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.

Why “offline” digital learning is critical to impact children worldwide

As thousands of educators, entrepreneurs, and investors gathered at the recent ASU+GSV Summit, a growing number recognized both the need and opportunity for educational innovation in developing countries, particularly for the over 250 million children who lack access to schools.

But many of the solutions proffered still focus on internet-based solutions. Glaringly missing from the landscape are adaptive, digital learning solutions that are offline.

While we work to increase universal access to the internet, the edtech ecosystem cannot ignore the hundreds of millions of children currently without connectivity but who are eager to learn.…Read More

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Here’s why you should attend FETC 2020

Celebrating any anniversary is exciting, but this year, educators, administrators, and support staff can all celebrate the 40th anniversary of FETC- Future of Education Technology Conference in Miami, FL.

For those of you who have attended this conference in previous years, the Miami Beach Convention Center is a new venue jam-packed with “game-changing” keynotes, workshops, concurrent sessions, learning labs, and so much more. FETC will not disappoint with its focus on innovation, creativity, collaboration, and personalized learning strategies for our students.

Related content: 5 components of educational innovation…Read More

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5 components of educational innovation

The industrial education model was massively successful at first, with high school graduation rates and student achievement increasing decade after decade. However, by the end of the 20th century, it was evident that the industrial education model had hit its limit, with graduation rates plateauing at 80 percent and student achievement and engagement plummeting the longer students were in school.

According to Dr. Devin Vodicka, chief impact officer at AltSchool, in a recent edWebinar, reform after reform and many well-intended efforts have tried—and failed–to make all students successful. Vodicka, along with Erik Burmeister, superintendent, and Theresa Fox, coordinator of technology and innovation, both from Menlo Park City School District (CA), noted that if 80 percent of students are graduating, then 20 percent of students are not graduating–educational professionals can’t remain satisfied with these statistics.

Related: 9 innovation tips from pioneering schools…Read More

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9 secrets of innovative schools

Innovative educators know how to take teaching and learning to the next level

innovative-schoolsToday’s schools, educators, and district leaders strive to give students the best education possible. Doing that means being innovative.

But in today’s world of ever-changing technology tools, assessments, new instructional approaches, and calls for reform, what does it mean to be innovative?

This broad question, which is open to interpretation, leads many schools to revamp practices and policies to reflect a more modern approach to education.…Read More

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How the government can drive school innovation

The federal government should support, and even offer incentives to, states that move toward competency-based learning systems, Horn writes.

The opportunity to transform the nation’s education system from its factory-model roots to a student-centric version has never been greater.

Online education is growing rapidly in full-time virtual schools, and even more so in blended-learning environments. This is the future of our education system. Now, America must embrace this change to create alternative learning models that maximize every student’s learning potential and improve the outlook of the country’s global competitiveness.…Read More

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New grant program seeks solutions to toughest classroom challenges

Educators are invited to share ideas for solving classroom challenges, with the chance to win grants to implement their ideas.
Educators are invited to share ideas for solving classroom challenges, with the chance to win grants to implement their ideas.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has partnered with the nation’s largest teachers union and its charitable foundation to launch a grant program encouraging public school educators to identify and solve K-12 education’s most pressing classroom challenges.

The new “Challenge to Innovate” (C2i) program leverages ED’s Open Innovation Portal to solicit ideas in a process known as “crowdsourcing,” in which officials tap the collective wisdom of a large group of people through the power of the internet.…Read More

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Wisconsin agency aims to transform education’s core

A group of 45 Wisconsin superintendents hopes to transform the state's educational practices.
A group of 45 Wisconsin superintendents hopes to transform their educational practices.

With support from all of its 45 superintendents, a Wisconsin regional service agency is determined to reinvent the very nature of public education so that all students are equipped with the 21st-century skills necessary to compete and succeed in a global workplace.

Among its many innovative strategies for transforming teaching and learning, the service agency is moving from age-based groups of students to progress-based groupings; dropping standardized practices in favor of customized learning plans; phasing out print textbooks in favor of dynamic digital resources; and shifting from teacher-led instruction to a blend of face-to-face and online approaches.…Read More

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