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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.

Adventure 2 Learning Acquires Mission Move, An Activity-based Education Provider

Mission Move’s standards-based video program utilizes kinesthetic movement to make math, language arts, and nutrition fun for elementary-aged students.

New York, NY – Adventure 2 Learning, a leading video-based education platform, announces the acquisition of Mission Move to expand its offering of fun, interactive programs to help educators and parents make learning exciting.

Mission Move was developed by educational experts to utilize kinesthetic teaching and amplify learning for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Mission Move incorporates movement with lessons in math, English language arts (ELA), and nutrition to make learning fun and engaging for kids. Mission Move won the 2016 Wisconsin Innovation Award following the initial success of its program in schools throughout the state. An independent research study across 3 school districts that was subsequently published in the Journal of Childhood Obesity found that Mission Move not only increased students’ general physical activity and desire to learn, but also resulted in an 18% increase in math scores and 8% reduction in behavior-related incidents across the districts. …Read More

4 lessons the edtech industry should take from the pandemic

It happened slowly, then all at once. Vague news from Wuhan, stories from Seattle, then a run on hand sanitizer and paper towels. Within a few weeks, districts nationwide had canceled in-person classes, Chromebooks had sold out, and edtech companies were inundated as educators were forced to reinvent school in the digital space.

It has been a year since we started shutting our schools and transitioning to remote learning. Tragically, this has led to many students falling behind—especially low-income students and English language learners. The pandemic has compounded many of the systemic inequities that plague our schools. 

Edtech had the opportunity to help address these inequities. In some ways, edtech has risen to this challenge, but the field has also learned some things the hard way. Here are four major lessons our industry should take from the pandemic.…Read More

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5 ways to integrate ELL instruction into teaching and learning

As a curriculum and learning specialist at an elementary school in Verona, Wisconsin, l have the opportunity to work with amazing educators and students of all cultures; as a prior bilingual resource and two-way immersion Spanish teacher, I like to honor the language learners in our classrooms.

I work with all teachers and all students. I help teachers find resources to help support their curriculum and often that entails helping them find new ways to include their English Language Learners in their lessons. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, an average of 9 percent of students in U.S. public schools are English Language Learners (ELLs); that number is closer to 14 percent in cities.

Here are five ways you can integrate ELL instruction into teaching and learning. These are simple strategies and some resources that are not very time-consuming, and best of all, they will help all the students in your class feel included and able to access the curriculum.…Read More

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Lexia Learning’s PowerUp Literacy Program is 2.5x More Effective in Helping English Learners Close Critical Reading Gaps

Many English Learners (ELs) across the United States have gone months without exposure to the academic English they require for success in school and that they would normally receive in formal education settings. A lack of access to connectivity and devices for distance learning, especially in low-income and under-resourced communities, has resulted in ELs being at a high risk for suffering from “COVID learning slide.” However, a recent study on the Lexia® PowerUp Literacy® (PowerUp) adaptive blended learning program found that PowerUp users outgained non-users by nearly 30 points. In fact, the program was more than 2.5 times more effective than typical interventions for both EL and non-EL middle school students. The cluster randomized control trial met ESSA’s standards for Strong Evidence—the highest tier of efficacy evidence outlined by federal law.

“According to a report from the Council of the Great City Schools, instructional technology that both accelerates learning and supports academic language development is particularly important for ELs, ” said Lexia Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke. “Since ELs have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, the fact that PowerUp is proven to help this population just as effectively as their non-EL peers will be an important part of post-COVID recovery.”

Developed to address the decades-long gap in reading proficiency across the nation, Lexia PowerUp Literacy is designed to enhance core English language arts instruction for struggling readers in grades 6-12. Blending personalized online student-driven instruction with teacher-delivered lessons and activities, the program accelerates the development of both fundamental literacy skills and higher-order thinking skills through adaptive learning paths. PowerUp is currently used by more than 300,000 students globally.…Read More

McGraw Hill Announces a Next Gen Update to Its Beloved Reading Mastery K–5 Instructional Solution

Learning science company McGraw Hill today announced the release of Reading Mastery Transformations, a long-awaited update to the beloved and effective English language arts solution for grades K–5, used in tens of thousands of classrooms across the country and trusted by educators for 65 years.

Reading Mastery, an evidence-based Direct Instruction program, is a comprehensive K–5 ELA curriculum that has been shown to improve reading performance for a wide range of students, including special education populations. Educators use Reading Mastery to systematically teach key foundational literacy skills and how to read, comprehend, and write narrative and informational text of increasing complexity—while building oral language fluency skills. Reading Mastery motivates learning, transforms teaching with greater efficiency, and achieves substantial results for children.

The Transformations Edition includes over 40% updated, meticulously curated, author-crafted content, combined with responsive data monitoring for identifying mastered skills, measuring achievement, targeting remediations, and facilitating mastery for all students. Leveraging the strong foundational skills pedagogy, the program now features multimedia and video content, critical classroom management updates, just-in-time remediations, and a focus on teaching students how to write and discuss, beginning as early as kindergarten.…Read More

How an art teacher tackles STEM and PBL

This past year has been, without a doubt, the most challenging one of my entire teaching career. As an art teacher, I always say that my teaching style relies on that one-on-one connection with each student in order to help them build their confidence to prepare them for an engaging, hands-on learning experience.

This approach is even more crucial given my students are newcomers and English language learners, as I was just a decade ago. I work with high school students in the Engaging Newcomers in Language and Content Education (ENLACE) Academy at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

During this time when we are fully remote, it is especially frustrating knowing that students with high needs are struggling and as much as you try, it feels like you can never do enough to help them given the unprecedented circumstances we’re all living through.…Read More

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IXL Learning Agrees to Acquire Wyzant Tutoring Marketplace

IXL Learning, the K-12 personalized learning platform used by 11 million students, today announced it has agreed to acquire Wyzant, the nation’s largest marketplace for online tutoring. The addition of the Chicago-based company will expand IXL’s capacity to address the needs of all students with personalized, one-on-one mentoring. 

Founded in 2005, Wyzant offers an expansive digital network of more than 65,000 tutors from a broad spectrum of academic and professional fields. Wyzant seamlessly connects students to the perfect tutor for online or in-person lessons geared toward their unique needs. Wyzant tutors serve learners of all ages and backgrounds, offering in-depth guidance on topics including English, language arts, physics, calculus, coding, LSAT test prep, music and more. 

“Wyzant expertly brings together students and world-class instructors. We’re excited to welcome Wyzant’s talented team to IXL and build a strong partnership rooted in a love of learning,” said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL.  …Read More

Zaner-Bloser Partners with Listenwise to Sell Its Listening Skills Platform

Zaner-Bloser, a publisher of early literacy resources, has entered into an agreement with ed-tech company Listenwise, an award-winning platform that brings podcasts to the classroom, to promote and sell its listening skills platform of the same name to the K-5 market.

Launched in 2014 for secondary grade students and in 2020 for elementary school students, Listenwise harnesses the power of listening to advance literacy and learning in all students by using podcasts as classroom texts, amplifying content and providing students practice in required listening skills. It uses a curated collection of compelling, nonfiction podcasts and stories from National Public Radio and other trusted sources, paired with learning tools and comprehension assessments, to engage students while advancing their literacy skills. Aligned with all states’ English Language Arts standards, it’s a unique listening skills platform for the K-12 school market.

“We’re excited to promote and offer this program in alignment with our mission of providing joyful learning opportunities for all students,” said Amanda Stedke, Vice President of Product for Zaner-Bloser. “Listening to podcasts is an engaging way for all students to build their literacy skills.”…Read More

VHS Learning Students Once Again Exceed National Averages on Advanced Placement Exams

Students taking Advanced Placement® courses through VHS Learning maintained their decade-plus record of exceeding the national average pass rate on AP® exams. A score of 3 or higher on an AP® exam is considered a “passing” grade for AP® college credit at many universities.

The national pass rate for the 2020 AP® Environmental Science exam was just over half (53%), but almost all (95%) VHS Learning students passed that exam. Pass rates for the 2020 AP® English Literature and Composition exam were even more remarkable. Nationally, 60% of all the students who took that exam received a passing score, but the VHS Learning pass rate was 100%, meaning all VHS Learning students who took the exam achieved a score of 3 or higher.

“What a pleasure it is to see our VHS Learning students continue to surpass AP® exam national averages, especially in a year as stressful as this one,” said Carol DeFuria, President & CEO of VHS Learning. “We’re happy that VHS Learning can help provide continuity of learning and a strong educational foundation to students during these trying times.”…Read More

Laredo Independent School District and IXL Partner to Support In-Person and At-Home Learning

IXL Learning, the K-12 personalized learning platform used by 11 million students, today announced a three-year agreement with Laredo Independent School District to bring its award-winning program to approximately 23,600 students and 1,100 teachers. Through this partnership, all 33 schools in the district will use IXL to supplement math, English language arts, science and social studies instruction.

Laredo ISD is located in Laredo, Texas, on the border with Mexico. The district is home to eight National Blue Ribbon Schools and serves a large bilingual and English language learner population. Laredo ISD began piloting IXL in 2019 to complement its high school English language arts instruction and to identify areas where students were struggling. When the COVID-19 crisis took hold, its leadership turned to IXL for a robust remote learning experience that would empower all its students to learn from anywhere.

One of the district’s priorities was to fill knowledge gaps that arose during school closures. School leaders were thrilled to find that students had access to an entire K-12 curriculum in one place, allowing learners to quickly catch up on previous grade-level content at any time. Laredo ISD highly valued IXL Analytics and Live Classroom, which give educators the ability to accurately monitor student growth in real-time from home. The district also appreciated IXL’s ability to work as both a synchronous and asynchronous platform, as mandated by the Texas Department of Education.…Read More