Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

10 key CoSN back-to-school resources for edtech leaders

Editor’s note: This story on 10 back-to-school resources for edtech leaders originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

digital equity dashboard

1) Digital Equity Dashboard 

CoSN’s Digital Equity Dashboard is an innovative and practical tool designed to help school districts and communities leverage data to close digital equity gaps. This powerful instrument integrates various national data sets into one comprehensive dashboard. By anonymizing the data and breaking it down into county, school district and zip code units, the Digital Equity Dashboard provides school and community leaders with valuable data to inform decision-makers and address equity concerns.…Read More

Edtech integration, student engagement are top goals for new school year

Key points:

  • Educators are looking forward to a new year and plan to focus on growth
  • Edtech tools have become critical for student engagement
  • See related article: 5 edtech tools to save time this year

Educators are optimistic about implementing new education technology tools, including AI and gamified learning, and are prioritizing student engagement as the new school year gets underway, according to a new survey from GoGuardian.

The survey of more than 1,100 educators from across North America highlights back-to-school excitement, challenges, student engagement, and technology usage.…Read More

It’s critical to promote mental health supports at the start of the school year

Key points:

As the new academic year approaches, it’s crucial to pay attention to an aspect of school life that often doesn’t feature prominently in back-to-school prep: mental health. For both educators and students, safeguarding mental health is important to promoting a positive, supportive, and successful educational environment.

Anxiety, stress, and uncertainty can permeate the school atmosphere at the beginning of the year. Teachers might face pressures from lesson planning, meeting new students, or adjusting to changes in curriculum. Students often grapple with academic pressures, extracurricular activities, social dynamics, and the transition from lazy days spent playing on devices to the more structured school day. These collective stressors necessitate an emphasis on mental health support.…Read More

5 edtech tools to save time this year

Key points:

Back-to-school and the first weeks of the new year are definitely busy for teachers as they are diligently preparing lesson plans and getting to know their students–all while building a sense of community in their classrooms. Teachers must meet the challenge of creating engaging instructional resources to support personalized learning, develop lessons to spark student curiosity, and facilitate opportunities for collaboration.

As an educator for more than 26 years, I understand the importance of leveraging technology to “work smarter, not harder” when planning and implementing lessons. As a digital learning specialist, I support instructional technology implementation in my district as well as provide training for teachers on edtech tools. …Read More

More students are seeking an AI-powered school year

Key points:

  • Two out of three students seek outside homework and studying help
  • When used thoughtfully and in conjunction with teacher expertise, AI can be a powerful tool to enhance learning outcomes for students
  • See related article: 5 ways AI can help teachers in the classroom

Students are gearing up for the 2023 school year, and new research from Brainly reveals the vital role of AI in education and its place as an integral element in middle and high school students’ academic life – even as educators debate and worry whether the revolutionary technology belongs in the classroom.

Brainly’s Back-to-School survey highlights a growing trend–66.5 percent of students in grades 6-12 actively seek external support for their homework and study needs. With 57 percent expressing concerns about excessive homework, it is evident that students are keen on finding additional resources to aid their academic progress. Forty-five percent of these students spend more than two hours daily on homework. …Read More

First AI-powered School Year Begins, Ushering in a New Era in Education

NEW YORK –  Students are gearing up for the 2023 school year, and new research from  Brainly reveals that AI is an integral element in middle and high school students’ academic life – even as educators debate and worry whether the revolutionary technology belongs in the classroom.

In its Back-to-School survey,  Brainly, the leading learning platform for all school subjects and grades, highlights a growing trend – a remarkable 66.5% of students in grades 6-12 actively seek external support for their homework and study needs. With 57% expressing concerns about excessive homework, it is evident that students are keen on finding additional resources to aid their academic progress. Forty-five percent of these students spend more than two hours daily on homework. 

Where are students going for help? To their AI tools. Brainly’s research shows that 67% of middle and high school students are using AI to help with their schoolwork.…Read More

StickTogether Kicks Off Back-to-School with Pixel Portrait Project

NEW YORK — To help educators and school media specialists promote community-building and creativity as students come back to school, StickTogether Products is launching its Back-to-School Pixel Portrait Project. This free activity allows students to create self-portraits using StickTogether’s free Pixel Art Platform and then display them in their classrooms, around their school, or at home.

“The Back-to-School Pixel Portrait Project provides a great, tech-enabled way for students of any age to showcase their individuality and uniqueness,” said Sylvia Stein, president of StickTogether Products. “Whether using it as a fun way for students to introduce themselves to their class or as a lead-in to a new lesson or unit, this activity will get students engaged and thinking creatively to kick off the school year. Plus, showcasing all the portraits together makes for a stunning display in any classroom or school hallway.”

To complete their portraits, students simply access the StickTogether Pixel Art Platform, create their portrait using their choice of 17 different colors on a 320-box grid, and then save their creation directly to their teacher’s or librarian’s dashboard. From there, the artwork can be printed or shared electronically. In addition to the artwork, a coded worksheet is also saved so students can ‘sticker’ their portraits. Educators can purchase Pixel Art Class Packs which include a color key and matching colored stickers.…Read More

55 back-to-school tips and insights for a great year

It’s back-to-school season across the country, and while this is met with mixed emotions, like it or not, classroom doors are open and welcoming students.

Here are some back-to-school tips, advice, and valuable insights from educators, stakeholders, and industry experts.

We need to prioritize discussions on how to effectively support multilingual students. Our country is home to a wide range of diverse and vibrant cultures, and it’s important that we acknowledge and value the languages these students already bring with them when they enter U.S. schools. Unfortunately, our education system often struggles to provide adequate support for these students if they don’t know English. However, I am hopeful that this year we will witness a renewed commitment towards providing resources, policies, and initiatives that cater to English Language Learners and promote multilingualism in schools. School and district leaders will be actively seeking innovative approaches, leveraging data, and collaborating with advocacy organizations and policymakers to bring about meaningful changes in how we educate English Language Learners.
–Dr. Maria Armstrong, Executive Director, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS)…Read More

4 back-to-school cybersecurity tips

Key points:

  • IT teams face a major challenge: protect school networks with limited budget and personnel
  • Experts say it’s no longer a matter of if a school gets attacked, but when
  • See related article: Are ransomware attacks the new snow days?

Due to budget and resource constraints, many schools and other academic organizations are only able to implement very basic cybersecurity tools and processes, and this leaves them extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks.

We’ve seen this play out over the past 12 months with high-profile attacks on school districts in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Tucson, Ariz., among many others. And, because cybercriminals can compromise school networks for big gains with very little effort, we expect attacks on education will only increase.…Read More

Big Deals—New and enhanced edtech tools from Quizlet, eSpark, and Turnitin

Global learning platform Quizlet today announced a series of new study tools designed to help students return to the classroom with renewed confidence this school year. These new product launches deliver more AI-powered resources to Quizlet’s 60 million monthly active users, combining cognitive science and artificial intelligence to help students study more effectively and efficiently.

Joining well-known and beloved study tools, including Flashcards and Learn and Test, this back-to-school Quizlet is introducing:

  • Magic Notes: With Magic Notes, students can upload their class notes to Quizlet and instantly and automatically turn them into flashcards, practice tests, and more. Whether notes are hand-written or digital, this AI-powered solution gets users ready to study in mere seconds, saving valuable time that was previously used manually building studying tools, and helping students extend their knowledge with outlines, sample essay topics and related course materials. 
  • Memory Score: Memory Score lets students track their personal memory scores based on their study habits and help them understand how likely they are to remember material at different intervals and when test day comes.
  • Quick Summary: Quick Summary pulls key concepts out of dense readings, providing summaries that help students digest material faster and at the right level to match their current understanding.
  • Brain Beats: With Brain Beats, students can automatically turn their flashcards into a song to enhance studying, using a tune to aid in memorization.
  • Q-Chat: Q-Chat launched in beta in March as the first personalized AI tutor built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and has since powered millions of conversations with students on Quizlet. Today, it is officially out of beta and Q-Chat will now be a part of the core Quizlet experience and with additional activities including Teach Me, Quiz Me, Apply my Knowledge, and Practice with Sentences. Q-Chat is built to help students achieve a deeper understanding of the topics they are studying through a virtual tutor-like experience.
  • AI Enhanced Expert Solutions: Millions of step-by-step explanations written by verified experts on Quizlet are now enhanced by advanced AI capabilities. On top of the trusted step-by-step guidance this feature is known for, students can now access alternate explanations to better understand tricky concepts, practice problems to test their knowledge, and use Q-Chat for personalized AI-powered tutoring all built within the experience.

All Quizlet users 16 years and older will be able to access these new features, with Quizlet Plus users gaining unlimited access. …Read More