EdCircuit Staff 
Tech-A-Sketch for grades 3-5 and TinkRsynth for grades 6-8 enable students to explore their creativity and real-world STEAM applications
ELMHURST, Ill. — Aug. 14, 2024 — Mixing art and music into STEM instruction provides an effective way to inspire creative and critical thinking and create richer learning experiences for students. TinkRworks has introduced two new projects — Tech-A-Sketch and TinkRsynth — to help elementary and middle schools engage students in hands-on STEAM learning.
Designed for grades 3-5, Tech-A-Sketch combines a classic drawing toy with electronics and coding to teach a variety of STEAM concepts. In this project, students assemble a handheld drawing device, complete with a programmable LCD display, buttons, and knobs. As students create their digital device and unique artist palette, they explore the science of displays, X-Y coordinates, plotting basic shapes, creating brushes, and more. They can then apply what they learned through a customizable, one-of-a-kind drawing experience.
TinkRsynth is a project for grades 6-8 that reinforces the fundamentals of coding through music. Students create a sound mixing board to produce, manipulate, and synthesize sounds. They do this by programming the board to combine various electrical waves to create sound for their unique instruments. Along the way, they explore the properties and physics of sound waves. In addition, they get to use their instruments to learn about rhythm, chords and melodies, and to compose music. To demonstrate what they learned, students can orchestrate a solo performance or form an ensemble with classmates.
“Hands-on projects give all students the opportunity to build essential skills and envision how STEM can be part of their futures,” said TinkRworks CEO Dr. Chad Stevens. “Whether students are building a digital toy to create their own drawings or developing a device that allows them to make their own music, they can see the connections between what they’re learning and real-world applications. Those connections not only make learning fun, they make learning stick.”
For each project kit, TinkRworks provides all of the essential components to ensure a successful STEAM implementation. Both Tech-A-Sketch and TinkRsynth include a curriculum overview, curriculum map, instructional slides, programming challenges, activity guide, and student assessments.
About TinkRworks
TinkRworks is a supplemental K-8 STEAM solution that supports project-based learning and transforms learners into innovators. It includes a standards-rich curriculum, innovative hands-on project kits, professional development, and a web-based learning platform and coding environment that students use to bring their projects to life. TinkRworks comes ready to teach and can be implemented in a variety of settings, including classrooms, makerspaces, after school programs, and summer school. For information, visit TinkRworks.com.
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