6 ways edtech tools help teachers save time

According to the National Council on Teacher Quality (2012), the average teacher in the United States gets 45 minutes of planning time per day. If a teacher has five classes, that gives them just 9 minutes per class to create an engaging lesson that meets the needs of every student in the room.

Needless to say, educators don’t have nearly enough time to plan lessons. The easiest solution to this problem would be to give teachers more prep time. However, as that seems unlikely to happen, here are six ways that teachers can use edtech tools to save time.

1. Find a learning management system that works for you
Learning management systems such as Google Classroom, Schoology, or Seesaw can drastically cut down on the time needed to assign in-class work or homework. With just a few clicks, a teacher can push out an assignment to all of their students instead of having to waste time at the printer. Each learning management system operates a little differently, so you should experiment with a couple of them to see which one works for
you.…Read More

Carolina Biological Supply Company’s New Young Innovators Program Inspires Students with K-12 Students’ Inventions

BURLINGTON, NC, Aug. 2, 2021 – Leading school science supplier Carolina Biological launched the Young Innovators program to highlight student inventions and inspire students and teachers to see that all students can succeed in STEM. As educators and students return to class this fall, these high-interest profiles are free resources perfect for engaging students in learning science, while promoting equity and inclusion. One of the first Innovators of the Month to be featured is six-year old Robert Samuel White III (Sam). Sam White, whose amazing new take on a traditional ABC song encourages other students to think about the jobs they could have as they learn the letters of the alphabet. A video of Sam singing his co-written song, “ You Can Be ABCs,” with his dad went viral on social media last fall. What started as a simple idea to make learning fun for Sam turned into a sensational video and soon to be book that parents and teachers can use with their students who are learning to read. Sam, entering second grade, has also recorded a new video for Carolina, featuring STEM careers to educate young students about jobs in science. A diverse selection of young student innovators will be featured so that all students will see someone that they can relate to. From their classrooms or at home, teachers can engage students in learning science. The new site www.CarolinaYoungInnovators.com launched with 12 Young Innovator profiles and will recognize their accomplishments by honoring a Young Innovator of the Month every month. Carolina is searching for more Young Innovators to highlight, so teachers are encouraged to nominate their students on its online recommendation page.

Individual profile pages and free downloadable literacy cards for each Young Innovator are available now in a choice of grade-appropriate K-12 reading levels in English and Spanish. Teachers can access and share these digital resources with students anywhere they have Internet access. Suggestions are provided for how teachers can use these stories with their classrooms. Carolina is celebrating the launch with a Facebook contest through August. Four winners will receive a Young Innovators poster and T-shirt, plus a signed copy of Sam’s book.

The inspiring students featured in Carolina’s Young Innovators program will surprise and captivate students’ attention. They demonstrate the amazing achievements that happen when students take action to answer a question or solve a problem in science, technology, engineering, and math. By recognizing and celebrating these Young Innovators’ accomplishments both big and small, Carolina strives to open the door to possibilities, to inspire all students and nurture their visions. Carolina promotes diversity and inclusion to encourage every student to take their place in STEM.…Read More

6 practical tips to help students manage post-pandemic screen use

The coronavirus pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for schools. Teaching became a juggling act. Educators were forced to navigate the never-ending stress of new local, regional, and national rules and the ongoing adaptation of their classrooms. A dizzying amount of flexibility was required. Materials, strategies, and techniques needed to reach students in-person, online, and in hybrid settings had to be adjusted on the turn of a dime.

As always, educators had to take into account different learning styles and preferences. Some students took to online learning well, but many didn’t. Teachers had to find creative ways of making school material interesting, engaging, and relevant (a task that is difficult enough during normal circumstances). 

On top of the pedagogical demands, the emotional connections that are so central to meaningful teaching and learning shifted and changed as well. Teachers had to find new ways of developing and maintaining personal relationships with their students.…Read More

5 tools for classroom comic creation

While it may not seem a traditional learning tool, comic creation helps across an array of core subjects and learning objectives. Comics are engaging, fun, and help students take ownership of their learning.

Comic creation gives students flexibility for self-expression, while at the same time unleashing creativity and giving students a new way to demonstrate their learning.

And comics aren’t limited to art and English classes, either. Students can use comic creation to illustrate science concepts, translate historical events into informal stories, and break down complex topics into easily-digestible snippets.…Read More

3 ways to create curriculum with real-life relevance

When a school is fortunate to have exceptional teachers with diverse backgrounds, those teachers can draw on their experiences and interests to create a strong, engaging, and original curriculum.

Our school, Laurel School, is one such school. Laurel School is a nationally recognized independent K-12 day school for girls, and it includes a co-ed pre-primary as well.

The curriculum is shaped in part by a diverse staff with unique interests and a creative mentality for turning those interests into special opportunities for our learners. The curriculum reflects research on the power of growth mindset, best practices for girls, and proven approaches for introducing girls to the fascinating world of STEM and STEAM professions.…Read More

New Features Added to Discovery Education’s K-12 Learning Platform Gives Teachers New Ways to Engage Students with Digital Content Everyday

SILVER SPRING, MD (Tuesday, July 13, 2021) Discovery Education today announced new features and enhancements to its award-winning K-12 learning platform. The latest Discovery Education platform combines dynamic new tools with the amazing, timely content educators have come to know and love to give all users new ways to seamlessly create exciting and engaging learning activities each day. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art K-12 digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.

Ever since its debut as United Streaming more than 20 years ago, Discovery Education’s learning platform has been known for its expansive treasury of digital resources, which now includes more than 200,000 videos, text-based passages, interactives, audio, podcasts, and images that span all grades, subjects, and critical topics of today. Each month, Discovery Education adds hundreds of new resources—including ready-to-use activities, Virtual Field Trips, video from trusted partners, podcasts, and relevant, curated channels—to excite, engage, and connect students to the real world.   

Now, Discovery Education is building on its legacy as the leader in digital content by adding a host of new, time-saving features to its platform supporting teaching, creating, and professional growth. Among those enhancements are:…Read More

Post-pandemic tools are focusing on engaging digital content for all learning scenarios

Engagement–whether students are hybrid or in person–is a top priority for educators, particularly after the rollercoaster year COVID delivered to schools. Another thing COVID made clear? The need for impactful edtech tools and digital content.

New updates to Discovery Education‘s K-12 learning platform combine engaging tools with timely, vetted, and easy-to-access content. The updates give educators and students new ways to seamlessly create learning activities each day.  

“Where we are really focusing is that we want to bring joy back to teachers’ lives,” said Jason Ediger, Discovery Education’s chief marketing officer. “There’s something magical around the way teachers are inherently creative; they want to connect with a student and give them that hook for understanding. They want to help them see the possibilities available to them in the world.” …Read More

Teaching coding and design can lead to tech literacy

Technology is ubiquitous in the lives of today’s students. As technology users, students access technology for entertainment, communication, and learning. Tech literacy, which has become as essential as reading, writing, and arithmetic in preparing students for the future, encourages students to move beyond the role of technology consumers to becoming technology creators.

Encouraging technology creators means engaging students in project-based technology courses that introduce them to coding, design, gaming, and animation. And as students complete projects such as developing an app, creating a 3D video game, or designing a collection, they gain relevant, hands-on experience using industry-standard tools professionals use. Students apply creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills–competencies that are important in preparing students for the future and are applicable to any career, whether it’s in technology or not.

While states are adding computer science as a requirement for high school graduation, fewer than half of K–12 public schools are able to offer technology courses. For Wautoma High School in rural Wautoma, Wisconsin, adding technology courses to the high school offering afforded equity of access to an online solution that would otherwise be prohibitive to a smaller district.…Read More

BenQ Expands Lineup of Classroom Interactive Displays With Entry-Level Cloud-Based Models

COSTA MESA, Calif. June 30, 2021 BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, is bringing the power of cloud connectivity to the forefront of classroom learning to support remote and hybrid environments with the new, affordable RE Series interactive displays. Available in 65-inch, 75-inch, 86-inch, and 98-inch models, the RE series incorporates the same intuitive, feature-rich EZWrite cloud whiteboard software and InstaShare wireless screen sharing system as the award-winning RP Series raved about by teachers. Educators simply tap to teach with all the tools they need right at their fingertips to make learning a positive, engaging experience and build future-ready, successful students.

“When we introduced our education interactive displays over nine years ago, we designed a collaboration solution that was based on years of feedback gathered from teachers, students, and school IT and technology staff,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ America Corp. “The RM and RP Series solved the user, connectivity, and collaboration challenges they experienced with traditional whiteboards — from glitchy touchscreens and limited collaboration and content capabilities to zero asset and software management and maintenance features. As we enter an all-new era of learning, we have continued to listen to the education community. The RE Series furthers our commitment to responding to these needs with features and capabilities that are ready to support the new dynamics in today’s hybrid classrooms.”

Reaching New Heights in Student Engagement and Collaboration
Student engagement is the most vital element in learning. Regardless of where students are learning from, BenQ’s RE Series interactive displays make instruction immersive, active, and fun. The UHD displays come equipped with BenQ’s EZ Write software, featuring easy-to-use cloud-based tools that allow users to share notes, ideas, and lessons from anywhere. With students returning to the classroom, teachers can seamlessly increase student participation with the display’s built-in license-free wireless collaboration and presentation system, InstaShare. The wireless screen-mirroring software allows up to four students to share the screen at one time. With more students sharing the screen at a time, it helps them to stay focused and share ideas. InstaShare also features touchback, which gives users the flexibility to control and interact with content on the screen directly from the interactive display or a personal device.…Read More

21 awesome AR and VR tools for learning

Nearly everyone has experienced augmented reality and virtual reality to some degree, and while they’re fun, AR and VR can also be incredibly powerful when integrated into classroom learning.

During an engaging ISTELive 21 session, Jennifer Hall, NBCT, an educational technology specialist with Atlanta Public Schools, outlined an abundance of AR and VR apps for students and educators.

Augmented reality is the idea that you’re bringing something into your real world and using your device to see something that isn’t actually there. Animation or 3D images come into your real world. Virtual reality is where a person is immersed in the experience, as if they’re actually there.…Read More

4 ideas to create engaging online learning activities

While most schools plan for full in-person returns in the fall, plans are not 100 percent certain right now. Variables such as more contagious COVID strains, approval and availability of vaccines for children younger than 12, and local COVID outbreaks could force schools back to online learning for weeks at a time.

Teachers and students learned a lot about online learning during the past 15 months–what works and what doesn’t, strategies to engage with one another, and how to form meaningful relationships during online, hybrid, or distanced in-person learning.

During ISTELive 21, Dr. Jennifer Courduff, a professor of education at Azusa Pacific University; Dr. Peter Hessling, an assistant teaching professor at North Carolina State University; Dr. Jean Kiekel, an assistant professor at the University Of St. Thomas; and Dr. Susan Poyo, an associate professor of education at Franciscan University shared four ways to create engaging online learning opportunities for students.…Read More

3 ways assessment data advances student equity

As educators, we all know the importance of data in decision-making. We understand how limited, skewed, or biased data–or no data at all–can result in faulty decision-making and regressive actions, be it in our teaching and learning, curricular design, assessments, or administrative responsibilities.

We know that robust data and effective dissemination of the same are needed for nuanced and meaningful use. Additionally, data-informed decision-making must be inclusive in its approach by engaging all potential stakeholders so that it can lead to transformative action and change. Afterall, data in the right hands at the right time has the power to change destinies.

Students also need robust data to make informed decisions that can have a positive impact on their educational journey and their long-term success. We train our students to engage in research, build evidence-based arguments, and practice scientific thinking, but as educators, we often limit it to the discipline-specific content we cover. We absolve ourselves of the responsibility to teach students how to learn–using data–especially as they age.…Read More