Adam and “The Drone RoadShow”

When an Engineer spots a problem – they find a way to solve it. That’s one of the many STEM lessons Adam Jerozolim teaches students across the country with his traveling STEM “Roadshow.” It’s also a principle that helped launch the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education in which Adam is the Director of Curriculum Development. Adam noticed a glaring issue in most schools he encountered –  yes there were math & science teachers, but there were very few STEM Educators out there…“I found most schools don’t have Coders on staff, nobody with engineering backgrounds which leads to students missing out on some of the most exciting STEM education present today.” So Adam and his team developed a STEM Curriculum that could fit into a van and pop up at schools wherever STEM Resources were needed. The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education is a non-profit organization that “brings STEM curriculum to schools, that’s our thing” as Adam puts it. With over 175 schools in the network, Adam and his colleagues have been able to offer the full gamut of STEM Education from training, lab materials, mentorship, and workshops to thousands of students…some of who may not even have experience using the internet.

One of Adam’s favorite teaching tools in the box is DroneBlocks. “We are always looking for the new hot STEM thing…and Drones are it. Not only that, we need something that works well in a quick, short time period and that is simple and effective. DroneBlocks hit it on the head.” Adam details how DroneBlocks allows students to hit the ground running right away – throwing kids right into the mix no matter their prior experience with technology. “DroneBlocks allows them to get to the meat of the problem solving and the design process of engineering in minutes.”  What surprised Adam the most was the hands-on, physical learning that was taking place…watching kids use tape measures for the first time, connecting engineering principles with the physical world. 

“When you turn on a TV what channel does it go to? What does a Drone do when you click launch?” are the types of questions Adam poses to get the student’s gears turning and the sparks flying. He also builds student excitement through an imaginative Drone Obstacle Course that features giant Lacrosse nets, dog trick obstacles, LED Lights, and strobes. The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education has introduced DroneBlocks to 50 schools and over 3,000 students and DroneBlocks is proud as ever to have played a part.

“DroneBlocks has allowed us to bring Drone curriculum to the masses – in 45 minutes kids who have never coded before are designing code and flying their drone. That iteration process is so essential.”

DroneBlocks would like to thank Adam and his team for their selfless hard work and passion in the name of their students and the state of the art, and for making DroneBlocks such a prominent tool in their program. To find out more about the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education, visit www.TheCIJE.org