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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.

Student from New Jersey Receives Award for STEAM Sustainability Innovation from Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education

Silver Spring, Md. (Wednesday, August 10, 2022) – Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education today recognized a New Jersey student as the winner of the 2022 Trade Champions Challenge. The Challenge asks high school students to work to create a 30-60 second video submission, directed at their peers, about why they aspire to be a trade professional and/or why they are passionate about the trade career in which they are currently engaged.​ 

The 2022 Trade Champions Challenge winner is Samantha S., a 10th grade student at Cumberland County Technical Education Center of the Cumberland County Vocational School District. Samantha will receive a cash prize and a Stanley Black & Decker Prize Pack. Her project – entitled “The Future of Construction” – addresses the fourth industrial revolution as related to the innovative technologies of the construction industry. See the full description of the winning project here. 

The annual challenge builds upon a Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education educational program – Innovation Generation – designed to ignite, engage, and empower students to become innovators through no-cost dynamic digital resources. Through real-world explorations of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM), Innovation Generation cultivates students’ collaboration, problem solving, and creative thinking. …Read More

Whitney Brothers® Nature View Writing Center Earns Platinum Spaces4Learning 2022 New Product Award

Keene, NH, July 29, 2022 – Acclaimed Early Learning furniture brand Whitney Brothers® today announced its new Nature View Writing Center received the Platinum 2022 Spaces4Learning New Product Award, one of the most widely recognized awards for product innovation in the educational products market.

The inventive design of the Nature View Writing Center accommodates social distancing and activity workspace in Early Learning environments, a nod to the impact of covid-19 on student desk design. The vibrant woodland scene on the desk’s clear back panel brings the calm of nature indoors and creates a comforting personalized activity space for young children that also provides important visibility for adult supervision. Notably, the 2022 award marks the company’s third consecutive win and fourth in the last six years, vaulting it to the level of a few select brands.

Now in its seventh year, the Spaces4Learning New Product Award program honors manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are judged for their ability to enhance learning environments. The contest judges are members of the publication’s Editorial Advisory Board, a panel of executives and professionals from leading industry vendors, industry associations, and architecture firms.…Read More

Phenix City Teacher Wins Marbury Technology Innovation Award

Phenix City, AL— Last week Central High School teacher, Tim Loreman was recognized as an exemplary educator in technology. He received the 19th Annual Marbury Technology Innovation Award from the State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Eric G. Mackey. 

Loreman is the television production teacher who instructs students on writing, capturing, and producing television programs. His classes regularly produce episodes of RDTV, Central High School’s news channel. Students also produce ASHAA’s coverage of the Red Devil Football Team and Softball Team. Students are given the opportunity to gain experience in planning and filming system commercials that aired on WTVM for the 2021-2022 school year.

“When I was first hired I was given the charge to bring Central High School to the forefront of the state in video production, social media, and sports broadcasting. My students have outdone themselves over the past four years and proving their capabilities in this field. Any honor I receive is a direct result of their hard work and dedication,” said Loreman.…Read More

Why “offline” digital learning is critical to impact children worldwide

As thousands of educators, entrepreneurs, and investors gathered at the recent ASU+GSV Summit, a growing number recognized both the need and opportunity for educational innovation in developing countries, particularly for the over 250 million children who lack access to schools.

But many of the solutions proffered still focus on internet-based solutions. Glaringly missing from the landscape are adaptive, digital learning solutions that are offline.

While we work to increase universal access to the internet, the edtech ecosystem cannot ignore the hundreds of millions of children currently without connectivity but who are eager to learn.…Read More

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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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‘Digital skills gap’ threatens innovation

The skills required for success in the new economy were already changing. Now, COVID has sped up these changes dramatically.

As researchers warn of a growing “digital skills gap” that threatens to hold back innovation, experts are calling on schools to rethink instruction so that it more closely aligns with emerging workforce needs.

The global pandemic has quickened the pace of technological development around the world as services that had not been digital before moved online and others that were performed by humans became automated. This rapid digital acceleration has created a huge demand for more highly skilled workers who can develop software, program machines, and support new innovations.…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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How our school is reimagining math education

At Scott Elementary School, our approach to education is defined as GAIN (Growth in Academics through Innovation and Neuroeducation), which includes multiple initiatives to ensure each student reaches their maximum potential. Our focus is to inspire a love for learning and prepare students to be successful throughout every stage of their lives.

Indiana is one of that states that has not adopted Common Core State Standards. Similar to the Common Core standards in other states, we focus on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills that students need to be successful. Our view is that the real power to learn rests with the learner. My role is to seek out ways to engage this power within each child to optimize their opportunities in life.

My corporation strives to educate the whole child by integrating academics with social and emotional learning. We inspire students’ desire to learn by making them feel important, leading by example, praising their successes, and developing their confidence.…Read More

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Bringing our history to light can improve our students’ futures

In November 2021, the Institute for Education Innovation (IEI) held its Fall Superintendent Summit at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.–one of the most stunning resorts in the U.S.

But as with many of the nation’s iconic landmarks, from The White House to Harvard University, the legacy of The Greenbrier is directly tied to the greatest stain on our nation’s legacy: the enslavement of Black people. During the Summit, we invited Toni Ogden and Janice Cooley of the Greenbrier County Historical Society to provide a historical context of our surroundings.

The original resort was built in 1858 largely by enslaved people, and as late as 1910, when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway acquired the property, the company continued to exploit Black workers. African American staff members were expected to cater to the whims of white guests in the style of the old plantations before returning home to overwhelming poverty.…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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