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.

7 educators share back-to-school action plans

This year, classrooms are opening with a combination of optimism and uncertainty. On one hand, this is the first truly “normal” back-to-school opening since the fall of 2019. But on the other, teacher burnout, educator shortages, and mass teacher resignations have plagued districts and states across the nation. Pandemic-related learning loss and student mental health remain among educators’ top concerns.

But, ready or not, back-to-school season is here. Seven educators shed light on their own back-to-school experiences, from early childhood education to STEAM and robotics and teacher recruitment.

Here’s what a return to classrooms looks like for these educators:…Read More

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Scholastic Launches Early Childhood Program to Start Every Child’s Learning Journey with Both Academic and Social-Emotional Support

PreK On My Way™, Designed in Collaboration with UTHealth’s Children’s Learning Institute and Yale Child Study Center, Brings Together the Latest Early Childhood Education Research in Language, Literacy, Math, and Social-Emotional Development

NEW YORK, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Scholastic has announced the launch of PreK On My Way, a comprehensive PreK program, with print and digital resources available in both English and Spanish. At the heart of the program is the Mind Builder™ skill-building methodology, developed with the Yale Child Study Center to support social-emotional learning, executive function skills, motivation, and creativity. PreK On My Way also incorporates UTHealth’s Children’s Learning Institute’s Developing Talkers/Hablemos Juntos research model, which is proven to significantly expand children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary skills.

To learn more, visit: www.scholastic.com/prekonmyway.…Read More

SDI, Inc. Launches Mobile App for PPE-As-a-Service to Simplify Procurement for Schools

In light of President Biden’s  executive order supporting the reopening of schools and early childhood education providers,  SDI, Inc., a leader in digital supply chain services and solutions, is launching a mobile app to streamline the process of procuring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other essential supplies, and complement its  PPE-As-a-Service offering. Powered by SDI’s ZEUS technology, the app supports both iOS and Android platforms, and enables users to view and order PPE and other essential supplies.

“We’re eager to leverage the comprehensive features of our ZEUS technology and provide additional convenience to our partners,” said Kelly Kleinfelder, Chief Information Officer & SVP, Information Technology at SDI. “Demand for PPE remains at an all-time high and is unlikely to decrease any time soon; our new app ensures users can order items as needed and monitor usage anywhere, and at any time.”

Key features of the app include:…Read More

Top ways to choose and use tech in early education

Proper early childhood education technology use is critical

early-educationMaking sure that young children benefit from technology isn’t quite as simple as handing a child a mobile device with age-appropriate apps. But using a series of questions and requirements can help ensure that technology in early childhood education environments makes a big impact.

Research has already established some key steps to better early childhood technology use, and ensuring that technology resources and software meet certain requirements can enhance young students’ experiences and learning.

Technology tools are just like paper, blocks, or crayons–they’re materials from which teachers can select to facilitate learning and play.…Read More

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5 new findings about early childhood data use

New findings indicate more coordination is needed; report offers 3 recommendations for policymakers

childhood-dataA new survey reveals that most states cannot answer the most basic questions about early childhood care and education, including whether young children up to age 5 are on track for academic success and if early childhood educators are adequately trained to teach and prepare young children, because data system on young children are house in separate and uncoordinated systems with different managing agencies and processes.

Because of this, policymakers and early childhood education professionals, as well as parents, need timely and accurate access to data in order to make informed decisions.

Early childhood education professionals in particular need data about young children’s development in order to inform and personalize instruction, according to 2013 State of States’ Early Childhood Data Systems, the latest survey from the Early Childhood Data Collaborative.…Read More

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Budget for 2014 is a mixed bag for schools

Early education sees more money, and sequestration cuts are rolled back—but many programs are still funded below 2012 budget levels

budget
Title I grants for disadvantaged students will receive $14.4 billion, and IDEA will get $11.5 billion.

Congress has passed a federal budget for the 2014 fiscal year that includes more money for early childhood education, a priority of President Obama.

The budget also restores most of the funding cut from education programs such as Title I and special education under sequestration last year. But the funding for these large formula-grant programs still falls short of 2012 levels.…Read More

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How to support young learners with tablets

Tablets target young learners with engaging software

young-learnersTablets and other mobile devices are not uncommon in today’s classrooms and in the hands of students. But companies targeting “typical” students sometimes forget an important subset that benefits greatly from access to mobile devices–young learners, especially those in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

While schools often make headlines for tablet initiatives involving grades 3-12, young learners do not always have the same access to tablets. Laptops and desktops can be hard for young students to navigate using a mouse, a touch pad, and dealing with large keyboards.

Children are usually familiar with tablets’ touch-screen technology early in their lives, and a growing group of companies and education leaders are creating tablets targeted toward early childhood education in an effort to engage them and form solid base skills that will carry them through elementary school and beyond.…Read More

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The disturbing shift underway in early childhood classrooms

A disturbing shift is underway in early childhood classrooms around the country, The Washington Post reports.  Many classrooms, especially those that depend on public funds, look more and more like classrooms for older children where standards, testing, and accountability rule.  Federal and state mandates are pushing academic skills and testing down to younger children, even preschoolers.  These days, there is less and less emphasis on promoting child development, active, play-based learning, and hands-on exploration for our nation’s youngest learners…

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Early childhood education, technology and games: What Mario didn’t teach your kids

Anyone who grew up with a Nintendo more than likely has memories of their parents telling them to stop playing before it rots your brain, the Vancouver Sun reports. We’re swapping stories at the table about what it was like as a kid growing up with video games, and everyone on the team has an experience that is similar to that old catechism. In the early days of gaming it was hard to see the potential for teaching games had, and they were certainly not associated with Early Childhood Education…

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