Wow! This inquiry-based, technology-rich school has no tech staff
When I first became principal, I was compelled to explore all aspects of what it meant to be a 21st-century learner in an international baccalaureate context: as a…
Virtual island destination aims to prevent the summer math slide
The summer slide, a loss of academic progress during the summer break between school years, has been confirmed in many research studies since an early publication by White…
5 ways teachers can improve student learning based on current brain research
Educators can positively influence students’ learning by understanding how the brain is shaped by their early experiences—and how it can be rewired and reorganized to work more quickly…
Is writing education vital to emerging technology?
In an age of technological advancement, it’s easy to feel obsolete. I feel confident that education will always be needed; ... Read more
How a sheriff’s department and a school teamed up for SEL
School has always been a place for learning math, science, history, and art, but now it’s also becoming the place for students to learn other skills that are…
Principal: Real school transformation starts with a magical triangle
Every child deserves the opportunity to lead, learn, grow, and succeed. It’s only through a 360-degree approach to learning that we can provide these necessary opportunities to all…
In a shaky political climate, here’s why students are more important than ever
Politics is a funny beast. Being a journalist, I watch the gyrations and positioning with interest. When I was coming up in the business, I used to cover…
Best practices for rolling out tech in the classroom—an administrative perspective
In 2013, Shipley made the integration of technology a priority, and the Board of Trustees approved a 1:1 program—a program where we provide each student (grades 6-12) with…
HOT: Millennial parents are loving this school communication app
We are parents of a 1st-grader and are used to communicating with friends and colleagues instantly and often. Today, almost 90 percent of parents own a smartphone and…
3 better alternatives to “gotcha” tactics for teachers
I have been in school administration for 12 years now, and one of the things that I absolutely have learned to hate is the formal teacher evaluation process.…
These schools are leveraging E-Rate for a complete digital transformation
Textbooks and blackboards have become a thing of the past in K-12 schools as educators collaborate with IT teams to shape a full digital core curriculum as part…
Debunked: 5 myths about classroom technology
Parents, lawmakers, and even some educators have spoken out against this trend, arguing that excessive classroom technology could end up doing more harm than good, but the foundations…
Researchers develop groundbreaking technology for student writing success
As with any skill, the key to better writing is more practice. But that creates a dilemma for the teachers tasked with helping students improve their writing skills:…
Here’s how you tie spending to student outcomes—with big success
When I first came on board as the CFO in Pueblo, Colorado, I asked my finance manager to compile a complete financial report of all of our budgets.…
5 teacher-loved technology tools to meet STEM NGSS standards
The Science and Engineering Practices of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) require students to ‘obtain, evaluate, and communicate information’ (NGSS Lead States, 2013). As students engage in…
How to prevent accidental plagiarism in an online world
Don't hurry up to blame a student. They might plagiarize accidentally. A responsible educator, you can help students write original academic papers and teach them to distinguish whether…
Is this increasingly popular teaching job the Uber for teachers?
Apps like Uber, Lyft, and Task Rabbit have helped millions of people use their skills to earn money on their own schedule. This model has now come to…
3 innovative communication tips for students with autism
Communicating can be a challenge for certain individuals with autism. In “Communication Innovations for Individuals with Autism,” Howard C. Shane, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, associate professor at Harvard Medical School…
4 wireless network goals for schools
Managed Wi-Fi technology is having a profound, transformative impact on K-12 classroom environments. Although wireless access technology has been in schools for several years, earlier-generation solutions have not…
Is the digital divide entirely different from what we think it is?
For a while now, there’s been a great deal of concern over the digital divide—the gap between students who have easy access to technology and those who don’t.…
5 education trends of the future catapulted by blended learning
With so many students engaged in blended learning, it’s important to examine current trends and technologies to try and predict where blended learning could take students in the…
Superintendent: Gen Z achievement soaring with student choice
So how can educators find the perfect balance between traditional and digital approaches to better focus their student’s attention? How can they gain back control in a classroom…
How an edtech innovation is giving performance assessments new life
Internet access, electronic collection of student work, and online distributed scoring, for example, can all play significant roles in making performance assessments more manageable and efficient.
3 ways new-to-online students can thrive with virtual learning
Digital learning opportunities are widely available and abundant today. From MOOCs to digital study aids to virtual tutoring, there are many ways for students to hone their academic…
Real talk: This is what successful blended learning actually looks like
In theory, blended learning sounds straightforward: You replace a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction with web-based online instruction. In practice, though, launching and sustaining a blended learning…
6 IT nightmares plaguing schools-and 6 solutions to stop them
From constricted budgets to needing to protect large numbers of devices and users, educational institutions face a unique set requirements for data protection and business continuity.
School sees massive literacy boost thanks to new assessment attitude
At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, 82 percent of Morgen Owings Elementary School’s students were working below grade level. Now, six months later, just 40 percent…
This is what Gen Z-designed curriculum looks like for the future
The generation in school now is the first generation raised entirely in the Age of Technology. They are digital natives, many of them using computers, smartphones, and other…
Why education needs strong advocates now more than ever
Spring time is invigorating, especially in my home town of Gastonia, North Carolina. Gastonia is very southern; its roots are in the textile business, and in many ways,…
3 keys to student success with early college programs
Like a growing number of school districts, North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools (GCS) has early college programs that allow students to earn college credit while they’re still in…
5 reasons why blended learning programs fail-and how to save them
Too often, educators who are considering investing in blended learning pull back after hearing horror stories of good programs gone bad. Whether it’s botched rollouts, network snafus, or…
The 5 components of a future-proofed technology initiative
The technology in the classroom has to be interoperable as students pass into different grades and their personal technology evolves. This is essential to meeting the needs of…
Greatest lesson: Teacher buy-in is overrated
One of the greatest lessons my 30 years of experience in education has taught me is that teacher buy-in is, sometimes, overrated.
Why Gen Z needs librarians now more than ever
Librarians and media specialists are in a unique position within schools, since they are very often the person responsible for introducing students to new technologies, and are also…
7 ways edtech boosts student confidence in the classroom
Edtech is making is easier and more efficient to help students at every level, and to bring even the most timid of learners out of their shells. Dr.…
District’s parental engagement soars with new “Glow and Grow” practice
When my district, Charles City Public Schools (CCPS), created our strategic plan, we established “Community Investment in Public Schools” as one of our five core goals. As a…
What does assessment without testing look like?
Educators at all levels agree on the need to assess what their students know, but a growing number of them find that tests are not the best way…
There’s an emotional side of edtech—and it’s affecting school innovation
At one of my recent workshops, I was approached by a teacher who had never redesigned her lessons to take advantage of edtech’s potential to transform learning. She…
5 tips for new, easy and affordable school edtech upgrades
Waiting on a slow computer to load or update wastes valuable time and can detract from lessons and class time. ... Read more
Teaching Generation Z? Start by engaging their parents—here’s how we did it
A huge body of research shows that parental involvement in a child’s education results in higher student achievement, both academically and behaviorally. I’ve been in K-12 education for…