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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.

7 strategies to counter student learning loss

Until very recently, learning loss was a matter of concern mainly because of long summer holidays. Students’ socioeconomic situations played a role in those concerns but, mostly, making up for the knowledge and skills lost over school breaks involved returning learners to their school routines.

And, of course, revising the last few weeks of last semester’s curriculum before moving on to new material.

The coronavirus pandemic has redefined what learning loss means. Generally speaking, nobody was prepared for the sudden and dramatic upending of life as they knew it. Some adapted quickly, while others struggle with the mental and physical impacts of COVID to this day.…Read More

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How mixed reality glasses can help struggling readers

Imagine you are a struggling reader. You dread reading…in any class. You feel like a failure, and you are starting to hate school. One day, your science teacher brings in a Microsoft HoloLens headset. You put on the mixed reality glasses and pick up the science article that the teacher wants you to read. You begrudgingly begin reading.

After only a few sentences you are lost because you don’t know what “light energy” means. Because your eyes stopped on that phrase, an animation jumps off the page through the glasses demonstrating an example of the concept with a voiceover explanation. Several moments later you read the word “photosynthesis” and another animation appears with an audio explanation. Suddenly, reading in science class takes on a whole new emotion…you are feeling success and are even interested in reading more about science.

Characteristics of struggling readers…Read More

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Transforming summer school with high-dosage tutoring

Summer school as we’ve traditionally known it hasn’t worked well for a long time, especially from an equity standpoint, but we all know that change tends to come slowly to educational institutions. I would submit that in 2022, after two years of extraordinary learning loss, a transformation shouldn’t wait any longer.

Today’s students have different summer learning needs, and we have better tools and methods to teach them. It’s time to start using them.

The old model of summer classes in school buildings every day from 9 a.m. to noon stopped being convenient decades ago, when stay-at-home parenting stopped being the norm. Even if families manage to find transportation for their kids to and from school at those hours, there remains the question of filling in the remaining hours with part-time child care — never a cost-effective option even when it is available.…Read More

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Poptential™ Free Curriculum Brings History Alive for Independence Day

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — (May 6, 2022) — Poptential™, a family of free social studies course packages that pair pop culture media with engaging digital storytelling, provides teachers and students media-rich lessons on the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence, celebrated July 4. Click to tweet.

“While the Declaration of Independence was adopted 246 years ago, the heroes guiding the birth of our nation are brought to life in popular culture, which appeals to today’s digitally-savvy learner, and can make teaching more effective and relevant,” said Fred Fransen, CEO of Certell, Inc., the maker of Poptential.

Poptential courses, used by more than 30,000 teachers in 50 states, include everything instructors need to teach a subject, digitally accessible in one place, including lessons, ebooks, bell ringers, quizzes, and tests, as well as pop culture media to make lessons interesting and relatable to students. Curriculum packages are standards-based and developed by social studies teachers.…Read More

How staff absences impact educator burnout

The average day in a K-12 school has little margin for error; educators have perfected the art of stretching resources. Yet the typical day rarely goes as planned. Staff absences are on the rise this year, and for each person who is out, others are asked to stretch themselves to make it work.

“We have staff who are consistently giving up prep periods to cover for absences, absorbing additional classes, and taking on higher caseloads,” shared one special education director who noted the extra strain staff are experiencing this year.

Research on school staff absences in the past has focused primarily on the impact on students, and the facts are clear that students suffer setbacks when facing chronic staff absences. These absences have been shown to be more prevalent in low income schools, a scary prospect when compounded with the other areas of disparate impact through the pandemic seen in reduced educational progress and increased mental health challenges in low income schools.…Read More

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Hertz Celebrates Grads by Waiving Young Renter Fee

ESTERO, Fla., May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — To celebrate Spring 2022 college graduates, today Hertz launched a new offer designed specifically to meet the needs of young renters. College graduates under 25 who become a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® member will get the Young Renter Fee waived* when they rent by signing up at  hertz.com/grads.

Gold Plus Rewards members enjoy a faster pickup and drop-off experience. Free to join, benefits start from day one and include:

  • Choosing from a wide selection of cars from fuel-free EVs, luxury sedans and sports cars to SUVs, trucks, vans and more
  • Skipping the counter and going straight to your car at select locations
  • Earning points toward free rental days and upgrades
  • Adding an additional driver for free*
  • Dropping the keys and going at return

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to celebrate the class of 2022,” said Laura Smith, Hertz Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience. “Introducing younger customers to our brand is vital as we create a new Hertz and become a leader in the future of mobility and travel. This new loyalty offering for young renters, our industry-leading investment in EVs, and the upcoming digital enhancements we’re making to further enable a fast and seamless car rental experience are a few examples of how we’re appealing to Gen Z’s values, unique needs and preferences.”…Read More

Animalia and Rise Vision Partner to Teach Animal Facts and Statistics Through K-12 Digital Signage

(April 29, 2022) –– Looking for new and exciting ways to teach your students about the animal kingdom? Look no further than Animalia, an online encyclopedia of 6341 mammals, 10360 birds, 4464 reptiles, 3421 amphibians, and 4906 mollusks. This month, Rise Vision has partnered with Animalia to help students learn, explore, and value the magnificent diversity of the animal kingdom.

What makes this partnership so great is for no additional cost to schools, Rise Vision has created new templates including the Animal Of The Day, which shows a new animal every day of the year, with fun facts including the type of vore, life span, movement speed, and population size, along with a high resolution image of the animal.

Want to add these templates to your displays?…Read More

3 strategies to address new school nutrition standards

The summer of 2022 brings changes to school meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, as school nutrition programs transition from pandemic-era flexibilities—such as loosened restrictions around food preparation and packaging—back to pre-pandemic requirements. Millions of pre-K–12 students across the nation depend on school meals every day, and the changes are significant.

Below, I’ve highlighted what these requirements mean for school districts and key strategies for school leaders to consider if hurdles arise.

Learn from the pandemic’s impact on school nutrition programs…Read More

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Why girls need more STEM role models

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

My Advanced Placement computer science course is half girls and half boys. I coach an award-winning robotics team, Retro5ive, that is equally balanced between girls and boys, nearly all of whom are students of color.

Getting there requires combating gender norms and stereotypes every day. This fall, while conducting a two-week Tools and Build module with the robotics team, I held up a pop rivet gun and asked students what it was. Here’s a recap of an exchange between me, a boy who was learning about the team, and a few girls on the team.…Read More

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Celebrating Earth Day with Dynamic Digital Resources from Discovery Education

Silver Spring, MD (Thursday, April 21, 2022) — In celebration of Earth Day 2022, observed on April 22nd, Discovery Education and partners are proud to present educators, students, and families a diverse array of dynamic digital resources inspiring students to explore the natural phenomena in the world around them. Available on Discovery Education’s Earth Day website, this collection of K-12 content is organized by grade band and has been curated by Discovery Education’s team of curriculum experts. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

The wide variety of digital resources now available from Discovery Education are specifically designed to integrate easily into educator’s and school system’s existing Earth Day and sustainability education efforts. Among the resources available on the Discovery Education Earth Day website for integration into sustainability-focused lessons are the following engaging on-demand events: 

Going to the Moon with NASA  
Hear Erica Alvarez, NASA Systems Engineering & Integration Manager for Advanced Exploration Systems, share fun facts about the Artemis mission, explain why it’s important, and discuss how studying the moon helps us better understand and protect our Earth.  
 
Exploring the Ocean with Luke Tipple  
Find ways to preserve our planet and its oceans with scientist and Shark Week host Luke Tipple! Learn about his adventurous career path, his passion for the ocean, and his experiences diving with one of the ocean’s most feared (and most misunderstood) predators.    
 
Growing a Forest with Vooks  
Teach students the importance of conservation with award-winning author Sophia Gholz. Explore her experience writing The Boy Who Grew a Forest, the true story behind it, and how she hopes this story will inspire children everywhere to make a difference.    …Read More