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.

Are your students podcasting yet?

Podcasts and collaborative audio projects are becoming more prevalent in the classroom, thanks to technology that is constantly improving and the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices. Kids are learning on the go, and these evolving opportunities must meet them where they live—on the devices that are always at their fingertips.

Today’s recording technology makes it easy to collaborate. This feature wasn’t available until recently, and it gives educators a unique tool to improve creativity with project-based learning that empowers, engages, and excites students.

Kids love making podcasts because they love to make. Period. Whether it’s a project proposal, a presentation, or a piece of art, they want to be creators. They don’t want to merely consume, and podcasts are an awesome outlet for their original compositions. By giving our kids an even greater voice in driving their own education, we change the way we teach and personalize the way they learn.…Read More

Using tech to hire teachers: 5 lessons learned at a growing charter school

It’s no secret that finding and hiring teaching talent is one of the biggest challenges schools and districts face.

My school, Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School (HSCS) in the Bronx, has experienced this first hand.

Over the past four years, our school has grown into a full-service 6-12 middle and high school, serving students and families in the South Bronx. During that time, we’ve almost tripled our staff size, hiring more than 20 teachers per year.…Read More

3 steps to a more accessible classroom

“Turn on the subtitles, Ms. Olague!”

I clicked on the “CC” button underneath the YouTube video, and the closed-captioning appeared at the bottom of the screen. Suddenly, all my students were looking at the screen with wide eyes, eager to watch the video. In my first-grade classroom, a third of my students were learning English as a second language. Though my English learners were the initial reason I starting using closed-captioning on videos, I soon realized that students with special needs also benefited. As a public school teacher, I had to constantly evaluate how my teaching practices and materials could better include and empower the vast diversity in my classroom.

My students loved having subtitles on during short videos because it gave them more opportunities to interact with and learn from the content. All my students were learning how to read, and the captions helped them connect the audio to the visual representation of text. Plus, the students who struggled with attention didn’t miss out on any information since they could access the content through the voice-over, the visuals in the video, and the text in the captions. I used closed-captioning with BrainPop Jr. content, ClassDojo videos, GoNoodle, and other phonics or science videos on YouTube.…Read More

#3: 4 ways teachers can supersize Hattie effects

[Editor’s note: This story, originally published on July 24th of this year, was our #3 most popular story of the year. Happy holidays, and thank you for tuning into our 2017 countdown!]

In 2015, researcher John Hattie updated his seminal research Visible Learning. Hailed as “teaching’s Holy Grail,”1 Hattie synthesized 15 years of research on more than 800 meta-analysis about what works in the classroom. His goal was to focus educators around the idea that all students should make at least a year’s worth of progress for a year’s input.

Hattie found that most of the classroom activities we engage in have some effect on student achievement and even memorably noted “perhaps all you need to enhance learning is a pulse!”2 but he was also able to determine the average effect of classroom practices.…Read More

How school IT pros can use BYOD principles to ace the BYOA test

Just when school IT administrators thought they were on level ground after wading through the murky waters of BYOD (bring-your-own-device), a new challenge has emerged.

BYOD has led to the burgeoning popularity of BYOA (bring-your-own-application). Students and teachers alike are now using their own apps, on their own devices, for their own educational purposes. Video streaming, word processing, and other online learning tools are all apps, and they’re increasingly being used to both supplement and even replace traditional forms of learning in all grades and education levels.

BYOA presents a number of IT challenges. In addition to the strain that applications and data usage can put on school networks, users will undoubtedly be using unauthorized apps that may compromise network security. School administrators will need to do double-duty. They must make sure that their networks are running seamlessly, while locking them down to ensure unerring security, all without compromising the user experience.…Read More

Block and tackle: How to mitigate a cyberattack on your school

Cyber-attacks have been making headlines after massive data breaches at Fortune 500 companies. According to a recent report by the Business Continuity Institute[1] and the British Standards Institution, nearly nine in 10 businesses worldwide are worried about the threat of cyber-attacks.

Recently, the panic has spread to educational institutions. Unfortunately, schools, colleges and universities are perfect targets, often possessing out-of-date security systems and a wealth of sensitive, monetizable student data. According to the Wall Street Journal[2], cyber attackers have struck more than three dozen schools this year, including recent news of an attack on the Flathead Valley School District[3].

Experts warn these attacks are likely to increase, and educational institutions are increasingly prioritizing investment in technology and systems to prevent cybersecurity breaches.…Read More

7 ways to effectively address challenging behaviors in children with autism

Challenging behaviors can be difficult to address in children with autism. After appropriately identifying the behavior, a suitable intervention can be used to proactively, or reactively, reduce and replace it. Experts reviewed key points and effective ways to address these problem behaviors in the edWebinar, “Effective Approaches to Reduce and Replace Challenging Behaviors Exhibited by Children with Autism.”

1. Define the behavior in a non-subjective manner: In order to address a behavioral problem, the behavior must first be defined. The behavior should be specific, observable, and measurable, and it should not be subjective.

2. Have a data baseline: It’s crucial to have a baseline to tell if the intervention is working, and how well. Therefore, data collection is key when putting an intervention into place. Different methods of data collection can be used depending on the circumstance or how you plan to measure the behavior that’s occurring.…Read More

How to measure edtech impact in the ESSA era

The Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN) and Empirical Education Inc. recently released the Guidelines for Conducting and Reporting EdTech Impact research in U.S. K-12 Schools. These guidelines help clarify how research is conducted and how information is presented to users of edtech products based on the changes brought by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In “Measuring Edtech Impact in the ESSA Era,” experts delved into the details of the guidelines.

The updated guidelines take into account nearly all edtech products today in the cloud, providing more access to teacher and student usage data. They also account for the timeline for compressed development of edtech products, and standards of evidence having changed to a more developmental scale with ESSA replacing No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Districts are more frequently asking for their own student and teacher product usage data to perform their own studies. The structure and definitions provided by these new guidelines are useful in helping them obtain what they need and figure out how to do their evaluations.…Read More

4 ways to improve STEM professional development

In Charlotte County Public Schools (CCPS), all 10 of our elementary schools have a STEM lab. As early as kindergarten, students begin engaging in hands-on learning and exploring STEM careers. Yet, even with regular visits to the STEM lab throughout elementary school, our fifth graders struggled on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment. Another challenge was that our teachers didn’t have a defined STEM curriculum that was uniformly applied to all elementary STEM labs.

To turn things around, we applied for a Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) grant from the Florida Department of Education. We were awarded the grant in 2015-16 to fund our “STEM Education Enhancement (SEE) for Student Success!” project.

Train-the-Trainer Model…Read More

Finally, a guide to parent engagement that works every time

Parent engagement in their child’s education is key to successful growth, but consistently engaging parents is at the top of the list of teacher frustration. Teachers must establish communication with parents by figuring out what works best for them and showing that they are a team when it comes to their child.

Sarah M. Rich, lead teacher champion at Squiggle Park, presented creative ideas from her own experience building parent engagement in “Finally, A Guide to Parent Engagement That Works Every Time!”

Start with Home Visits: Doing home visits at the beginning of the year can help to build early relationships with families. Not only do these visits tell the parents that you’re going to be working together for the success of their child, but they can also provide insight on the different cultures and home lives of your students.…Read More