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.

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

Rhode Island Department of Ed Names Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready® an Approved Interim Assessment

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) recently named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Diagnostic as an approved interim assessment for the 2020–2021 school year. Now, local education agencies (LEAs) across the state will have access to the award-winning online program for students in Grades K–12 as well Curriculum Associates’ accompanying professional development to support educators as they work to improve student achievement in both reading and mathematics. Today, the i-Ready program serves more than eight million students and approximately 25 percent of all K–8 students in the United States.

“RIDE naming i-Ready Diagnostic to this list further validates the use of our assessment by our many school partners in the state,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “And, it allows us to serve even more educators in Rhode Island to meet their assessment needs, as well as provide them with both practical and effective professional learning to support their ongoing instruction.”

In response to the current pandemic requiring flexibility in how learning takes place, RIDE sought to provide LEAs with high-quality, computer-based interim assessments in English language arts and mathematics to support the measurement of student learning progress at certain points throughout the year, as well as to diagnose learning gaps and inform teachers where students need additional supports. After a rigorous review, i-Ready Diagnostic was named one of the chosen assessments for meeting RIDE’s assessment criteria.…Read More

Apex Learning and Illuminate Education Partner to Inform Meaningful Instruction

Apex Learning, a recognized leader in online learning and Illuminate Education, a leading K-12 student performance system, announce a new partnership. The new partnership provides schools and districts the ability to correlate learning gap assessments to digital curriculum, enabling individualized learning pathways for students in the critical subjects of Math and English Language Arts.

“We recognize the need to meaningfully link assessment data with effective and targeted instruction,” said Chris Porter, CEO, Apex Learning. “Especially in light of the profound impact of school closures due to COVID-19, and the challenges educators now face, efficient use of assessment information to drive individual student instruction is critically important.”

Apex Learning Courses curriculum seamlessly integrates with a district’s technical vision, simplifying the implementation from day one, but also supporting educator success throughout the process. Apex Learning Tutorials are used for grades 6-12 to strengthen skills, address learning gaps and provide personalized, scaffolded pathways for students to boost readiness to succeed on grade-level and provide students with opportunities for personalized acceleration.…Read More

How IT leaders can thrive in the post-COVID era

This school year is unlike any other. More than 90 percent of households with school-age children are engaged in some form of distance learning from home, while college students are navigating a variety of hybrid remote learning environments. These new learning environments present challenges for educators and school IT leaders alike.

Related content: How COVID put a spotlight on equity

As educational institutions of all sizes are weighing how to keep students engaged while also ensuring their safety, IT departments are faced with a difficult task – how to keep operations running regardless of the learning environment.…Read More

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UWorld Launches New Tools to Support Educators in Fostering AP® Success

UWorld, the worldwide leader in online learning to prepare for high-stakes exams, today announced the launch of AP® (Advanced Placement®) Learning Tools, a new College Readiness solution to help educators enhance instruction, improve student performance, and effectively prepare for AP exams. The tools save teachers time while enabling students to achieve their academic goals.

Forty percent of students who take AP exams only earn a score of 1 or 2, but studies show that students who score a 3 or higher are more likely to be successful in college and graduate. AP Learning Tools uses College Board®-level questions and clear, concise answer explanations to help students understand why they got an answer wrong, retain information, develop critical thinking skills, and deepen subject-area knowledge.

“Some 1.24 million students took an AP exam in 2019, and that number is predicted to grow year-over-year—and yet educators have little access to AP instruction and exam prep resources that are particularly effective in distance and hybrid learning environments,” said Chandra S. Pemmasani, M.D., UWorld’s founder and CEO. “With our AP Learning Tools, educators have access to progress and performance tracking that helps them identify gaps, modify instructional approaches, and support students—all from their computer.”

All of UWorld’s College Readiness solutions are developed using research-based educational strategies that support instruction, improve engagement, and build critical-thinking skills so that students have the knowledge and confidence to succeed. The answer choices used in AP Learning Tools are updated weekly to ensure alignment to current AP courses and exams. An easy-to-use assignment tool allows educators to customize assignments and integrate content into lessons. Plus, reporting tools provide meaningful insight into student AP performance at the classroom, school and district level.…Read More

Verizon launches free trainings and tools to help educators navigate digital instruction

What you need to know:

  • As the nation faces a surge in Covid-19 cases, and schools continue to grapple with uncertainty and closures, Verizon is providing additional support and remote learning resources for educators, students and parents
  • Teacher Training Pathways offers educators a free platform for professional development
  • Expansion of Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program to include additional student connectivity and teacher professional development for Title I schools

As the ongoing pandemic continues to exacerbate the digital divide in America and increase barriers to digital learning, Verizon is increasing its investment in support of remote learning with the launch of new programs to benefit technology-integrated instruction: Teacher Training Pathways and a new offering within the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program. Developed under the Verizon Innovative Learning program, Verizon’s education initiative focused on addressing barriers to digital inclusion, these programs will bring valuable training and tools to educators and students in support of digital learning and help bring connectivity to  students in under-resourced schools. These efforts are part of Verizon’s continued commitment to Digital Inclusion, a key pillar under Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, and are vital in helping Verizon reach its goal to provide 10 million young people with the digital skills training necessary for them to thrive in a modern economy.

Educators across the nation can now access Teacher Training Pathways, a free platform offering courses aligned to micro-credentials on remote and hybrid learning, instructional technology coaching and more. Created in partnership with the education non-profit Digital Promise, Teacher Training Pathways will help teachers become more efficient and effective in delivering technology-integrated instruction. The platform will feature an evolving library of courses to further develop educators’ digital literacy. Registration is now available for courses designed to help educators address learning challenges in remote instruction, explore education technology tools and develop both synchronous and asynchronous instruction for learners.…Read More