We know the Australian government regards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to be important for our younger Australians because in May this year they allocated $64 million to fund early learning STEM initiatives.
The government announced the funding on the Department of Education’s site stating: The Government is committed to improving the STEM skills of young Australians to ensure that they have the skills they need to live and work in a globalised world.
Osmo is a new type of gaming system which builds on this resolve and brings life to traditional STEM learning. The team behind Osmo is made up of two young parents out of Stanford and Google – Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler. They’ve invented Reflective Artificial Intelligence (RAI) technology which is the basis of Osmo products.
play beyond the screen.
What RAI technology means is a reflective camera is incorporated in the system so the game play is extended beyond the screen and interacts with what the user draws, writes and assembles in the space. Any object can interact with the screen including tiles, pen and paper, blocks, toys – you name it.
This hands-on play promotes creativity, problem solving and social interaction because Osmo uses the screen to create a new, healthy, hands-on learning experience.
Osmo – linking the screen with reality
“As people are flocking to virtual reality, we’re pioneering actual reality – unleashing experiences that go beyond digital screens,” says Pramod Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Osmo.
Anyone can join in the game, anywhere, on any surface, making Osmo a multi-generational gaming device with STEM learning at its core.
Osmo’s products have already been enthusiastically embraced by the Australian teaching community, who’ve recognised them as being an interactive and interesting way to teach STEM to their pupils.
Osmo has three Kits available. The first is called the Creative Kit and teaches users to draw and doodle. The second Kit is called Tangram and this one has five games to teach numbers, words and ‘Newton’ science. The third Kit is called MindRacers and here users can pick their cars from a fleet of Hot Wheel racers and start racing.
There are also three add-on games available including: Pizza Co. which is all about running a pizza shop; Coding Awbie which teaches coding blocks to make on-screen Aubie move; and Coding Jam Game where users can create their own music by arranging Osmo’s coding blocks into patterns and sequences.
Osmo is designed for children ages 5-12. All kits and games are available in JB Hi-Fi, Australian Geographic, Office Works, Harvey Norman and Apple stores.
