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.

TeachCS zeroes in on computer science

TeachCS addresses critical shortage of qualified computer science teachers by connecting high school educators with computer science curricula

computer-scienceAs the nation focuses on Computer Science Education Week, December 7-13th, computer science curricula developers and professional development providers joined forces to announce TeachCS, a platform for high school teachers looking to broaden their computer science training and curricula.

Funded by private sector philanthropy, the goal of TeachCS is to match in-service high school teachers with both computer science professional development and financial support to attend training from leading academic institutions, in order to better prepare their students for the lucrative computing jobs most in demand in the future.

In its pilot year, TeachCS will provide in-service high school teachers with funding for professional development in one of three areas – Exploring Computer Science (ECS), AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP), or Bootstrap.…Read More

Digital Citizenship Course

Outfit your students for life in the wild, wild Web where they need the savvy to shoot straight, watch their backs, and to be at home on the digital range. The choices today’s learners make, and actions they take online, have enduring impact on their lives and the lives of others. Unique, unforeseeable, and evolving risks and challenges are part and parcel of the open Internet.

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New Dept. of Education guide lists the kinds of tools ed tech needs

Educators, developers, and startups are urged to take notice of the biggest education gaps

edtech-guideThe Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) has released a new guide for developers, startups, and entrepreneurs in the ed-tech space, written with help from educators, researchers, and others in the industry. The goal is to help entrepreneurs apply technology to solve real, persistent problems in education

The Ed Tech Developer’s Guide: A Primer for Developers, Startups and Entrepreneurs is free, and addresses key questions about the education ecosystem and highlights critical needs and opportunities to develop digital tools and apps for learning.

“Technology makes it possible for us to create a different dynamic between a teacher and a classroom full of students. It can open up limitless new ways to engage kids, support teachers and bring parents into the learning process,” Duncan said recently at the ASU+GSV Summit 2015 in Phoenix. “We need tools designed to help students discover who they are and what they care about, and tools that create portals to a larger world that, in the past, would have remained out of reach for far too many students.”

Next page: What tools does education need?

Focus areas for new ed tech tools, according to the guide, include: mastery of academic skills, foster and measure non-cognitive skills, embed formative assessments, engage families, support college and career exploration, provide job-embedded professional development, improve educator productivity, increase access for all students and close achievement gaps.…Read More