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.

BOOKR Kids Enters US Educational Market With BOOKR CLASS Next Generation ESL Learning App For Classrooms And Families

BUDAPEST/LOS ANGELES (October 1, 2021) – An acclaimed and multi award-winning English As A Second Language (ESL)appin daily use with over 20,000 classrooms across Europe is launching in the US.  Produced and distributed worldwide by Budapest-based EdTec leader BOOKR Kids ( For Schools – BOOKR Kids) BOOKR Class combines original animation, music, interactive games, storytelling, animated flash cards with 4,000 words and a vast library of children’s books from prestigious publishers including Oxford University Press, Albert Whitman & Company and Blue Apple Publishing to deliver a first-of-its-kind ESL tool for both classroom and home use.

According to BOOKR Kids Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dorka Horvath, BOOKR Class underscores the unique effectiveness of ability digital media as ESL learning tools for the classroom.  “The digital world is constantly evolving, and students nowadays are constantly connected to digital media. Thanks to these many digital stimuli, their stimulus thresholds have risen, making it an increasing challenge for teachers to arouse their students’ interest and maintain their attention. Immersive and interactive, digital learning tools can encourage new levels of creativity and concentration in the classroom,” said Horvath. BOOKR Class presents storybooks in a highly engaging format to focus on reading in English.  Contemporary children’s literature combined with the use of advanced digital technology allows unprecedented opportunity for interactivity and engagement.  “Experiential learning is the future of education.  Children have always been naturally curious and motivated by interactive activities, making them perfect partners for digital educational platforms. Experiential learning can induce curiosity and excitement, creating a dynamic learning environment that engages children by tapping into their natural abilities.”

Organized in multiple levels that specifically address all age groups from kindergarten through eighth grade, BOOKR Classutilizes Accidental Learning as a basis for its comprehensive approach to teaching English.  A burgeoning new category of instruction, Accidental Learning occurs when the student is immersed in a range of activities and experiences outside of the scope of traditional instruction that leads to learning.  BOOKR Class promotes learning English vocabulary and structure as a by-product of enjoying the app’s diverse interactive elements.  To continuously measure each child’s reading ability, BOOKR Classemploys Lexile® Framework for Reading learning measurement technology. …Read More

How to establish international collaboration with esports

As the high school esports club advisor for the William Penn Cybercats, I have had the opportunity to work with my students on some pretty awesome projects. From building our club infrastructure to coordinating a beyond the games challenge, to organizing our first esports teams in Rocket League and Madden 21, and participating in North American Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) Minecraft builds. But as a 2020-2021 NASEF Fellow, I was encouraged to go beyond my building walls in a way that enhances cultural understanding and international collaboration.

In our tight urban community, I have seen students enjoy cultural experiences that built on their understanding of the world around them, but I have never helped coordinate them. For my NASEF Fellow Capstone project, I and another fellow, Ashley Sheehan from Windsor, United Kingdom, coordinated to have an international Minecraft Build. The task was simple: have a team from each town build a part of their world in this cross Atlantic server, and then discuss those buildings with each other in a live chat.

I banded a small group of students together, and gave them the task. They decided to build the school, William Penn Senior High School, and the park just outside of our main entrance, Penn Park. Both are iconic spaces in the community of York City, Pennsylvania. Ashley’s team of students were going to build their two schools, the Green Room School and the Green Room Sixth Form both in Windsor, UK. …Read More

Reading Eggs Reaches 20 Million Users Milestone

NEW YORK, NY – August 10, 2021– Reading Eggs, a Blake eLearning program that creates a unique online world where children learn to read, today announced that the platform now has over 20 million users worldwide. Over the past year, learners spent more than 43 million hours using the Reading Eggs and Mathseeds programs, which create a level playing field for learners with sequenced lessons that feature interactive animations, fun games, songs, and rewards that keep children engaged and motivated to learn.  

School closures related to the pandemic disrupted education for children worldwide. According to  UNICEF, more than 168 million children lost almost a full year of in-person instruction. Many parents who are working from home struggle to help their kids keep up with remote school sessions. And remote learning can be especially challenging for children engaged in formative instruction like learning to read. Millions of parents turned to Reading Eggs to set their children up for success.  

“Reading Eggs is a popular worldwide reading and math program,” said Katy Pike, Chief Product Officer at Reading Eggs. “Starting last year, demand spiked, and now we have more than 20 million users to date. Just in the past year, learners spent more than 43 million hours using our platforms to learn in a fun, interactive online environment. Kids love playing in the program, and parents are pleased when children are learning instead of playing video games or watching TV.”  …Read More

Scholastic esports participation leads to substantial learning outcomes

According to Newzoo, the live-streaming audience for games will hit 728.8 million viewers in 2021 globally. For reference, the NFL is projected to hit 141 million viewers.  Clearly, esports’ popularity is growing exponentially. However, many people are still unfamiliar with esports, especially the emergence of scholastic esports in education.

The utility of game-based learning in education has been known for a long time, but what is beginning to emerge is an understanding of how esports are having an impact in education. Due to the affordances of video games, esports promotes important qualities, forcing students to develop new skills and problem solve in novel situations bounded only by their imaginations.

Teachers who are pioneering esports programs can attest to this. Tyler Hahn, Director of the Cherokee Public Library in northwestern Iowa, has seen that “esports empowers learners to use the convergence [of] games and their own interests as a platform to acquire communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in all aspects of life”. His program is focused on developing college and career awareness services for middle school youth through esports and community engagement.…Read More

How scholastic esports opens up college pathways

Esports programs continue to grow at a rapid pace at both the collegiate level and at the high school level in the United States. With that growth, there are often salient questions that parents have when their children dive into the new world of scholastic esports and content creation: Are scholastic esports legitimate? What will they teach my child? Are you actually serious about a bunch of kids playing video games?

The answer to all of those questions is, without hesitation, yes. We are no stranger to those questions at NASEF and often talk with parents, educators, and students about the benefits of scholastic esports and the inclusion of video games into school curriculums.

Scholastic esports allows educators to open new pathways for their students in the burgeoning digital age of entertainment and education. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that in many ways, forcing classrooms to use online tools. Scholastic fellows are educators in a community of practice who develop and refine in- and  out-of-school curriculum that leverages student interest in esports. One of the most common refrains among the NASEF fellows was how the digital tools of gaming and esports helped keep their students connected to each other in a world-state that demanded we stay apart. In our interconnected world, games are often a dominant force in bringing millennials and Gen Z together.…Read More

What makes a good digital math tool?

During the COVID-19 disruption to education, the use of edtech tools surged. In fact, according, recent research, downloads of education apps in the U.S. increased by 130 percent. 

Within this surge, math saw the biggest jump in edtech tool usage. Math has historically been board-based in the classroom and paper-based at home. And while students had used digital tools like math games and at-home practice apps, these were strictly supplemental. Over this last year, however, as a result of COVID-19, teachers and students have had to adapt to using digital math-related tools, some for the first time. 

Since March of 2020, the usage of Texthelp’s own STEM application, EquatIO, has risen by more than 150 percent. …Read More

Family Game Nights Come Alive With Tacto

PlayShifu combines real figurines with digital gameplay to bring alive all-time favorite
board games & more


Cupertino, California (June 1, 2021) – The first-ever phygital board game platform using iPads,
Tacto is built on innovative touch technology and AI to turn screen time into family time. Tacto
uses real figurines to drive the gameplay on screen and adds immense richness, variety, and
storytelling to the experience. Tacto is the third flagship line from PlayShifu—the pioneers behind
Plugo and Orboot—who is revolutionizing the way Gen Alpha plays and learns.


The new product launch follows a year of rapid revenue growth and a successful $17 million
Series B fundraise for PlayShifu.…Read More

SplashLearn Raises $18 Million in Series C Funding Round From Owl Ventures & Accel

SplashLearn, the US-headquartered learning company began 2021 on a high note raising $18 million in Series C funding round led by Owl Ventures. San Francisco based Owl Ventures is the largest edtech sector-focused venture capital firm in the world. Accel, who earlier invested $7 million in Series B, also participated in this round.

SplashLearn was incorporated in 2010. The bulk of the business comes from the United States and currently, students in one in every three schools in the country use SplashLearn. SplashLearn is a game-based learning program that intelligently adapts to each child’s learning ability and helps them master skills at their own pace. Its curriculum covers pre-kindergarten through grade 5 for math and reading. With a strong focus on engagement and efficacy, it has over 4,000+ curriculum-aligned games and activities, designed to create an exciting learning experience for kids.

With the onset of Covid-19, SplashLearn saw a surge of almost 3x in adoption, as more students turned online and families began seeking educational support. In 2020, more than 10 million new users joined the SplashLearn program. The demand came in not only from the US but also the UK, Australia, and Canada. In the latter half of 2020, SplashLearn expanded its offering beyond the math program to include reading and also launched a personalized tutoring product, owing to growing demand from parents and teachers.…Read More

Super Duper’s Jeepers Peepers Game Wins 2020 NAPPA Award

Super Duper Publications’ Jeepers Peepers The “Ask and Answer” Question Game has earned a 2020 National Parenting Product Award (NAPPA). This popular family favorite won in the Best Board & Card Games category.

“Jeepers Peepers is a great interactive game because it’s so much fun to play, and at the same time helps young children develop important skills such as asking questions, describing, categorizing, and problems solving,” said Thomas Webber, chairman of Super Duper Publications. “We are honored that NAPPA recognized it as one of the best card games for families.”

The National Parenting Product Awards has celebrated the best in family products for more than 30 years and is one of the longest-running family product awards programs in the country.…Read More

Schell Games’ Virtual Reality Educational Tool HistoryMaker VR Now Available For Free

With a majority of schools participating in distance learning this year, Schell Games announced its virtual reality education tool HistoryMaker VR is now available for free on Steam for all to use.

HistoryMaker VR is an immersive content creation tool that helps students learn history in an entertaining and engaging way. This innovative application allows learners to display their knowledge of history, civics, and social studies, while offering educators and parents a new way to improve student engagement, increase lesson retention, and introduce an exciting alternative to textbooks and Zoom lectures. HistoryMaker VR seamlessly integrates into curriculums and includes classroom guides and recommended activities for teachers and parents to use.

Using an Oculus Rift/Rift S headset and a PC, learners and/or educators can upload a script, prep the stage with a variety of props and set pieces, and record themselves giving a speech as one of eight diverse characters in U.S. history, including Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and more. At the end of the recording, speeches can be exported as a video and shared with others, without the need for a VR headset. The videos can even be edited with any video editing tool, giving learners another opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and skill.…Read More