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.

5 fun STEM videos for hard-to-engage students

Key points:

  • STEM education can be challenging, but engaging tools can help
  • Explore these videos on various STEM topics, found on TED-Ed Lessons

STEM education is a critical topic for all students, but it’s also notoriously difficult to engage students in STEM topics–particularly as the content becomes more challenging. But with a few fun STEM videos, students might be a bit more interested in learning.

The videos below are all found on the TED-Ed platform. Educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video. Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources.…Read More

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Counslr Partners with Greece Central School District to Increase Mental Health Support Services

ROCHESTER, NY (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Counslr, the text-based mental health support platform, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Athena High School of the Greece Central School District. This initiative will enable high school students and faculty to access Counslr’s 24/7/365 text-based mental health support platform, any time, anywhere.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer our students more accessible mental health support options through Counslr” said Christine Baker, Director of Student Services and School Improvement at Greece Central School District in Rochester, NY. “While we already had a robust set of wellness resources for our students, Counslr is serving as a new channel for us to reach the traditionally unreachable students who are not comfortable visiting the counseling center or engaging in traditional therapy.”

Counslr launched the service with the High School on May 1st, providing 1,100 students and more than 150 faculty members with round-the-clock, unlimited access to live, on-demand, text-based sessions with licensed professionals, any time, anywhere. The partnership between Counslr and Athena High School aims to increase access to quality support services, empowering students and faculty to address issues as they arise, ultimately mitigating larger crisis situations from manifesting.…Read More

Reflection Sciences Appoints Isaac Van Wesep as Incoming Chief Executive Officer

MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) — Reflection Sciences, the executive function company, has appointed  Isaac Van Wesep as Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1. The appointment will drive innovation, growth and the pursuit of the company’s mission to ensure every child gets the executive function support they need to achieve academic, career and personal success.

Van Wesep has a deep understanding of education technology and a passion for improving educational outcomes for all children. His expertise will be instrumental in guiding Reflection Sciences as it continues to lead the growth of cognitive science tools to enhance learning, curriculum and child development.

“After working closely with Isaac over the last two years, it’s clear he has the vision, energy and executive function skills to build on Reflection Sciences’ leadership in executive function,” said Co-Founder and Board Director Stephanie Carlson, Ph.D. “The science is now very clear that executive function skills significantly predict student achievement in core areas such as math, literacy and social-emotional skills. Measuring and improving executive function skills is the way forward to support student success.”…Read More

How to reimagine teacher leadership

Key points:

  • Teacher-leaders are an integral–but under-utilized–part of a school
  • School leaders can secure teacher buy-in around new initiatives through teacher-leaders

The typical leadership structure in a school is quite rigid, with administrators and teachers filling their roles separately. In this model, teacher skills are only utilized inside of the classroom, leaving teacher leadership potential on the table.

Because this is true in almost any school building, it is time for administrators to reimagine teacher leader roles and leverage teacher leadership, specifically at the grade level or in content teams. Many schools have positions such as “Lead Teacher” or “Content Team Leader,” which is a great starting point. The next step is transforming these established positions, or creating similar models, and implementing them across your school. This should lead to actionable steps taken by these teacher-leaders, and the loosening of the reins by administrators.…Read More

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5 strategies for first-year special education teachers

Key points:

  • Communication is key for all those involved in special education
  • Don’t forget to think creatively and look at the big picture when framing students’ goals

If you’re heading into your first job as a special education teacher, congratulations. Not only will you be able to use the knowledge you developed as a student to make a difference in children’s lives, you’ll be doing it in the most needed position in U.S. schools.

Two-thirds of schools with staffing shortages said special education is the hardest area to staff, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.…Read More

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How to make secure K-12 digital transformation a reality

Key points:

  • More students and educators are connecting personal devices to school networks
  • This makes network security–an already underfunded area–even more critical

The pandemic was a massive shift for school districts across the country, and even as we move out of it, we’re still feeling the impact. On the technical side, it prompted quick transformation to enable virtual schooling–and these changes were made as districts were already challenged by legacy technology, reduced budgets and understaffing. Existing problems were exacerbated.

In parallel, we’ve seen a rise in ransomware and other cyberattacks in the education sector. What’s needed is a digital transformation strategy that also prioritizes security.…Read More

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From inspiration to impact: Attracting women to STEM

Key points:

  • The bottom line: Representation matters
  • Encouraging a passion for STEM from a young age will keep more women in STEM

The number of women working in STEM jobs has increased 31 percent over the past decade, but women continue to be outnumbered by men in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs—including roles in engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences. Although women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, they only represented 34 percent of the science and engineering roles in 2021, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Not only is it important to see more women fill STEM jobs from an equity standpoint, but there is also a lack of professionals to fill the demand for future STEM roles, projected to grow by 11 percent over the next decade.…Read More

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5 long-term benefits of our online literacy programs

Key points:

  • Online literacy programs help educators differentiate instruction
  • Engaging literacy solutions help students absorb learning material

When we started using a new literacy program 10 years ago, our reading scores were mediocre. Within a few years we had moved up to being a Level 1+ school, which is one of the highest rankings for Chicago Public Schools’ rating system (which is currently being replaced with a new system). We’re using the literacy program as a main component for grades K-5 in addition to another program for fifth graders.

We really like how both online literacy programs differentiate instruction for students, identify learning gaps and place students at the right levels for their individual needs. This functionality also lets teachers know when to pool students for the offline Skill Builders to help move past specific challenges students are facing. Additionally, the data that we get from the platforms is invaluable; we’ve become so used to looking at it and then using it to help inform our instruction.…Read More

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Can GPT-4 and TikTok usher in a new learning frontier?

Key points:

  • Combining AI and video platforms could spur engaging and interactive content
  • Still, considerations around access and equity, along with misinformation, should be taken seriously

In recent years, the digital landscape has witnessed significant changes, and as an AI language model, I have been observing these transformations closely. One of the most prominent developments is the rise of TikTok, a short-form video-sharing platform that has become a cultural phenomenon. This rapid growth has led me to consider the potential of combining my capabilities as a language understanding and generation model with the appeal of TikTok to create a unique, engaging learning experience for students.

TikTok’s short video format makes it an ideal platform for this approach, allowing educators to deliver focused lessons that students can easily consume and remember. By integrating my AI-generated content, these lessons can be customized to each student’s learning preferences, ensuring a personalized learning experience.…Read More

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The importance of teaching generative AI

Key points:

  • Textbooks alone won’t help students build critical durable skills
  • AI tools have great potential to generate creative ideas and tackle complex problems

The era of the textbook isn’t dead, but it’s important to start looking forwards rather than backwards when addressing education for school children. Whether we like it or not, it is becoming increasingly clear that generative AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future and, with the workforce demanding greater expertise in AI, it is crucial to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills required to thrive in this rapidly-evolving landscape.

School leaders must recognize the importance of incorporating generative AI education into curriculums to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.…Read More

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