Lack of resources is often a problem in teaching science. In fact, one of the most needed tools in hands-on training is also one of the most expensive - a lab. Some schools just do not have enough facilities to accomodate a good science laboratory.
Luckily, per People, Lab4U releases an app that offers "portable" laboratories. It uses built-in mobile sensors to effectively perform physics experiments. Komal Dadlani, the CEO of Lab4U, believes that the best learning tool is an experience. However, a lot of students do not get the chance to do so.
For one thing, the Inter-American Development Bank reported that some 8 percent of Latin American schools do not have science labs. Moreover, almost a third of American high school science teachers did not major in the subjects they teach. Dadlani teases that one of the most exciting experiments students and teachers could do with Lab4U has something to do with bungee jumping metrics.
Lab4U currently runs in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and the US. Nonetheless, Dadlani's company has done pilots in the Middle East and will soon hit India. All in all, 50 schools with 20,000 students are now benefitting from the app. According to the company's own research, students who used the app had a 40 percent increase in performance on Physics.
For the record, Dadlani was awarded for her brainchild in Toyota's Mother of Invention prize. The event honors female entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators. The recognition came in with a $50,000 grant. The app is available on Google Play and iTunes.
On the other hand, Allen Yuen, University of Hong Kong's director of the Centre for Information Technology in Education, said in earlier press interviews that Lab4U poses two drawbacks. One concerns curriculum development and the other tackles gender gap. Yuen, Smithsonian reported, explained that Science (due to its long history) is somehow a "traditional" subject. Thus, if people want to incorporate technology, experts must change the whole structure of the current curriculum. Moreover, he stressed that boys are more likely inclined to using mobile devices as hobbies than girls.
