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.

Use tech to reassess assessment

With 25+ years of practice and research behind him, Joe Feldman—a former teacher, principal and district administrator—speaks from experience when it comes to the ongoing inequities and challenges that districts and schools have with grading. In this conversation with eSchool News, Feldman, author of the recently updated Grading for Equity, discusses the importance of equity in education, particularly in the context of grading practices. He emphasizes how the COVID-19 pandemic and events like the George Floyd protests highlighted the need to address these inequities, explains the flaws in traditional grading practices, and advocates for the need for change. He also explores how technology can aid in more accurate, unbiased, and motivational assessment methods. Have a listen and scroll down for some other takeaways, and an excerpt from his book:

➔Traditional grading practices have flaws, including inaccuracies, biases, and demotivation, and the pandemic has exposed these shortcomings, prompting educators to reevaluate their grading methods.

➔Technology can offer benefits in assessment by providing support for generating questions and allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge in various ways. It can help reduce the limitations of traditional assessments.…Read More

3 ways superintendents can maximize resources this school year

Key points:

As the new school year kicks off, superintendents across the nation are evaluating resources needed for the year ahead to ensure that everyone–school leaders, teachers, students, and parents–has what they need to be successful.

During a time when many kindergarten through 12th grade education leaders are facing many challenges, including teacher shortages, declining math and reading scores, funding issues, student mental health, and more, it’s critical that superintendents maximize their resources. By doing so, they’ll be able to solve immediate challenges that may arise, giving them more time to focus on the long-term goals of their school or district.…Read More

It’s critical to promote mental health supports at the start of the school year

Key points:

As the new academic year approaches, it’s crucial to pay attention to an aspect of school life that often doesn’t feature prominently in back-to-school prep: mental health. For both educators and students, safeguarding mental health is important to promoting a positive, supportive, and successful educational environment.

Anxiety, stress, and uncertainty can permeate the school atmosphere at the beginning of the year. Teachers might face pressures from lesson planning, meeting new students, or adjusting to changes in curriculum. Students often grapple with academic pressures, extracurricular activities, social dynamics, and the transition from lazy days spent playing on devices to the more structured school day. These collective stressors necessitate an emphasis on mental health support.…Read More

How to build relationships with students

Key points:

Throughout my career, I’ve held many titles. I’ve been a reading specialist, a special education teacher, and an English teacher, among others. No matter what my job was called, one of the most important things I did every day was to try to build relationships with students. Especially since the pandemic, teachers have been encouraged to build rapport with their students as schools have placed greater focus on social and emotional learning (SEL).

Students with disabilities often require more frequent check-ins. Whether it’s because they need reassurance that they are doing their work correctly, have a tendency to drift off track, or just need an extra pat on the back here and there, the connection is important to their success.…Read More

Savvas Announces New Math and Reading Solutions that Engage and Inspire Students While Giving Educators the Resources to Help All Learners Achieve

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company is excited to announce new and enhanced math and reading solutions that engage and inspire students to learn, while giving educators the evidence-based instructional resources they need to accelerate learning and help all students achieve.

“At Savvas, we are committed to empowering educators with the highest-quality instructional materials and effective teaching strategies to increase student achievement,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Long committed to developing evidence-based, student-centered learning solutions, Savvas this year is delivering new math and reading programs that continue to give educators what they need to help all students succeed.”

Savvas solutions focus on putting the student at the center of learning. The company’s award-winning blended programs — delivered digitally on its innovative Savvas Realize platform and visually through engaging print resources — feature real-world learning experiences designed to increase student engagement along with high-quality instructional materials to accelerate academic outcomes.…Read More

5 ways to update aging media centers

Key points:

  • Prioritize high-need schools and ensure technology is in place from the beginning
  • With updated media centers, schools can support modern learning goals and student activities
  • See related article: 4 ways we designed collaborative learning spaces

It’s been about two years since we received the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that we needed to be able to update our aging media centers. Not only were the furniture and fixtures old, but most of the seating was made of cloth and nearly impossible to sanitize or disinfect.

We used this ESSER funding opportunity—plus some additional funding from other sources—to thoroughly review our current facilities across 27 different schools. We sought out the facilities with the highest need, knowing that some of them had been upgraded in recent years. Others, however, were still using furniture from 1972—the same year that the schools had opened.…Read More

BookmarkED Addresses the State of Challenged Books with Industry-First Technology to Enable Parental Choice in School Libraries

DALLAS, Texas – BookmarkED, the industry-first technology solution to personalize libraries with parental choice, has announced its official launch in Texas. With the passing of  Texas House Bill (HB) 900, school districts face a pressing need to meet the changing requirements for parental engagement on library books that children have access to. BookmarkED is a Texas-based company that enables parents to make individual decisions on literary options for their children and protects school districts from liability by ensuring compliance.

Library book challenges are increasing across the US. The  American Library Association (ALA) documented 2,571 unique library books and resources challenged in 2022, nearly double the number of challenges reported in 2021 and the highest since ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago. BookmarkED’s technology addresses the current state of challenged books by fostering parental choice to decide what books their children have access to, based on their family’s values and interests. 

“BookmarkED is an innovative solution that fosters parent’s choices for their individual child so that decisions are one-to-one versus one-to-all. Our platform puts the power into the hands of their parents, so that they can decide the literary path for their children by setting parameters over what books their children have access to. We are driven to first empower Texas school districts with this technology, and then move to a national level,” said Steve Wandler, CEO and Co-Founder of BookmarkED.…Read More

5 ways to help students struggling with algebra due to learning loss

Key points:

Since the pandemic, students have struggled markedly in math, particularly algebra. According to NAEP Mathematics Assessment data, eighth-graders’ algebra scores were eight points lower in 2022 than in 2019. According to the Nation’s Report Card, the average eighth-grade mathematics score was lower than all previous assessment years—going back to 2003.

As a gateway content area, algebra prepares students to tackle advanced study in calculus, physics, and other subjects—yet it often is a sticking point for many middle and high school students. Without a solid understanding of algebra, many students find that they get stuck in their math studies.…Read More

How To Beat Teacher Tech Resistance

You would think after almost four years of the forced migration to remote learning and the new ways to connect and teach thanks to edtech, teachers would be ready to accept these tools as an essential part of their work. According to Julianne Ross-Kleinmann, data analysis & technology integration specialist at Ulster BOCES in New York, that’s not necessarily the case. 

In this conversation, Julianne shares her experiences encouraging tech-hesitant teachers to embrace technology that improves teaching and learning. We touch upon a number of topics including the challenges of technology adoption, the role of trust in educational technology, the TPACK framework (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge), and the need to tailor approaches to individual teachers’ comfort levels. 

Julianne emphasizes that despite progress, resistance to technology still exists, and she shares her strategies for building trust and advocating for equitable technology access. …Read More