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 spooky Halloween videos for students of all ages

Key points:

  • TED-Ed Lessons are a great way to inject some fun into learning a new topic
  • During October, take advantage of creepy decorations and Halloween and use these videos to teach students some new facts
  • See related article: 9 TED-Ed Lessons about different holiday origins

It’s October, and for many students, that means pumpkins, scary decorations, and trick-or-treating on Halloween. What better way to celebrate October than to incorporate some fun and spooky videos to engage students, while also teaching them some fun facts?

Teachers with students of all ages can use TED-Ed Lessons to leverage October’s fun events (Friday the 13th in October, anyone?) and speak to students’ different interests.…Read More

Brainly Announces Beta Access to New AI Features, Developed with OpenAI’s GPT-4 for Personalized Learning

NEW YORK – Brainly, the leading global learning platform for all school subjects and grades, announces its new AI functions allowing Learners to “Simplify” or “Expand” answers. Guided by a friendly mascot named Ginny, students can benefit from the AI which operates on Brainly’s moderated Knowledge Base of over 250 million answers, ensuring the quality and accuracy of academic help. 

The beta version with “Simplify” and “Expand” functionality furthers a more dynamic, personalized learning experience for students. The “Simplify” function uses AI to modify answers to be shorter, straightforward and focused on the main facts. The “Expand” function lets Learners access more in-depth AI-generated explanations for an existing answer. 

Brainly is rolling out the beta version to selected users, who can experiment with the AI functions in the real world and provide feedback, with the full version and more functionalities expected soon. All users with iOS devices can request access to the beta here.…Read More

Teachers are burning out. Can AI help?

The teaching profession is in crisis. K-12 teachers report the highest burnout rate among all industries nationally, according to a June 2022 Gallup poll. Job satisfaction is at the lowest it’s been in 40 years. There is an estimated teacher shortage of over 300,000.

Many blame COVID-19, but if you look at the facts: the pandemic only revealed the cracks, long buckling under pressure.

But what if every single teacher could have an AI assistant? Would that change the game?…Read More

How hands-on education creates better educators

The profession of Educator is one of the most important occupations in the world. A great teacher inspires, motivates, encourages, and has direct impact on their students’ academic and career goals.

Educators are held to very high standards and are expected to have advanced knowledge and skills, as well as adopt and adapt to evolving practices and technologies. Great teachers know that their role first and foremost is to treat the student as an individual and understand their needs, learning styles, and abilities.

A teacher’s job is no longer simply delivering facts and information, but to help students learn how to use them, develop abilities to solve problems, make informed decisions, and build knowledge.   …Read More

Animalia and Rise Vision Partner to Teach Animal Facts and Statistics Through K-12 Digital Signage

(April 29, 2022) –– Looking for new and exciting ways to teach your students about the animal kingdom? Look no further than Animalia, an online encyclopedia of 6341 mammals, 10360 birds, 4464 reptiles, 3421 amphibians, and 4906 mollusks. This month, Rise Vision has partnered with Animalia to help students learn, explore, and value the magnificent diversity of the animal kingdom.

What makes this partnership so great is for no additional cost to schools, Rise Vision has created new templates including the Animal Of The Day, which shows a new animal every day of the year, with fun facts including the type of vore, life span, movement speed, and population size, along with a high resolution image of the animal.

Want to add these templates to your displays?…Read More

11 facts about K-12 IT leadership

Broadband access and the ever-growing equity gap are among K-12 IT leaders’ top concerns, according to CoSN’s annual IT Leadership Survey.

The survey, released in collaboration with the Ed-Fi Alliance and other partners, is based on a national survey of nearly 400 school systems and provides a nuanced look at the challenges K-12 IT leadership has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were proud to once again work alongside the CoSN team in developing this report,” said Sean Casey, manager of strategic partnerships at the Ed-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to helping school districts and states achieve data interoperability. “At Ed-Fi, our goal is to define data standards to solve problems shared by all educators and to arm the learning community with useful information, as found in this report, for conscientious decision-making that leads to better outcomes for learners everywhere.”…Read More

Are your students ready for their next step?

After more than a year of virtual learning, many educators and parents are investigating approaches to accelerate learning to ensure students are ready for their next step.  Learning does not just mean facts and content but includes a broad range of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and effective written communication, as well as social and emotional well-being.  

While content knowledge is a requisite part of a student’s education, on its own it is insufficient if a student is to thrive academically and professionally. Students’ critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication skills are essential for success in college and career. These are the skills in high demand by employers and higher education institutions.

Prior to the pandemic, CAE’s data show that 60 percent of students entering college are not proficient in these essential skills. Furthermore, 44 percent are still not proficient when they graduate. These are the students most at risk–and proficiency is likely even lower now, given the impact of the pandemic. CAE’s data also shows that students who are more proficient with these essential skills are more likely to have positive college and career outcomes.…Read More

4 facts about student-centered learning

A report from the Clayton Christensen Institute offers unique insights and recommendations for education as schools strive to move toward student-centered learning practices.

In the report, author Thomas Arnett highlights findings from survey data and discussed trends in instructional practices that could help redirect education and reshape its future.

Taking conventional classrooms online…Read More

11 facts about today’s K-12 IT leadership

Broadband access and the ever-growing equity gap are among K-12 IT leaders’ top concerns, according to CoSN’s annual IT Leadership Survey.

The survey, released in collaboration with the Ed-Fi Alliance and other partners, is based on a national survey of nearly 400 school systems and provides a nuanced look at the challenges K-12 IT leadership has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were proud to once again work alongside the CoSN team in developing this report,” said Sean Casey, manager of strategic partnerships at the Ed-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to helping school districts and states achieve data interoperability. “At Ed-Fi, our goal is to define data standards to solve problems shared by all educators and to arm the learning community with useful information, as found in this report, for conscientious decision-making that leads to better outcomes for learners everywhere.”…Read More