Nerd Stalker

We talk with Rich Schramm, Rich is the founder of iGotThis - an app, community, and mission dedicated to helping ADHD families and extraordinary kids better navigate the expectations of our ordinary world. Rich has had a number of hands-on and leadership roles in the corporate and consulting sectors of the technology industry over the past 25 years. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife and 3 ADHD kids.

Raising good humans We're beyond excited to release Me - our newest app, the fifth in the series - next week and not a moment too soon. Like other Digital Toys apps, Me encourages creative thinking. But it's also our first app specifically designed to support kids' socio-emotional development.

The Future of Goggles is Frogglez, we love these things and give them a dad and daughter 2 thumbs up! https://www.madebymydad.com/ The Most Comfortable, Award Winning Swim Goggles. "As a global leader in the kids' products market we exceed all safety standards, CPSIA, Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act standards, as well as California Prop 65 requirements. Our products are latex free, Phthalates-free, Lead-free, Formaldehyde-free and are continuously tested to ensure the safety of our children. Love the hassle-free design of our brand and enjoy the unsurpassed safety." - Frogglez website.

What sound does this animal make? Google just got better at answering that. Do a Google search for 'animal noises.' You should see a field up at the top of your search results that shows images of various animals, and audio samples of a noise each of them makes. That list just got bigger, and includes more sounds: everything from raccoons to ducks to whales.

The Robot Factory lets kids build, test, and collect whatever they can imagine. Robot cats. Robot samurais. Robot spies. Robot butlers. Robot wizards. Robot lizards. Robot dancers. Robot doctors. Robot moonwalkers. Kids can create thousands of different robots from 50+ parts: exoskeletons, zephyr mechanisms, hydrostatic tentacles, ungulate feet, machinos locomotors, solartronics, and more. Then, they can test their robots in a fantastical world full of obstacles. Whether their robots survive or bust, kids can build, rebuild, and retest endlessly. And, kids can save and collect all of their robots.

The Techies Who Are Hacking Education by Homeschooling Their Kids | WIRED

Chip is an easy and fun electronics kit for everyone.  Attach the Pixel Power base and play.  Plug Chip into an Arduino and he becomes a friend you can program. Chip's cross activity design builds S.T.E.M / S.T.E.A.M skils. CHIP -  An electronics kit with character  Chip is cute and playful. Whether he is on your desk in his Pixel Power board or in an Arduino, his big LED eyes draw you in. His large size makes him easy for makers of all ages and skills to build.  . Chip is easy to build for all skill levels, especially  beginners .  Chip encourages exploration and play. Chip can be used to learn other skills, such as programming.  Chip is fun.  Chip builds S.T.E.A.M. Skills Many soldering kits do not offer anything more than a battery and a LED. Once completed, those kits end up in a drawer, never to be used again. At the other end of the spectrum, there are electronic kits that are really interesting but have so ma...

We just had to get the backstory of this incredible engineer, designer turned author - Carla Diana . She was promoting her book called " Leo the Maker Prince " at the 2014 Maker Faire - Bay Area. This is the first kid's book on 3D printing by MAKE  or Maker Media. Carla's mission is to invoke a sense of design at an early age(or kids at heart) with a great storytelling book about  Carla who wanted to become an artist when she grew up. She became an accountant instead(sound familiar out there?). Then, Carla’s life of numbers and “sense” was changed by meeting LEO, the Maker Prince. And through LEO’s magic of 3D printing—Carla finally became the artist she’d long ago wished to be. Watch our interview to get some insights on the book from Carla (the real Carla).

Adolfo Foronda of Nerd Stalker interviews Michael Domaguing, Director of Product Marketing at Jumpstart . Jumpstart is featuring a 3-D MMO RPG game called " School of Dragons " based on DreamWorks animated movie " How To Train A Dragon ". The game looks like a ton of fun, your kid can actually fly a dragon, multiple dragons really. Your child will recognize all the familiar characters from the movie. Believe it or not the game is free although there are monthly subscription options and in game purchase options. The game runs on the unity platform via any web browser (iOS and Android apps are coming) so no gaming hardware is needed. The game is ever-expanding and given that it is web-based you will see updates as they release them. At first we thought this was strictly entertainment but there is a science educational angle to the site as well. Under their resources section there are science worksheets, experiments, activities and a page on the scie...

This is a Nerd Stalker review of Ubooly a children's technology toy. The toy is made up of a stuffed animal and iOS application. The stuffed animal comes in multiple colors and the iOS application is free. To use Ubooly you place your iPhone with the application turned on upside down into the stuffed animal. The application can be personalized for multiple children, this is a nice touch. Each toy includes over 1000 activities, free credits to unlock lessons, and customizable content for your child. The recommended ages from 4 to 10 although we have observed more interest on the younger end of that spectrum. The toy is dead simple to use, this is a huge plus for a child, it takes almost no time to learn. The toy is like a tutor and friend and includes educational learning packs like language, math, science, music, history lessons for K through five and developed by teachers. We did experience a couple application hangups but these should be quickly resolved with updates be...

Nerd Stalker interview with Google Software Engineer, Neil Fraser at O'reilly Maker Faire. Blockly is a web-based, graphical programming editor. Users can drag blocks together to build an application. No typing required.

Nerd Stalker interviews High Schooler Violet Replicon at the Oreilly Bay Area Maker Faire to talk about the her freshman transportation project, a levitating train!

by Adolfo Foronda - Nerd Stalker Maker Faire interview with Matt Johnson of Bare Conductive , makers of the electrically conductive paint for makers of all ages. With Bare Conductive products you can learn how to draw paper circuits or paint physical interactive projects, oh the possibilities.