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.

Alliance for Decision Education Unveils First K-12 Learning Standards for Decision Education

PHILADELPHIA — The Alliance for Decision Education, a national nonprofit organization leading the movement to have decision-making skills taught in K-12 schools, today announced the publication of its new K-12 Learning Standards. The Standards represent the movement’s initial effort to provide a framework for what a student should know and be able to do, with respect to learning how to be an effective decision maker. They are intended to be integrated into various classroom subject areas to inspire new ideas, meaningful shifts in pedagogy, new curricula, and school models that empower students to become skillful at making decisions.

“Students today face an unprecedented barrage of information that shapes their decisions and ultimately their lives over the long-term,” said Joe Sweeney, Executive Director of the Alliance. “As we continue to build a national movement for Decision Education, we hope that educators will read these standards, share them with colleagues, put them into practice, and offer us feedback to help turn these learning progressions into reality for this next generation and beyond.”

The Learning Standards can be found on the newly redesigned Alliance website, which is a part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to raise the awareness of Decision Education and provide tools to help incorporate it into K-12 classrooms. The updated site offers education resources, video and interactive materials, as well as blog posts and podcast episodes, all of which make it easy for visitors to learn about Decision Education and its importance to students, teachers, and families.…Read More

Leading American Educator And Journalist, Esther Wojcicki, Joins Award-Winning Edtech Startup Pressto Ai

New York, NY — EdTech startup Pressto AI is thrilled to announce that Esther Wojcicki will be joining the leadership team as the Chief Academic Advisor. Wojcicki brings a plethora of experience to the role, ranging from journalist and educator to speaker and author. As Chief Academic Advisor, she will be guiding pedagogy, building a teacher task force, and creating a library of exemplary lessons for students. Having built the best student journalism program in the world, Esther and Pressto are together distributing her exemplary lessons to millions of students.

“Using AI to develop new and useful tools that help teachers improve their students’ education is at the core of empowering a successful next generation, and Pressto is doing just that,” says Esther Wojcicki, Pressto Chief Academic Advisor. “This means adapting to how we approach teaching overall to remain relevant with the times, so students not only learn the skills needed, but also become intrinsically motivated to learn more in all subject areas.”

Wojcicki is widely heralded as the one of the most successful parents, educators and journalists in the United States. She created a high school journalism program that changed the lives of thousands of kids, inspired Silicon Valley legends including Steve Jobs and raised three daughters – YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Fulbright Scholar Janet Wojcicki, and 23&Me Founder Anne Wojcicki – each of whom have become distinctively successful.…Read More

How to prepare new teachers for virtual learning

While the pandemic accelerated the demand for virtual learning, it’s clear that online pedagogy is now an integral part of an educator’s toolbox. As part of this shift to hybrid or virtual learning models, today’s educators face a new set of demands – it’s not just about teaching the curriculum; it’s about understanding and leveraging the tools that make learning possible and beneficial. 

As many of our interactions move online or become increasingly integrated with the digital world, teachers and the universities that prepare them need to shift as well.

Expanding Possibilities with In-Person and Virtual Learning…Read More

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How the edtech industry can help get education back on track

As we reflect on the last 14 months in the education space, we all understand the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on students, teachers, and schools in the U.S. and around the world. With this understanding, we must look for ways that we, the edtech industry, can add true value to these groups in order to help get them back on track in the current and post-pandemic worlds.

Although there are many areas where the edtech industry can help, I have identified a few areas in which edtech leaders, including myself, can make an immediate and meaningful difference:

PD to support in-person, hybrid, and remote learning…Read More

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Districts Leverage $300,000 Matching Grant Program to Improve Flexible Learning and Address Social Justice

Recipients receive services from BetterLesson to ensure continuity of learning and resilient pedagogy implementation

“It’s incredibly heartening to see that despite an ongoing pandemic and social and political unrest, schools and districts across the U.S. are motivated to improve teaching and learning in new environments and adopt strategies that promote social justice,” said Matt Kennard, CEO of BetterLesson. “Our team enjoyed reading through each and every grant application – the awarded services are well deserved, and we look forward to supporting recipients in achieving their goals.”

Recipients shared how they will utilize grant services:…Read More

Curriculum Associates Launches Magnetic Reading to Help Students Build Confidence While Mastering Critical Reading Skills

New supplemental reading program for Grades 3–5 engages students with grade-level content using culturally relevant texts

To help students build confidence while mastering critical reading skills, Curriculum Associates has launched the supplemental Magnetic Reading program for Grades 3–5. By providing actionable data and insights, knowledge-rich learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and scaffolds to support learner variability, the blended research-based program helps teachers facilitate lively classroom discourse and engage all students with grade-level content using culturally relevant texts.

“Providing a combination of both print and digital resources to support students’ acquisition of reading skills and comprehension is a top priority for us—we understand this is what teachers want and what they need to help their students succeed,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “Magnetic Reading, from its built-in scaffolds to diverse and authentic content, helps teachers truly engage students in the learning process as they practice the skills necessary to become confident and validated readers.”…Read More

7 Mindsets and K12, Inc. Virtual Schools Expand Partnership

7 Mindsets, the pioneer in delivering social emotional learning (SEL) solutions that include mindsets, equity and multicultural pedagogy, is taking on an expanded role in the SEL delivered by K12, Inc., one of the nation’s leading virtual/online education providers. 7 Mindsets will now provide SEL courses and curriculums, leadership training and teacher professional development throughout the entire K12, Inc., system for the next three years.

7 Mindsets and K12, Inc., alliance began in 2014. At that time, 7 Mindsets provided services for four schools designed to help struggling students that were on the verge of dropping out. Three years later, K12, Inc., added 11 more schools to the 7 Mindsets roster. With the expanded partnership, 7 Mindsets is now serving all of K12 Inc.’s schools and over 120,000 students, up from just 27,000 students in 2019.

“K12, Inc., is the largest virtual school organization in the United States, and we are very pleased to be an integral part of their expanding SEL program,” said 7 Mindsets President, Lupita Knittel. “We know that our age-appropriate, culturally-relevant curriculum is not only engaging but as an adaptable, digital curriculum it’s the perfect resource for a virtual school environment.”…Read More

Personalized learning: A 50-year-old “trend” worth exploring

Any teacher who has spent more than a few years in the profession will be exposed to a variety of educational trends. Innovative interventions, burgeoning buzzwords, and ambiguous acronyms are often touted as the next best thing, only to be replaced a short time later with a new trend.

For this reason, it’s easy to become disillusioned about implementing a change in pedagogy; why work to make room for something new when it’s likely to disappear in a short time?

Related content: 3 ways to find time for personalized learning…Read More

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3 ways districts can use AR and AI

Artificial intelligence (AI), mixed reality, and cognitive science research sound like science fiction for today’s classrooms, but this technology is available today. Innovation and technology are as integral to education today as chalkboards were in the past. And with the introduction of emerging, new, and proven technology-enhanced innovations, teachers are creating new ways of teaching and improving student learning, leading to a shift in pedagogy.

Here are three of the latest innovations our district is using.

Lumilo…Read More

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