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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.

Education’s future? Blended and hybrid learning

Blended and hybrid learning models are life-changing for many students, extending personalized and flexible learning options to select individuals or groups.

But with onset of the pandemic, widespread adoption of blended and hybrid models suddenly became a necessity across all student populations.

Two years later, how have districts overcome the initial challenges and applied the lessons learned to re-imagine teaching and learning and develop an innovative vision for change in their school communities?…Read More

The future of education is blended and hybrid learning

Blended and hybrid learning models were first introduced to extend personalized and flexible learning options to selected individuals or groups of students. But with onset of the pandemic, widespread adoption of blended and hybrid models suddenly became a necessity across all student populations.

Two years later, how have districts overcome the initial challenges and applied the lessons learned to re-imagine teaching and learning and develop an innovative vision for change in their school communities?

Join eSchool News for a panel discussion with leaders and educators who share a passion for the bold new vision of blended and hybrid learning as the future of education.…Read More

Local partnerships can build STEM workforce development in your district

The measurable success of recruiting students into STEM based pathways via a popular high school program known as FlexFactor has led the Department of Defense to recently invest $5 million via its Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP). This investment will adapt and export the FlexFactor framework to be used nationally by eight Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes and nonprofit partners focused on emerging technologies.

Developed in San Jose, Calif. by the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Innovation Institute known as NextFlex, FlexFactor is the hallmark of NextFlex’s workforce development portfolio. An awareness building program designed for middle school and high school students, FlexFactor puts students in the shoes of business leaders facing real world opportunities and challenges that flexible hybrid electronics help to solve.

Via an immersive six-week program, students gain a deeper understanding of the advanced manufacturing sector as well as the tools, skills, and judgment required for effective decision making as it relates to developing and bringing a new technology product to market. …Read More

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4 innovative online learning practices educators should keep

Over the past two years, education systems across the nation have been challenged with oscillating shifts, from classroom learning to remote and online learning, and even hybrid approaches, due to COVID-19 precautions and responsiveness. Amid these ongoing changes, educators reimagined the ways they engaged with their students, and many turned to museums and other community organizations for support to better understand how to leverage our collections, educational resources, and expertise creatively for their students.

For the community of more than 300 museum educators at the Smithsonian, the sudden urgency to scrap our traditional modus operandi unleashed new levels of innovation. We reimagined how to share a vast library of artifacts, artworks, specimens, and content expertise with our audiences to best meet their teaching and learning needs.

As teachers and students return to schools and museums searching for a “new normal,” below are some practices from the past two years I know we’ll keep.…Read More

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Here’s why blended and hybrid learning are the future of education

Blended and hybrid learning models were first introduced to extend personalized and flexible learning options to selected individuals or groups of students. But with onset of the pandemic, widespread adoption of blended and hybrid models suddenly became a necessity across all student populations.

Two years later, how have districts overcome the initial challenges and applied the lessons learned to re-imagine teaching and learning and develop an innovative vision for change in their school communities?

Join eSchool News for a panel discussion with leaders and educators who share a passion for the bold new vision of blended and hybrid learning as the future of education.…Read More

Showbie brings Hybrid learning around the World content to TrilbyTV

Tuesday 3rd May 2022 – Showbie and TrilbyTV have announced an exciting new partnership that will bring ‘Hybrid learning around the World’ content to digital signage screens in schools across the UK. It adds to an already epic education line-up that includes; Vocabulary Ninja, Rodocodo, Britannica and WWF. 

The perfect combination to get students learning about different languages

The partnership combines TrilbyTV’s easy to use digital signage solution with Showbie’s ‘Hybrid learning around the World’ content, creating a fantastic way to get students to learn about different languages. It shows short, easy to remember words and phrases, automatically switching between different countries, enabling students to pick up bite sized pieces of information to expand their foreign language vocabulary. TrilbyTV’s Neil Emery, had this to say about the new partnership,…Read More

Don’t forget social, emotional health for district IT staff

During all the tumult of the last two years of schooling, from remote to hybrid to masked in-person, educators prioritized the social and emotional needs of students. A full 70 percent of schools now offer mental health programming, according to a recent survey from the American School District Panel and 20 percent of these schools say they added these services as a response to the pandemic disruptions. Shifting toward helping our students’ emotional well-being is vital and, in many cases, has shown extraordinary results. But we need to make sure we don’t forget the social and emotional health of district IT staff. 

Think about how much stress we all felt especially at the beginning of the pandemic. Not only was there personal stress but schools went remote instantly. District and school IT staff had to not only set up 1:1 programs on the fly, but also find new remote learning software and create helpdesks for thousands of students.

It’s clear now that part of a well-thought digital strategy for the future includes wellbeing support for IT technicians and school support staff, too. For example, such support can come from tools that ease cumulative stressors by saving time, lightening workloads, improving communication, and simplifying or automating procedures. Embracing a digital strategy that runs right across all areas of the school ensures that every staff member can benefit from the advantages offered by technology. …Read More

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Moving forward: New concerns–and promises–for post-pandemic classrooms

In this week’s episode of Innovations in Education, hosted by Kevin Hogan:

…Read More

How online learning can bridge the math gap

As the U.S. moves toward more normalized learning and day-to-day life, we know many students continue to feel the impact of remote and hybrid learning. The lingering effects of remote learning during the pandemic have left many students behind, particularly in essential math and reading skills.

In a 2021 study, more than half of public-school K-12 teachers said the pandemic resulted in a “significant” learning loss for many students. Other evidence shows that the pandemic widened pre-existing learning gaps in key subjects such as math. In fact, the World Bank projects $10 trillion in lost future earnings for children due to the pandemic if they do not make up lost or delayed skills like math.

During the initial phase of COVID-19 lockdowns, Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024) and Generation Z (born 1995-2009) had to pivot to virtual-only school platforms. While these students were heavy technology users, they were unskilled remote learners, with many never having the experience of online-only learning. Schooling outside of higher education was mainly following an in-person model. …Read More

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How to evolve your K-12 cybersecurity approach

We’re now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to see massive digital transformation and innovation shaping the way we live, work, and learn. Technology supports the transformation of every industry imaginable–especially education. New models of learning, such as hybrid, blended, and remote, have led to more accessible education for many. However, with many devices moving out of schools and into the often less-secure homes of students, teachers, and administrators, K-12 cybersecurity threats have become more prevalent. The digitalization of schooling has created an environment that gives cybercriminals even more of an opportunity to target K-12 schools.

We know that schools are under attack. In just one month in 2021, educational organizations were hit by 5.8 million malware attacks – and that’s just what was disclosed publicly. One of the largest incidents involved 1.5 terabytes of data, including academic transcripts, resumes and financial support documents, being exposed due to unsecure processes and storage.

The realities are deeply appreciated by our school leaders.  Respondent data from a recent survey found that 86 percent of K-12 and higher education institutions believe their organization has increased exposure to data loss from cyber threats with the growth of staff and students working and learning from home. Yet, despite the prominence and perceived awareness of such threats, 67 percent of those respondents are concerned their existing data protection measures may not be sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats. Therefore, educational institutions must urgently take action to improve their protections.…Read More

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