Alvin ISD Provides Mobile Learning via The Book Bus and The STEM Bus
Alvin ISD allows students to learn outside of school with The Book Bus and The STEM Bus.
Mobile learning is a fairly new concept for most, and it basically means bringing the classroom to the students via a bus. Alvin ISD provides two buses that are accessible for students to continue to learn outside of normal school days, The Book Bus and The STEM Bus. The Book Bus started as an idea for Ana Pasarella, Director of Family Engagement, when she noticed that at the beginning of each school year, after each summer, the students regressed in their reading levels. She wanted to bring literacy to children during the summer who didn’t have the resources at home to continue reading. Students from Alvin ISD helped design the bus from the inside out as well as support from every department from the school district and donations from the Alvin ISD Education Foundation. The Book Bus has given out almost 4,000 books to children and has a calendar to show where the bus will be throughout the summers.
The STEM Bus is the newest addition in mobile learning in Alvin ISD. The STEM Bus was created to promote STEM education through hands-on learning activities with the intention of inspiring students to pursue careers related to STEM. STEM education is often expensive for schools to afford and maintain, but Alvin ISD found a solution to that by gutting an old school bus and transforming it into a mobile learning lab. The bus travels from campus to campus during the school year and to community places surrounding the school district. The bus is equipped with modern science lab cabinetry, a ceiling resembling a solar system made to scale, a 50-inch smart television, 8 all-in-one computers, virtual reality equipment, robots, drones, a 3D Printer, tablets, solar panels, and a wide range of science and technology supplies.
