Indy High School Using IU Tech

Students at an Indianapolis high school have begun utilizing technology and services created by Indiana University and IUPUI-affiliated startups. George Sims, assistant principal at Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School, says the effort provides students with the opportunity to gain critical math skills, as well as soft skills such as collaborative learning and communication.

Education and logistics tech startup Crossroads Education LLC is partnering with IU and the high school to create the Community Mathematics Assistance Center. Students will be paid to work as peer tutors focusing on math during the school week. Sims says the space will provide students with the tools and support needed to become stronger math students.

The school has also implemented the use of Graspable Math technology, co-founded by David Landy of IU’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Students can open a browser on an electronic device and interact with the screen to solve equations or simplify and rearrange expressions, according to IU. 

Graspable was one of seven startups in 2016 to receive grant funding from the Johnson Center for Innovation and Translational Research. Sims says the students and staff and taken to the technology quickly.

"STEM education helps to support career and college readiness.," said Sims. "The use of interactive, adaptive and collaborative tools and methods supports the acquisition of 21st-century skills.

Both Crossroads Education and Graspable licensed their innovations through the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office.