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.

10 educator suggestions to instill a love of reading in students

My husband quite often reminds me not to use my behavior as a child OR an adult as an indicator of others’… because I’m weird. From the moment I learned to read, I loved it. My favorite winter break was spent bingeing on every Baby-Sitters Club book in the series. As an adult, at any given moment, I’m listening to an audiobook and bouncing between one or two print books. Sometimes I read to learn. But most often, I read because I love it. But again… I’m weird.

Is it weird? Or did the mere fact I enjoyed access to books at home, school, and in the public library as a student give me a distinct advantage? The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), otherwise known as The Nation’s Report Card, indicates that students scoring in the lowest percentiles in reading and math are dipping noticeably.

Related content: How school librarians are getting creative in a pandemic…Read More

Super Duper Digital Library is selected as a Winner by Two Prestigious Family Awards Programs

The Super Duper Digital Library, a collection of hundreds of online cards, games, and worksheets to support reading and literacy skills for children in Pre-K – Grade 5, recently won two prestigious awards programs – the Family Choice Awards and the Mom’s Choice Awards.

The Family Choice Awards selected the Digital Library as a winner in four categories: Technology & Apps, Children (Early Elementary), Special Needs, and Music & Audio Books.

The Mom’s Choice Awards named the Digital Library a Gold winner, making it the 11th Super Duper product to earn the coveted Mom’s Choice Awards winner’s seal.…Read More

How school librarians are getting creative in a pandemic

New questions from school librarians…

Will ultra violet disinfectant devices damage books?
How long should I quarantine a book before circulating it again?
How can I use technology to coordinate curbside pick-up for students who want to check out print books?

Meet the same old challenges……Read More

Mentoring Minds Launches Mobile App to Support Instruction and Student Success

Mentoring Minds, a leading provider of K-12 instructional and critical thinking materials, announces the availability of the Mentoring Minds Resource Library, a mobile app comprised of resources to support instruction and promote student success. The app, available via the Apple Store and Google Play, includes best practices, research-based strategies and practical ideas from Mentoring Minds.

“It’s imperative that teachers are able to easily access instructional resources that are both impactful and cost-effective,” said Shad Madsen, CEO at Mentoring Minds. “The new mobile app builds upon recent efforts to digitize our award-winning content in a format that’s easy to consume, and perhaps most importantly, actionable.”

The Mentoring Minds Resource Library contains hundreds of ready-to-use instructional activities, interventions, extensions and proactive strategies and techniques, including:…Read More

Learning.com Includes Essential Skills for Remote Learning in EasyTech

To prepare students for success in a remote learning environment, Learning.com is adding remote learning lessons to its EasyTech content library. Based on real-life applications and digital tools, lessons in Essential Skills for Remote Learning guide students through technical concepts in a fun, game-based environment.

“The latest addition to EasyTech is designed to help both teachers and students navigate online learning this year, ensuring they are able to reap all of the benefits that online tools can provide,” said Keith Oelrich, CEO at Learning.com. “A majority of teachers strongly agree that digital learning tools are a valuable part of today’s classroom – it’s critical that they are set up for success and able to support students in a variety of environments.”

EasyTech’s “Essential Skills for Remote Learning” are as follows:…Read More

Made By Us, First Book and AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate Launch the Wishes For Books Giveaway

Today, Made By Us, First Book and AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate announced they are now accepting submissions for the Wishes For Books giveaway. Eligible Title 1 teachers are encouraged to share their classroom’s wish for the future of the country on Made By Us’ digital platform My Wish For U.S. by visiting bit.ly/wishesforbooks. The giveaway will remain open to teachers through September 21st for a chance to win a library of books based on the topic of their wish.

Later this fall, 1000 randomly selected teachers will receive First Book gift credits to order books for their classrooms from genres including Activism and Civic Engagement, Making a Difference, Biographies, and more. It is estimated that a total of 20,000 books will be gifted.

“Learning and engaging with history at an early age can have a profound impact on young people,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, a founding member of Made By Us. “Through this partnership with First Book and AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate, this is an exciting opportunity to inspire young people and provide them with resources that will help them shape the future.”…Read More

School librarians can save democracy

Regardless of one’s political views, there seems to be consensus on one political reality: America is dangerously polarized. According to Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School in Connecticut, in a recent edWebinar, “The future of democracy presents a case for the critical need for school librarians in every school.”

School librarians are essential to help students gain equitable access to high-quality inquiry instructional experiences for all learners–not just for the future of education but also for the future of democracy.

The problem…Read More

Codecademy Expands Online Coding Education

Codecademy, the online education platform empowering millions of people to learn code, announced two new initiatives for students and teachers, including its first-ever student membership and a new partnership with Clever, the most widely used single sign-on (SSO) portal in K-12 schools nationwide

With many schools going fully or partially remote this fall, Codecademy is making its learning platform more accessible for students and teachers. For college students, Codecademy is launching a new Pro Student membership, which includes complete access to Codecademy’s catalog for a more affordable price.

Codecademy is also providing free access to its online coding courses for high school teachers and their classes via a new partnership with Clever. Codecademy Pro courses will be available in Clever Library, a catalog of high-quality digital resources that teachers can deploy to their classroom within seconds. High school teachers can access Codecademy’s interactive curriculums for free, empowering their students to learn how to code in a fun and engaging way online.…Read More

Super Duper Publications Provides Unique Educational Materials for PreK-5 Distance Learning and Teletherapy

Distance learning has become a staple of our current educational system. With the launching of its new Digital Library, which includes more than 340 resources to support distance learning and teletherapy, educational publisher Super Duper Publications is leading the way in providing online learning materials for young students.

This unique Library:

  • Has more than 340 instructional games, cards, and worksheets for educators and parents to use with PreK-Grade 5 students
  • Is updated with additional materials and features weekly
  • Targets specific skills – basic concepts, literacy, grammar, social skills, critical thinking, sequencing, listening, early skills, phonemic awareness, memory, motor skills, sensory integration, phonics, reading, and more.
  • Offers both short and longer activities to benefit students with limited attention spans
  • Is web-based for easy accessibility at school or home
  • Can be used in-person in a classroom
  • Works on a desktop, laptop, or digital whiteboard, as well as on mobile devices such as a Chromebook, tablet or smartphone.
  • Complies with State and Common Core educational standards

“When the pandemic hit, all education shifted online,” said Thomas Webber, chairman of Super Duper. “Nowadays, educators need easy-to-access resources that they can use with students during distance learning and online special education/speech therapy sessions. Parents are also looking for easy-to-understand materials that their children can use during at-home learning. We created this online Digital Library of our most popular print materials, so that educators and parents would have access to the learning materials their children need.”…Read More

Infobase Acquires Professional Development and Training Platform

Infobase, the award-winning provider of the Infobase Learning Ecosystem, which delivers interactive learning experiences and award-winning digital reference content to the school and library community, today announced the acquisition of Hoonuit’s Professional Development and Training Platform, the leading solution for educators needing to improve student learning and meet district, state, and department objectives. With this purchase, Infobase empowers educators with the professional development and training resources they need to create college- and career-ready students.

Helping Educators Close Student Learning Gaps

Infobase is now positioned to connect educators with the solutions they need to fill learning gaps, provide social-emotional learning support, and successfully utilize distance learning technology through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.…Read More