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.

Treering Announces New Philanthropic Partnership with Sandy Hook Promise

SAN MATEO, CA, — Treering is pleased to announce a new philanthropic partnership with national non-profit organization, Sandy Hook Promise. The yearbook company signed a three-year pledge, which will support Sandy Hook Promise’s ability to bring the life-saving, evidence-informed “Know the Signs” prevention programs into more K-12 classrooms nationwide at no cost to schools. Treering’s crowdsourcing features and custom pages foster inclusivity, and the San Mateo-based yearbook company is honored to help advance Sandy Hook Promise’s work to foster inclusion and empathy in the effort to make schools safer and more supportive for students. “We founded Treering in 2009 with the goal of creating a more inclusive yearbook. We’re proud to partner with an organization that not only shares this focus but is driving an entire culture change within the schools of our customers from all across the country,” said Kevin Zerber, co-founder and CEO of Treering Yearbooks. 

Founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy on December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Promise’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Sandy Hook Promise teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. 

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Treering, and believe that, together, we can empower students to better support and look out for one another to prevent violence, suicide, and self-harm. Collaborating with Treering will allow us to ensure cost is never a barrier to school safety,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. …Read More

3 ways to revamp lessons for the interactive learner

To connect with today’s interactive learner, look to these innovative strategies

Today’s students are a uniquely interactive group. Most of the 80 million Americans who are part of the millennial generation—a group that comprises the lion’s share of today’s student population—can’t remember a time when they didn’t have instant access to the internet.  Most of them grew up playing video games, and ever since they can remember, they’ve been in constant contact with friends via social media platforms and text messages. A growing number of today’s instructors also fall into this group.

Educators who want to reach students who favor interactive communication know that integrating digital tools into their lesson plans can be an effective strategy, and many have incorporated technology tools into the classroom in one way or another. But to make a real difference, educators have to integrate technology in a meaningful way. It’s not sufficient to just use social media platforms as an alternate communication venue or post schedules on a class Facebook page

So how can educators use technology in a more meaningful way? Here are three methods educators are successfully using to connect with a new generation of students in the classroom.…Read More

3 ways teachers can make learning more interactive

From gamification to crowdsourcing, improve learning with these interactive elements

interactive-classroomToday’s students are a uniquely interactive group. Most of the 80 million Americans who are part of the millennial generation—a group that comprises the lion’s share of today’s student population—can’t remember a time when they didn’t have instant access to the internet.  Most of them grew up playing video games, and ever since they can remember, they’ve been in constant contact with friends via social media platforms and text messages. A growing number of today’s instructors also fall into this group.

Educators who want to reach students who favor interactive communication know that integrating digital tools into their lesson plans can be an effective strategy, and many have incorporated technology tools into the classroom in one way or another. But to make a real difference, educators have to integrate technology in a meaningful way. It’s not sufficient to just use social media platforms as an alternate communication venue or post schedules on a class Facebook page.

So how can educators use technology in a more meaningful way? Here are three methods educators are successfully using to connect with a new generation of students in the classroom.…Read More

Competition offers $10K for 21st-century education ideas

_The Economist_ and InnoCentive hope to solicit an idea that will bring education to children in developing countries.
The Economist and InnoCentive hope to solicit ideas that will bring education to children in developing countries.

How can technology be leveraged to deliver a world-class education affordably to students in developing countries? That’s the question a new competition asks, and the best idea will earn $10,000 for its creator.

Many school-age children in developing countries need access to educational opportunities, and the publication The Economist and InnoCentive Inc. have turned to “crowdsourcing” for help.
…Read More

Crowdsourcing start-up aims to change the world

Set to launch in beta form on April 6, Armchair Revolutionary is a web-based social activism platform designed to harness large-scale crowdsourcing and the boom in social gaming in a bid to support a wide variety of science and technology ventures that could benefit the world at large, CNET reports. The site aims to bring people’s interest in helping support worthwhile causes and the iTunes-era simplicity of spending 99 cents on something intriguing together with innovators who need funding to get potentially world-changing projects off the ground. Built around a series of eight social activism tasks—gifting, VoIP phone calling, eMailing, uploading, downloading, voting, forms, and quizzes—Armchair Revolutionary is seen by its creators as a one-stop shop for today’s web savvy and altruistic communities to make a big difference, one small step (and a dollar) at a time…

Click here for the full story

…Read More