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.

Carnegie Learning Awarded LEVI Grant to Double the Rate of Middle School Math Progress by 2027

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a pioneer in AI-driven education technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions for K-12, has been selected by the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute (LEVI) as one of seven teams committed toward accomplishing an ambitious goal: to DOUBLE the rate of middle school math progress for low income students by 2027.

The seven teams – Carnegie Learning, Carnegie Mellon University, Eedi, Rising Academies, the University of Colorado Boulder, Khan Academy, and the University of Florida – are committed to harnessing the potential of AI and machine learning to develop innovative, affordable interventions to enhance middle school math education. Carnegie Learning has particularly deep collaborations, as a partner with three of the seven teams –  Carnegie Mellon University on the LEVI Plus grant, and the University of Colorado Boulder/Saga, who are using Carnegie Learning’s award-winning MATHia as part of their intensive tutoring.

Carnegie Learning’s solution is MATHstream, which customizes avatars using generative AI to increase students’ motivation and engagement. It’s the only adaptive, interactive video streaming program for grades 6-12 where teachers who are high-profile math influencers deliver targeted instruction in an engaging, game-based environment.…Read More

IBM to open infrastructure lab at Carnegie Mellon

Computer giant IBM is teaming up with Carnegie Mellon University on a research lab to develop technologies to help governments better manage their infrastructure, BusinessWeek reports. The collaborative lab announced July 29 is part of the Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator and is expected to open in the fall at the Pittsburgh school’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. IBM Vice President Wayne Balta said university researchers and graduate students will work with IBM experts and “be at the cutting edge of the way people are going to run their infrastructures.” The goal is to develop technologies, including real-time digital sensors and advanced computer systems, that government officials can use to more efficiently maintain and manage infrastructure, like road and sewer systems, Balta said. A sewer system, for example, might be equipped with sensors and computers that can analyze patterns of sewage flow, so that the system could be maintained more intelligently to avoid costly repairs or renovations…

Click here for the full story

…Read More

$20 billion in ed funding slashed from student aid legislation

Funding for an online course program was cut out of the final student aid bill.
$500 million in proposed funding to create open online courses was cut out of the final student aid bill.

In last-minute maneuvering designed to get the measure to pass, lawmakers eliminated $20 billion in proposed education funding from the student aid overhaul enacted by Congress last week—dampening enthusiasm for legislation that K-12 and higher-education officials had lobbied for over the past year. Of that $20 billion, $12 billion was slated for community colleges to boost graduation rates, partly through the development of open online courses, and $8 billion was pegged for an early-childhood education program.

Community college officials cheered the American Graduation Initiative (AGI) when lawmakers introduced the program last fall, but last-minute compromises and worries over the cost of the student aid bill forced legislators to eliminate the $12 billion set aside for AGI, observers said. The program aimed to help community colleges produce 5 million more graduates over the next decade.…Read More

Carnegie Mellon to offer internet safety resources

Ninety percent of children surveyed said they use some form of online social networking.
Ninety percent of children surveyed said they use some form of online social networking.

Carnegie Mellon University will use a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to create and distribute internet safety advice to faculty, teachers, and students in K-12 schools and on college campuses.

The university’s internet safety lessons can be found on a new web site from its Information Networking Institute, called MySecureCyberspace, which also includes tools such as an encyclopedia of hundreds of web terms.…Read More