VARconnection

Everything you need to know about UnConferences

Unconferences first started popping up in 1998, and have been a fun and unconventional way of hosting conferences ever sense. While in person unconferences are still on hold, we are excited to be hosting our very own in our Virbela campus starting in May! Before that starts, we thought we would tell you a bit … Continue reading →

3 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Check out this TED TALK from our friends at Florida Clinicians for Climate Change Reduce, Reuse and Recycle with Makey Makey https://makeymakey.com/blogs/how-to-instructions/creating-makey-makey-instruments This lesson using recycled materials to create instruments is music to our ears! Be sure to check out this lesson and so many more on their blog! Explore Lessons with Discovery

Curious about Mindfulness Labs? Try one now.

As we all continue to adapt with the constant changes and challenges of the Pandemic, schools have been turning to mindfulness to help students and staff alike. Studies have shown that even just 5 min of mindfulness a day can make a world of difference in student stress, performance, and even interpersonal communications. With that in mind, a lot of schools have been putting together lessons or labs centered around mindfulness for students. Here at the Douglas Stewart Company, we have created a virtual mindfulness lab of our own! You can check it out on the blog, or experience it live in our virtual campus. Continue reading →

Top 3 ways to Celebrate Robotics Week

This year National Robotics Week is April 3-11, but here at DSC we are celebrating ALL. MONTH. LONG. While the ways to celebrate our truly endless, we thought we would highlight 3 of our favorites that will work for any classroom set up! Whether your students are in the classroom or learning from home, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate robotics week Continue reading →

Say Hello to our 5 Featured Influential Women of March

In honor of women’s history month we highlighted a different influential woman on social media each week. In case you missed one of these bios, or just want to see them all together in one place, we have compiled them into a list here. Uma Chowdhry– Chemist Uma Chowdhry is a research scientist focused on material … Continue reading →

5 Tips for Effective Team Bonding in Immersive Worlds

Recently our team had a week long team bonding workshop in our DStewart EDU Campus powered by Virbela. We had so much fun really diving in to the possibilites of our virtual world as a team, and wanted to share our top 5 tips with you. Continue reading →

K-12 Funding Basics: Understanding COVID-19 Relief Funding

Looking for a quick way to get updated on COVID Relief Funding? VARConnection has you covered. Continue reading →

K-12 Funding Basics: Understanding Grants

With most of a school’s given budget going to fund yearly expenses, grants are vital for schools looking to add in additional tools, resources, and technologies. Grant funding can come from the federal budget, or from a private donor. Grants all come with their own rules and regulations in terms of what the money can be spent on, and what reporting schools may need to provide in return. Continue reading →

K-12 Funding Basics: Understanding Government Funding

The next few weeks on VAR connection will be dedicated to a series on K-12 funding in the United States. This week we are breaking down K-12 Government funding for public schools, how it is given, and how it is spent. Stay tuned to learn more about grants, COVID-19 relief funding, and so much more! … Continue reading →

Meet some of our Favorite Black Scientists in 2021

This year in honor of Black History Month we are highlighting a few of our favorite historical and modern black scientists. In this blog you will find full bios and additional resources related to each scientist and science field mentioned. Continue reading →