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.

New Nationwide Data Shows Significant Increase in Alerts on Self-Harm, Harm to Others and the Presence of Weapons on K–12 Campuses

RICHFIELD, OHIO (PRWEB) — Navigate360, the nation’s leader in K–12 student wellness and physical safety solutions, announces significant increases in alerts on self-harm, harm to others and the presence of weapons on K–12 campuses. Across more than 33 million online school and social media alerts, Navigate360’s all-new data show alerts related to self-harm are up 51 percent year-over-year, compared to the 25 percent increase year-over-year in alerts related to weapons and harm to others. Additionally, more than 4,000 anonymous tips per week are coming into school tip lines, with the most common tips related to self-harm and weapons.

These statistics reinforce the larger, underlying issues behind recent national headlines related to bullying, self-harm and violent critical incidents on school campuses. Just last week, there were reports of coordinated swatting and hoax efforts in Vermont and Michigan, as well as a tragic bullying-related suicide in New Jersey.

“Every day brings another use case of what we’re trying to prevent and change,” said JP Guilbault, Chief Executive Officer at Navigate360. “How can we use the data we have to further the collective understanding of what is happening nationwide—where are we seeing concerning behaviors, where are we seeing spikes? Then, how can we use that data to prevent these occurrences—to identify supports and interventions that need to take place?”…Read More

Education must keep pace with evolving ransomware

Despite the alarming rise of ransomware incidents in 2022, many education institutions still fail to address gaps in their protection protocols. A Sophos survey found that 64 percent of higher education and 56 percent of lower education institutions were hit by ransomware over the past year.

These statistics should raise some red flags as the education sector continues to lag behind in cyber defense practices, making them one of the most vulnerable industries. If an educational institution is attacked, administrators often don’t have the resources to respond, due in no small part to staffing shortages.

Administrators and IT leaders across the education sector need to leverage modern innovations like AI and machine learning (ML) to ensure data protection for faculty, staff, students and the institution as a whole. Let’s take a closer look at why education is so vulnerable and how school administrators can implement preventative and restorative measures to curb long-term effects.…Read More

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Finding the learning loss data needed to drive learning recovery

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Report Card on learning loss was a sobering but not unexpected reckoning for how deeply and broadly the pandemic impacted student learning and achievement. 

NAEP state-level findings of drops in math and reading scores were followed by the release of the Education Recovery Scorecard, which leveraged NAEP data to offer the first comparable view of district level learning loss during the pandemic. This one-two punch confirms that COVID-19 learning loss was extensive and, in some cases, worse than expected. Recommendations on how to move forward are not in short supply, and for many, data lies at the heart of transitioning from learning loss to learning recovery. 

Funding, policy, and learning decisions without data is a recipe for disaster – particularly given estimates that it will take hundreds of billions of dollars to offset the impact of learning loss. But we also need the right data and the right approach to interpreting this data, to initiate a successful learning recovery process.  …Read More

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Simplified K-12 cybersecurity streamlines student data access

Remember when moving from one end of a state to another often meant changing phone numbers because the new residence would be in a different area code? And, after cell phones were born, remember when relocating across the country meant ditching a cell phone company, along with the number, because the new area of the country didn’t include the same coverage?

Chances are, if you are as old as I am, these scenarios do sound familiar. For most cell phone users, however, changing cell numbers just because you relocate is a foreign concept. A cell phone number becomes part of who we are, part of our contact identity, and, if we don’t want to, we never have to change cell numbers again. 

Now, let’s apply this scenario to today’s school environment and student data. Huh? I know you’re thinking this analogy might be a stretch, but stay with me, and I promise this will all make sense.…Read More

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PowerSchool Launches New Tools and Resources to Help Educators Personalize Learning, Support Student Needs, and Increase Operational Excellence

FOLSOM, Calif. — PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced updates to its  PowerSchool Unified Classroom® and  PowerSchool Unified Insights™ solutions. These updates include new data-driven personalized learning products, LearningNav and ContentNav, and a new resource library within  Unified Insights MTSS, which will provide educators with vetted, research-backed strategies and tools. PowerSchool also announced time-saving software Clouds built to provide educators with a more connected approach to planning, engaging, and monitoring students’ unique needs. 

As we emerge from the past two and half years, the impact of the dramatic learning disruptions experienced by students nationwide is evident. In fact, the results from the latest “National Report Card,” distributed by the  National Assessment of Educational Progress, shows declines in math and reading scores for the U.S.’ fourth and eighth graders with math scores having the largest declines since NAEP testing began in 1990. Each student is at a different place in their learning journey, making it clear that educators need tools and resources that will help personalize learning, address individual student needs, and streamline their operations. 

LearningNav: Building Personalized Pathways …Read More

National Report Reveals Rapid and Discreet Wearable Panic Buttons Directly Impact Staff Well-Being and Job Satisfaction, and Students’ Perceptions of Safety

ATLANTA/PRNewswire/ —  CENTEGIX, the leader in incident response solutions, today released its biannual report highlighting the impact of safety tools in K12 schools across the country and the benefits of wearable panic button solutions. The ” School Safety Trend s Report: Fall 2022” analyzed over 50,000 incidents gathered from CENTEGIX’s CrisisAlert™ usage data for the Fall 2022 semester, along with survey data from 1,200 educators and staff who have used the CrisisAlert platform to call for help.

According to the survey results, access to a safety solution that offers campus-wide coverage with precise location indication was highly effective in protecting staff and students. This correlates with the CrisisAlert usage data that showed 47% of incidents reported in the fall of 2022 occurred outside the classroom. Full-campus coverage is necessary to ensure all students, staff, and visitors are safe whether in the classroom, in the parking lot, or on the athletic fields.

Respondents also shared that districts that provide discreet and easy-to-use safety and security solutions for teachers and staff see a direct impact on their well-being and job satisfaction, as well as students’ perceptions of safety. Survey results revealed that 97% of respondents believe that having a wearable incident response solution helped them feel safe and supported as a staff member.…Read More

5 ways our district streamlines edtech ecosystems

Student data privacy has been at the forefront of district leaders’ minds well before the pandemic. However, since COVID-19 shifted schools and classrooms online, it’s not surprising that tech usage has reached an all-time high. Districts are accessing 1,400 edtech tools per month on average, and cybersecurity attacks in our nation’s schools are also increasing.

As an Education Technology Specialist at one of Colorado’s fastest-growing districts, District 49, I was tasked 5 years ago with the responsibility to ensure our district complied with federal and student data privacy laws. Both state and federal laws require vendors and school districts to facilitate safe online learning experiences. However, when the pandemic hit, our district was forced to rethink our approach beyond compliance to further vet our edtech tools and make protecting student data privacy a regular practice of our edtech ecosystem.

For the process to work, I knew we would have to work collaboratively, across departments and buildings, to confirm that our teachers and students were using digital tools that delivered value without exposing student data to risk.…Read More

Is blockchain the key to college success?

A student’s credentials and accomplishments, stored on and secured by blockchain technology, can set students up for college acceptance and college success, said Joshua Samuel, the CEO of Coins for College.

During a session at FETC 2023, Samuel explored how blockchain can be used in real world to solve problems like knowledge gaps, student motivation, attendance, teacher compensation.

Blockchain technology holds the promise to change much of what’s plaguing education today, he asserted. Blockchain relies on methods of cryptography, which secures data from unauthorized access and keeps students’ information safe.…Read More