Mozilla grants boost local 3D modeling, literacy, STEM
May 16, 2016 | Bobby Burch
The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund awarded three Kansas City organizations a total of nearly $60,000 in grants to build gigabit-enabled tech projects.
Mozilla gifted the funds to PlanIt Impact, Pennez and the KC Social Innovation Center, which will allow the groups to implement 16-week pilot testing from May 16 to Sept. 4. Mozilla also awarded $75,000 to fund six projects in Chattanooga.
“Grantees will utilize the awarded funds to build, pilot and scale gigabit-enabled applications and associated curricula that have immediate, measurable impact on classrooms and informal learning organizations,” Mozilla wrote in a blog post. “Through these projects, Chattanooga and Kansas City will become living laboratories in which to study how these next-generation networks can impact education and workforce development.”
Here are the specific projects in Kansas City:
- Open Data + 3D Models by PlanIT Impact: The company is putting its big data + 3D modeling technology in the hands of students in Kansas City to advance sustainable design.
- Read2Think by Pennez – A live-time digital assessment tool for measuring a child’s reading fluency. The application utilizes artificial intelligence technology to assess speed, vocabulary, understanding, sight word, pronunciation and phonics recognition.
- SensED IoT Student Innovation Challenge by the KC Social Innovation Center. The organization will be creating a project-based STEM program for 7 – 12 graders to provide real-world experiences in the emerging field of the Internet of Things.
To date, the fund has supported the development of 17 pilot projects in Kansas City and Chattanooga. Past projects include improved first-responder equipment, a real-time water quality monitoring system and singing robots.
The Gigabit Community Fund is a collaboration with National Science Foundation and US Ignite, and is investing in projects that utilize gigabit technology to impact learning. The grant program was announced in January.
The application period for the next round of Gigabit Community Fund grants closes on October 18 for pilots that will run from Jan. 2 to April 24.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC founders share their stories of building a great Midwest company
It’s not the flashiest locale, but the Midwest is a ripe area in which to grow a global business, a group Kansas City entrepreneurs argued Monday. During the Kauffman Fellows summit, four Kansas City business leaders made the case that you don’t have to be on the coasts to build a thriving company. The…
Kauffman Fellows to foster KC, Midwest investor expertise via $960K effort
In an effort to cultivate venture capitalists in the Midwest, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will award a dozen of scholarships valued at a total of $960,000 for its investor program, Kauffman Fellows. And Kansas City is set to be the biggest beneficiary. During the Kauffman Fellows’ annual summit, the foundation announced that will dish…
Kauffman Foundation issues a challenge to grow KC accelerators
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation believes business accelerators have the opportunity to bridge a gap between capital and entrepreneurs. That’s why the foundation announced a new grant initiative Friday that hopes to spur more accelerator-like organizations in Kansas City. And applications are now open, and proposals are due by Jan 13. Starting Nov. 16 during…
Startland gets personal with Davyeon Ross, John Fein and Greg Kratofil
Startland News exists to share the stories of innovation that happen every day in Kansas City. But while we try our best to give you updates as they come, it is rare that all the details of the news we produce are included in the stories we publish. That’s why editor-in-chief Bobby Burch led Startland…