Apparently a little engineering know-how and a lot of free time is all it takes to turn what was previously sci-fi fantasy into real-world reality. Japan's Sakakibara Kikai has created a mechanical suit, not unlike the one worn by Sigourney Weaver's character Ellen Ripley in the film Aliens.
While the feat of engineering is impressive, the fact that is specifically designed for children to use makes every single Christmas gift ever given pale in comparison.
As reported by CNet, the suit, dubbed the Kid's Walker Cyclops, is "an 800-pound, 7-foot-tall drivable mecha suit with a cockpit and moving arms. The front of the machine opens to become a ladder to the cockpit. As seen in the vid below, one hand has a hook to grapple foes and the other has a power drill to smite obstacles. The weapons are controlled by rotating the handles in the cockpit, which has room for one child. The battery-operated mecha has wheels under its feet but moves in a shuffling motion."
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Let’s make no mistake: differentiation requires extra time and effort. Individualizing instruction and making it appropriate to diverse learners requires additional planning, additional resources, and more attention to detail. I see no way around that. However, planning for differentiation itself and adding layers of rigor to instruction should not be an intimidating task that requires huge amounts of time. What I’m going to share in this blog will allow teachers to differentiate instruction...
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