EDUball – set of 100 balls for mini team games
The EDUball/BRAINball set consists of 100 balls for mini team games (basketball, volleyball/football) in five colors (yellow, green, blue, red and orange) with black letters placed on the structure of the ball taking into account the Polish alphabet - in the case of EDUball and the English alphabet - in the case of BRAINball. On yellow and green balls, in addition to letters, there are numbers, and on red and blue balls: mathematical symbols, i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, greater-than, less-than, parentheses and the sign of Internet mail service (@).
EDUball for students and seniors
EDUballs are mainly used in early school education. Children participating in motor activities with EDUballs not only improve their motor skills or shape their motor skills, but also improve most importantly selected key competencies such as reading, writing and calculating. And all this is done while having fun, because "Through fun - I learn".
Workshops with educational balls are also very popular among seniors. Since 2019, the University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław has been implementing the project "Seniors' activity is their fitness and health", as a part of which seniors participate, among other things, in motor classes with educational balls.
In addition to Poland, classes with educational balls have also been conducted in the USA, Germany, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan or Vietnam. In the USA, the balls are known as BRAINball.
The originators of EDUball
The Eduball educational balls were created at the University of Health and Sport Sciences in 2002. They were co-created by the staff of the Department of Team Sports Games: Prof. Dr Andrzej Rokita, Dr Tadeusz Rzepa and Marek Nowicki (an entrepreneur), and the idea was also developed by Dr Ireneusz Cichy, Dr Sara Wawrzyniak, the late Mgr Agnieszka Wójcik, Dr Agnieszka Krysmann, Dr Magdalena Kaczmarczyk and Dr Marcin Korbecki.
"The use of EDUball educational balls during motor classes with children aged 6-10 supports their motor and intellectual development. During motor activities with EDUball educational balls, children discover: letters, colors, numbers, mathematical signs, learn and improve spelling and related rules, learn basic mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, learn and improve foreign languages, shape and improve motor skills (including throwing, gripping, dribbling, rebounding, rolling the ball and others). Having carried out scientific research with the team for 20 years on the effects of education with EDUballs, we can confidently say that children who use EDUballs during physical activities read faster, understand the text they read better, solve mathematical tasks better, learn English faster, have coordination, graphomotor and spatial orientation skills at a higher level."
said Prof. Dr Andrzej Rokita, Rector of the Polish Olympians’ University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław
For 20 years, the outcome of learning with EDUballs in elementary school grades I-III and kindergartens was evaluated. 10 experiments were conducted. More than 60 publications on the subject have been produced, 6 doctoral theses (including one in English), 6 books and 4 teaching books with a set of games and activities with EDUball/BRAINball educational balls (including two in English and one in Vietnamese). The set of educational balls "edubal" was included in the list of teaching aids recommended for school use. The educational balls also received a positive recommendation from the Parliamentary Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.
EDUball awarded multiple times
For its teaching and implementation activities, the Team (Prof. Dr A. Rokita, Dr T. Rzepa, Dr I. Cichy, M. Nowicki) has received numerous awards, including: Prize of the Minister of Science and Higher Education in 2016, Prize of the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Province in 2018, Silver Badge of Honor of Wrocław "WROCŁAW WITH GRATITUDE - WRATISLAVIA GRATO ANIMO" in 2019 and Prize of the Minister of Science and Higher Education in 2019.
It is also worth noting that educational balls have been recognized by a group of specialists in preschool and early school education. Classes with EDUballs have been included in the Polish nationwide “Little Master” program (Mały Mistrz), addressed to children in grades I-III of elementary schools, as well as in the “Little Greats” program (Mali Wspaniali).
In 2022 the University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław registered copyrights for a new industrial design: the mini - EDUball and mini - BRAINball set, starting, in this way, the next stage in the development of educational balls.
On November 14th, 2022 the 20th anniversary of EDUball was celebrated at the University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław. It was commemorated with a new dwarf – named “EDUballek”.
Free training on the use of EDUball to start in March 2023.
Under a letter of intent signed between SmartCity Wrocław and the University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław, free training will be provided for teachers and instructors on the use of EDUballs with children with disabilities at the early school education level and with senior citizens.
"We are organizing the training courses scheduled for March with the aim of improving the quality and comfort of life of socially disadvantaged groups. I believe that an innovative teaching aid such as EDUballs will contribute to encouraging physical activity while simultaneously stimulating the intellectual development of children with disabilities and seniors, and thus to their social integration and to preventing discrimination."
said Robert Bednarski Director of SmartCity Wrocław City Hall.
In December 2022, the Polish Olympians’ University of Health and Sport Sciences in Wrocław, in cooperation with the Wrocław Teacher Training Center, carried out a series of 4 trainings for teachers of early school and preschool education.
Join us for our next training course!
