disruptive Archives

Disrupting U.S. schools wasn’t possible before–that may be changing

May 19, 2025 by Michael B. Horn, Clayton Christensen Institute

When disrupting schools, education savings accounts offer an incentive to consider the relative value of different educational services.

As Robert Pondiscio observed recently, K–12 schools have largely been spared Disruptive Innovation of the sort that has transformed everything from retail to consumer package goods, telecommunications, computing, steel,…

K-12 Cybersecurity

How schools can take full advantage of the FCC’s new cybersecurity program

October 11, 2024 by Mark Sangster, Adlumin

Schools need to strengthen their cybersecurity postures, and programs like the FCC pilot can help shore up vulnerabilities.

K-12 school districts are becoming an increasingly popular target of ransomware operations and other cyber threat actors. Ransomware attacks alone targeted 108 U.S. school districts in 2023.

Digital Innovation

The psychology of Disruptive Innovation

September 11, 2024 by Thomas Arnett, Clayton Christensen Institute

Education leaders can create the right conditions of disruptive innovation for new models of schooling to emerge and evolve.

In the early 2000s, Netflix co-founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph found themselves in a meeting that could have dramatically altered the trajectory of their fledgling company.

District Management

Taking K-12 education transformation from pipe dream to pipeline

July 2, 2024 by Thomas Arnett, Clayton Christensen Institute & Kelly Young, Education Reimagined

Disruptive Innovation could deliver what young people want and need, now--K-12 education transformation necessitates a change.

Across the U.S., most K–12 schools continue the cycle of pounding a square peg into a round hole. Learners and their families want relevant and engaging learning experiences…

Students with Special Needs

Why special educators are key to behavioral equity and inclusion

May 30, 2024 by Elizabeth Orme, Creatively Focused

Fostering collaboration between general and special education teams can create impactful systems for managing behavior and reaching equity.

Educators today are trying to manage a new wave of student behavior, and it’s proving to be one of the toughest parts of their job.

AI in Education

K-12 schools aren’t ready for AI’s risks or benefits

March 8, 2024 by Laura Ascione

K-12 schools don't have the staffing consistency or classroom management skills necessary to harness AI's power and address its risks.

Almost all school superintendents (97 percent) say that schools have an obligation to teach students how to use AI effectively and responsibly. Still, only 37 percent have a…

Newsline

Vivi Expands into a Whole-School Communication Tool, Launches New Features

February 6, 2024 by ESchool News Staff

Today, Vivi, the only wireless screen mirroring and digital signage solution purpose-built for education, announced it has expanded into a ... Read more

AI in Education

Education in the age of AI and smart technology

December 12, 2023July 31, 2023 by Edward D. Hess, Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Batten Executive-in-Residence and Batten Fellow in Emeritus, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia & La Tricia Clark, Ph.D., CEO, EduVation

It is essential that schools ensure students are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies for the age of smart technology and AI.

We are in a new era--the Era of Smart Technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of ChatGPT-4 is very smart and ChatGPT-5, -6, and -7, etc. will…

Digital Innovation

Why system transformation is likely a pipe dream

June 1, 2023 by Michael B. Horn, Co-Founder and Chairman, Clayton Christensen Institute

If we’re serious about wholesale system transformation, we likely need to be focused on disruptively replacing the existing system of schooling

I can’t count the number of times people at an education conference have approached me and said something to the effect of, “But how do we transform the…

Machine Learning in Education

AI writing tools can be disruptive–here are 5 ways to counteract their influence

December 12, 2023May 16, 2023 by Jane Travis, Contributing Writer, eSchool News

Educators are concerned about the influence AI tools and AI writing will have on education and how its negative effects could be detrimental to students

The discussion around the influence of AI writing on education has never been so active – all thanks to the launch of ChatGPT last year. The tool is…

Student Well-Being

Surveys show troubling trends in student behavior

March 6, 2023 by Laura Ascione

Superintendents cite insufficient budget as one challenge preventing them from adequately addressing student mental health crises

Eighty-four percent of teachers say that students are developmentally behind in self-regulation and relationship building compared to students prior to the pandemic. Teachers also report that they are…

Digital Innovation

Predicting innovation trajectories in K-12 education

December 19, 2022 by Thomas Arnett, Senior Research Fellow, Clayton Christensen Institute

Analyzing a school’s value network reveals which types of improvements and K-12 innovation it will or won’t adopt

There are lots of promising innovations in tiny pockets of the education system, but decades of advocacy and investment have failed to see those innovations scale. How can…

School Management

How schools can become air quality champions this year

December 7, 2022October 5, 2022 by Marshal Sterio, CEO, Surgically Clean Air

Federal funds will enable school systems to prioritize air quality initiatives, including repairs, upgrades, and entirely new systems

The COVID-19 pandemic affected every aspect of our lives for more than two years, but perhaps the hardest hit population were children who suddenly found themselves unable to…

Teacher Well-Being

5 ways to support educator well-being this school year

December 7, 2022September 19, 2022 by Danielle Sullivan, National Director of Content and Implementation, Curriculum Associates

Educators are likely feeling burned out, exhausted, and overwhelmed--here's how to promote educator well-being and mental health.

From teaching through a global pandemic to adjusting in real time to teacher shortages and policy changes, from worrying about school safety to trying to manage more disruptive…

SEL & Well-Being

10 SEL activities for high school students

November 19, 2021 by Missi Rossi, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Aperture Education

Weaving SEL activities into instruction and afterschool programs can make lessons more engaging and help students find deeper meaning in core subject areas

Between balancing core instruction, administering assessments, grading homework, and ensuring students are prepared for college and career, high school teachers have a lot on their plates. SEL activities…

DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access)

5 ways for school leaders to promote equity, student agency

December 7, 2022November 1, 2021 by Laura Ascione

New Project Tomorrow research documents how technology use can support more equity and engaging learning experiences for all students

Students continue to struggle against persistent educational inequities, and while they report worrisome levels of disengagement, a move toward student-directed learning could help students and educators alike find…

Blended Learning

Digital tools prove critical for early learners during COVID

April 15, 2021 by Matthew Cheek, Kindergarten Teacher & Innovation/Media Specialist, Johnson Creek Elementary School

Teachers say using engaging virtual and digital tools helps hold younger students’ attention in the middle of online learning

For early learners, nothing beats in-class learning. Having a teacher in close proximity to assess the needs of their students is critical for growth.

District Management

Leading in this time of crisis

February 9, 2021February 2, 2021 by Kevin Hogan

Henry (Hank) Thiele, Superintendent for Community High School District 99 in Thorndale (IL) can’t stop looking forward. Despite the current, daily chaos of re-opening and lockdowns, hybrid and…

College and Career Readiness

Parents are critical to college and career readiness

December 7, 2022January 25, 2021 by Rick Dalton, founder and CEO, CFES Brilliant Pathways

Education leaders and key stakeholders should work to ensure parents have the resources they need to guide their children through college and career readiness preparations

On March 13, Keller, a second grader at Vermont’s Hinesburg Elementary, came home from school and didn’t return for six months. Like 20 million other students across the…

District Management

Is it time to retire letter grades?

November 20, 2020July 23, 2020 by Dennis Pierce

5 ways to create a community of learners

The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly disruptive to education, hindering instruction and other services for thousands — perhaps millions — of K-12 students across the United States. But…

District Management

Now the hard work starts

June 23, 2020June 23, 2020 by Kevin Hogan

How one district changed the rules to not just survive, but thrive, in “the new normal”

Eileen Belastock has been waiting for this moment, just not under these circumstances. As Director of Academic Technology for Mount Greylock Regional School District, which serves 1,250 students…

District Management

5 edtech accelerators that are changing K-12

April 23, 2019April 22, 2019 by Laura Ascione

Hand turning a button with a rocket icon to the maximum acceleration. Concept of career accelerationComposite between an image and a 3D background.

Five powerful edtech accelerators are influencing the skills and needs of K-12 students and educators, according to a new CoSN report released during the advocacy group’s 2019 conference. …

Online & Hybrid Learning

Why this school is thriving after implementing a 100% blended learning model

January 25, 2023December 13, 2017 by By John D. Butler, Ph.D., PE

Located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, 225 students along with the faculty and staff of the Village Green Virtual Charter High School (VGV) have been pioneering the school…

All Apps For Schools

11 online tools & apps for dyslexic students

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017 by Sharon Conwell

In the past, dyslexia was rarely recognised, and when it was, very little was put in place for the student. It was assumed that students were being lazy,…

District Management

Are students buying what schools are selling?

October 4, 2021October 14, 2016 by Julia Freeland Fisher

A new book offers a compelling new theory about how educators can rethink student motivation. Are you really meeting students' needs?

Blended Learning

This hybrid innovation is about to change your school forever

January 27, 2014 by By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor, <a href='https://twitter.com/esn_meris' target='_blank'>@eSN_Meris</a>

Hybrid innovations are technologies that bridge tradition to the future, fundamentally changing how an entire industry performs; and according to education experts, K-12 is currently experiencing one hybrid…

Disrupting U.S. schools wasn’t possible before–that may be changing

How schools can take full advantage of the FCC’s new cybersecurity program

The psychology of Disruptive Innovation

Taking K-12 education transformation from pipe dream to pipeline

Why special educators are key to behavioral equity and inclusion

K-12 schools aren’t ready for AI’s risks or benefits

Vivi Expands into a Whole-School Communication Tool, Launches New Features

Education in the age of AI and smart technology

Why system transformation is likely a pipe dream

AI writing tools can be disruptive–here are 5 ways to counteract their influence

Surveys show troubling trends in student behavior

Predicting innovation trajectories in K-12 education

How schools can become air quality champions this year

5 ways to support educator well-being this school year

10 SEL activities for high school students

5 ways for school leaders to promote equity, student agency

Digital tools prove critical for early learners during COVID

Leading in this time of crisis

Parents are critical to college and career readiness

Is it time to retire letter grades?

Now the hard work starts

5 edtech accelerators that are changing K-12

Why this school is thriving after implementing a 100% blended learning model

11 online tools & apps for dyslexic students

Are students buying what schools are selling?

This hybrid innovation is about to change your school forever

With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts

Fighting chronic absenteeism with data-driven insights–and a little fun, too

Books Are Fun and Ignite Reading Deliver Hundreds of Books to Oakland Students at Highland Community School

GEAR UP South Carolina Partners with National Math and Science Initiative to Expand High-Quality STEM Professional Development Across Seven School Districts

Ohio District Awarded CoSN Trusted Learning Environment Mini Seal for Student Data Privacy Practices

Otus Launches AI Advisory Board to Bring Voices of K-12 Leaders to the Forefront of Innovation

Kenneth C. Griffin Donates $2 Million to Nonprofit Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program to Strengthen South Florida’s Teacher Pipeline

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