Crunch the Numbers: New Data on Student Wellbeing, the Skills Gap Crisis, and Tech Usage in Utah

The Social Institute, whose mission is to empower millions of students to navigate their social world — including social media and technology — in positive, healthy, and high-character ways, released its 2024 Student Insights Report: How Social Media, Tech, and Current Events Impact Student Well-Being. This report reflects insights shared by more than 29,000 students in TSI’s Annual Student Survey and more than one million responses from its K-12 collaborative learning platform, #WinAtSocial — making it the largest data set of its kind, spanning grades 3 – 12 in schools across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Each year, The Social Institute asks students nationwide to share insights into trending apps, positive ways to navigate common but complex social situations, everyday challenges faced online and off, and what adults should know about well-being, social media, and technology. Educators can use the insights to gain a deeper understanding of their students, helping them to improve school culture and community well-being.

Among this year’s key findings:…Read More

K-12 Tech Innovation News

Key points:

  • K-12 technology is reaching students across the globe, equipping them with critical skills
  • Leveraging the power of educational technology helps create dynamic, personalized learning environments
  • Stay informed with the latest K-12 tech innovation news

K-12 tech innovation has become a cornerstone of modern education, reshaping traditional classrooms and equipping students with the skills needed for the 21st century.

One notable piece of K-12 tech innovation news is the integration of interactive devices and digital learning tools, transforming static learning spaces into dynamic, multimedia-rich environments. These devices and tools empower teachers to create engaging lessons, fostering a more interactive and collaborative learning experience.…Read More

Investing in classroom collaboration tools? 3 things to know

Key points:

  • Flexibility and ease of use should be important parts of decision making
  • Meet today’s needs, but keep tomorrow’s needs in mind

Modern technological advancements affect virtually every area of daily life, and today’s educational institutions are looking to new digital tools to help improve student achievement and engagement while fostering collaborative learning environments for both in-person and remote learners.

To maximize a system’s effectiveness and ensure investments pay dividends for students and instructors, decision makers and school technology managers must maintain a strong understanding of all the available solutions, devices, and platforms that can meet their needs. While differences in location, age range, and budget naturally affect technology decisions and opportunities, there are several key factors central to any successful implementation.

Keep It Simple, Schools…Read More

The simplest elementary school science edtech

During the spring of 2020, the global education community faced tremendous disruption as it transitioned to emergency remote teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfamiliar with the challenges of integrating edtech into instruction within a remote environment, elementary science teachers struggled to apply best practices—such as three-dimensional instruction, collaborative learning, and hands-on experimentation—into instruction.

While teachers in my region have traditionally met technology integration with trepidation, during the pandemic they embraced edtech and learned to rely on it as a mechanism to engage students in the learning process. Today, edtech is as much a part of the fabric of instruction as pencils and paper.

During emergency teaching, the innovative educators I work with sought to implement any edtech tool that purported to help keep students engaged in learning. But, as the pandemic recedes into the rearview mirror, educators have become choosier about the edtech they use. …Read More

4 ways we designed collaborative learning spaces

When we built a new 3-story high school building on our former baseball field, we knew that we wanted to incorporate spaces where students could learn and teachers could teach in a very collaborative manner.

So, along with our new classrooms, in most areas of our school there are now two hallways with resource classrooms running down the center. Those are our collaborative spaces, and they’re where we got to be creative in terms of planning and design.

We didn’t want to just order 200 of the same chairs and hope for the best, so we worked with MiEN to select furniture designs and other elements that would best define and complement our new collaborative spaces. Here are four other steps we took to achieve our vision:…Read More

5 digital tools to enhance your social studies instruction

Key points:

Over the span of my 22-year career as South Carolina public school educator, I’ve taught in self-contained classrooms and I’ve been in departmentalized settings.  Although I love teaching all subjects, I always choose English/language arts and social studies, in part because I love the challenge of engaging young leaners in these important subjects.

As a fourth-grade English/language arts and social studies teacher in an elementary collaborative learning magnet program–which is also a NASA Explorer School–I get the challenge of unlocking the minds of 9- and 10-year-olds who are more at home in the STEM subjects than in exploring literature or our country’s history.…Read More