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.

Defining digital curriculum in a new era of learning

Even after the events of the past two years, the definition of what constitutes digital curriculum is still a source of disagreement for some. Misalignment among educator roles regarding curriculum has far from disappeared, and in some cases, the gap has grown even wider, according to new research.

While the majority of educators are more optimistic about the state of their curriculum this year than before COVID-19, the theme of misalignment persists in several areas, including:

Quality of Curriculum…Read More

Kiddom Expands Partnership with Kendall Hunt Publishing

SAN FRANCISCO — January 12, 2022 — Kiddom, the first all-in-one education platform for high-quality digital curriculum, today announced an expansion of its partnership with Kendall Hunt Publishing. As a Certified Partner of the nonprofit OpenSciEd since August 2021, Kendall Hunt will offer a customized version of OpenSciEd’s high-quality middle school science instructional materials in a dynamic format through Kiddom’s comprehensive digital curriculum platform. This expansion comes on the heels of Kiddom and Kendall Hunt’s successful partnership in February 2021 to provide the Illustrative Mathematics K-12 math curriculum to users interested in a more robust or exclusively digital experience.

“Working with Kendall Hunt for the past year has been a dream for Kiddom and we’re thrilled to further strengthen our partnership with the integration of their customized OpenSciEd offering for middle school science,” said Abbas Manjee, co-founder and Chief Academic Officer at Kiddom. “OpenSciEd’s commitment to flexibility and quality directly align with Kiddom’s core values and we are looking forward to offering a dynamic, fully customizable version of OpenSciEd’s standards-aligned materials on our digital curriculum platform.”

Kiddom provides teachers and administrators with all the tools they need in one digital setting so they have a single, cohesive place to seamlessly access high-quality content and personalized learning. With Kiddom, teachers no longer need to juggle multiple tools and can access 70,000+ high-quality, modifiable, standards-aligned curated supplemental resources in an integrated content library. Its key features are in alignment with the five key features of OpenSciEd’s instructional materials, including:…Read More

Edmentum to Acquire Apex Learning, an Industry Leader in Virtual and Hybrid Learning for Middle and High School Students

Minneapolis June 22, 2021 – Edmentum (edmentum.com), a global pioneer in education technology, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Apex Learning, a Seattle-based industry leader in digital curriculum and virtual learning with over 20 years of deep expertise providing high-quality, rigorous, and teacher-centered programs. Apex’s mission of making a difference in education complements Edmentum’s drive to amplify teaching and propel student learning forward. Together, these two organizations will support millions of students worldwide.

“I am thrilled to welcome Apex into the Edmentum family,” said Jamie Candee, Edmentum CEO. “As the school year comes to an end and districts evolve into new models of teaching for the fall, so too must Edmentum continue to grow to meet those needs. Pairing Apex’s proven, high-quality secondary learning programs with Edmentum’s full suite of high-quality, online learning programs creates a rich array of offerings designed specifically for the next generation of learners. Together, in partnership with schools and districts globally, we will move education forward.”

Edmentum’s research-based approach offers hundreds of state- and nationally-certified courses, supported by comprehensive consulting and educational services. Adding Apex’s credit-bearing core and elective courses, project-based technology courses, and student-targeted, standards-matching tutorials will create a new industry-leading model for virtual and hybrid learning programs.…Read More

Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education Announce the 2021 Possibility Grant Sweepstakes Winners

In its sixth year, the Possibility Grant Sweepstakes has expanded to include five schools across the country to impact more students in their pursuit of STEM

Silver Spring, MD (Friday, June 18, 2021) – Five schools across the United States have been selected to receive a $5,000 grant each for STEM technology through the 2021 Possibility Grant Sweepstakes. Created by the Siemens Foundation–a leader in advancing STEM workforce development and education initiatives–in partnership with Discovery Education, the Possibility Grant Sweepstakes inspires the next generation of STEM leaders by providing critical resources and support to schools. Through its partnership with Discovery Education, the Siemens Foundations is providing no-cost standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

Now in the sixth year, the 2021 Possibility Grant Sweepstakes continues to enhance the availability of STEM supplies and technology. The 2021 grant now expands efforts to further equity and inclusion in education and impact more students by offering a total of $25,000 to five under-resourced schools, building upon the traditional single $10,000 grant. Out of more than 12,000 submissions, the five 2021 Sweepstakes recipients are:…Read More

Louisiana Public Broadcasting and Discovery Education Renew Long-Term Partnership Serving Educators and Students Statewide

SILVER SPRING, MD (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)— Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) today announced the renewal of its long-term partnership with  Discovery Education, a leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources and engaging content for K-12 classrooms worldwide. LPB’s renewal of its 18-year collaboration with Discovery Education empowers K-12 educators across the state to create dynamic digital learning experiences in the classroom and beyond with high-quality digital content from Discovery Education’s award-winning K-12 learning platform.

LPB is Louisiana’s largest classroom over the air, on every device, in schools, and in the community. LPB’s Educational Services Department is committed to providing extensive information, lesson plans, materials, and digital resources to support formal K-12 education statewide. Through its nearly two-decade long partnership with Discovery Education, LPB has offered educators and students a host of digital resources including Discovery Education’s flexible K-12 platform.

Discovery Education’s platform connects educators to a vast collection of compelling high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, and professional learning resources. Together, these resources give educators everything they need to facilitate instruction in any learning environment and create lasting educational impact.…Read More

Summer Learning Made Fun with No-Cost Family Resources from Discovery Education and Partners

Silver Spring, Md. (Thursday, June 3, 2021) — To accelerate student learning and ignite their natural curiosity, Discovery Education presents parents and guardians an array of no-cost dynamic digital resources for the summer. This selection of content, created in partnership with leading corporate and community partners, inspires families to learn together by exploring the world around them during the summer break. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

The following selection of no-cost digital resources connect families to continued learning in essential topic areas like STEM, financial literacy, health, and social-emotional learning:

STEM Activities…Read More

Discovery Education and Industry Leaders Launch Social-Emotional Learning Coalition to Address Critical Educator and Student Needs with No-Cost Resources

Silver Spring, Md. (Wednesday, April 28, 2021) — Discovery Education – the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms – today launched the new Social-Emotional Learning Coalition. The Social-Emotional Learning Coalition provides K-12 educators, students, families, and afterschool directors a no-cost library of digital social and emotional learning (SEL) resources supporting the integration of SEL into core instruction.

The Social-Emotional Learning Center is the first initiative of the Social-Emotional Learning Coalition, a partnership between Discovery Education and leaders across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to drive access and innovation in embedding SEL in the student experience. The Allstate Foundation and National AfterSchool Association are anchor partners.

More than two decades of research shows that SEL can help young people develop social responsibility, practice leadership, and gain personal and social skills. COVID-19 and its impact on education underscores educators’ need for curated and vetted content supporting the whole child in any learning setting. To better meet the need for resources supporting students’ SEL development, the new Social-Emotional Learning Coalition improves access to high-quality, instructional resources.…Read More

Mastercard and Discovery Education Partner to Empower Girls with STEM Learning Through the Signature Girls4Tech™ Program

Silver Spring, Md. (Thursday, April 22, 2021) — With the goal of providing five million girls with an engaging STEM education by 2025, Mastercard has partnered with Discovery Education to launch the latest phase of the award-winning Girls4Tech initiative. Girls4Tech is Mastercard’s signature science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program geared towards giving girls in middle and high school access to STEM resources and career exploration tools with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyber security. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Together, the partnership aims to reach more than 2 million girls.

In partnership with Discovery Education, Girls4Tech now offers a robust array of no-cost, standards-aligned, and on-demand digital resources that illustrate how technology can be used to solve the problems young people care about. Included in these resources are career profiles featuring Mastercard’s dynamic and diverse group of female cybersecurity professionals who fight cyber criminals and help keep sensitive information safe on a global scale. The career profiles include activities and educator guides that inspire girls to dream big. In addition, this latest phase of partnership features digital lesson bundles focusing on the foundations and evolution of technology and binary code.  

“The current and future workforce needs employees with hot skills like cyber and AI, so the more we can do to introduce these subjects in the early years, the better off we’ll all be,” said Susan Warner, vice president, talent management and community engagement, and founder of Girls4Tech. “Our partnership with Discovery Education will help us bring these hot jobs to life.”…Read More

51 Activities and Events from Discovery Education and Partners Available to Help Educators and Communities Celebrate Earth Day

Silver Spring, Md. (Monday, April 19, 2021) — To celebrate the 51st Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2021, Discovery Education and several content, corporate, and community partners present educators, students, and families 51 engaging, curated activities and events. Found online at Discovery Education’s 51 Ways to Earth Day website, these dynamic digital resources inspire students to explore the natural phenomena in the world around them as they observe the 51st Earth Day in the classroom or at home. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

The 51 Ways to Earth Day resources include live events, videos, podcasts, ready-to-use instructional resources, Virtual Field Trips, and fun family activities from Discovery Education’s robust collection of Earth Day content, as well as resources from trusted partners. Among the exciting no-cost events planned are:

Diversity in STEM Discussion: Building a Sustainable Future Through Inclusion
4/20 at 2 p.m. ET…Read More

Discovery Education Presents Three New Virtual Field Trips

Discovery Education and leading corporate and community partners are offering K-12 educators and students three engaging new virtual field trips (VFT) debuting in April and May. Focused on an array of diverse topics, these new virtual field trips connect learning to the real-world through relevant and timely digital content that supports learning wherever it takes place. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

Through its award-winning K-12 learning platform, Discovery Education offers educators, students, and families hundreds of on-demand virtual field trips empowering educators to take students to amazing places and give them remarkable experiences, without ever leaving their desks. These new virtual experiences were developed in conjunction with Discovery Education’s corporate and community partners and include:

Identity, Belonging, and Legacy: How Testimony Makes Us Stronger Than Hate from USC Shoah Foundation
Premiere: April 15th at 1 p.m. ET…Read More