Could Minecraft disrupt traditional instruction?
Minecraft, which hit its 10-year anniversary this year, is currently the second best-selling video game ever—only beat out by Tetris. The game is what’s called a “sandbox,” where…
instruction
Developing successful personalized learning literacy programs
As a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, who later taught struggling readers in grades three to five, I was acutely aware of the reading instruction gaps that…
December 2019 Guide: School Safety
We are excited to bring you the third in a series of eSchool News Guides, which are full of resources, ... Read more
12 awesome digital and mobile learning resources
Digital and mobile learning can invigorate a dull classroom, boosting student engagement and motivating students to immerse themselves in learning. As with any tech-based instruction, the technology is…
November 2019 Guide: Digital & Mobile Learning
We are excited to bring you the second in a series of eSchool News Guides, which are full of resources, ... Read more
Robotics isn’t scary! 4 benefits of working with robots
Robotics is attracting more student interest, and there's a reason--when students can make real-world connections between what they learn in the classroom and exciting careers, their engagement and…
3 key parts of a K-12 coding or robotics program
K-12 teachers and administrators have been listening to policy makers and industry leaders warn of the need for computer science instruction, such as a coding or robotics program,…
eSchool News launches innovative Robotics Guide for educators
We are excited to bring you the very first in a series of eSchool News Guides, which are full of ... Read more
October 2019 Guide: Robotics
We are excited to bring you the very first in a series of eSchool News Guides, which are full of ... Read more
Four Reasons to Choose Classroom Management in the Cloud — and Four Reasons to Self-Host
As a K-12 leader, you’re looking for ways to get the most out of your ed-tech investment. Classroom management software ... Read more
5 new strategies to integrate digital content into classroom instruction
For the past decade of my career, I’ve worked to empower and inspire educators in their use of digital content and technology. From teaching educators in graduate level…
How we turned around our new teacher retention
Gaston County Schools, located in North Carolina, is the 10th-largest district in the state. We have a very diverse, economically challenged population in our school system, with roughly…
3 things edtech can’t do
We’re swimming in a world of technologies that have huge implications for the future of schooling. Computers live in teachers and students’ pockets, the Internet makes information and…
Can audiobooks be the great equalizer for students with learning differences?
Low reading ability is a major contributor to learning inequality in our schools. An estimated 26 million students have learning differences, including tens of thousands of students with…
How we turned around our reading program
Rockford Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in Illinois. More than 28,800 students attend the 44 schools in the district.
Calling all teachers: Who’s up for the 1,000-word challenge?
How might a lesson run if the teacher were allowed only 1,000 words of whole-group instruction each class period?
How we turned around our reading program
Rockford Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in Illinois, with more than 28,800 students and 44 schools.
5 things you don’t know about K-12 virtual learning
Online learning has come a long way since its early champions saw it as a supplement to classroom learning.
6 lessons our district learned from our move to blended learning
Temple Independent School District (ISD), which is located north of Austin and south of Waco, Texas, has a very diverse student population. More than 75 percent of our…
5 Cool STEM Grants for 2019
Although we're still in the middle of our current school year, it's never too early to get a jump on grants for the 2019-2020 year--especially where STEM funding…
Why we love our reading software
It’s no secret that strong reading skills are part of the foundation of students’ academic success. Without a solid reading foundation, students are more likely to perform poorly…
10 conversations about digital equity
Educators universally agree that equity should be one of the top priorities in every school and in every district across the country. Addressing equity issues is more difficult…
Here’s my secret for better classroom management
At Flagstaff Academy in Colorado, I am lucky to head up the SmartLab facility and offer guided lessons to all K-5 classrooms. Couple this with 15 years of…
3 ways to promote grit via literacy instruction
J.K. Rowling. Bill Gates. Oprah Winfrey. These are no doubt names that most students recognize as successful. But what often goes overlooked is the perseverance needed to achieve…
4 reasons teaching coding improves SEL instruction
Being able to recall facts may help you look good in front of your friends during trivia night, but memorizing content of the past has become largely irrelevant…
Why DIY videos are easier than you think
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for my students to learn from video.” —Me (until a month ago) I’ve been afraid to have my class learn from video for…
Why my school switched from virtual to blended learning
Online learning has transformed contemporary education. It has opened the doors for students to digest information in an entirely new way, learn on their own time and at…
Reach New Heights with FuelEd’s Summit Curriculum
The FuelEd Summit curriculum is flexible, mobile, and continuously evolving and adapting to each student’s strengths and weaknesses delivering individualized ... Read more
Teachers: English learners need resources, support
Most K-12 educators (80 percent) said they believe English Language Learner (ELL) instruction is a top priority for their school or district, according to a new survey. Ninety-nine…
Adaptive literacy? 3 must-knows for teachers and admin about adaptive learning
The use of differentiated instruction to individualize each student’s learning experience is becoming more common in today’s elementary classrooms, but creating meaningful differentiation for a typical class of…
For PD, the days of one-and-done are dead and gone!
According to research from the Center for Public Education, “one-and-done” professional development sessions for teachers simply don't work. With new standards rolling out every year, a one-class-covers-all approach…
OPEN UP RESOURCES RELEASES ITS FIRST FREE OER CURRICULUM
MENLO PARK, CA [August 24, 2017] — Open Up Resources, the nonprofit provider of openly licensed curriculum for K–12 schools, ... Read more
Technology teacher: These are “My Tech Essentials”
By using tech tools, teachers actively create, customize and enhance educational approaches to meet the new and growing challenges of the 21st century. The tech tools offer a…
Nope! Why adaptive software is not the same as personalized learning
We all know that changes in public education move slowly, but there’s one specific educational dilemma we’ve been mired in for decades, with varying levels of rhetoric and…
These 10 TED-Ed videos will hold your students’ attention
Given students’ easy access to videos and digital resources via mobile devices and computers, it makes sense that educators would ... Read more
These edtech tools are perfect for hassle-free assessments
With the shift in education towards data-driven instruction, teachers spend inordinate amounts of time on assessments: checking for understanding, formative assessment, summative assessment, quizzes, tests, essays, research papers,…
How an edtech innovation is giving performance assessments new life
Internet access, electronic collection of student work, and online distributed scoring, for example, can all play significant roles in making performance assessments more manageable and efficient.
School sees massive literacy boost thanks to new assessment attitude
At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, 82 percent of Morgen Owings Elementary School’s students were working below grade level. Now, six months later, just 40 percent…
Greatest lesson: Teacher buy-in is overrated
One of the greatest lessons my 30 years of experience in education has taught me is that teacher buy-in is, sometimes, overrated.
If you give a kindergartner a Chromebook…
Although even the youngest children are considered tech-savvy today, there exists a difference between a child who knows how to use a tablet to watch videos and a…