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.

Discovery Education Names SMASH CEO Eli Kennedy to Board of Directors

Discovery Education, the Charlotte, NC, based leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms worldwide, today announced the appointment of Eli Kennedy, the CEO of SMASH, to the company’s Board of Directors.  In his new role, Kennedy’s expertise will support Discovery Education’s mission to prepare all learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world.

Kennedy has served as SMASH CEO since 2016, and leads that company’s efforts to build a strong, diverse and socially conscious tech workforce by leveling the playing field through academic learning and experiential engagement for high school and college students.  Before joining SMASH, Kennedy was the Senior Vice President of Redbird Advanced Learning, a research based EdTech company.

Kennedy has also served as a Director at the Broad Foundation, and was on the leadership team at Platform Learning, a tutoring company focused on supporting low-income students. Prior to focusing on education, Kennedy worked in a strategic management capacity for a technology startup and as a strategy consultant for Andersen Consulting and USWEB/CKS.…Read More

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund Partners with Discovery Education

DUBAI, UAE–29 September, 2020:  The Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund (REF) has announced a new first of its kind partnership with Discovery Education to deliver award winning online learning, increasing access to education for thousands of refugees and vulnerable youth in Lebanon.

The Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Covid-19 Online Learning Emergency Fund for Refugee Education, was launched by H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair in April 2020 to ensure vulnerable populations are able to continue their learning without interruption. This partnership with Discovery Education will help fill the educational gaps that have emerged because of the COVID -19 crisis. This program will reach 5,000 at-risk students in addition to over 17,500 students already being helped by REF in Jordan, Lebanon, and the UAE.

As part of the partnership with the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund, and for the first time ever, Discovery Education will collaborate with local organizations in Lebanon to provide access to high-quality digital learning resources aligned to the Lebanese curriculum for students in Grade 8 – 12. This partnership is a component of the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund’s effort to help 5,000 refugees and marginalized youth communities transition to Grades 9 and 12 and give them a chance to succeed when sitting the critical Lebanese national examinations.…Read More

Vote for the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge Improving Lives Award Winner

3M and Discovery Education today welcome students, teachers, and communities nationwide to help identify the winner of the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge Improving Lives Award. Selected through a nationwide online vote, the Improving Lives Award highlights one project from the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge top 10 finalists the public believes has the potential to change the most lives. The online public voting period is open September 28 – October 9, 2020 at youngscientistlab.com.

The winner of the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge and the Improving Lives Award will be revealed at an interactive virtual celebration on October 13, 2020. For the first time ever, the public will be invited to watch the final event live.

“At 3M, improving lives is at the core of what we do. The 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists exemplify the power of scientific inquiry: ingenuity, problem solving, and critical thinking, while working towards a common goal. With the Improving Lives Award, communities across the U.S. can see first-hand the importance of STEM education for fostering a growth mindset that can lead to greater equity and new ideas for change,” said Denise Rutherford, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at 3M.…Read More

Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience Wins Approval

Following a comprehensive evaluation, Virginia’s State Board of Education has approved Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience for statewide use as a core instructional resource through its state adoption process.  The State Board of Education’s adoption of Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience empowers the state’s school systems to purchase and integrate this innovative digital curriculum into teaching and learning.  Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience is aligned to Virginia’s 2018 Standards of Learning. In addition, Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience provides educators detailed lesson plans, embedded formative assessments, hands-on activities, digital simulations, and robust teacher supports that immerse students in instruction by sparking their natural curiosity about the world around them.  Virginia Discovery Education Science Experience is comprised of the following award-winning Discovery Education services that are updated regularly at no cost:

Discovery Education Science Techbook.  Science Techbook empowers K-12 educators to transform science instruction through a seamless print and digital curriculum that includes video, audio, text, interactives, hands-on activities, and virtual labs that help educators differentiate instruction and provide a rich and engaging learning experience for students. Additional student features include Spanish/English text-to-speech, leveled reading tools, note-taking and highlighting capabilities.  Science Techbook also includes valuable STEM resources including STEM Project Starters that encourage students to connect math, technology, and engineering to their understanding of science concepts to produce creative solutions to real world problems. Also, the STEM In Action resources help students connect their work to STEM careers, which promotes a clearer understanding of how skills used in school can be applied to jobs “in the real world.”…Read More

Discovery Education Experience Updates Tailored to Support Students and Educators for Remote, Hybrid, or In-Person Learning

Discovery Education–the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources and professional learning for K-12 classrooms–today introduced updates to the award-winning Discovery Education Experience platform designed to support educators and students in distance and hybrid learning environments. The updates focus on increasing functionality, capability, and personalization for all users.  

Experience, Discovery Education’s flexible K-12 learning platform, connects educators to a vast collection of compelling high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, and professional learning resources vetted by Discovery Education’s expert content team. Together, these resources give educators everything they need to facilitate instruction in any learning environment and create lasting educational impact.  

Now, teachers and students can take advantage of new features inside Studio, the embedded creation and collaboration tool, as well as ready-to-use SOS instructional strategies templates, a reimagined Professional Learning Center, and comprehensive English Language Learner (ELL) Center. Learn more about each update below: …Read More

Two Kentucky School Systems Select Discovery Education to Support STEM and STEAM Instruction

Two Kentucky school systems—Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) and the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS)—recently selected Discovery Education to support STEM/STEAM education in their school districts. Through these two new partnerships, Discovery Education will help educators in FCPS’s RISE Academy and JCPS’s Grace James Academy of Excellence nurture the growth of STEM cultures within these all-female schools  that help students develop the creative, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills needed for success in classrooms, online, or in the hybrid environment. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

A brand new school opening in the 2020-2021 school year, FCPS’s Rise STEM Academy will support young women as they explore science, technology, engineering, and math during their formative years so that each student may more eagerly embrace STEM career pathways. JCPS’s Grace James Academy of Excellence is dedicated to empowering, activating, and illuminating academic excellence in every girl through an Afrocentric and gender-specific STEAM curriculum.

While in different school systems, both schools sought a complete STEM/STEAM solution that combined sustained professional learning and high-quality digital resources in a way that would nurture and develop a culture of STEM teaching and learning.  In addition, each school wanted a solution that presented a holistic, research-based approach to STEM/STEAM that offered participating educators a strong support structure.  Following a rigorous review, both schools selected Discovery Education’s comprehensive STEM program and Teacher Leader Collaborative (TLC) professional development support.  In FCPS’s RISE Academy, educators in grades K-2 will participate in the TLC, and in JCPS’s Grace James Academy of Excellence, educators in grade 6 will utilize the TLC.…Read More

Los Angeles Unified, Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education Launch New Partnership Bringing Dynamic Digital Resources

Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles Unified), Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education today launched a new partnership providing educators, students and families access to high-quality digital resources.

Through this new partnership, Los Angeles Unified educators, students and families are empowered to interact with more than 300,000 exciting digital resources, standards-aligned activities and vetted, high-quality content carefully curated by grade level. These new digital resources will play a critical role to support continued learning on any device; whether at home or in the classroom.

“We are grateful to Annenberg Learner and Discovery Education for helping us provide students with the tools they need to receive a great education.” said Austin Beutner, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent.…Read More

How to employ a differentiated mindset when teaching STEM

When we facilitate professional development events, there’s often a common theme: teachers understand the importance of active STEM teaching and learning, but don’t always know how to implement it in a way that supports the diverse needs of their students. In our work with TGR EDU: Explore, a partnership between TGR Foundation and Discovery Education, we provide guidance to educators on how to prepare students for success through active, engaging instruction.

Differentiated instruction is a critical part of providing an equitable, effective STEM education. When instruction is differentiated, students are able to actively explore careers in STEM, hone their individual skillsets and build confidence.

Related content: 10 trends and predictions for STEM education…Read More

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Create and share story time and read-aloud videos

In order to encourage reading and classroom read-aloud experiences, and to support schools and public libraries forced to close by the escalating COVID-19 outbreak, Penguin Random House is permitting teachers, librarians and booksellers to create and share story time and read-aloud videos and live events, according to the following guidelines:

For Teachers and Educators providing distance learning to students in a virtual classroom setting:

  • Story time or classroom read-aloud videos in which a Penguin Random House book is read aloud and the book is displayed (for picture books) may be created and posted to closed educational platforms such as Google Classroom, Schoology, Edmodo and Discovery Education, in order to replicate the read-aloud book experience that would otherwise be available to educators in the classroom.
  • If a Teacher or Educator plans to share a story time video by recording a video, uploading it to a YouTube channel, and posting a link to that YouTube video inside a closed educational platform, that YouTube video must be designated as “Unlisted” (not “Public”) when uploading. See screenshot for how to choose “Unlisted” while uploading on YouTube.
  • These story time and classroom read-aloud videos may be hosted on the educational platform and/or YouTube (as an “Unlisted” file) until the end of the current school year, after which we request that they be removed from the educational platform and/or from YouTube, unless this permission is extended for the next school semester.

For Booksellers and Librarians who wish to provide a story time reading or other read-aloud experience to young people who would otherwise visit the library or bookstore in person:…Read More

4 questions to ask about multimedia content

When considering multimedia presentation systems for classroom use, one’s mind immediately goes to the hardware–the monitors, projectors, and other components often grab all the attention. But, what is the critical ingredient in a multimedia presentation system? The MULTIMEDIA! Without high-quality multimedia content that is flexible to meet instructional goals, your presentation system is just a collection of high-priced hardware.

Over the last two years, I’ve had the unparalleled opportunity to talk with hundreds of educators nationwide as I gathered input and feedback on the design of Discovery Education Experience, our recently launched K-12 learning platform.

Related content: Key components of the digital classroom…Read More

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