West Virginia Department of Education selects Istation’s ISIP™ Assessment for Reading, Math, and Dyslexia Screening

Dallas, TX (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Istation, a leader in educational technology, announced today that the West Virginia Department of Education has selected Istation as a K-3 formative assessment for literacy, numeracy, and indicators of dyslexia selection criteria. This approval will empower schools and districts across West Virginia to implement Istation’s Indicators of Progress (ISIP) assessment to measure readiness in critical skills, identify learning barriers, and improve instructional approaches. 

“This news means classrooms across West Virginia will receive screening tools to help educators implement an evidence-based approach to learning.” said Vice President of Research and Assessments, Victoria Locke, Ph.D., “During the 2023-2024 school year, K-3 student achievement benchmarks will directly benefit from having Istation available.”

With the goal of improving student grade-level proficiency for early learners in reading and mathematics, the Third Grade Success Act requires every school to establish a process for ensuring the developmental and academic progress of all students with evidence-based tools. 

Istation’s reading and math assessment provides an evidence-based method for evaluating literacy skills, core math competencies, and dyslexia risk factors by offering benchmark assessment resources that facilitate universal screening more than three times a year.…Read More

Students and Teachers in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools Set to Return to Classrooms this Fall with Engaging New Tools from Worldwide Edtech Leader 

Charlotte, NC — Students and teachers in grades K-8 across Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) will return to their classrooms this Fall to find new resources in their high-tech pencil cases thanks to a deepened collaboration with worldwide edtech leader Discovery Education. In the latest phase of this more than 20-year partnership, Discovery Education will provide district elementary and middle school students exciting new digital science textbooks that will help them explore their curiosity about the natural world. In addition, Discovery Education will provide teachers with stimulating professional learning experiences that will help create engaging lessons that prepare students for success beyond the classroom. 

PGCPS is one of the nation’s 20th largest school districts and has 198 schools and centers, more than 131,000 students, and nearly 20,000 employees. The school system serves a diverse student population from urban, suburban, and rural communities located in the Washington, DC suburbs. PGCPS is nationally recognized for college and career-readiness programs that provide all learners with unique learning opportunities, including dual enrollment and language immersion. 

PGCPS seeks to provide all PreK-12 students equitable access to exemplary teachers, science curriculum programming, instructional practices, and standards-based assessments that are reflective of research and best practices. To support this effort, the district’s science curriculum team sought a digital K-8 science resource aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and supportive of improved student achievement and heightened career and college readiness. Following a thorough review of available digital resources, PGCPS selected the  Discovery Education Science Techbooks for use in elementary and middle school classrooms. …Read More

Half of teachers expect AI to make their jobs more challenging

Key points:

A majority of teachers and administrators in a recent survey believe artificial intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on teaching and learning–but that impact may not be all positive, as roughly half of surveyed teachers believe AI will make their jobs more challenging.

As artificial intelligence (AI) quickly becomes a focal point in U.S. schools, the new survey of educators and administrators conducted by Clever, a digital learning platform, underscores the need for greater preparation for educators and administrators on the use of the emerging technology in classrooms.…Read More

Michigan EdTech Pitch Contest awards $22,000 to five education innovators

LANSING, Mich. — Edtech innovators from Spelling Safari have been chosen as the winners of the second annual Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest, sharing $22,000 in business startup grants and legal and creative startup assistance with four other finalists. The concepts developed from the final pitches will be used to improve Michigan classrooms through innovation, technology and firsthand educator experience. 

“All of our groups did a great job and this wasn’t easy. Five minutes isn’t a long time to present and this was a difficult choice for our judges,” explained Matthew Okoneski, a contest judge from Red Cedar Ventures. “Startups are hard and I want to commend our participants for their decision to focus in this space to solve some of our communities’ biggest problems.” 

The first-place prize went to Jonathan Marceau, a teacher at Monfort Elementary in the Utica Community School district, who will receive $10,000 in business startup grant funding, plus branding and logo design support, and legal consultation for Spelling Safari. Spelling Safari is a spelling curriculum reinvention and software solution providing elementary students with fun and adaptive learning. …Read More

ISTELive, Abbott Elementary, and a push for Black educator representation

Key points:

  • Black male teachers are desperately needed in U.S. schools
  • Getting more Black teachers–and Black male teachers–means suggesting education career paths early on and understanding students’ cultural experiences
  • See related article: 5 ways the homework gap is worse for students of color

Representation matters, and when students have educators who look like them, it does wonders for their learning experience. At ISTELive 23’s opening mainstage event, featured speakers sat down for a chat about the challenges around representation and getting more Black educators—particularly Black male educators—into classrooms.

Director of ISTE Certification Carmalita Seitz sat down with Joyce Abbott, the inspiration behind Abbott Elementary’s name and a recently retired educator; Tyler James Williams, 2023 Golden Globe winner for best supporting actor as teacher Gregory Eddie on Abbott Elementary; and Sharif El-Mekki, CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development to discuss just how much representation matters for students and teachers.…Read More

Elementary Schools Across Kentucky’s Johnson County School District Adding to Their High-Tech Toolbox 

Charlotte, NC —When elementary school teachers and students across Kentucky’s Johnson County School District (JCSD) return to their classrooms this Fall, they will find new resources in their high-tech toolkits thanks to an expanded partnership with Discovery Education. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Located in Eastern Kentucky, JCSD’s dedicated staff of professionals serve more than 3,200 PK-12 students in 11 locations across Johnson County. Driven by a bold mission to create the ultimate educational experience for every child, every day, JCSD’s educators partner with the community to create an innovative school system focused on learning without borders. 

As part of their ongoing effort to ensure all learners have access to engaging, standards-aligned, digital content capable of supporting academic achievement at home or at school across all subjects, JCSD’s administrators sought a classroom-tested solution with a record of success. Following a careful review of available solutions, the JCSD selected Discovery Education’s award-winning K-12 learning platform for use by the district’s K-6 teachers and students. …Read More

Bringing robots to early education classrooms in rural Nevada

Key points:

As part of our educational outreach to the community, PBS Reno createdCuriosity Classroom for preschool through 4th-graders. The program, which is free to schools and districts, uses on-air, online, and print resources to help parents, caregivers, and childhood educators prepare children for success.

As we were researching trends in STEAM education to update our program, we noticed that robots were at the forefront, but most of the opportunities only existed for middle and high school students. Here’s how we’re bringing robots to younger students in rural communities.…Read More

Guiding culturally responsive teaching in today’s classrooms

Key points:

Equity is a widely-used term in education today.

However, talking about equity is not the same as taking action to create more equitable learning environments that benefit today’s students. For equity to truly exist, educators need to be more culturally responsive in their teaching.…Read More

Are substitutes the answer to the teacher shortage?

Key points:

  • Substitute teachers are already critical to the school environment
  • Could funds be allocated to help substitutes find a long-term path to teaching?

California is investing $350 million in teacher residencies, recognizing the need for effective teachers, which too many of our classrooms are missing. But this big bet isn’t working. Why? Too many people can’t afford to take on the financial liability to train for the position.  

If we know the approach isn’t working, we need to look toward another solution: Substitute teachers.  …Read More

The state of STEM

The new normal for post-pandemic classrooms continues to be a mixed bag. There was a ton of learning loss and missed experiences, especially when it came to hands-on lab time. At the same time, there was a surge of teacher innovation, student agency, and new remote tools and processes to compensate. 

For the past 13 years, Ann Woo, Head of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung, has been paving the way for students at US public middle and high schools to embark on solving real-world problems with STEM-based solutions through Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow national STEM competition. This year’s contests concluded with three national winners who created inspiring STEM solutions tackling their community issues of pollinator collapse, veterans’ PTSD and heat stroke in sports. Their projects should be an inspiration for any STEM educator. Click through for the whole conversation. Below are some edited highlights:…Read More

 Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools’ New Partnership Powers the Creation of Dynamic Digital Learning Environments Supporting Science Education 

Charlotte, NC – Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools (GFW) today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education supporting the creation of engaging science lessons in K-12 classrooms districtwide. In this new multi-year collaboration, educators in every GFW school will integrate Discovery Education’s suite of innovative digital resources into instruction to create dynamic learning experiences that will awaken students’ natural curiosity about science and the natural world. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Nestled in the prairie of south-central Minnesota and serving students from the communities of Gibbon, Fairfax, Winthrop, and surrounding townships, GFW uses progressive technology applications to access educational resources from around the world. Parents cite small class sizes, school-aged childcare, early childhood programs, and co-curricular programs as the desirable features of the school district. With a mission to grow future world-class leaders, GFW aims to provide all learners an equitable and quality education that meets the individual needs of students with future-forward instruction. 

As part of its continuous effort to prepare students for success beyond graduation, GFW sought digital resources that would drive deeper engagement in science. These resources needed to be simple to use, accessible for all teachers and students, easily integrated into the district’s robust science program, and aligned to Minnesota state and NGSS standards.  …Read More