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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.

How innovative teaching helps boost productivity

AI has untapped potential in classrooms, from preschool through higher education. An AI digital assistant used in a classroom can transform how educators teach, giving them the freedom to teach from anywhere in the room.

Join eSchool News as Levi Belnap, Chief Strategy Officer at Merlyn Mind, introduces Merlyn (a digital assistant custom-designed for the classroom), shares the benefits of using an AI digital assistant, and discusses how the new strategic alliance with Promethean enables access to powerful technology in the classroom.

When you register, you’ll learn:…Read More

3 tips to balance the back-to-analog edtech transition

During the “emergency teaching” era of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital resources and edtech tools were used by educators worldwide in an effort to maintain students’ continuity of learning. Tremendous investments were made by school systems in an effort to rapidly scale digital learning.

With many of the COVID-era restrictions receding, it is tempting to think that we’ve entered into a new, highly digital era of education that will be far less dependent on pencils and paper. But, in the famous words of college football insider and former coach Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!”  

Interestingly, the post-COVID teaching environment has so far, in my opinion, been marked by a strong desire to see things done with pencil and paper. In my district, I hear from educators, students, and families alike that they wish to see what they learned online to be applied in hard copy. After a two-year period where “virtually” everything was done on an iPad, parents have a thirst to see their children bringing home papers in their backpacks again.   …Read More

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Nevada Department of Education Renews Partnership with Nevada Gold Mines and Discovery Education Providing High-Quality Digital Content to Students and Educators Statewide

Carson City, NV and Charlotte, NC – The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) is proud to announce it has renewed its multiyear partnership with Nevada Gold Mines, operated by Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX), and Discovery Education, the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports both remote and in-person learning.  

The renewal of this partnership, which includes a $2.2 million investment from Nevada Gold Mines, ensures the state’s teachers and students continued access to high-quality digital resources through the Discovery Education’s K-12 platform. Connecting educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, intuitive quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources, Discovery Education’s K-12 platform provides educators an enhanced learning platform that facilitates engaging, daily instruction in any learning environment.     

“We are incredibly pleased to continue this tremendous partnership benefiting Nevada’s students and are grateful for the support of community partners like Nevada Gold Mines, who are so passionate about investing in the educational resources which are so key to making our state a better place to learn, work, and live,” said Jhone Ebert, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “The continuation of this powerful partnership preserves Nevada’s students’ access to best-in-class digital resources, and we look forward to the next phase of this powerful collaboration.” …Read More

Incident IQ Releases Integration With ClassLink Single Sign-on

ATLANTA (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Incident IQ, the workflow management platform built for school districts, released an integration with ClassLink—a global education provider of access and analytics products that create more time for learning and help schools better understand digital engagement.

As school districts continue to rely on more technology in today’s classrooms, Incident IQ offers advanced integrations that provide data-rich help requests to K-12 IT teams, while being easy to use for end-users. ClassLink’s single sign-on platform gives teachers and students access to classroom resources with a single login. Using this integration, tech support is only a click away, providing users with immediate access to support workflows. 

“Keeping classroom time dedicated to teaching and learning is essential for Incident IQ and ClassLink,” said Matthew Krivanek, Vice President of Marketing. “Incident IQ and ClassLink work together to eliminate the unnecessary back-and-forth that can come with classroom technology support. This integration allows teachers and students instant access to the Incident IQ platform and relevant support workflows using their ClassLink credentials, returning more time to teaching and learning, instead of troubleshooting tech issues. We are dedicated to providing a supportive, streamlined support environment for K-12 districts through our continued partnership with ClassLink.”…Read More

Using house points and digital coins to promote school values

GEMS American Academy in Abu Dhabi has had a Houses system for a number of years. Over the last few years, while I was working in the PE department, my team and I worked to revamp the system that was in place. The old system meant that students were changing houses each year based on which class they were in. This created some limitations and also meant that students were not learning to be loyal to their house and develop the team spirit.

Last year, I changed from being a PE teacher to being the elementary innovation and technology coach and coordinator, and also joined our PBIS team. As a team, we saw that the faculty wasn’t able to use the old system to support our PBIS framework as well as we wanted.

We’re a K-12 American Curriculum/IB school, so our goal with Houses is to support our learners to develop specific skills that have a positive impact on the school culture. Our elementary school follows the PYP Program, which uses the 10 IB Learner Profile Attributes, which include being principled, caring, and a risk-taker. These help our students to become global citizens.…Read More

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How to prepare new teachers for virtual learning

While the pandemic accelerated the demand for virtual learning, it’s clear that online pedagogy is now an integral part of an educator’s toolbox. As part of this shift to hybrid or virtual learning models, today’s educators face a new set of demands – it’s not just about teaching the curriculum; it’s about understanding and leveraging the tools that make learning possible and beneficial. 

As many of our interactions move online or become increasingly integrated with the digital world, teachers and the universities that prepare them need to shift as well.

Expanding Possibilities with In-Person and Virtual Learning…Read More

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Discovery Education and Social Impact Partners Present Students, Educators, and Families No-Cost Financial Literacy Resources for College Savings Month

Charlotte, NC — To support students on their journey to higher learning during September’s College Savings Month and beyond, Discovery Education and its social impact partners are offering students, educators, and families an array of no-cost digital resources focused on financial literacy. This selection of dynamic content inspires students to think critically about their college plans and financial goals. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art K-12 digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.  

The following no-cost digital resources were created in collaboration with Discovery Education’s social impact partners: 

  • Personal Finance Support: Educators discover how to make personal finances culturally relevant and interesting in the professional development series from Pathway to Financial Success, a program developed with Discover Financial Services. Through these real-world educator stories, teachers see firsthand the benefits financial education can have on students. The professional development series and other resources offer step-by-step navigation to help guide students to reach financial and personal goals. 
  • Entrepreneurship Inspiration: Make financial literacy engaging and fun with Discover Venture Valley, a program with the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. Discover Venture Valley empowers students in grades 6-12 to build financial and business basics through gamified learning and taking on the role of a budding entrepreneur in the new Venture Valley video game. 
  • College Planning Resources: Family discussions about college planning are made easy with discussion guides from TGR EDU: Explore, a program with TGR Foundation, A Tiger Woods Charity. From finding the right college fit to navigating financial aid, the resources will help students understand the various types of financial aid, navigate the application process and prioritize responsibilities for college admissions. 

“While college may not be right for all students, it’s an important step to think about and financially prepare for. During College Savings Month, and always, Discovery Education and its social impact partners are committed to making available helpful, easy to understand, and engaging no-cost content designed to support student discussions around higher education,” said Beth Meyer, Vice President of Social Impact at Discovery Education.  …Read More

Carousel Digital Signage and Indiana School District Get into the School Spirit

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – Carousel Digital Signage has provided Elkhart Community Schools with a seamless way to communicate timely, up-to-date messages to its diverse network of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The K-12 public school district now uses Carousel Cloud to distribute department-specific messaging throughout its high school. The school district is also working with Carousel partner Jamf to securely convert Apple TV devices into media players, and providing access to meeting room schedules on mobile devices.

Based in Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart Community Schools serves approximately 12,000 students. The public school district is comprised of 14 elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school. Elkhart Community Schools also oversees the Elkhart Area Career Center, which offers programs for high school juniors and seniors seeking to make the transition into college or a career.   

Elkhart Community Schools has now successfully rolled out the new solution at Elkhart High School, explains Stephen DeCook, Technology Deployment Administrator at the district. The system is configured into separate zones to address the needs of different departments, such as arts, athletics, business, and food services. Each department can now contribute content and messages related to classes, special events, and programs, with food services updating menu options daily.   

DeCook’s technology department has also integrated Carousel Cloud with an RSS feed that displays internal-facing messaging about system status throughout the school, which helps to streamline troubleshooting and service calls for an IT and technology team with limited human resources. There is also a main zone for more generalized, school-wide announcements, which Carousel Cloud disseminates to all departments.  

“Contributors from different departments will display relevant themes depending on what day of the week it is, or if it’s a special day celebrating a certain event in history, to keep content fresh and engaging,” said DeCook. “We are using Carousel’s Education template, and right out of the box it was ready to go. We added a few pieces of our own content and were up and running.”  

One significant advantage of Carousel Digital Signage’s partnership with Jamf is Elkhart personnel can access conference room scheduling information using their iPads through the Jamf’s secure mobile device management (MDM) platform. DeCook says that the integration has streamlined the reservation process considerably.   

“It’s really helped folks who need to have impromptu meetings,” he explained. “They immediately know which rooms are in use and which are free without interrupting any meetings in progress.”   

Elkhart is also taking advantage of the system’s built-in weather and news feeds, and DeCook adds that his team is in the process of integrating Carousel Cloud with Singlewire’s InformaCast mass notification system for emergency messaging.   

DeCook notes that Carousel Cloud’s third-party integration capabilities help to optimize the school district’s return on investment. “We’re a Google shop, and it’s been easy to merge Carousel with Google. I don’t have to set up an additional account for the users that are         responsible for developing and distributing content,” he explained. “It’s easy to configure, and they offer a ton of information. And, whenever I’ve needed additional help and reached out to Carousel, their support has been excellent.”  

Five users are responsible for content development and delivery today, and this number will continue to expand as the district scales up its usage. DeCook, who estimates that the user count will grow to approximately 20 people, shares that Elkhart Community Schools will soon deploy Carousel Cloud at several of its elementary schools. “They’ve seen how the signage at the high school works and want to benefit from the same features,” he said.   

DeCook predicts that this continuing expansion will be relatively straightforward, thanks to Carousel’s intuitive user interface. “It’s a really robust system, but as soon as you understand the basics it’s really easy to navigate,” he said. “And through our Google integration we have full  control over who has access to which parts of the system, which enables us maintain our strict security standards.”  

Digital signage in general also helps to keep a diverse population of staff, students, and visitors engaged, DeCook adds. “We have a large community of English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) students, and the food services staff, for example, is excited about being able to display visuals alongside menu listings to help those individuals understand the content more easily,” he said. “We are also giving students up-to-date and sometimes real-time information on events and happenings, or opportunities to sign up for interesting programs. That helps us get everybody excited about what’s going on at our schools. It’s no secret that kids aren’t always thrilled about having to be at school, but when we can leverage this tool to show them some of the cool things that are going on, that helps to inspire more involvement.”  

About Carousel Digital Signage

Carousel is Digital Signage Content Management Software that is easy to use, scalable, and  reliable. With a deep feature set and strong technology partnerships Carousel gives you the most value in digital signage. Carousel Digital Signage is a division of Tightrope Media Systems. You can reach the Carousel team at (866) 866-4118, or visit www.carouselsignage.com.  

Alabama’s Huntsville College Preparatory School Selects Discovery Education to Support the Creation of Individualized Academic Experiences for All Students

Charlotte, NC — Alabama’s Huntsville College Preparatory School (HCPS) today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through this new collaboration, HCPS’s educators gain access to an award-winning suite of digital resources supporting the school’s mission to provide students with an individualized academic experience that is a catalyst for confidence and curiosity. 

HCPS is committed to offering students a multisensory learning experience that increases student engagement, skill acquisition, and retention. All students are exposed to various university-level learning opportunities through dual-enrollment volunteer and enrichment relationships with local universities. To assist HCPS educators in their efforts to create rigorous, individualized instruction for students, school leaders sought a suite of ready-to-use digital resources.  

Following a review of possible solutions, HCPS staff selected the following Discovery Education resources: …Read More

Digital On-Demand Class Sets for Required Curriculum Books Now Available in Sora Student Reading App

CLEVELAND – To help educators provide students with the books they need as efficiently as possible, OverDrive Education announced the new On-Demand Class Set digital access model for curriculum titles. This model makes available ebooks and audiobooks on-demand in the Sora reading app to as many students as needed, with or without codes. Digital On-Demand Class Sets give schools the flexibility to allocate budget for assigned classroom reading even in situations where classes and rosters are not finalized. Educators can use this model – as well as many other cost-effective models in the OverDrive Marketplace – with required reading for English language arts, history, social science and other classes, as well as for all-school required reads and literature circles.  

Educators can buy digital On-Demand Class Sets in bulk to correspond with the units of study and modules they plan to teach throughout the school year. Rostering a list of students is not required, so schools can purchase the approximate number of class sets they think they’ll need. Students use copies as needed, and if demand is higher than anticipated, schools can purchase more copies and make them available within hours. When a student borrows an On-Demand Class Set title in Sora, they will have access for three months, ensuring availability throughout their unit of study.

“On-Demand (Digital) Class Set rentals significantly increase our capacity to be responsive to district-wide curriculum needs,” said Suzi Tonini from Denver Public Schools in Colorado. “They’re a smart, responsible use of our curriculum budget dollars. In short, they’re a game-changer!”…Read More