automatic return to starting point allowing more students to use each lab and quick learning prompts and suggestions when a standard error/deviation is recognized. We plan to use this prize to further the software for this innovation.

Implementing features like autonomous return to base or starting point and quick learning prompts are driven by core machine learning concepts used in the like of today's self-driving cars. Our computer vision approach to track, guide, generate reports from the trajectories utilizes innovative artificial intelligence techniques to enable a powerful learning tool to be even better.

We plan to use this prize to further the software for this innovation.

EV3EVERYWHERE works to engage students who traditionally can not access robotics education and related resources, precluded by barriers like physical location, state of health, financial inhibitors, and many others. EV3EVERYWHERE, uniquely and interactively, leverages our virtual lab technology and strategic global partners like FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and StarfALL Foundation, to facilitate and provide a competitive and joyful robotics experience that students previously could not access. We work to create a powerful online learning experience using our robotics-centric E-Learning platform, allowing students to see their work come to life using our virtual labs.

At the core of this approach is our virtual lab, which allows students to see their work not in a simulation, a common alternative to robotics education, but live and in real-time. The EV3EVERYWHERE-virtual lab is an innovation that leverages edge devices/sensors, cloud computing, and gateway devices to deliver an equitable learning tool that students can engage within an interactive manner. We work to utilize machine learning and computer vision to make our labs more autonomous. Bringing features like
automatic return to starting point, allowing more students to use each
lab and quick learning prompts and suggestions when a standard
error/deviation is recognized. We plan to use this prize to further the
software for this innovation.