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.

Digital citizenship, digital literacy, and education

Editor’s note: This article on digital citizenship in schools originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Part of a Blog Series from the Emerging Technologies Committee Leveraging Technology for Improving School Wellness and Safety

Sometimes it feels as though social media has taken over the world. We live in an age of competing attention to hold our interest. If you have ever been in a K-12 classroom, you will see that it won’t take long for students to be distracted by the latest YouTube video or TikTok trend. We must find the balance in day to day interactions at school, work, and with family to focus on what is important at the time.…Read More

CompTIA ChannelPro 2023 Cecilia Galvin Scholarship Winner Announced

Las Vegas (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, announced that Sirihaasa Nallamothu from University High School in Normal, Ill., is the 2023 CompTIA ChannelPro Cecilia Galvin Scholarship Winner.

The scholarship is named in memory of Cecilia Galvin, executive editor at ChannelPro Network and a passionate champion of women in tech who passed away in 2017. The annual award helps a talented young woman with an interest in technology launch an education in IT.

“Cecilia Galvin was a true champion of women in technology and an inspiration to countless members of our community,” said MJ Shoer, chief community officer at CompTIA. “Sirihaasa Nallamothu is a shining example of the next generation of technology professionals and an ideal tribute to Cecilia Galvin.”…Read More

AeroFarms Celebrates World Environment Day with Bronx School PS 85

Newark, New Jersey (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AeroFarms®, a Certified B Corporation and leader in indoor vertical farming, will celebrate World Environment Day this coming Monday, June 5, at PS 85 The Great Expectations School with the official launch of its AeroFarms Community Farms program. This program promotes hands-on environmental education and year-round access to fresh and nutritious leafy greens through the proprietary AeroFarms unit and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) curriculum. The launch and celebration will help create life-long nutrition learners and will cultivate students and parents’ interest in incorporating more healthy leafy greens into their daily diets.  

“Our PS 85 community is extremely excited to celebrate World Environment Day together and partner with the AeroFarms Community Farms program to bring hands-on, STEAM learning to life in such a unique way for our students to experience growing and tasting their own food from seed to plate,” said Sara Medina, Principal at PS 85. 

World Environment Day is a time to reflect on how our society can encourage worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment, an important component to both the PS 85 community and AeroFarms. Being built with circular solutions in mind and creating opportunities for environmental protection is vital to AeroFarms product line and mission, which is to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity.   …Read More

Outsourcing student assessments can revitalize teaching

Key points:

As a restaurant manager, how would you feel if you were suddenly tasked with inspecting the food in your own kitchen? Or as a gymnastics coach, how would you react if you were asked to score your own team’s performances in a competition? It’s clear that when one person is both a manager or coach and an evaluator, conflicts of interest can arise. Yet, in the field of education, it’s common for teachers to both instruct their students and grade their academic achievements.

In conventional K-12 education, teachers are expected to wear many hats. They must design and deliver effective lessons, assess student learning, manage classroom behavior, and build relationships with students and families. But what if we could unbundle the role of the teacher and distribute these responsibilities across a team of experts?…Read More

ChatGPT is the shakeup education needs

Key points:

  • Education must evolve along with technology–students will expect it
  • Embracing new technologies helps education leverage adaptive technology that engage student interest
  • See related article: AI tools are set to impact tutoring in a big way

Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has dominated conversations in the media landscape and within the education industry. A key conversation focuses on weighing its benefits versus risks, and many education institutions have been quick to implement bans on the technology altogether for fears of plagiarism in written works. But is this the right course of action to take?

As technology evolves, industries must evolve alongside it, and education is no exception – especially in an era where students heavily and regularly engage in technology and its applications. Instead of being afraid of the unknown, educators and leaders should navigate these changes with curiosity and an open mind and embrace the shake up the education industry has been waiting for. ChatGPT can be the answer we’re looking for in our search for the ideal, personalized student experience–and ultimately student success.…Read More

Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success

Key points:

  • Virtual learning expanded access to student mental health support
  • Hybrid learning offers improved satisfaction during IEP meetings

In the business world, we’ve seen a sea change in the way people work. While some have returned to the office full time, some are still working remotely, and others are opting for a hybrid approach of being in-person just a few days a week. If the pandemic showed us anything, it is that flexibility is in the best interest of the employee and the company in a competitive marketplace. 

The same lessons are true in schools. Forced to go online, in some cases for a year or more, schools quickly turned to video conferencing and online tools to facilitate the development of Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and even deliver mental health services to help students cope with the changes resulting from the pandemic. These new approaches offered ways to reduce many of the traditional barriers to services and support. Plus, they provided flexibility to create individualized plans that best meet the needs of students and their families.  …Read More

How a middle school teacher grew students’ math scores despite pandemic challenges

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

As a senior at Indianapolis’ Ben Davis High School, Jacob Gregory enrolled in an Exploratory Teaching program. He thought of it as an easy way to leave school for a few hours, but it ended up sparking “an unknown interest in teaching,” he said. 

Today, the sixth grade math and science teacher at McKinley Elementary School is a quiet rock star. The school’s sixth grade growth scores in math are at nearly 58 percent, meaning more than half of the students met their individual growth targets on the state’s ILEARN test.…Read More

Why aren’t female students sticking with STEM?

Female middle and high school students have a high aptitude fit with, but low interest in, STEM careers, such as technology, manufacturing, and architecture, among others, according to the 2023 Female Student and STEM Career Exposure Gap Report from YouScience.

Based on nationwide data gathered from the test results of more than 225,000 female middle and high school students who completed the Aptitude & Career Discovery assessment from YouScience Brightpath in 2022, the key findings show that female students have:

  • More than 11x the aptitude for Advanced Manufacturing careers than interest
  • 8x more aptitude for Computers & Technology careers than interest
  • Nearly 4x more aptitude for Agriculture & Natural Resources than interest
  • Nearly 3x more aptitude for Architecture & Construction careers than interest

Additionally, the report found that female students have greater interest than aptitude for careers in Human Services, Law and Public Safety, Teaching, and Arts & Media.…Read More