Why connected laptops are a pathway to digital liberation

Key points:

  • Digital classrooms–and their remote students–are here to stay
  • School facilities face unprecedented demand for broadband across education sites
  • Stay up to date on the latest trends about learning in the digital age

The introduction of always-connected PCs and Chromebooks continues to be the catalyst for digitally liberating many students. Now is an especially exciting time to turn to this idea as PC and Chromebook battery life innovation, as well as performance, speed, audio, and video enhancement, is finally getting to the level needed to handle the digital criteria and learning throughout a school day and beyond.

Hotspots were heralded as the rescue, but often without weighing the pros and cons, especially in relevance to long-term solutions. What’s been overlooked is the substantial amount of learning time wasted just to leverage hotspots for learning. Connected laptops are a streamlined solution as the connection is built in, flexible and fitting into the ever-changing education system without the disruption of time.…Read More

ISTE and Capstone Collaborate on Children’s Books Championing Digital Citizenship

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Capstone, an innovative learning company merging children’s content with easy-to-use edtech tools for K-5 classrooms, libraries and homes, announces a licensing agreement with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), an education nonprofit that supports the use of technology to accelerate innovation in education, to publish a collection of children’s books promoting digital citizenship awareness and the positive and creative use of technology and digital tools. The license includes world rights for print and digital books, with ISTE providing supplemental resources supported by the ISTE Standards, a framework for using technology to support learning.

“We’re thrilled to partner on this project with ISTE, connecting their subject matter experts and research-based best practices on technology use in schools with Capstone’s delightful, engaging storytelling for young readers. Our collaboration gives educators an accessible way to start a positive dialogue around digital citizenship, creative use of technology, and our global connection—all knowledge kids need to help prepare them to confidently navigate the digital landscape,” said Beth Brezenoff, Capstone VP of Publishing.

The first title debuting in the ISTE Young Innovators collection, Sonia’s Digital World (pub 8/1/23), is written by award-winning librarian Shannon McClintock Miller, an ISTE Making IT Happen Award recipient, Future Ready Librarians spokesperson, Follett thought leader, and AASL Leadership Luminary social media superstar. The picture book follows the characters on a virtual trail as they chat, create and play together, and make discoveries and connections with digital tools. Preview an advance copy of the book at: bit.ly/SoniasDigitalWorldARC.…Read More

Carnegie Learning Adds Multilingual Math and Literacy Tutors in Gadsden ISD

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in K-12 education innovation, high-quality products and services, and AI, announced today that the company has added new multilingual and bilingual certified math and literacy instructors to the high-dosage tutoring team in Gadsden County, New Mexico, to meet the needs of students in the state’s fourth-largest school district.

“It’s gratifying to see improvements in student proficiency and attendance as well as increasing parent participation in the Gadsden Independent School District (ISD),” said Courtney Lewis, Vice President of Tutoring Services at Carnegie Learning. “The results are impressive. We have been able to fulfill 100% of the requests from students and families in Gadsden ISD who requested a bilingual tutor. We’ve also appointed a bilingual tutor as a liaison to answer questions from families in their native language. Families have a direct dial number to call the liaison directly for support.” 

Lewis recently presented a webinar on how to partner with a high-dosage tutoring provider to launch an effective summer school program.…Read More

The pulse of K-12: How superintendents are taking on 2023’s biggest challenges

When an unexpected crisis occurs—say, a global pandemic that forced our entire education system to transform–we believe that eventually, the distress and upheaval will evolve into calm and control as the recovery process winds down.

As educators, we’re still waiting to take that collective sigh of relief.

The Institute for Education Innovation (IEI) wanted to hear how superintendents were feeling about 2023. So, as a result, we brought them together with edtech CEOs and other industry leaders at our inaugural IEI Conclave to determine ways we can tackle today’s biggest K-12 challenges as a unified team–and do it with hope and confidence.…Read More

ChatGPT can generate, but can it create?

While artificial intelligence (AI) has been a relatively silent partner in higher education’s early warning systems, personalized learning platforms, and more for some time now, we might fairly say that ChatGPT is the big boom heard ‘round the university. The AI chatbot is taking many of us by surprise and startling more of us to attention, not in small measure by its charming, eager extroversion: it “talks” to us. What’s happening here? Is ChatGPT a threat? What happens next?

Diffusion of ChatGPT

ChatGPT has been quite the busybot, going to business school, law school, the office, Congress, and more. We are experiencing the unfolding of Rogers’ (1962) innovation diffusion in real time. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in research preview on November 30, 2022, we’ve been busy ourselves, curating links and disseminating our treasuries to each other. We’re also creating artifacts such as the Advancements in AI Timeline developed by the Center for eLearning Initiatives at Penn State Behrend. The twin goals of all of our awareness-building activities are to hasten the development of our individual and collective opinions about whether ChatGPT is aide or adversary and to decide our next steps accordingly.…Read More

Balancing sustainability and innovation in education

As recipients of public funding and taxpayer dollars, K-12 school budgets and spending expenditures are under a microscope. Relief funds stemming from the pandemic have only sharpened the focus, particularly on infrastructure and technology investments. In my role as Chief Technology Officer at one of the nation’s largest school districts, Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), being accountable and ensuring we are making prudent financial decisions is a top priority for my team.

Striking a balance between innovation and sustainability is a challenge most school districts are facing. At HCPS, we have adopted three guiding principles that serve as the driving force and framework behind every IT decision—equity, efficiency, and excellence.

Equity…Read More

FEV Tutor Names Two New Executive Leadership Team Members

WOBURN, Mass. – FEV Tutor, the market-leading provider of the most comprehensive virtual tutoring solution in K-12, recently announced the addition of two executives to its senior leadership team. The company has named Abhinav Ramani as chief operating officer and Aaron Osmond as chief growth officer.

Before joining FEV Tutor, Ramani oversaw regional operations for the health care provider DaVita (DVA) Kidney Care. In west Los Angeles, he led a team of managers in implementing change management and process innovation measures across 10 clinics, improving their overall outcomes until they ranked among the top 25% of clinics across the enterprise. Next, Ramani worked as a DVA group regional operations director in the state of Washington, leading three regional directors in overseeing 36 clinics in Portland, Tacoma, and Seattle. There, he increased net revenue by over $1 million. Ramani holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Osmond has approximately 30 years of experience in K-12 education. Most recently, he held several business development leadership positions at Amazon Web Services. He first served as the western regional lead for the company’s Education to Workforce Team program and then led the program’s U.S. business development and program management team. After that, Osmond was promoted to global lead for the AWS Training and Certification team.…Read More

5 education innovation trends worth watching in 2023

2022 marked a confusing year in the world of education innovation. As a friend and school leader said to me a few months ago, “Innovation is dead, right?” 

She was half joking while perfectly summing up something in the air last year in schools: a pandemic hangover mixed with ongoing, day-to-day challenges of running complex systems. Together, these made many “new” approaches to education feel too overwhelming to even entertain. 

Lurking behind that, a surreal dynamic was unfolding across both K-12 and higher education: as emergency closures subsided, schools quickly regressed to their pre-pandemic approaches, despite new or worsening challenges at their doorstep. That re-entrenchment makes good sense given the resilience of traditional business models. Yet, it doesn’t match up with new realities like stark learning gaps, worsening mental health crises, significant enrollment declines, and a cooling job market. Business as usual is a rational response for a taxed and weary education system, but it’s also risky in light of all the ways the world has changed.…Read More

Students Go Behind the Scenes at the CMA Awards to Discover the Power of STEAM in a New Virtual Field Trip from Discovery Education and the Country Music Association 

Charlotte, NC — The Country Music Association and Discovery Education today announced a new virtual experience from their Working In Harmony: Every Voice is Instrumental educational initiative. Country Music’s Biggest Night: STEAM Takes the Spotlight Virtual Field Trip shows students in grades 6-12 how science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) drive innovation in Country Music.  

Premiering February 16th at 1 PM ET and available on-demand, this first-of-its-kind experience takes students behind the scenes of a major music event to discover the processes and people that make the televised production seem effortless. Students will meet the various STEAM professionals with diverse skills and backgrounds that help make Country Music’s Biggest Night™ a reality. By introducing students to critical behind-the-scenes professions, which include stage management, hair and makeup, production, and security, the Country Music’s Biggest Night: STEAM Takes the Spotlight Virtual Field Trip pulls back the curtain on the CMA Awards, the longest-running annual music awards program on network television. Learn more here

“STEAM is incredibly important to the arts, including the Country Music industry,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “In partnership with Discovery Education, students now have a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the exciting inner workings of Country Music’s Biggest Night™ that shows both how a production of this magnitude comes together and the talented people behind the scenes that make it happen. Our hope is for students to see themselves in these roles, inspiring their ambitions beyond the classroom.” …Read More

Curriculum Associates Names 31 Exemplar Teachers to Its 2023 Class of Extraordinary Educators™

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass.—Curriculum Associates recently named its 2023 class of Extraordinary Educators, an annual program that celebrates and connects exemplar teachers in Grades K–8 from around the country. Representing 25 different states, this year’s 31 selected teachers all exhibit best-in-class use of i-Ready, i-Ready Classroom Mathematics, and/or Ready, illustrate growth and achievement via formal assessments, demonstrate innovation and engagement practices for students, are evangelists for high expectations and student achievement, are champions of equity, and have been teaching for at least two years.

“Teachers are true rockstars,” said Emily McCann, vice president of educator community at Curriculum Associates. “This year’s Extraordinary Educators are no exception – they were chosen from hundreds of nominations and represent the best of the best. We are happy to recognize and celebrate these educators’ amazing work and achievements, as well as provide them with ongoing professional learning and networking opportunities to help them continue to grow their craft.”

With nearly 340 years of combined teaching experience, this year’s class of Extraordinary Educators includes classroom teachers, special education teachers, and instructional specialists. All of the educators were ultimately selected by an advisory board featuring leaders from Curriculum Associates, previously inducted Extraordinary Educators, and a college student pursuing a degree in urban education.…Read More

65 ways equity, edtech, and innovation shone in 2022

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 6th most-read story focuses on the predictions educators and industry experts made for learning in 2022.

As we wrapped up 2020, we thought for sure that 2021 might bring us a reprieve from pandemic learning. Well, it did–but it also didn’t. Virtual and hybrid learning continued into the spring, but then classrooms welcomed back students for full-time in-person learning in the fall. Many silver linings emerged and digital learning cemented itself as a “must have” in schools. Equity remained front and center, too, raising issues of inequitable technology access, along with racial and socioeconomic disparities and discrimination.

2021 brought with it new COVID-19 variants, the dreaded school COVID quarantine, and renewed calls to support the nation’s educators, who have worked tirelessly (and constantly) to support students’ learning, social and emotional needs, and more.…Read More

Predicting innovation trajectories in K-12 education

There are lots of promising innovations in tiny pockets of the education system, but decades of advocacy and investment have failed to see those innovations scale. How can we better predict which innovations flourish and which founder?”

My last blog post argued that new value networks are the missing enablers for disrupting the conventional model of K–12 schooling. But the concept of value networks can do more than explain why disruptive models struggle to take root. All organizations live within value networks. And analyzing an organization’s value network makes clear whether and how it will approach potential improvements and innovations.

What are value networks?…Read More