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.

A new battle in the war for cybersecurity in schools: Part 1

Last month, the Biden administration announced new actions and private commitments to bolster the nation’s cyber defense at schools. Administration leaders, school administrators, educators, and education technology providers convened at the White House to discuss how to strengthen the nation’s schools’ cybersecurity amidst growing ransomware attacks.

Frank Pilero, Supervisor of Technology and Data for the Linwood Board of Education in Southern New Jersey, was one of the participants. He shared his experiences of the day and insights on cybersecurity in education during this conversation with eSchool News, which is the first of a three-part series devoted to this issue. Frank emphasized that while cyber threats are prevalent, schools can take proactive steps to protect themselves. Click below to listen and scroll down for the key takeaways along with the government’s approach to tackling this never-ending battle.

Key takeaways include:…Read More

Could empathy become extinct?

Key points:

If empathy were an animal, it would undoubtedly be on the endangered species list–potentially on the cusp of meeting a fate comparable to the woolly mammoth or the saber-toothed cat.  Since 1973, the purpose of the Endangered Species Act has been to protect endangered animals and foster habitat, which not only promotes safety and recovery from the events or circumstances that led to rapid decline, but also advocates and educates for future changes in policy, procedures, and society to ensure the animals are nourished and safeguarded.  In short, the endangered species list attempts to save animals before it is too late.  Although not a living organism, empathy is on the verge of becoming an endangered social skill.

Unlike extinct animals, empathy will leave no skeletons below the surface, and without immediate attention, empathy may vanish from the face of the earth, without any evidence that it was ever here.…Read More

How Phys Ed and Ed Tech Can Fit

Concerns over kids and screen time versus play time are legitimate. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, 17.0% of youth ages 10 to 17 had obesity in 2020-2021. That rate has increased slightly from 15.5% in 2018-19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet it’s pretty plain that the screens aren’t going away. Educators and parents need to figure out ways to work around the devices and get kids moving.

Fit and Fun Founder and CEO, Pamela Gunther, has some suggestions. In this conversation, she breaks down the various scenarios schools face when trying to get students up, out, about and goes into some other ideas about how technology can encourage activity, not taking them from it. Have a listen and scroll through for some edited highlights: 

In the work that we do, which is to design and develop physical activities for kids, there are a couple of different ways we get inspired. And how we approach and develop our products. First of all, it’s got to be fun. It’s got to be colorful. It’s got to work and when I mean work, a lot of our products are backed by science-based movements, movements that hit particular parts of the brain.…Read More

Edtech leaders offer guidance on safe AI classroom integration

Key points:

  • A number of leading education and technology leaders are formulating recommendations around teaching with AI
  • These efforts can help prepare students to work with and within the world of AI and its rapid evolution
  • See related article: The importance of teaching generative AI

Code.org, ETS, ISTE, Khan Academy, and World Economic Forum have formed TeachAI, bringing together education, nonprofit, and technology partners to assist governments and education authorities with integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into primary and secondary curricula worldwide while protecting student safety, respecting privacy rights, and addressing issues of bias and misinformation.

AI’s rapid pace of development in recent months offers exciting applications for the classroom, but the unprecedented technology also demands deliberation as the implications are vast. TeachAI will bring critical voices across education, policy, and technology to develop a practical framework for teaching with AI and teaching about AI. …Read More

3 innovative ways to help teachers feel engaged and valued

As research reveals that relational trust leads to engagement and success, we are reminded that teachers hold our students’ stories and hopes—and here’s how school leaders can lay the foundation for relational trust so that school communities flourish.

In school environments, intellectual growth and community are treasured as exciting pieces of the work that teachers build.  Relationships are critical to everyone in an institution.  Working with people—in addition to working with the technology or materials or curriculum—means that cooperative interactions occur daily.

Because administrators, policy-makers, students, parents, and community members all play key roles in how society values the work of teachers, positive interactions become critical.  For this reason, relational trust is a key factor within the learning environment to have engagement and success (Bryk & Schneider, 2002; Bryk et al., 2009).  Relationships are unique and take time to build.  The impact of healthy environments can empower each individual into making authentic efforts, putting in the rigor/practice, and achieving goals.  Keeping teachers engaged and valued, indeed, becomes the most critical aspect of society in order to develop the next generation of educated citizens.…Read More

New Report: Equity, Cybersecurity Top List of State Education Technology Priorities

As students return to another school-year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report sheds light on how state education agencies and policy-makers are adapting to an increasingly digital, post-pandemic world.

The 2022 State EdTech Trends Report, released by the State Educational Technology Directors Association in collaboration with Whiteboard Advisors, draws on the results of SETDA’s flagship annual State EdTech Trends Survey of edtech directors, state superintendents, chiefs of staff, and other senior state officials from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Activity (DoDEA), and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The report supplements the survey findings with interviews of leaders in a number of states to spotlight their efforts to support digital learning. “Our job at the state is to advocate for what districts need and to promote our mentality that we are all in this together to help our students achieve,” stated Rob Dietrich, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.…Read More

5 ways to support educator well-being this school year

Educators, I see you. I know it’s been a rough couple of years.

From teaching through a global pandemic to adjusting in real time to teacher shortages and policy changes, from worrying about school safety to trying to manage more disruptive behavior in your classroom, this past school year alone has presented huge challenges.

As humans, we are neurobiologically wired for connection – it’s in our DNA. And, as educators, you are wired to help support the students (and fellow educators) you serve – it’s why you entered this profession to begin with. However, due to all of the external (and internal) pressures, you and so many other educators are likely feeling burned out, exhausted, and overwhelmed.…Read More

9 priorities for a future-focused education system

The Aurora Institute, a national education nonprofit focused on education systems change, has released its annual report outlining key federal policy issues aimed at transforming our K-12 education system so it is fit for purpose, strengthening our democracy and shaping our next generation of engaged citizens.

Informed by the expertise and wisdom of thousands in its community, the Aurora Institute’s federal policy priorities are a set of nine recommendations designed to ensure education systems move from the current state to future-focused education systems capable of preparing all learners with building the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve lifelong success.

The priorities include:…Read More

6 findings to inform your state’s principal preparation

As state leaders continue to weigh the best use of federal funding to improve education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major new research report by the Learning Policy Institute and The Wallace Foundation underscores the importance of federal, state, and district policies that foster the availability and quality of principal preparation and professional development programs.

The research finds that the preparation and professional development a school principal receives not only shapes their efficacy as a leader, but are also associated with positive outcomes for teachers and students. 

Developing Effective Principals: What Kind of Learning Matters?, conducted by LPI, synthesizes peer-reviewed scholarship from 2000 to 2021 that addresses principal preparation and development programs. It also examines survey results and statewide policies to understand the extent to which principals have access to high-quality learning opportunities and the role of policies in increasing access. The study’s authors are Linda Darling-Hammond, Marjorie E. Wechsler, Stephanie Levin, Melanie Leung-Gagné and Steve Tozer. The report updates a prior 2007 study, Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World, led by Darling-Hammond.…Read More

Making indoor air quality a top priority

As schools move toward making masks optional for students and teachers, concerns are turning to the best ways to mitigate COVID-19 infections–and indoor air quality is a major concern.

With students back in physical classrooms, air quality must take priority regardless of a district’s mask policy. But how can district leaders address the varying degrees of improvements schools may need to update their indoor air systems?

Join this eSchool News webinar to learn about:…Read More