Casio Holds Online Workshop for Science Classes Using Scientific Calculators in Portugal, where STEM*1 Education is Advancing

Project Conducted with 2020 Global Teacher Award-Winning Teacher

December 24, 2020

A scene from the workshop
Scientific calculator emulator software

TOKYO, December 24, 2020 — Casio Computer Co., Ltd. announced today that in October it held an online workshop for teachers in Portugal that included a lecture on using scientific calculators and emulator software *2 during science classes. The program was conducted in collaboration with José Jorge Teixeira, the winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Award. Casio had planned to provide emulator free of charge until December 31, but this date has been extended to August 31, 2021.

  • *1 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
  • *2 Software that displays a scientific calculator on a PC and performs calculations through the same operations as a scientific calculator

Casio has positioned education as a growth field and is undertaking what it calls GAKUHAN activities around the world to promote the use of scientific calculators in educational settings including classes, tests, and so on. In response to the global spread of COVID-19 starting in April of this year, Casio has been providing scientific calculator emulator free of charge and reinforcing its support for online classes.

In Portugal, efforts are being made with governmental guidance to enhance the quality of science and mathematics courses in order to improve STEM education. In high school science classes, for example, scientific calculators and other tools, such as sensors and data loggers, *3 are being used in practical classes to measure data from real world phenomena and calculate values.

  • *3 Devices that store various types of data measured and collected by sensors.

In the past, Casio has provided faculty association-certified training, textbooks, and other support for mathematics and science teachers in Portugal. As one aspect of this support, Casio participates in STEM educational projects to promote mathematics and science courses. For this project, Teixeira, the winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize, gave a lecture on the use of scientific calculators in classes.

More than 300 teachers participated in the online workshop, which was conducted to support teachers who are unable to hold in-person classes due to effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. During his lecture, Teixeira used kinetic energy units as an example and explained how to conduct experiments online using a scientific calculator or emulator and sensors. Know-how on conducting online science classes was also shared through reports by students on the results of group research projects conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and presentations of successful examples from teachers.

Casio will continue its efforts to contribute to education through ongoing GAKUHAN activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the future.

Global Teacher Award
The Global Teacher Award is an international award established by India-based Alert Knowledge Services Pvt, Ltd. in 2018. The award recognizes teachers who conduct innovative education and contribute to the development of a better society. This year, teachers from 110 countries were nominated, and Teixeira was selected for the top prize. An awards ceremony is scheduled for December 20, 2020.

Teixeira also won the Global Teacher Prize Portugal presented by the Varky Foundation in 2018. In addition, he was selected as a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, which is referred to as the “Nobel Prize of education,” in 2019.