6 ways you’re already using AI in the classroom

Key points:

Many educators are cautiously optimistic about AI, indicating that they’d like more guidance to effectively integrate it into their instructional strategies. But while generative AI tools like ChatGPT have dominated conversations for the past year, there are many classroom tools that have quietly used AI to deliver personalized and targeted learning to students.

Let’s take a look at some classroom tools that are already leveraging AI for efficiency and learning outcomes:…Read More

Spring ISD Selects BenQ Boards for Classrooms

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display and collaboration solutions, today announced the Spring Independent School District (ISD) in Houston has selected and installed almost 1,800 BenQ Boards in K-12 classrooms across the 45 schools in the district. Purchased as part of Spring ISD’s most recent school bond, the BenQ Boards were chosen over other smart board vendors because of the rich and forward-thinking feature set the BenQ Boards offer, including ease of use and flexibility for teachers, advanced learning tools for students, and free built-in remote management solutions for IT.

“When we invited the entire district to come in and test drive different smart boards, everyone voted nearly unanimously for the BenQ Board,” said Joe Holecek, Spring ISD’s manager of campus technology support. “They hit all our needs, from those of our teachers and students to our technology department. We’ve deployed half the BenQ Boards in our classrooms so far, and it’s been so positive that the other half can’t wait because they know how much the boards offer.”

Spring ISD Teachers Benefit From BenQ Board’s Tap ‘N Teach Technology
While preparing students for the future, the BenQ Boards are also designed to eliminate the steep learning curve and complicated tasks that typical smart boards can overburden teachers with. The teacher-friendly experience starts immediately at sign-in. The industry’s only germ-resistant BenQ Boards boast BenQ’s Tap ‘N Teach technology, which features one-tap NFC log-in to load lesson materials and interactive teaching apps, cloud storage, settings, and tools instantly and securely.…Read More

6 trends to watch in K-12 schools in 2024

This post originally appeared on the Christensen Institute’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

As we move through the beginning of 2024, parent power, rethinking assessments, and career and technical education (CTE) for every student are some of the trends rippling through K-12 education. …Read More

Enhancing classroom learning with interactive maps 

Key points:

As most teachers will tell you, in the post-Covid world, technology is an everyday part of education. It has undeniably transformed the way educators engage students and deliver content.

As an educator with 10 years of experience teaching in diverse settings in the United States and abroad, interactive maps have become a staple in my lessons. While primarily a geography resource, interactive maps can be used across various subjects within the social studies domain. Teachers can integrate maps into lessons related to history, cultural studies, and geopolitics. These maps go beyond traditional static maps, allowing students to investigate, evaluate, and engage with spatial information.  …Read More

5 ways to create an inviting, engaging multipurpose learning space

Key points:

We always knew that it would be great to have a dedicated space for students who needed pull-out testing, different accommodations, and/or more individualized instruction. We also knew that by creating a modern, multipurpose space from an existing facility we’d be able to meet those needs while also using the space for staff meetings, academic clubs, Bible study, and other uses.

Using funding from our Parish Picnic and donations, we picked the perfect place for our new multipurpose room: a common space that was central to the gathering area near the entrance to our church.…Read More

CoSN names 9 edtech hurdles, trends, and tools

Key points:

Teacher retention, learner agency, and, yes, generative AI are among the Hurdles (challenges), Accelerators (mega-trends) and Tech Enablers (tools) impacting education innovation for the year ahead as outlined in CoSN‘s 2024 global Driving K-12 Innovation report.

CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation Advisory Board–made up of 140+ global educators and IT professionals–has selected three top Hurdles, Accelerators, and Tech Enablers impacting education technology for the coming year. This year’s top topics shifted more from 2023 to 2024 than they have in any of the past five cycles of the project, underscoring a turning point in education and emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts.…Read More

5 helpful hacks for managing a STEM classroom

Key points:

Every classroom is a busy place, but STEM-specific classrooms are built on collaboration, communication, and hands-on inquiry. Things are bound to be extra noisy and energetic. This isn’t a bad thing–it’s “the sound of learning,” as a coworker of mine once put it! However, it does mean that STEM classrooms require skilled management to keep students focused on their tasks. So, how do we as educators foster an environment of engagement and creativity without stifling our students’ curiosity?

In my experience, educators looking to create a STEM-centered classroom can take advantage of five teaching hacks which allow them to manage students while still fostering a growth mindset:…Read More

Here’s how to protect schools from cyberattacks in 2024

Key points:

Identity theft and data breaches are on the rise and K-12 schools are one of the biggest targets. In fact, from 2016 through 2022, there have been more than 1,600 publicly reported cybersecurity-related incidents at K-12 public schools, affecting millions of current and former students. And now in 2024, it’s reaching a crisis point. Exposure of private information can have long-term impacts for not only schools, but for the students they serve. 

It’s why the nation is now taking a closer look at data vulnerabilities in K-12 schools. In late 2023, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $200 million program to gather data on schools’ cybersecurity and firewalls, to examine how we can best protect students, teachers and schools. It’s largely in response to the recent influx of ransomware gangs targeting K-12 schools. As cyberattacks against schools continue to increase in severity, schools must take it upon themselves to implement extra protections against online threats. …Read More

K-12 edtech survey notes growth obstacles attributed to insufficient leadership depth

Key points:

The latest national survey conducted by the Edtech Leadership Collective has identified a stark misalignment in expectations when it comes to emerging leaders’ readiness to reach the executive suite. For a second year in a row, very few C-level executives (9 percent) expressed confidence in their ability to hire from within for executive team vacancies. In contrast, one out of two (58 percent) of Department Heads fell they are ready for the executive suite.

The gap in confidence regarding management depth comes at a time when 78 percent of C-suite leaders consider the work of their non-executive leaders to be critical to their company’s success. However, C-suite leaders also acknowledge they have fallen short on providing mentoring, constructive feedback, and clearly defined paths to advancement.…Read More

AI: Can it think like your students do?

Key points:

2023 was a breakout year for artificial intelligence, with explosive growth of generative AI tools.

Since researchers at Carnegie Mellon University helped invent AI in the 1950s, AI has been transforming how we learn, work, and play–and that change is now happening at breakneck speed.…Read More

Savvas Learning Company Acquires Outlier.org 

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that it has acquired Outlier.org, an edtech startup that has created a portfolio of high-quality, turnkey, online college-level courses that enable high school students to earn dual credit while never having to leave their school building.  

Outlier.org combines cinematic video and charismatic professors with the best in modern, evidence-based teaching techniques to virtually transport the student to a college lecture hall. Its diverse catalog of award-winning courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are taught by hand-picked, world-class instructors from NASA, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and other top institutions.  

“There’s a growing demand for dual-enrollment and dual-credit opportunities for high school students across the country,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company, noting, however, that school administrators have long faced challenges when considering these programs for their students, such as limited course offerings, along with costly transportation and other logistical issues. …Read More