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.

Xello Partners with National ACTE to Launch Student Career Development Content Series

Xello, a modern K-12 college, career and future readiness program, is partnering with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) to support the release of a series of publication briefs, online lessons and webinars covering student career development for career and technical education (CTE) educators.

“We have a long-standing relationship with ACTE and we’re eager to build upon  our work with them to help equip CTE educators and counselors with high-quality resources to support student career development,” said Matt McQuillen, CEO and Co-founder at Xello. “ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework continues to raise the bar for CTE education – an effort Xello is proud to support, and one that aligns closely with our commitment to supporting all students, all pathways.”

This new set of resources supports ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework by providing CTE educators with pragmatic ways to support student career development. The new content series will highlight five topics, including:…Read More

5 cybersecurity life skills to teach all year

If a student from your school had someone knock on their front door, ask for personal information and offer to give them a treat in exchange for that information, what would happen? It depends on the child, but what you know for certain is that your district or school has been teaching stranger danger since that child was in kindergarten, so the odds are good that the interaction would raise a red flag for the student.

Why is it, then, that students are posting videos and photos on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat without any concern that their school name or home address is displayed prominently in the background?

Related content: 10 cybersecurity must-dos…Read More

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mindSpark Learning Impacts Record Number of Eductors Amid COVID-19 with 207% Rise in Professional Learning Participants

Education has been significantly impacted by COVID-19. Educators have been tasked with pivoting from in-person to remote learning more than once in many districts across the country. mindSpark Learning, a Denver-based national nonprofit dedicated to empowering educators with industry-oriented professional learning experiences, reported today it has seen a dramatic increase in educators seeking professional development (PD) and resources to upskill them in challenging times. Since March 2020, MindSpark has impacted more than 10,000 educators across 1,800 schools and districts around the world. This is a 207% increase in the total number of educators to participate in MindSpark PD offerings.

In response to COVID-19, the MindSpark team jumped into action to develop additional resources that address contingency planning, the sudden shift to remote learning, and provide additional networking and support opportunities through its Online Toolkit and reSOLVE series. While the session volume increased due to these new pandemic-related offerings, so did the average number of participants per session, which rose 133%.

mindSpark Learning prides itself on being accessible without creating a cost burden on educators. Thanks to generous support from community and industry partners, educators saved upwards of $396,150 on PD costs by choosing mindSpark Learning. Between March and November, 45% of participants experienced professional learning from MindSpark for the first time, while 55% trusted the organization enough to return for support and PD needs. Additionally, 43% of educators relying on MindSpark thus far come from rural or remote environments.…Read More

EdisonLearning and FocalPointK12 Announce Partnership to Provide Comprehensive Learning and Analytics Solution for Grades 6-12

EdisonLearning and FocalPointK12 today announced a partnership to provide a complete solution for grades 6-12, delivering more than 170 middle and high school courses along with nearly 60 embedded project-based learning (PBL) courses through a platform that integrates seamlessly with schools’ student information systems (SIS) and learning management systems (LMS).

The partnership enables device-agnostic access to educators and students, increasing accessibility to help close the achievement gap across the nation. The full benefits of this integration are immediately available to all current and new EdisonLearning customers.

EdisonLearning provides digital learning solutions, including core and elective eCourses for grades 6-12. This partnership expands its ability to support more schools and districts nationwide, increasing delivery of personalized learning and supporting equitable achievement for all students.…Read More

National Study Shows Online Literacy Engagement Minimizes COVID Slide

A real-time national education study of more than one million students by two leading not-for-profit education groups has found that continued engagement with technology-enabled instruction during COVID-19 school closures has significantly reduced students’ loss of potential reading growth. The Successful Practices Network (SPN) and the Center for College and Career Readiness (CCCR) released these findings today, which are some of the very first published results using current data of students’ learning from Fall 2020. Recommendations to help educators accelerate learning are also included in the new study.

This unique analysis draws its finding from actual usage and performance data for students using Achieve3000 Literacy™ before and after schools closed on March 11 through September 30, 2020. Data for more than 1 million students using Achieve3000 Literacy, an online solution for differentiated and personalized literacy instruction in Grades 2-12, during the 2019 and 2020 school years, demonstrates:

Students Lost Only 12% of Potential Learning Gains…Read More

5.3 Million Star Assessments Show the True Impact of the COVID Slide

Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, has released How Kids Are Performing: Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on Reading and Mathematics Achievement, a report detailing the learning effects associated with COVID-19 school disruptions. Designed to end the speculation and provide guidance for educators as they address learning gaps, the report is based on the results of more than five million student assessments.

Student assessments from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were included in the sample, which consisted of students in grades 1–8 who took Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, or Star Math assessments during both Fall 2019 and Fall 2020.

Key findings of the report include the following:…Read More

Why student safety tools are essential during a pandemic

Interventions into student safety, prompted by technology used to help school leaders prevent students from harming themselves or others, increased dramatically after COVID-19 landed in the U.S. and caused schools to close physical classrooms.

In its annual Student Safety Report, Gaggle, which uses artificial intelligence and trained safety experts in a student safety solution designed to prevent student suicide, bullying, inappropriate behaviors, school violence, and other harmful situations

According to the report, which analyzes incidents detected using Gaggle’s solution, during the 2019–20 school year, school and district educators were able to save the lives of 927 students.…Read More

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Can AR be the antidote to virtual classroom shortcomings?

Schools across the country are well into their second go-round of distance learning at this point. Things seem to be running more smoothly than the first attempt last spring–however, we are still experiencing growing pains to say the least.

Students, parents, and educators have all expressed serious concerns regarding distance learning. In a survey done by The Education Trust, a statewide poll found that 90 percent of parents are worried about their children falling behind academically due to coronavirus-related school closures.

One of the most difficult adjustments to this change, especially for teachers, has been the adoption of digital tools that aid distance learning. We’ve all become much more acquainted with Zoom and Google Meets.…Read More

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GoGuardian and Pear Deck Merge to Expand K-12 Classroom Management Offerings

GoGuardian, a K-12 EdTech company dedicated to maximizing each student’s learning potential by providing solutions that enable more productive and safer digital learning, today announced a merger with Pear Deck, an award-winning and market-leading student engagement platform.

The merger brings together two of the fastest-growing companies in education under a single umbrella and will enable a strong partnership that drives expansion into new, but interconnected growth areas, while supporting both organizations’ longstanding missions to help ensure K-12 learning environments are safer and more engaging for students.

GoGuardian has changed the way K-12 schools maximize the learning potential of every student. Its suite of solutions helps educators identify learning patterns, protect students from harmful and distracting content, and support students who are at risk of self-harm and suicide. GoGuardian partners with over 10,000 schools to engage with and protect over 10 million students across the United States.…Read More

STEM Careers Coalition Marks First Anniversary and New, No-Cost Digital Resources

The STEM Careers Coalition – the first-of-its-kind national STEM initiative powered by corporate leaders and anchored in schools by Discovery Education – marks its first anniversary by welcoming new members to the growing coalition and by offering educators, students, and families nationwide access to a host of new, no-cost digital resources. The array of dynamic resources leverages the power of digital content to connect all learners to their innate curiosity by bringing STEM to life.

Members of the STEM Careers Coalition are united by the common goals of empowering educators to teach STEM effectively in the classroom, fostering and promoting quality education, and building the next generation of STEM solution-seekers with intentional focus on racial and gender equity. Representing a range of industry sectors, the STEM Careers Coalition seeks to prepare 10 million students for the future of work by 2025 by providing equitable access to digital content and experiences that engage students in instruction, build foundational STEM knowledge, and develop the critical skills students need for college and career success. Among the new organizations supporting the Coalition’s mission are:

 …Read More