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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.

SplashLearn Announces SpringBoard Math Challenge 2022 Winners

San Francisco, CA, 22 June 2022: SplashLearn, the game-based learning program used by millions of students, announced the winners of its massively popular annual competition – the SpringBoard Math Challenge. The 8th edition of the SpringBoard Math Challenge 2022 was rolled out for elementary classrooms across North America on March 1, 2022 (the competition ended on May 8, 2022). Over the duration of this 10-week math challenge, SpringBoard saw participation from over 400,000 students from 20,000+ classes!

Arpit Jain, CEO, SplashLearn, said “SpringBoard is over and I’m thrilled for all the winners. SplashLearn would like to congratulate each and every school, teacher, and student who participated in the competition. We are glad to be part of their journey as they collaborate and celebrate learning. The competition has motivated students to stay engaged and excited, which has always been our goal with everything we build at SplashLearn.”

SplashLearn announced Matthew Norris’ class from Sunset Park Elementary, North Carolina as the National Champions of SpringBoard Math Challenge 2022, US. The 1st runner-up was Lisa Machado’s class from Pacific Union School, California and the 2nd runner-up was Erin Noel’s class from Petersburg Elementary School, Illinois. Along with national winners, the top classes on the state leaderboards also won prizes. All the participating students will also receive a ‘Certificate of Participation’.…Read More

Two Discovery Education Services Win 2022 SIIA CODiE Awards

Silver Spring, MD (Thursday, June 16, 2022) – The Discovery Education K-12 learning platform won the Best Education Platform award for PK-20 and the Mystery Science service earned the Best Science Instructional Solution award for Grades PK – 8 as part of the recent 2022 SIIA CODiE Awards. The prestigious CODiE Awards recognize the companies producing the most innovative education technology products across the country and around the world. 

“Discovery Education is proud of SIIA’s recognition of its K-12 platform and Mystery Science service and we thank the CODiE Award judges’ for their commitment to carefully reviewing all the entries in this year’s competition,” said Scott Kinney, Discovery Education’s CEO. “Discovery Education is dedicated to preparing learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world, and we are proud of the role our services play in supporting that mission. This recognition will inspire the Discovery Education team to continue to create innovative services that support the creation of the dynamic digital learning environments today’s educators and students demand and deserve.” 

The Discovery Education K-12 learning platform, which earned the Best Education Platform award for PK-20, connects educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, intuitive quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources. Providing educators an enhanced learning platform, the Discovery Education platform facilitates engaging, daily instruction in any learning environment. The flexible K-12 learning platform is designed to work within the school systems’ existing infrastructure and workflows and provides safe, secure, simple access methods for educators and students. Through expanded, lasting partnerships with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Brightspace, and Clever, integrating Discovery Education’s K-12 learning platform into existing IT architecture is easier than ever.   …Read More

What’s so great about online teaching?

Had I been asked what I thought about online teaching two years ago, I would probably have given you quite an earful of the many known shortcomings of virtual teaching modalities, including the challenges to student engagement and community building. Ask me now and my answer could not be more different. Amid the latest push for a return to in-person teaching, many instructors have been adamant about the advantages of digital classrooms and look forward to continuing teaching online in a post-pandemic world. I am one of them.

I teach sociology at CUNY, the largest urban university in the U.S., which serves a very diverse student body of mostly first-generation college students. By the time the COVID-19 outbreak officially struck in mid-March 2020, I, along with millions of instructors around the globe, had to figure out how to move my in-person classes to virtual platforms. Many of us were caught off guard during the initial phase of “emergency remote teaching” and had no choice but to invest, learn, and experiment with technology by trial and error.

With incentives from the administration, we hurried to get online certifications and took summer workshops widely offered by our teaching centers and IT departments. When we succeeded, it was often not by replacing the in-person teaching with virtual scenarios, but by combining the best of both worlds: the interpersonal dynamics of face-to-face interactions with key high-tech tools that enhanced our online classrooms. If it is true that practice makes perfect, the more we conducted our business remotely the more we tightened up our craft. In this piece, I will tell you how this happened.…Read More

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5 STEM-based TED-Ed Lessons to close out your school year

School days might seem as if they move at a glacial pace in the countdown to summer break. Some schools have already closed, while others have a couple more weeks left. Teachers who still have classrooms full of students can use TED-Ed Lessons to liven up these last days and highlight students’ different personal interests.

The TED-Ed platform is especially cool because educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video.

Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources.…Read More

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Iowa’s Southwest Valley Community School District Broadens Partnership with Discovery Education Supporting Science Instruction in Elementary School Classrooms

SILVER SPRING, MD (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)—Iowa’s Southwest Valley Community School District (SVCSD) today announced it is broadening its partnership with Discovery Education to support science education in elementary school classrooms districtwide. In the newest stage of this multi-year partnership, elementary school teachers across SVCSD will receive access to a new suite of dynamic digital services, hands-on resources, and professional learning opportunities supporting the creation of engaging science lessons. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Located in Iowa’s rural Adams and Montgomery Counties, SVCSD consists of an early learning center, two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Dedicated to creating enthusiastic learning environments promoting responsible and empathetic contributors to society, SVCSD’s teachers and administrators sought a unique combination of print and digital resources that would support the district’s goals and power science instruction in their Corning Elementary and Sylvia Enarson Elementary Schools. Following a careful review of available resources, the district selected the following services from Discovery Education: 

The Discovery Education platform.
Connecting educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, intuitive quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources, Discovery Education provides educators an enhanced learning platform which facilitates engaging, daily instruction in any learning environment.    …Read More

How to talk to your students about trauma and school violence

It is an unacceptable reality that educators, parents, and caregivers must talk to children about gun violence in schools, repeatedly, in the wake of school shootings.

At the same time as stakeholders once again demand that lawmakers take action and protect the nation’s children while they are in classrooms–classrooms that are supposed to be safe–educators and caregivers are left with the heavy burden of addressing students’ anxieties and responses to trauma.

Conversations around school violence may feel uncomfortable, but many experts say open and clear communication can help students process what happened and feel safe in their classrooms, homes, and communities.…Read More

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Good News Network and Rise Vision Partner to Help Schools Foster Positive Learning Environments

(May 26, 2022) –– Wichita, KS –  With childhood depression and anxiety rising during the pandemic and disturbing news stories only adding to the mental health burden in our schools, it is the perfect time to be delivering some positive news headlines into hallways and classrooms across the U.S. That’s exactly what the Good News Network® is now providing in a new partnership with digital signage company Rise Vision.

Launching this month in over 120 schools, Rise Vision and Good News Network (GNN) are spreading positivity with uplifting news content on video screens for grades K-12. Now, students and teachers can stop and read about kindness and scientific breakthroughs on new templates created by Rise Vision.

Founded in 1997, millions of people have turned to GNN as an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media. Because of its long history, staying power, and public trust, GNN is #1 on Google for good news. “Especially this year on our 25th anniversary, GNN is thrilled to be inspiring teachers and school students with optimism and hope during these challenging times,” said GNN founder and CEO Geri Weis-Corbley.…Read More

How to make the most of your COVID relief funds

School district leaders across the country are cautiously optimistic about post-pandemic teaching and learning–and they’re also tracking what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to upgrade their technology infrastructure and classrooms with next-gen solutions like interactive displays, laptops, and more.

In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed three COVID relief packages that added up to over $190 billion for public and private schools. Billions more are slated to arrive shortly.

The potential for this funding is great. How to effectively secure and implement it can be daunting. Join eSchool News and a panel of the country’s most insightful analysts as they discuss the state-of-play of federal and state edtech funding programs and what districts can do to take advantage.…Read More

Inspiring STEM Creativity and the DIY Spirit with a New Virtual Field Trip from The Home Depot and Discovery Education

Silver Spring, MD (Friday, May 20, 2022) — To empower students to embrace STEAM and tackle DIY projects, Science Fair Central presents the Operation Build It Virtual Field Trip, which premiered on May 17th at 1 PM EST and is now available on-demand. Science Fair Central is an educational initiative from The Home Depot and Discovery Education that is helping STEAM-powered classrooms and homes across the country prepare students for the careers of tomorrow. With 10 million students from grades K-12 participating in science fairs and STEAM events every year, Science Fair Central provides students the tools they need to take their projects to the next level. 

The Operation Build It Virtual Field Trip introduces students to innovative DIYers who demonstrate how to set-up workshops anywhere and tackle real-life challenges that they are passionate about. The Home Depot is celebrating 25 years of the Kids Workshops, and the new Operation Build It Virtual Field Trip further supports these efforts. Suited for students in grades 6-12, this Virtual Field Trip provides educators with ready-to-use classroom activities and a valuable educator guide that makes this plug and play virtual experience suitable for almost any lesson plan. Watch the VFT here or on Discovery Education’s K-12 learning platform. 

“At The Home Depot, we’re here to help people make, create, and explore every day. Science Fair Central, in partnership with Discovery Education, empowers students to connect with and grow their curiosity and creativity. This new virtual field trip is another way for students to explore the world around them,” said Lisa DeStefano, Vice President of Brand Marketing & Creative at The Home Depot.  …Read More

Here’s how IT leaders can keep district networks safe

IT teams understand how important cybersecurity measures are, but many struggle to pinpoint where to begin when their resources are limited.

And when COVID closed in-person classrooms, it also gave a boost to cybercriminals looking to infiltrate school district networks. Data security breaches–including ransomware attacks, phishing, and unauthorized disclosures–show no sign of slowing, and K-12 IT leaders need to be ready.

Threats to K-12 education networks will never be eliminated, but there are strategies to successfully defend sensitive school district information. Want to learn more? Join a conversation with fellow edtech leaders and experts as they share best practices on both the technical aspects–software and services–and the human aspects–professional development and community education–of keeping your networks safe and sound.…Read More