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.

5 ways for school leaders to promote equity, student agency

Students continue to struggle against persistent educational inequities, and while they report worrisome levels of disengagement, a move toward student-directed learning could help students and educators alike find a better path toward impactful learning experiences.

The report, Empowering and Engaging Student Voice to Create Equity in Education, comes from Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit supporting the implementation of research-based learning experiences, and Blackboard Inc., a global edtech software and solutions company. It leverages key insights from a survey of 50,000 K-12 students, parents, and educators during the 2020-21 school year.

“The disruptive events of the past 18 months with the pandemic and shifts in learning modalities have opened our collective eyes to several new truths including about the interrelationship between equity and student empowerment as documented in this new report,” said Dr. Julie A. Evans, chief researcher and CEO of Project Tomorrow. “With the research in front of us, we cannot look away now but must take this opportunity in time to re-think the ways we are approaching learning and especially how technology can be better used to support student engagement in learning.” …Read More

Blackboard reassures education customers after acquisition

Blackboard Inc. officials will stay in their current positions for now.
Educational software maker Blackboard Inc. is being taken private for $1.64 billion in cash by an investor group led by affiliates of Providence Equity Partners, and a Blackboard official said the much-discussed purchase would not affect the company’s education customers, as the company would continue its focus on mobile learning and analytics.

Under the terms of the deal announced July 1, shareholders of Blackboard will receive $45 for each share of Blackboard they own. The investor group has also agreed to take on $130 million in Blackboard’s debt.

Blackboard’s board of directors has unanimously approved the deal, but shareholder and regulators still must approve the terms.…Read More

Blackboard to include McGraw-Hill content

Blackboard Inc., a provider of software to schools and colleges, on July 14 said it will make content and learning technology from The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. available to its customers, BusinessWeek reports. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. Blackboard said it will combine McGraw-Hill’s assessment engines and adaptive learning tools with its own Blackboard Learn products. McGraw-Hill’s tools allow teachers to manage course content, create assignments, and track students’ performance. The publisher’s tools also can deliver content to students based on individual strengths and weaknesses. The combined system is expected to be ready for classroom use in early 2011, Blackboard said…

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Blackboard unveils system for disbursing student aid

Students will be able to use Blackboard Pay cards to withdraw from ATMs.
Students will be able to use Blackboard Pay cards to withdraw from ATMs.

Some college students will be able to use their allotted financial aid by swiping a debit card instead of waiting for paper checks to come to their dorm rooms or houses after Blackboard Inc. this week launched a student payroll system.

Officials from Blackboard, the largest provider of learning management systems (LMS) software in K-12 schools and colleges, said the Blackboard Pay program would not charge overdraft fees or other penalties common among banks and other companies that issue debit cards.…Read More