Orlando Math Circle isn’t just about math education; it also focuses on developing other skills in it’s students, such as leadership, creativity, problem solving, and even social entrepreneurship. OMC provides a wealth of opportunities to local kids to participate in non-traditional learning experiences that are fun and engaging. One of the ways OMC achieves this by partnering with external organizations to bring mathematics to a wider audience. OMC has connected local kids to The Global Math Project and Expii, to name a few. Dr. Po-Shen Loh, Carnegie Mellon University professor and creator of the highly adaptive digital learning platform, Expii, is one of the first-rate people that OMC has teamed up with to share math in exciting new ways. Not only is Loh a world-renowned mathematics educator, but he is also the National Coach for the USA International Math Olympiad team, which some of our OMC students are really interested in!
About Expii
Expii is designed to make math and science learning gamified and accessible to all through fun activities, videos, and personalized lesson plans. The platform delivers quality content in a diverse array of learning styles, so there is something that will click with every user. Moreover, users can create their own lesson plans and leave feedback on existing materials, meaning that the platform is constantly undergoing agile enhancements. This crowd-knowledge-sourcing model also contributes to the user’s own growth, as Loh believes the strongest indicator of learning is the ability to teach. The aim of Expii is to remove barriers that exist in education equality and, specifically, to increase tenfold the number of people who love STEM subjects.
Po-Shen Loh came out to Orlando in the fall for a fascinating workshop
Expii & OMC
Loh and OMC’s connection has grown through the visits he has made to Orlando Math Circle, where he has hosted workshops and offered talks to students, teachers, parents, and the Florida Gifted Association to get more people invigorated about different topics in math. OMC and Loh have been brought together through their united mission of making math enjoyable and accessible to all, especially those who are underrepresented in STEM subjects.
Upcoming Activities at Orlando Math Circle
OMC has tons of great programming to keep your student engaged and excited all summer long. High school students have a great opportunity to join OMC in an internship role (hello, college applications!) and younger students can participate in captivating group work or receive focused mentoring from older students. The Math Scavenger Hunt is an upcoming highlight in OMC’s calendar. This team-based activity will take place at an exciting, local venue and is in development to be a high-energy, interactive kickoff for the new school year. Older students looking for an extracurricular challenge are invited to be part of the planning committee and help us consider all the ways we can make this community event accessible to all.
One of the featured programs this summer is the Expii Video Project, which is a great way for students to creatively demonstrate what they know and get other kids excited about math. Students can fly solo or work in teams to make short videos that will be part of the adaptive crowdsourced material available on the Expii website. These will be created locally and the Expii team will provide feedback. To help get the ball rolling, OMC has a list of the most searched math topics online, so kids can use their videos to target these common questions and share their answers on social media. Expii is highly individualized, so no two videos will be the same. We can’t WAIT to see what you’re going to do!
Volunteers at a talk and workshop on Developing Math Talent, lead by with Dr. Loh, national coach of the USA Math Olympiad Team, ranked #1 in the world in 2015 and 2016; and Founder of Expii, Carnegie Mellon Mathematics Professor.
