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.

The Social Institute Expands Staff to Meet Growing Need for Nurturing Student Well-Being, Including Positive Social Media & Tech Education

Durham, N.C. – The Social Institute today announced Chris Valada has joined the company as Head of New Partnerships, leading a team of representatives from across the country to bring positive social media and tech education to more schools. Valada spent his career in EdTech sales and has worked across K-12 and Higher Ed.  

“Chris joins us at an important moment for our company,” said The Social Institute Founder and CEO Laura Tierney. “Forward-thinking educators know that social media goes hand-in-hand with student well-being — and now that students are online more than ever, the need for positive social media education has never been greater,” she continued. “Chris has the background, skills, and experience to lead us into 2023 and beyond.” 

The Social Institute also announced that Andrea Jenkins has been promoted to Director of Partner Success. In this role, Andrea will lead the Partner Success team with the goal of continuing to expand district partnerships. Jenkins, a former educator, has been with the company for nearly two years in the sales department. …Read More

Gen Z students are aiming for STEM careers

A majority of high school and college students chose STEM as their No. 1 preferred career path, according to a survey of 11,495 Gen Z students conducted by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).

The 2022 Career Interest Survey gives insights into what motivates an adventurous, civic-minded, concerned, vocal, tech-savvy, emerging workforce.

NSHSS is an academic honor society that recognizes and serves high-achieving student scholars in more than 26,000 high schools across 170 countries.…Read More

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Territorium Launches First AI-Powered Comprehensive Learner Record for Higher Ed and K-12, TerritoriumCLR™

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 3, 2021 —  Territorium, a global education technology leader with 9 million users worldwide, today announced the U.S. launch of its AI-powered, cloud-based Comprehensive Learner Record. TerritoriumCLR is certified by  IMS Global Learning Consortium. TerritoriumCLR captures all aspects of learning and activities, in school and in life, into a complete competencies and skills transcript, empowering students to optimize their education and career.

By harnessing AI and machine learning, TerritoriumCLR is able to rapidly map and analyze every learning experience inside and outside the classroom into the granular competencies and skills that reflect true learning – not just the courses and grades on a traditional transcript. For higher ed students, TerritoriumCLR recommends courses, learning experiences, and job pathways tailored to each student’s interests and needs. For K-12 students and administrators, TerritoriumCLR ensures the State’s education standards are being followed and the necessary skills are being acquired to provide an accurate measure of competency-based learning.

“We are thrilled to bring our Comprehensive Learner Record to U.S. students,” said Guillermo Elizondo, Cofounder and CEO of Territorium. “By identifying skills gaps at all ages, students, parents, teachers and administrators all have the needed information to ensure proper learning is happening and make any corrections early and in a highly personalized manner. As the future of work changes, the need to understand skills and competencies is becoming increasingly critical. TerritoriumCLR eliminates the guesswork for all involved.”…Read More

Free At-Home Learning Content During Crisis

WESTCHESTER, IL, Mar 18, 2020 – Follett, a trusted partner to PreK-12 schools, public libraries, and college campuses for more than 145 years, is working with customers to ensure they can quickly and easily use the company’s wide range of eLearning solutions and access to content as more students shift to learning from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“As we all navigate through these unprecedented times, we want educators and parents to know they’re not alone,” said Patrick Connolly, President and CEO of Follett Corporation. “Follett offers a variety of eLearning products for both PreK-12 and Higher Ed that can be quickly and easily accessed. These are solutions customers already have access to, and our goal is to ensure they know about all their options to help with the continuity of education.”

Here is a closer look at Follett’s company-wide eLearning resources that are being made available at libraries, schools and universities in communities across North America affected by the COVID-19 virus:…Read More

Why lifelong learning matters for K-12 students

In an ever-changing global workforce, today’s students are developing skills to make them productive members of tomorrow’s workforce. Perhaps one of the most important skills they’ll learn is lifelong learning.

A new report highlights lifelong learning’s prominent part in higher ed and the workforce, but the report’s recommendations are also important for K-12 educators and learners.

Related content: 5 strategies to navigate the future of learning…Read More

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How to balance work and study as a teacher

According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report, 93 per cent of employees would stay at a company longer if their employers invested in their careers. Continued professional development (CPD) is something that a lot of employees, including teachers, are keen to invest their time and energy into.

CPD opportunities for teachers might include: :

  • Workshops, seminars and conferences
  • Online learning
  • Professional reading
  • Mentoring others
  • Formal study.

Going back to study while teaching can not only be fulfilling, but add sought-after skills and qualifications to your CV. Despite this, one challenge for those considering further study is the delicate work and study balance. To maintain this balance, there are some tips you can employ to ensure both your classroom work and study to thrive.…Read More

Student: How a virtual education prepared me for higher ed

For home-schooled students like me, the process of earning a high school diploma is a bit more complicated than it is for “traditional” pupils. Those complications extend into the higher education world where some colleges accept home-school diplomas and others require GED® test scores as part of the application process.

For me, those GED requirements weren’t a problem. I used the Virtual High School (VHS), a non-profit global collaborative of schools committed to expanding educational opportunities for students and educators, for the majority of my studies, and those courses helped prepare me above and beyond for the GED.

In fact, I scored above the 90th percentile on all of them.…Read More

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This program could skyrocket AP scores

Participating in a specific college readiness program could cause a massive increase in qualifying Advanced Placement (AP) scores for students.

Schools that complete the first year of the National Math and Science Initiative’s College Readiness Program see the number of qualifying Advanced Placement scores in math, science and English increase by an average of 67 percent, based on data from the College Board.

The increase at NMSI-supported schools is more than 10 times the average annual increase.…Read More

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The 2 edtech fields with the most potential under Trump

The tumultuous early weeks of the Trump administration have produced plenty of headlines and controversy, but almost nothing on higher education. The nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has only recently been confirmed, and given her background in K-12, higher education was not a major theme of her Senate hearing. The announcement of a task force to reform higher ed, to be led by Liberty University President, Jerry Falwell, Jr., gave little detail about its policy priorities or objectives but remains the young administration’s only substantive action on higher ed to date.

Why the Administration Matters

Ultimately, public policy is just one of many factors shaping the edtech environment; and, regardless of policy direction, any administration should provide consistency and stability for the institutions and investors that purchase our products and services.…Read More

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