Chester County Briefs: Malvern Prep Students Learn with Robots, Penn State Great Valley Professor Honored, and FDA Approves Diabetes Pump for Children

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Students at Malvern Prep playing around with programmable Sphero balls.
Students at Malvern Prep playing around with programmable Sphero balls.

Malvern Prep Robotic Spheres Steer Kids Toward Programming

With a few taps on an iPad, students at Malvern Prep recently sent robot-steered Sphero balls racing across the floor of the school’s Learning Commons, all in the name of chasing down misconceptions about computer programming.

“Many people think computer programming is difficult and something that only nerds and hackers can do,” science teacher Kevin Quinn said in a report by The Times of Chester County. “Through Hour of Code, we hope to show that anyone can program and that it is fun to do.”

That Hour of Code event last month featured the Spheros and an iPad app that combines custom code with pre-packaged blocks of code to simplify and accelerate the programming process.

“Programming is less about learning a programming language and more about learning how to frame problems and instructions in a way that a computer can understand, a skill that is valuable to everyone,” Quinn said in the article.

Read more about Malvern Prep’s Hour of Code in The Times of Chester County here.

Associate Professor Kathryn Jablokow
Associate Professor Kathryn Jablokow

Penn State Great Valley’s Kathryn Jablokow Receives Recognition for Work in Online Education

OnlineEngineeringPrograms.com has recognized Kathryn Jablokow, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Design at Penn State Great Valley, as one of five influential engineering professors who taught online in the last year.

The goal in compiling the influential engineering professors list is to recognize the academic contributions of extraordinary professors in online education. The five were selected based on several criteria, including university affiliation, publications, awards and research grants, and just as importantly experience and leadership.

Jablokow, who earned her doctorate degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University, has been awarded multiple grants from the National Science Foundation for studies in her field.

“Receiving this recognition in online education is especially important as we continue to explore new delivery modes at Penn State,” said Jablokow. “Expanding our online programs while maintaining our high standards is both exciting and challenging and it’s great to be recognized for breaking new ground.”

The Animas VIbe insulin pump.
The Animas Vibe insulin pump.

FDA Approves Animas’ Diabetes Management Device for Use with Young Patients  

Managing diabetes in small children has just become easier thanks to a Chester County company. The FDA has approved the use of the Chesterbrook based Animas’ insulin pump and monitoring system for use in patients as young as 2 years.

The Animas Vibe is the first continuous glucose monitoring insulin pump that has been approved for use by this specific age group. The device is waterproof and continuously monitors the wearers levels of glucose as well as keeping track of the trends in its movement over time.

“It allows a better understanding for the patient, the patient’s family, and importantly for the health care professional,” said Dr. Brain Levy, the Chief Medical Officer for Animas “whether that’s the doctor, the nurse, or the endocrinologist – to better manage and adjust insulin dosing in that patient.”

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