How education data helps optimize hybrid learning

Schools worldwide face difficult choices as they try to balance student and staff safety with their educational mission during the pandemic. All-remote learning eliminates the risk of an outbreak at the school, but at-home education doesn’t provide the most productive learning environment for everyone, and it can put at-risk students at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons.

Schools and districts are making decisions about their approach by taking into account factors like virus prevalence in their area and student and family needs. An August 2020 McKinsey report notes that in the U.S., about 75 percent of the 50 largest districts started this school year on an all-remote basis. Others returned to all in-person learning, and some had to shut down again due to outbreaks.

Some districts have adopted a hybrid model where online instruction alternates with in-person teaching in classrooms that have reduced class sizes and social distance protocols in place. Hybrid education can help schools address the needs of vulnerable learners, including younger children who are difficult to engage online, as well as low-income and special education students, along with English-language learners.…Read More

Curriculum Associates Launches Magnetic Reading to Help Students Build Confidence While Mastering Critical Reading Skills

New supplemental reading program for Grades 3–5 engages students with grade-level content using culturally relevant texts

To help students build confidence while mastering critical reading skills, Curriculum Associates has launched the supplemental Magnetic Reading program for Grades 3–5. By providing actionable data and insights, knowledge-rich learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and scaffolds to support learner variability, the blended research-based program helps teachers facilitate lively classroom discourse and engage all students with grade-level content using culturally relevant texts.

“Providing a combination of both print and digital resources to support students’ acquisition of reading skills and comprehension is a top priority for us—we understand this is what teachers want and what they need to help their students succeed,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “Magnetic Reading, from its built-in scaffolds to diverse and authentic content, helps teachers truly engage students in the learning process as they practice the skills necessary to become confident and validated readers.”…Read More

Accelerate Learning Names Philip Galati as New President and CEO

Accelerate Learning, developer of the award-winning STEMscopes line of PreK-12 STEM curriculum, today announced the appointment of Philip Galati as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Dr. Vernon Johnson who is retiring from the position ­but will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Galati joins Accelerate Learning with a deep background in software and technology, most recently serving as CEO of Energy Services Group (ESG), a provider of back-office, billing and data management SaaS solutions for the energy industry. Under his leadership, ESG grew into an international technology leader serving millions of consumers in North America, Europe and Japan. Prior to that, Galati spent two years as CEO of Trillium Software, and earlier in his career he held numerous leadership positions in software, technology and professional services companies, including Sterling Commerce, Dell, IBM and Ernst & Young.

In his new position Galati will oversee Accelerate Learning’s continued expansion of digital product solutions for PreK-12 students, professional learning opportunities for educators, and the growth of the company’s recently launched STEMscopes Math product line.…Read More

Riverside Insights Launches New CogAT® Interactive Dashboard to Champion Educational Equity

Riverside Insights®, a leading developer of research-based assessments, has launched a new dashboard reporting tool designed to make it easier for educators to take advantage of the insights provided by the market-leading Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®) to promote educational equity. Championing an equitable education strategy demands balancing the needs and abilities of diverse students across varying local contexts. Navigating this complex spectrum requires the right data and tools to help educators develop a nuanced perspective of student potential.

The new CogAT dashboard provides educators with a tool specifically designed to support equitable program placement and instructional strategies that encourage student growth. The reporting format eliminates many manual steps in data analysis, empowering educators to quickly visualize the full set of ability insights from the school district, to the classroom, to the individual student. 

“With the new CogAT dashboard, educators can drill down into insights about each student without manual data analysis, thereby maximizing equitable identification for specific programs and services while minimizing the time and resources to assess each student’s cognitive abilities,” said Dr. Joni M. Lakin, Associate Professor at the University of Alabama and co-author of CogAT Form 8. “This new dashboard will speed decision making and give educators the insights they need to provide an equitable education for all students – especially in under-represented populations like those in lower socio-economic environments, students of color, and English language learners.”…Read More

Think Together’s Helen Welderufael is Named a 2021 “Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders”

Think Together, a Santa Ana-based and California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, is proud to announce the National AfterSchool Association (NAA), has named Think Together Regional Operations Analyst Helen Welderufael, as one of NAA’s 2021 Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders.

Welderufael joined Think Together in 2018 as the Regional Operations Analyst for the San Bernardino Region. In her role, she oversees the compliance, evaluation, data collection and training for one of Think Together’s largest regions which includes 91 schools across seven school districts.

“We’re so proud of Helen and all she has already accomplished during her very promising tenure at Think Together,” said Randy Barth, Think Together founder and CEO. “Her strong organizational skills, reliability and drive have earned her the respect of her peers and leaders alike and we’re thrilled to have her represent our organization among our industry’s top leaders.”…Read More

4 things data tells us about student-centered learning

A new report from the Clayton Christensen Institute offers unique insights and recommendations for education as schools strive to move toward student-centered learning practices.

In the report, author Thomas Arnett highlights findings from survey data and discussed trends in instructional practices that could help redirect education and reshape its future.

Taking conventional classrooms online…Read More

How AR can help students with special needs

According to the World Health Organization, around 15 percent of the world’s population lives with some form of disability or special educational needs—and of that 15 percent, 2 to 4 percent experience significant difficulties in functioning.

However, the global disability prevalence is thought to be higher than previous WHO estimates, which date from the 1970s. Instead, data from last year suggests a figure of around 10 percent is more accurate, with 190 million (3.8 percent) who are 15 or older and have significant difficulties in functioning.

Given these facts, it seems like a paradox, then, that students with special needs relating to conditions such as autism (ASD), ADHD, dyslexia, Down’s Syndrome, and hearing difficulties can often feel left behind in a classroom environment in comparison to their peers.…Read More

Promethean Announces iKeepSafe Student Data Privacy Certification in the U.S. for ClassFlow Software

 Promethean®, a leading global education technology company, today at TCEA 2021 announced its ClassFlow platform had received iKeepSafe certification renewal. The certifications for FERPA, COPPA, and California (Student Privacy – CSPC) mean that ClassFlow has been assessed by iKeepSafe and meets iKeepSafe’s rigorous standards. iKeepSafe assesses and certifies for compliance with U.S. federal and state privacy laws, helping to eliminate privacy concerns during remote, hybrid, or in-person teaching.

Promethean’s ClassFlow enhances remote learning as a cloud-based lesson delivery service with advanced collaboration tools for student engagement. ClassFlow keeps remote, hybrid, and in-person students interested in interactive lessons, activities, quizzes, and thousands of immersive resources, lessons, and activities from educators worldwide. It also helps teachers deliver dynamic lessons to students’ devices and brings interactive classroom displays to life for effective hybrid learning. As ClassFlow is cloud-based, it can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

iKeepSafe privacy certifications ensure that edtech products are compliant and demonstrate responsible privacy, safety, and security practices. ClassFlow received the following certifications:…Read More

Technology Firm ‘Crocus’ Launches to Grow Social Impact in Education

Crocus, a technology firm guiding social impact in education, today announced its formation as a result of UPD Consulting spinning off its Tech Group. Crocus works with state departments of education, K-12 school districts, colleges, universities, and educator preparation programs, as well as nonprofit organizations, to build resilience and capacity for change in how they use data to improve equitable outcomes.

As a Latina-owned technology firm, they prioritize making employment and subcontracting opportunities available to women and minorities. They remain committed to equity and social justice as leaders in the Ed-Fi, IMS Global and CEDS data standards communities and across the education interoperability movement.

“We’re the same group of professionals continuing work with our existing clients. We are centered on data use for social impact in education. We leverage our deep expertise in data, data use and technical solutions that build resilience into our clients’ ability to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions for teaching and learning,” said Ana Quintana, President & CEO of Crocus. “Crocus is a flower that embodies resilience—it blossoms in every season and it’s the first to emerge, regardless of circumstances. In this way, Crocus prepares our clients to persist and to flourish in whatever season lies ahead.”…Read More

Curriculum Associates Launches i-Ready Standards Mastery for Virginia to Provide Insight into Learning Loss

To provide just-in-time information on students’ mastery of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and instructional recommendations to address specific learning loss, Curriculum Associates has created i-Ready Standards Mastery for Virginia. This new reading and math assessment component for Grades 2–8 features tech-enhanced assessment items and is part of the award-winning i-Ready Assessment suite. Today, i-Ready serves more than eight million students nationwide, including more than 169,000 students in 327 schools across Virginia.

“We created i-Ready Standards Mastery for Virginia in response to educators needing a truly Virginia SOL-specific, data-driven solution to help inform instruction,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “This first-of-its-kind program for Virginia shows our ongoing commitment to supporting quality education across the state and will provide an invaluable resource for educators by providing detailed and timely insights into student understanding.”

Designed to assess the Virginia SOLs, i-Ready Standards Mastery for Virginia offers educators the option to assess student understanding of any math or reading standard via a brief, 15-minute assessment. The program provides educators with immediate insight into student understanding, progress, and need, including item analysis for each student with information on common misconceptions about the standard. It also provides instructional recommendations and resources best suited to support students based on their current understanding of specific skills.…Read More