Why we love our PD tools
Ask most teachers what they think of their district’s professional development (PD) and you’ll most likely get a grimace or an outright groan. But PD tools don’t have…
Latest posts by Ellen Ullman (see all)
- Why we love our PD tools - May 13, 2019
- How one middle school is closing the technology achievement gap - May 10, 2019
- How STEM learning invigorates classrooms - May 1, 2019
How one middle school is closing the technology achievement gap
There’s a widening technology achievement gap for minorities, despite blacks and Hispanics having more interest in learning computer science. So why is the field so dominated by whites?
How STEM learning invigorates classrooms
eSchool News (eSN) recently spoke with Vince Bertram, the chief executive officer of Project Lead The Way
Why we love our math software
Math gets a bad reputation for no good reason. After all, it’s a universal language and it applies to so ... Read more
Is it time to say goodbye to textbooks?
People have been predicting the end of the traditional, paper-based textbook for years.
How we turned around our school culture and student performance
Santa Rosa County (FL) District Schools is a high-performing rural district of about 28,000 students that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to Alabama.
Why we love our coding & robotics tools
According to Code.org, the majority of Americans want schools to teach computer science, but only 35 percent of high schools teach ... Read more
How we reduced mobility and improved outcomes in low-performing schools
Rapides Parish School Board in Louisiana serves more than 24,000 students. The district has 47 buildings and 70 percent of its students are economically disadvantaged.
The 7 coolest edtech products I saw at FETC
I saw many interesting products at FETC last week, but here are the ones that resonated most strongly.
What are your edtech resolutions?
We asked teachers and administrators to share their new year’s goals; here’s what they hope to accomplish in 2019.
96 edtech predictions for K12 in 2019
We asked 49 edtech executives to look into their crystal balls and share their thoughts about what will happen in 2019. In addition to the usual suspects—more augmented…
Looking for ways to become a stronger educator?
The Better Leaders Better Schools podcast is for school and district administrators, emerging leaders, and educational influencers. In each episode, Daniel Bauer, a self-described “connector,” interviews school principals and industry leaders…
Why we love our SEL tools
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an increasingly important part of the curriculum in many schools—and for good reason. SEL helps students develop key skills they’ll use to…
Lockhart Ed Tech
David Lockhart started teaching high school history in 2004. He had to find that thing that made his lessons stand out, and he saw it with technology. For…
Instant Relevance Podcast
The Instant Relevance Podcast has a lofty goal: to make learning relevant for all students. It’s co-hosted by Denis Sheeran, a speaker who delivers keynotes, workshops, and small-group professional development courses…
Why we love our reading software
It’s no secret that strong reading skills are part of the foundation of students’ academic success. Without a solid reading foundation, students are more likely to perform poorly…
The K12 Engineering Education Podcast
The K12 Engineering Education podcast is for all the people who want to find better ways to teach and inspire kids in invention, problem-solving, persistence, teamwork, and imagination. Produced by…
OnEducation Podcast
OnEducation is a source of entertaining and timely conversations about “teachers, teaching, and everything in between” as well as trusted, expert-level opinions on the best software and technology…
School Psyched Podcast!
Have you listened to the School Psyched Podcast? The tagline—because none of us is as skilled as all of us—pretty much says it all. Recorded on the first and…
So you think you understand UDL?
I have to confess: I thought I had a pretty good handle on universal design for learning (UDL); however, after chatting with Katie Novak, Ed.D., I realized I…
8 easy ways to improve your public relations efforts
Families and community members want to know what’s happening in your district, and they want to know right now. There’s a huge need to educate the public about…
5 different ways IT directors handle student data privacy
As districts continue to go 1:1 and encourage teachers to integrate digital tools into their lessons, IT directors need to pay close attention to the way edtech companies…
What’s the one tech tool you can’t give up?
With so many tech tools out there, it’s hard to pick just one, but we convinced a bunch of educators to share their must-haves. Hopefully, their words of…
What’s in your makerspace?
For the last 20 years, Laura Fleming has been a classroom teacher and media specialist. She’s also an adjunct professor, the founder of Worlds of Making, LLC, and…
Laying down the law on bullying and cyberbullying
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, so it’s a great time to promote anti-bullying activities. Although it’s well known that bullying is a widespread problem that can have…
4 great ways to address home-school communications
The need for a strong partnership between schools and families is extremely important, but it can be challenging to figure out the best way to handle home-school communication.…
How to deliver PL that really works
I recently chatted with Kathy Dyer, NWEA’s manager of innovation and learning, professional learning design, about how to connect professional learning (PL) to student outcomes and how to…
Top 5 TED-Ed Lessons on creativity
“Do schools kill creativity?” asks Sir Ken Robinson in the most-viewed TED Talk of all time (more than 51 million!). In the video, Robinson challenges schools to promote…
5 TED-Ed Lessons to help you teach critical-thinking skills
We all know that critical thinking is a very important skill, but how do you teach students to go beyond the obvious response and use reason? In a…
How students are using social media to change the world
Social media has gotten a bad rap. I’ve read lots of articles calling it addictive, mind numbing, and a waste of time. And that’s before we even get…
Bringing the 5 Cs into your classroom
The learning spectrum is broad: On one end, there’s the student who loves a challenge; at the other exists one who consistently doubts his or her ability to…
How to help your students build digital fluency
One of the many decisions we make as teachers is how to approach technology in a balanced way. The digital world is our students' world, and tech has…
Strategies for supporting ELL students in math
For many of the 4.5 million English language learners (ELLs) in elementary and middle school classrooms, learning and understanding the language of mathematics can be a challenge. Supporting…
What’s happening at SXSW EDU
I’m at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas, for the first time in many years. People are running around, trying to take in as much as they can. This show,…
How next-generation learning supports every student
Teachers applying for jobs in Colorado Springs District 11 are in for a bit of a shock. There will be standard parts of their interview, of course, such…
How much do you know about web filtering?
eSchool News sat down with Brian Thomas, president & chief executive officer of Lightspeed Systems, which builds software that helps schools keep their devices safe and is used by more than…
Cutting-edge research to support students with reading disabilities
Current approaches to identifying students with reading disabilities are often problematic and ineffective, and will not lead students to academic success. However, there have been significant improvements in…