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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.

For Back to School, Savvas Supports Educators and Students With Innovative Solutions to Maximize Personalized Learning

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — As students return to the classroom for the new school year, Savvas Learning Company is helping educators move learning forward with engaging, easy-to-use K-12 solutions that offer data-informed instruction and adaptive technology to take personalized learning to the next level.

“A one-size-fits-all instructional approach doesn’t work in a classroom where every student brings their own unique learning style. More than ever, personalized learning is critical in getting students engaged and motivated to learn and supporting academic growth,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Teachers know best how to personalize learning for their students. This is why Savvas delivers learning solutions that are powered by adaptive technology, enabling educators to easily tailor instruction to address each student’s learning needs, interests, and abilities.”

Whether delivered via visually engaging textbooks or powered by the most advanced digital technology on the award-winning Savvas Realize LMS, Savvas Learning Company’s rigorous, standards-aligned resources focus on putting the student at the center of learning. It does this by leveraging adaptive learning practices and interactive technology to provide dynamic, real-world learning experiences that foster greater student engagement.…Read More

Schools Across the U.S. and Around the World Partner with VHS Learning to Open a World of Opportunities to Students

Boston — Schools across the U.S. and in eight countries have started or renewed partnerships with VHS Learning this year to provide teacher-led, high school online courses in a variety of disciplines. Some have been partnering with the nonprofit organization for over 20 years.

“Online learning is a valuable tool that can help schools provide students with greater course variety and options for learning,” said Carol DeFuria, President & CEO of VHS Learning. “Schools around the world value our 26 years of experience educating students online, and many partner with us year after year. They trust our program to support their schools’ instructional needs and provide their students with comprehensive, interactive, and engaging online courses led by certified teachers.”

New international school participants this year include BIS in the Republic of Korea, Kingham Hill School in the United Kingdom, and Shanghai SMIC Private School in China. Returning schools include American Community School Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; Asia American International Academy in Taiwan, Province of China; Escola Americana de Belo Horizonte in Brazil; Qatar Academy Sidra in Qatar; and International School of Kigali in Rwanda.

In addition, many U.S. schools have continued their long-time partnerships with VHS Learning. Schools that have utilized VHS Learning for 20 years or more include three Massachusetts districts: Abington High School in Abington, Nipmuc Regional High School in Upton, and Northbridge High School in Whitinsville. Schools that partnered with VHS Learning over 15 years ago include Hampden Academy and Falmouth High School in Maine, and Bromfield School and Hopkins Academy in Massachusetts, Newmarket Junior-Senior High School in New Hampshire, and Hackettstown High School in New Jersey.…Read More

Star Assessments Now Connect to Nearpod to Accelerate Student Growth

Bloomington, MN (August 17, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is pleased to introduce a powerful new connection between its industry-leading Star Assessments and Nearpod platforms to accelerate learning in the 2022–2023 school year. This is just one of the many exciting new product features that schools and districts can access for Back to School. Renaissance has also curated fun, engaging, and helpful resources for its products to help ensure a strong start for both educators and students as they are together again in the new school year.

To better connect assessment, instruction, and practice, Star Assessments users now have one-click access to Nearpod’s lesson library and learning resources within the Star platform. This streamlines the lesson-planning process and helps educators to more easily differentiate instruction for individual students, small groups, and entire classes in both literacy and mathematics. Educators who are using Nearpod Math have access to additional content and tools within Star to support students’ math achievement.

In addition, Renaissance is thrilled to introduce two foundational literacy assessments for the new year:…Read More

Vernier Software & Technology Launches E-Book to Support Hands-On Science Learning for Middle School Students

BEAVERTON, Oregon, July 27, 2022 — Vernier Software & Technology has launched Light & Matter: Vernier Supplement to OpenSciEd Unit 6.1 to support engaging, hands-on science learning for middle school students. This free e-book incorporates data-collection technology into the first lesson in OpenSciEd Unit 6.1, which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), to help students gain a deeper understanding of the initial scientific concepts being taught and to motivate their learning throughout the remainder of the unit.

“It is so important for teachers to have high-quality content to help build students’ STEM literacy at an early age,” said John Wheeler, CEO of Vernier Software & Technology. “Our partnership with OpenSciEd gives middle school teachers access to free, standards-aligned, technology-integrated instructional materials to support this work. The new supplement, in particular, helps set the stage for the following lessons in the unit by encouraging students to collect and analyze data as they engage in three-dimensional learning and explore how light interacts with matter in the world around them.”

After watching a perplexing movie involving a one-way mirror, Light & Matter: Vernier Supplement to OpenSciEd Unit 6.1 prompts students to use a Go Direct® Light and Color Sensor to quantify amounts of transmitted and reflected light, then compare the sensor readings with what they perceive with their own senses. Using various models, students develop an understanding of two of the ways light interacts with matter. They also answer the question, “How can something act like a mirror and a window at the same time?”…Read More

5 digital tools to enhance your social studies instruction

Over the span of my 22-year career as South Carolina public school educator, I’ve taught in self-contained classrooms and I’ve been in departmentalized settings.  Although I love teaching all subjects, I always choose English/language arts and social studies, in part because I love the challenge of engaging young leaners in these important subjects.

As a fourth-grade English/language arts and social studies teacher in an elementary collaborative learning magnet program–which is also a NASA Explorer School–I get the challenge of unlocking the minds of 9- and 10-year-olds who are more at home in the STEM subjects than in exploring literature or our country’s history.

In my quest to engage my students in social studies, I’ve found that, after a few rounds of trial and error, the social studies textbooks belong on the shelf. Instead, I’ve turned to a host of exciting digital resources that would engage the students and connect their lessons to the “real world”, enhance my delivery of instruction, and expand students’ knowledge of our country’s history.…Read More

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How I use PowerPoint to make learning more engaging

In my role as a 5th grade teacher, I’ve come to believe that one of the best ways to integrate technology into the classroom is to start with the lesson itself.

Lessons can be turned digital, and formatted in a PowerPoint. I teach using PowerPoint or Google Slides. These resources are very user friendly for teachers and students. This makes the process of creating the content easier for the teacher. If
the students are creating a presentation, a simple How-To-Use would cover the basics of where certain options are located and how to use them.

When students create their own slideshow presentation, it makes them use their creativity and it boosts their confidence in themselves. Most of my students love presenting the work they have created because they are proud of what they
accomplished and want to share it with others. It is a way for students to show their abilities and artistic ideas in their work. When students are turning in their presentations, teachers can comment directly on the slideshow. This real-time feedback allows students to see where they made an error, and they can edit just the portion of the presentation where the error was made. …Read More

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Hawaii’s Kihei Elementary School Selects Discovery Education’s Mystery Science to Support Deeper Student Engagement in the 2022-2023 School Year

SILVER SPRING, MD (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)—Hawaii’s Kihei Elementary School today announced that it has expanded its partnership with Discovery Education, which has supported the school’s educators in creating engaging digital learning environments since 2015. Through this new phase of collaboration, educators at Kihei Elementary School will add Mystery Science, an award-winning digital resource for K-5 teachers and students, to their suite of Discovery Education resources used across the school during the 2022-2023 school year. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Located on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Kihei Elementary School’s mission is to develop the whole child through teamwork and collaboration among students, teachers, parents, and the community. While the school’s educators currently use both Discovery Education’s K-12 platform and the company’s Science Techbook to support teaching and learning in all disciplines, Kihei Elementary School’s educators sought additional resources that would easily support the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards and promote hands-on learning. Following a careful review of possible resources, the Kihei Elementary School team selected Mystery Science for classroom use.  

Mystery Science, which joined the family of Discovery Education services in 2020 and recently won SIIA’s Best Science Instructional Solution CODiE award for Grades PK – 8, provides K-5 educators simple to use, open-and-go, hands-on lessons that inspire students to love science. Each lesson begins by posing a question commonly asked by young students, followed by a series of brief videos and prompts to guide class discussion. The lesson concludes with a hands-on activity designed to bring learning to life. …Read More

5 tech tools I use in my elementary music classroom

Technology has become more prevalent in schools in recent years, with a big uptick due to the pandemic. Teaching online during the pandemic has shown us that high-quality tech tools are out there–but how do we continue to use these resources in our classrooms today?

The creation and use of digital music has also become more common today. How are we exposing our students to creating music through technology? I have found some online music resources that have transformed my teaching as an elementary general music teacher and have provided engaging content for my students.

1. Chrome Music Lab…Read More

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5 ways to create a strong math culture in your schools

Picture this: a student enters your classroom, a negative attitude at the ready. They are distant during class, uninterested in engaging with the material, and their beliefs confirmed every time they get a question wrong – “I can’t do math.” How can teachers combat this belief?

The culture that schools foster through the messages, beliefs, and behaviors that educators promote can help create a positive attitude among students that leads to better math achievement. Furthermore, research suggests that having a positive attitude toward math can boost math achievement.

In my 40-year tenure, where I concluded my career as a math specialist at New Caney Independent School District (ISD), I employed the following five strategies to help educators foster a strong math culture that leads to greater success for their students.…Read More

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