Digital e-Learning program allows innovative district to open the world to students

 

Boone County School District is offering digital world language learning to 10,500 students—half of its student population. With help from Rosetta Stone’s language learning solutions, Boone County Schools is providing students with access to programs that it hopes will enhance college and career readiness and global competence.

Following the district’s successful pilot in 2013 for 1,700 students at two elementary schools, the program is expanding to 14 elementary schools and five middle schools in the 2016-2017 academic year. Three hundred kindergarten and first grade ELL students and 10,200 WL students in grades 2-8 have access to the digital learning program. The use of Rosetta Stone in the classroom is a new initiative being funded by a county-approved tax levy.…Read More

Innovative district expands access like never before using E-rate

Thanks to a major funding refresh, one district found that it’s now possible to support its one-to-one initiative without scaling back access for other services or devices. Could your district do the same?

The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) historic E-rate modernization in 2014 paved the way for districts to expand their high-speed broadband and wi-fi and increase digital learning opportunities for students.

Before the modernization, Category 2 services were called Priority 2 services and were funded only after all requests for Priority 1 services (telecommunications services and internet access) were funded–but that meant most schools had no leftover E-rate funding for wi-fi equipment and other internal connections.…Read More

In the marketplace: Digital learning, NGSS resources, IT partnerships, and more

Remaining a tech-savvy educator means keeping on top of the myriad changes and trends in education, how technology can support those trends, and how teaching and learning can best benefit from near-constant change.

Below, we’ve gathered some of the latest and most relevant marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

With an eye toward helping close the gap between schools and their local communities comes TrustED, a new content hub and media-rich website featuring news and practical solutions for America’s K12 school leaders. Powered by K12 Insight, the new online destination features daily original and curated stories, commentary and special features exploring critical issues facing America’s public schools, with a special focus on community engagement, innovative leadership, student safety and school technology. Read more.…Read More

Washington district partners with Discovery on college, career readiness

Washington’s Highline Public Schools announced the launch of a new partnership supporting college and career readiness with Discovery Education, provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

Through this collaboration, all K-12 classrooms districtwide will have access to engaging digital content through Discovery Education Streaming Plus, an award-winning, comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas.

In addition, 35 teacher leaders and their principals, representing five elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, will participate in Discovery Education’s Digital Leader Corps. A comprehensive professional development system, Digital Leader Corps develops teacher-leaders to propel the district’s transition to modern digital learning environments.…Read More

Nampa School District 131 becomes first in Idaho to implement the itslearning LMS

As part of its on-going efforts to improve communications, foster collaboration, and bolster student achievement, Nampa School District #131 (Nampa SD) in Nampa, Idaho has become the first school district in the state to implement the itslearning learning management system. With 24 schools, Nampa SD serves 15,000 students in grades preK – 12, and will begin using the itslearning system this fall.

Designed specifically for the K-12 sector, itslearning is a cloud-based digital learning platform that gives teachers, students and parents access to as appropriate course materials, assignments, communities for collaboration, progress reports, and more. According to Dr. Nicole MacTavish, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning at Nampa SD, it was the system’s ability to centralize so many resources, data, and processes – and interact with other district systems – that sold them on itslearning.

“We wanted to provide our teachers with a way to easily access a wide variety of content, as well as the ability to collaborate on best instructional practices. Another priority was to improve parent communication and participation,” said MacTavish. “We know from past experience that adding more or different systems wasn’t the answer. If we are truly going to support teachers, students, and parents we need to streamline processes and eliminate barriers. For over a year our task force researched options and spoke with other districts and concluded that itslearning is the platform that will allow us to taking teaching and learning to the next level and beyond.”…Read More

5 ways to make the most of virtual field trips

Tips to help students get the best possible experience from their virtual field trips

I have many great memories from elementary school, but my favorite memories revolve around field trips. The special packed lunch, the bus ride, the opportunity to pair up with a “field trip buddy” for the day all helped make those journeys unforgettable.

While traditional field trips continue to offer opportunities to create memorable learning environments for students of all ages, a new wave of technologies have created new, virtual field trip (VFT) experiences. Through a VFT, an educator leverages digital content and educational technologies to take educators and students beyond their classroom walls to meet people and see places they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

Personally, I believe the most exciting virtual field trips are event-based. Event-based virtual field trips create a single point in time where classrooms from around the world connect to form a unique and diverse community that takes a deep-dive on a particular topic or moment in history.…Read More

Watch 14 thought leadership presentations from a recent ed-tech symposium

New library of thought leadership resources will support creation of dynamic digital learning environments

In July 2015, Discovery Education, provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms and CUE, the California-based organization inspiring innovative learners and advocating educational opportunities for all, partnered with the California State Parks to host a unique leadership symposium.

Designed specifically for California superintendents interested in creating dynamic digital learning environments that meet the needs of today’s learners, this event featured a series of brief, thought-provoking talks that surfaced actionable strategies for improving teaching and learning.

Now, Discovery Education and CUE are sharing with educators nationwide the library of presentations from this event. These presentations explore a variety of critical topics, including using professional development to support device deployment, communicating with stakeholders, improving attendance and discipline during the digital transition, and more, and were delivered by school leaders from across California as well as nationally recognized Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Dallas Dance.…Read More

5 goals, 5 barriers of digital curriculum

Survey reveals how school and districts leaders aim to use the digital curriculum transition to better serve students and teachers

 

digital-curriculumSchool district leaders’ top objective in transitioning to a digital curriculum is to achieve greater instructor effectiveness, according to a survey from The Learning Counsel.

The second annual survey from the organization, which aims to provide guidance around the K-12 shift to digital curriculum, also revealed that 65 percent of those surveyed are currently staffing positions to help deal with the expansion of digital resources.…Read More

100 districts that are digital learning innovators

Knovation honors districts for outstanding usage of online and digital learning resources

digital-learningOne hundred school districts across the U.S. have been honored for their use of online and digital learning resources to personalize learning.

Knovation’s 2015 Digital Learning Awards program honors districts across the U.S. that use netTrekker or icurio to find, organize and share hundreds of thousands of standards-aligned resources that are professionally evaluated, tagged and maintained, ensuring students truly benefit from their digital shift.

The awards are presented to small, medium, and large districts based on how they used the Knovation Content Collection via netTrekker or icurio during the 2014-2015 school year.…Read More

8 ways to improve your digital teaching

When good digital teaching means good digital learning

PLCs-communitiesEd. note: Innovation In Action is a new monthly column from the International Society of Technology in Education focused on exemplary practices in education.

digital-teachingWe all remember that one dedicated teacher from our early years. While they might not have had access to the same technology we do, they brought the world to us with images, stories, and play-pretend. They likely would’ve been one of the first to Skype with amazing people across the globe, competitively Kahoot, or have us build word clouds to help us learn vocabulary. They were full of life and encouraged us to find our personality.

In short, they were great teachers. Good teaching is the result of the conscious engagement between the teacher and the students, in an environment fostering inquiry, discovery, and creation. Good teaching is what makes digital age environments meaningful to students. Good pedagogy is the key to learning, regardless of the tool.…Read More

Five strategies for using classroom technology

New paper from Center for Promise highlights best technology practices gleaned from school districts

classroom-technologyTechnology and digital media continue to represent a powerful pathway for advancing the goals of education, including raising academic achievement and preparing students for college and career, according to a new study released by the Center for Promise, the research arm of America’s Promise Alliance.

In time for Digital Learning Day, the new paper, Wired to Learn: K-12 Students in the Digital Classroom, supported by the Cable Impacts Foundation, explores digital learning as a promising strategy for improving students’ educational experiences and highlights the efforts of five school districts across the country focused on reshaping the traditional learning environment.

“Our research findings illustrate how carefully planned and implemented digital learning initiatives can powerfully impact how students learn,” said Jonathan Zaff, executive director, Center for Promise. “Identifying innovative, yet practical ways to involve students in meaningful teaching plans that meet their individual needs and strengths is critical for creating positive pathways toward graduation.”…Read More