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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.

4 tools to help students build post-COVID research skills

As an educator with 21 years of experience in teaching and learning, I have had the opportunity to work with students of differing abilities and learning backgrounds. During a typical school year, meeting the varied needs of my students makes for an extremely rewarding, but challenging job. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the needs of students tenfold, maximizing both the rewards and challenges of my role as an educator. 

As the world begins to shift in the evolving post-pandemic environment, it’s clear that much has changed. In my opinion, K-12 education has seen tremendous changes whose impacts we will be assessing and addressing for years to come. 

However, as educators begin to consider how to evolve education to meet the needs of our students today and in the future, we have before us the enormous task of shoring up students’ academic skills that may have eroded during the “emergency teaching” era. …Read More

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Do we do our best work for machines?

The revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has been a long time coming. Since the mid-1980s, scholarly journals have been predicting the widespread adoption of AI in education. However, momentum is accelerating.

Just four years ago, a study predicted that AI in education and learning would increase 47.5% through 2021; as it turned out, the prediction was conservative.

The current landscape…Read More

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IXL Learning Acquires Language Learning Software Developer Curiosity Media

SAN MATEO, Calif.  — June 12, 2022 — IXL Learning, developer of personalized learning products used by more than 13 million students, announced it has acquired Curiosity Media, the creator of innovative language learning platforms that empower people to more effectively communicate in Spanish and English. The acquisition of Curiosity Media includes its flagship products SpanishDict, inglés.com and Fluencia, which collectively help more than 100 million people each year grow their languages skills through vibrant and interactive learning resources. 

The acquisition of Curiosity Media will further diversify and complement IXL Learning’s language and literacy offerings, including the world-renowned Rosetta Stone, IXL English Language Arts and Vocabulary.com. 

Curiosity Media has been at the forefront of creating products that help language learners interact in Spanish and English. SpanishDict debuted in 1999 and is now the world’s top destination for Spanish-language learners, reaching more than 100 million people annually. The platform provides users with a comprehensive set of tools to learn Spanish, including millions of free dictionary entries, verb conjugations, example sentences, pronunciation videos, vocabulary quizzes, interactive lessons and more.  …Read More

5 ISTELive 22 sessions that caught our eye

It’s that time of year again–ISTELive 22 is just around the corner, and this year, the nation’s largest edtech show takes place in New Orleans.

Focusing on empowering educators and elevating equity, ISTELive features in-person content live and streamed from the conference, along with online content from remote presenters.

Sessions include focuses on blended learning, curating classroom resources, using augmented reality, project-based learning, building student media literacy, time-saving tech tricks from librarians, using digital tools with students who have special needs, digital problem-solving, and more.…Read More

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3 ways schools can use data to help students

Educators across the country are seeing a greater need to collect and use data to inform decisions as they work to help students. The pandemic severely disrupted our schools, and many districts used any student data they had to identify who was struggling and how to best provide support.

As districts continue to respond to the evolving circumstances of the pandemic, making the most of all available data to improve student outcomes remains critical to understanding the factors that most contribute to students’ success.

The power of using data is immense. When used properly, it can help districts make vital decisions about setting goals and providing targeted support for students. Whether you are new to data analytics in K-12 or a seasoned veteran, here are three practical ways to apply data to help drive better student outcomes.…Read More

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National Readiness Report: A Look at COVID-19’s Impact on Learner Readiness and How Institutions Can Improve Student Success

PITTSBURGH, PA – It goes without saying that the COIVD-19 pandemic has impacted higher education and students across the globe. But to what degree? And how can institutions respond to the shifts in learning? SmarterServices recently published data that reveals both individual and technical skills have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the degree to which learner readiness has changed over the past ten years. Learner readiness has seen statistically significant changes and institutions may need to reevaluate their programming to improve student success.

Data on how COVID-19 has impacted learner readiness comes out of the National Readiness Report, published by SmarterServices. The report provides measures of central tendency for learner traits such as life factors and individual attributes as well as several skill sets, including on-screen reading rate and recall, technical competency, learning management system competency, general technical knowledge, and keyboarding rate and accuracy.

The attributes and skills are measured by the SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness Indicator, which has been taken by over 6 million learners from over one thousand institutions. Through the National Readiness Report, institutions can compare the performance of their students to those of other students nationally. This year’s report reviews multiple comparisons of readiness levels within several demographic categories, a four-year comparison to determine the impact of the pandemic on learner readiness, and specifically how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted learner readiness over the quarantine period.…Read More

3 ways families can support students’ learning at home

For parents and caregivers, supporting your child’s learning can be stressful. Academic concepts are taught differently than they used to be. In addition, we’re all grappling with a scarcity of time and juggling competing priorities. It is hard to keep up–especially if you don’t have the resources to do so.

At Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School, we recognize that part of supporting students’ success is supporting families. Research shows students who have families engaged in their learning are more likely to attend school regularly, have improved social skills and behavior, and achieve high levels of academic performance.

One of our goals is to build the capacity of our families to make supporting their child’s learning as easy and accessible as possible. For example, we offer family coffee chats and family workshops that provide practical strategies and ways to support their own mental health and wellbeing—as well as their children’s.…Read More

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Iowa’s Southwest Valley Community School District Broadens Partnership with Discovery Education Supporting Science Instruction in Elementary School Classrooms

SILVER SPRING, MD (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)—Iowa’s Southwest Valley Community School District (SVCSD) today announced it is broadening its partnership with Discovery Education to support science education in elementary school classrooms districtwide. In the newest stage of this multi-year partnership, elementary school teachers across SVCSD will receive access to a new suite of dynamic digital services, hands-on resources, and professional learning opportunities supporting the creation of engaging science lessons. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Located in Iowa’s rural Adams and Montgomery Counties, SVCSD consists of an early learning center, two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Dedicated to creating enthusiastic learning environments promoting responsible and empathetic contributors to society, SVCSD’s teachers and administrators sought a unique combination of print and digital resources that would support the district’s goals and power science instruction in their Corning Elementary and Sylvia Enarson Elementary Schools. Following a careful review of available resources, the district selected the following services from Discovery Education: 

The Discovery Education platform.
Connecting educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, intuitive quiz and activity creation tools, and professional learning resources, Discovery Education provides educators an enhanced learning platform which facilitates engaging, daily instruction in any learning environment.    …Read More

Welcome to the “largest on-air classroom” in Louisiana

Learning doesn’t just happen inside the classroom, and Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is working to ensure family engagement plays a vital role in students’ education.

LPB is Louisiana’s largest classroom over the air, on every device, in schools, and in the community. LPB’s Educational Services Department is committed to providing extensive information, lesson plans, materials, and digital resources to support formal K-12 education statewide.

LPB’s top priority focuses on family engagement in order to extend learning and help build critical skills in students.…Read More

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