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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.

Education’s Great Resignation

Just outside of Des Moines, Iowa, an opening for a sixth-grade teaching job sits vacant… with zero applicants.

An hour northwest of Chicago, a shortage of bus drivers, special education teachers, counselors, and paraprofessionals is forcing teachers to reexamine their workload and look outside of the profession.

Public concerns around books, curricula, and learning platforms, combined with debate over masks and vaccines, have compelled college students who intended to major in education to choose a different career path.…Read More

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COVID crushed engagement–is student-centered learning the solution?

In a new survey of thousands of U.S. educators, teachers validate concerns over student engagement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but believe that technology and student-centered approaches to teaching can help to reinvigorate students in the fall.

Seven in 10 teachers believe that their students are more engaged when lessons involve play, and 68 percent of teachers said that their students are more likely to remember what they learn during learning activities they choose themselves. The survey of 8,000 was conducted by Kahoot!. 

“Even with most schools back to fully in-person learning, educators are reporting that their students continue to struggle. So much was out of students’ control for so long, and it’s no surprise that we’re seeing teachers pick up on the importance of student choice in their own learning,” said Louisa Rosenheck, Director of Pedagogy for the Kahoot! Group. …Read More

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5 digital tools to enhance your social studies instruction

Over the span of my 22-year career as South Carolina public school educator, I’ve taught in self-contained classrooms and I’ve been in departmentalized settings.  Although I love teaching all subjects, I always choose English/language arts and social studies, in part because I love the challenge of engaging young leaners in these important subjects.

As a fourth-grade English/language arts and social studies teacher in an elementary collaborative learning magnet program–which is also a NASA Explorer School–I get the challenge of unlocking the minds of 9- and 10-year-olds who are more at home in the STEM subjects than in exploring literature or our country’s history.

In my quest to engage my students in social studies, I’ve found that, after a few rounds of trial and error, the social studies textbooks belong on the shelf. Instead, I’ve turned to a host of exciting digital resources that would engage the students and connect their lessons to the “real world”, enhance my delivery of instruction, and expand students’ knowledge of our country’s history.…Read More

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3 ways SEL helps students build life readiness

Social and emotional learning (SEL) may still be new to some educators, but the skills it teaches are the same we have been trying to help young people develop for decades. Adaptability, agency, collaboration, empathy, self-awareness, and purpose are skills and qualities employers seek in their employees, and—more than that—skills that support young people to thrive on whatever path they choose to follow. 

Of course, we can’t talk about skill-building without addressing the environment in which students are expected to learn. After nearly two years of isolation, fear, and instability, many students and educators alike are showing up to school feeling far from their best—and the fallout is palpable, with student mental health deteriorating, academic performance faltering, and teachers resigning in record numbers. 

Fortunately, we know that SEL supports students’ academic performance and overall well-being, and it doesn’t need to come at the expense of content instruction. SEL can be integrated into content classes, through intentional community building and purpose learning that makes schools more fun and supportive places for students to learn and teachers to teach. …Read More

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Creatorup Raises Additional Investment To Disrupt The Video Creation Sector

CreatorUp has raised an additional round of financing from Gaingels and JFF (Jobs for the Future) to expand its first-of-its-kind video marketplace – that helps organizations of all sizes create professional video content easily and affordably anywhere in the world – while simultaneously providing training and opportunities for its creative workforce. 

Funds will be used to expand operations of the CreatorUp marketplace, which features more than 650 proven video solutions, in a multitude of styles and formats, that give clients the ability to choose, purchase, and create bespoke media with just a click.

“Powering the production of CreatorUp’s content is a network of almost 7,000 creative professionals, who bring a wealth of diversity and creativity to our projects,” said Mike Tringe, CreatorUp’s Co-founder and CEO. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer these opportunities in this new creative landscape.”…Read More

3 financial literacy tips students can use now

While moving into adulthood, teens are faced with a number of paths. Empowering students to select which path works best for them and determine how to best financially plan for the future are key to ensuring that some of their first adult decisions set them on a trajectory toward success.

While research shows a positive connection between higher education and economic status, it’s important to recognize that the traditional route to higher education does not work for every student. However, it is critical that every student have access to information that will help them plan for whatever path they choose.

Opting for traditional higher education can prove challenging for many due to the rising costs. Since the 1970s, college costs in the U.S. have tripled. Today, private school costs an average of $30,000+ per year while public college costs $22,000+ per year, according to U.S. News & World Report.…Read More

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Edsby Introduces New Social Emotional Check-Ins for K–12 School Districts and Regions

ANDOVER, MASS (August 23, 2021) – Edsby®, a multi award-winning, next generation K–12 learning management system (LMS), today introduced a new system enabling teachers to understand their students’ emotional states in and out of the classroom by giving students a systematic way to share how they’re feeling. The new feature augments a series of capabilities in Edsby focused on student well-being.

Students choose from animated icons representing emotions, color-coded for their intensity level and how pleasant the emotion is, either once per day or even per class, based on educator preference. Emotion options are tailored to students’ grade levels, along with developmentally appropriate definitions. Age-appropriate regulation strategies curated by experts are also presented for each emotion.

Teachers see the emotions their students are experiencing, and can monitor patterns and trends over time, which can help draw attention to students who may need additional support. Teachers see which emotional regulation strategies have been presented to each student and receive their own professionally curated strategies based on what their students are feeling. They can engage students in conversations and are able to take actions consistent with the district or region’s existing protocols to ensure student well-being, ranging from the ability to loop in a school guidance counselor or other professionals as required.…Read More

3 financial literacy tips for students

While moving into adulthood, teens are faced with a number of paths. Empowering students to select which path works best for them and determine how to best financially plan for the future are key to ensuring that some of their first adult decisions set them on a trajectory toward success.

While research shows a positive connection between higher education and economic status, it’s important to recognize that the traditional route to higher education does not work for every student. However, it is critical that every student have access to information that will help them plan for whatever path they choose.

Opting for traditional higher education can prove challenging for many due to the rising costs. Since the 1970s, college costs in the U.S. have tripled. Today, private school costs an average of $30,000+ per year while public college costs $22,000+ per year, according to U.S. News & World Report.…Read More

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3 ways students can develop solid online research skills

Today’s students don’t know the world without the internet. They spend days and nights on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat but hardly know how to translate all this information into learning. Gen Z doesn’t necessarily think critically about what they find online.

As educators, we can teach the academic side of the internet to them.

Why is it so critical?…Read More

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CoderZ Named SIIA Education Technology 2021 CODiE Award Finalist for The Best Coding and Computational Thinking Solution

DERRY, N.H. – May 6, 2021 – Once again, CoderZ has earned prestigious industry recognition, this time as a finalist in the Best Coding and Computational Thinking category for the SIIA Education Technology 2021 CODiE Awards program.

CoderZ is a powerful, self-paced virtual learning platform that is designed to teach students valuable principles of coding, robotics, and computational skills through the engaging and challenging context of robotics. As a cloud-based robotics and computer science program, CoderZ delivers four engaging courses for schools and districts to choose from – each uniquely developed to ignite students’ passion for STEM concepts and provide authentic learning opportunities to increase interest and engagement.

“We are honored to be named a CODiE Award finalist this year,” said Ido Yerushalmi, CEO of CoderZ. “The Education Technology categories are judged by working educators and administrators against specific category criteria, so it is gratifying to be recognized by industry leaders for product excellence and innovation. With the CoderZ suite of products, educators can ignite students’ passion for STEM through robotics, coding, and computer science while fostering future-ready college and career skills.”…Read More