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.

Gale Primary Sources Release New Archives Dedicated to Underrepresented Histories

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – March 30, 2022 – Gale, part of Cengage Group, is supporting academic initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with the release of six new archives on the Gale Primary Sources (GPS) platform. These archives explore the stories of LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, women, Native Americans and other underrepresented communities. Gale Primary Sources provide librarians, students and scholars with historical context on controversial issues from a wide range of perspectives underscoring how the past has shaped today’s political and civil rights movements across the globe.

With the steady increase in misinformation on campus about diversity, social justice and political issues, these archives change the conversation by providing access to original historical primary sources that enable researchers and students to compare resources and make key connections. These latest archives from Gale promote open dialogue and teach critical thinking skills that inspire change and cross-cultural awareness.

“No other resource gives researchers more insights from more perspectives than Gale Primary Sources. The original, first-hand content is meticulously cross-referenced to bring facts into focus and information to life in remarkable new ways,” said Seth Cayley, vice president of global academic product at Gale. “These new additions came from regular discussions with researchers, librarians and students who have emphasized the need to support diversity, equity and inclusion. Our work to bring these stories to life is ongoing at Gale. We are actively working on several projects that will provide a greater representation of the history of minority groups like these.”…Read More

GPS keeps track of Chicago-area school bus riders

Palos Heights School District 128 is among a growing number of school systems using GPS technology to keep track of whether students get on and off their buses safely, reports ChicagoBreakingNews.com. Superintendent Kathleen Casey researched the technology last year after a first-grade student missed his stop, remaining on the bus as it rolled by his grandmother who stood waiting for him. Casey said the child never left the bus, but for 20 minutes, school officials and family members raced to find him. “It’s a terrifying experience,” she said, adding that she hopes the technology will help if future incidents occur. About 5 percent of the 490,000 school buses that transport kids across the country are believed to use the student tracking technology, according to the National Association for Pupil Transportation. “It’s absolutely growing, and I think exponentially,” said Executive Director Mike Martin. Palos Heights officials assigned the ID tags to 400 students in preschool through fifth grade. Teachers clipped a card to each student’s book bag. From her office, transportation director Barbara Lynch can check when a student boards or exits a bus or when a bus leaves the school. If a parent calls to inquire about a late student, Lynch or the school secretaries—the only ones able to log into the system—can determine the bus’s location along the route and whether a particular child is on board. The system updates every 30 seconds and uses GPS technology to track the buses. Students are logged in to the bus using radio frequency identification (RFID). The district paid $16,000 for the technology on 10 school buses—a price that included the RFID cards, which cost $3.25 each…

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Texas county uses GPS tracking to keep kids from skipping school

Montgomery County, Texas, is using Global Positioning System technology to keep track of truants to make sure they’re not skipping school, KIAH-TV of Houston reports. “It works, it just works,” said Justice of the Peace James Metts, who gives out small black boxes that look like old cell phones to teens who end up before him in court. The boxes are GPS monitors that students have to keep with them for six weeks. It’s part of a program called Attendance Improvement Management, or AIM. The court has a total of 25 devices. If students avoid school during the program, the judge can send them to the county jail for three days. Metts says the county has had a 95-percent success rate since the project started last spring. Students also have to check in with a mentor three times a week. The program, which costs $70,000 a year, is funded by money paid to the court from convicted felons…

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