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.

14 trailblazing educators you should follow on Twitter

Social media plays a large role in today’s society, and most educators aren’t scared to jump in and leverage Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to increase their professional learning networks.

In fact, regular Twitter chats that focus on professional development, resources for students, special educations, and myriad other educational topics can do wonders for teacher morale.

But as great as Twitter is, it also can be overwhelming. Who should you follow? How often should you tweet? Which chats should you participate in, and how frequently?…Read More

5 critical considerations for CBE and CBL implementation

As schools begin to invest in competency-based education (CBE) and higher ed institutions set up competency-based programs, two of the big questions often unanswered become “is their focus on education or on learning?” And “what’s the difference?”

Educators can argue that the characteristics of CBE call for increased attention to learning: clearly defined competencies, flexible time structures for competency mastery, and teacher and faculty roles for mentoring learners, to name a few.

But to what extent is academic culture, even in CBE programs, actually changing to be more learner-centric? How often are educational business decisions made with clear consideration of learners’ perspectives? Are academic credentials simply assumed to represent relevant learning, or do they actually document and verify competencies with evidence of learning? Are we meeting the needs of lifelong learners?…Read More

In the marketplace: Funding for active learning, a helping hand for innovative programs, and an interactive book program

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change.

Check below for the latest marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

ClassLink, a provider of single sign-on and rostering solutions for education, announced a new relationship with Istation, an e-learning program. This relationship will provide millions of educators and students with secure OneClick access to Istation, enabling faster, easier access to one of education’s most trusted providers. Read more.…Read More

In the marketplace: Measuring student progress, new digital solutions, personalized learning, and more

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change.

Check below for the latest marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

A new web-based tool will offer far greater ease and clarity for state and district leaders seeking to set learning goals and measure progress under the sweeping Every Student Succeeds Act. The tool, called the Student Growth Simulator, was developed by Chiefs for Change, researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, and Tembo, an education technology firm. Read more.
Canvas by Instructure launched a new, first-of-its kind mobile app that allows parents or designated guardians to monitor their children’s education and progress at a glance. The Canvas Parent app is available to all iOS and Android users to help parents of K–12 students stay informed on their children’s assignments, grades and overall schooling. Read more.
Skyward has launched Qmlativ Education Management System, the next evolution of the company’s SIS and ERP technology. The SQL-based platform features a revolutionary user experience, preemptive support measures, and a focus on the growth and development of every user. The platform’s simplified interface and commonsense navigation are designed to ensure a successful and enjoyable experience for even the least tech-savvy users. Read more.
A new K-12 digital solution from Britannica Digital Learning, called LaunchPacks: Social Studies, is designed for classroom use and to make lesson planning more efficient. The solution helps teachers engage students with ready-to-use content that covers the entire curriculum. LaunchPacks includes more than 1,600 current, trustworthy and highly relevant content sets, from American Folk Heroes to World War II, offering a full range of articles, images, videos and primary sources presented in an engaging interface and optimized for any size device. Read more.
OnCourse Systems for Education, a provider of cloud-based technology for schools, has announced a partnership with Hopewell Valley Regional School District. Over an 18-month period, the district transitioned 400 staff members onto the new, all-encompassing platform with the aid of OnCourse Project Management and Support. After implementation, educators, administrators, and students reported numerous improvements to their daily experience. Read more.
The Houston Independent School District is installing adaptive security motion detection from NAPCO Security Technologies in all its schools. NAPCO’s adaptive motion detection equipment automatically selects the appropriate mode in order to optimize intruder catch and reduce false alarms, according to the company. HISD, the seventh largest K-12 school district in the United States, has secured a bond that would fund considerable spending on upgrading its security needs. Read more.
Education Elements, which builds and supports school systems that meet the needs of every learner, will partner with Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to design and implement personalized learning across all its elementary and secondary schools over the next three years. The district has set five strategic goals, including personalized learning, effective communication, parent and community engagement, organizational support, and technology integration. Read more.…Read More

Kick off your Hour of Code with Minecraft’s help

Just in time for Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code, Microsoft Corp. and Code.org have unveiled the Minecraft Hour of Code Designer, a coding tutorial for students and educators.

The Hour of Code is an annual global campaign held during Computer Science Education Week, which this year runs Dec. 5–11.

The new web-based tutorial, available for free at http://code.org/minecraft, helps novice coders to create and share their own simple “Minecraft” game, and is designed to empower anyone to begin learning the problem-solving and critical thinking skills required in today’s tech-fueled world.…Read More

We used these Google tools in our schools and saw tangible results soar

Authors’ Note: We’re often asked by educators, “what impact do you see with Google technology in schools?” Last year we engaged Evergreen Education Group on a journey around the world to answer that question. During Education on Air on Sunday December 3rd, we will share the findings in Impact Portraits. These case studies demonstrate the success with Google for Education through the lens of teachers, students and administrators. To hear Linda Darling-Hammond lead a discussion on Impact Portraits, register now for Education On Air.

At Evergreen Education Group we’ve studied K-12 digital education for sixteen years. Among the most important developments we have seen is the proliferation of devices in the classroom, whether through bring-your-own-device, district-led one-to-one programs, or other channels. However, relatively little study to date has examined how devices are successfully deployed and what their impact has been.

Getting Real Input from the Ground…Read More

ISTE seeks your opinion on its Standards for Teachers

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) announced that it is seeking public comment on the first draft of the refreshed ISTE Standards for Teachers. More than 600 individuals from around the world provided insight into the contents of this initial draft and, by the time the second draft is released in early 2017, ISTE anticipates that thousands more will have participated in the process.

HOW:  Similar to the recent refresh of the ISTE Standards for Students, the refresh process for the ISTE Standards for Teachers is open and inclusive, soliciting input from educators around the world at every step. To help educators participate in the process, ISTE today released a free toolkit for facilitating a public forum, Twitter chat, or conference session with colleagues to provide feedback to the process.  The toolkit includes a facilitator’s guide, surveys for gathering feedback and annotated presentation slides.  For more information, visit http://www.iste.org/TeacherRefresh

WHERE: The first draft of the refreshed ISTE Standards for Teachers is available for comment at http://bit.ly/2eU05Rl…Read More

In the marketplace: An NBA math program, coding tools, and a new literacy initiative

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change.

Check below for the latest marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Discovery Education launched a new multi-year partnership that will deepen middle and high school students’ engagement in mathematics nationwide. In this new collaboration, which harnesses students’ interest in professional basketball to help teach important mathematics concepts, interactive math problems derived from NBA and WNBA game footage and statistics such as points, rebounds, assists and more, have been integrated into Discovery Education’s Math Techbook™. Read more.…Read More

In the marketplace: A cross-curricular contest, free coding access, and more

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change.

Check below for the latest marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

It’s no secret that learning a second language, building on communication skills and absorbing other cultures are important components of success today. In order to best prepare its students to compete in a global world, Missouri’s Nixa Public Schools (NPS) is implementing a new world language program for all students grades 2-6 this fall. The school district has brought on renowned language learning provider Rosetta Stone for this initiative after successfully completing a pilot program this past spring and summer that showed positive engagement and progress. Read more.…Read More

In the marketplace: Science achievement skyrockets, makerspaces expand, and more

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change.

Check below for the latest marketplace news to keep you up-to-date on product developments, teaching and learning initiatives, and new trends in education.

eScholar announced the launch of a new solution for states seeking to directly certify eligible students for free or reduced-price school meals through the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The new solution, eScholar DirectMatch, enables users to match student data with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) files using the solution’s combination of probabilistic and deterministic matching algorithms. This process allows states and their school food administrators to quickly and accurately identify students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Read more.…Read More