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.

Super Duper Publications Hires Occupational Therapist to Expand its Line of OT Products for Children

Super Duper Publications has hired Occupational Therapist Dani Kinsley to help the company expand its line of digital and print occupational therapy (OT) products for children.

Super Duper currently offers a successful line of occupational therapy products, including best-sellers like Yogarilla, Sensory Diet Cards and the Pre-Handwriting Fun Deck which address areas of development such as gross motor/bilateral coordination, sensory integration, visual perception, and fine motor skills. Kinsley will help Super Duper create new products addressing additional areas of development to help meet the needs of clinic- and school-based occupational therapists.

“I am so excited to join the team at Super Duper Publications because I have been using Super Duper products almost daily in my pediatric clinical practice for many years now,” said Kinsley. “I love their high-quality, fun, and creative product offerings. Super Duper has definitely made my life as a clinical OT easier in the past, and I look forward to creating new resources to help continue that legacy as we expand our OT line moving forward.”…Read More

Covid’S Hit on Education and Literacy Levels Will Impact a Generation – Can Ebooks Help Us?

Scholastic US research indicates that of children who had read an eBook, 26% of boys and 16% of girls said they were reading more books as a result. National Literacy Trust research found that boys were significantly more likely to say that they read on screen (65.7%) than in print (55.4%) outside school.[1]

To help tackle falling literacy levels and utilise the reading skills and motivation benefited from eBooks, ‘Nimble Stories’, a new eBook start-up company is launching a crowdfunding effort on Thursday, 4 March 2021.

Nimble Stories is an easy eBook subscription service for Schools, Parents and Guardians, providing short stories and children’s books – perfect for learning, fun adventures and bedtime reads. Nimble Stories will be releasing new titles every week, meaning you can always find something new – across both fiction and non-fiction categories. With unlimited downloads, your subscription makes sure the fun never stops. There’s no limit or allowance to worry about – just complete access to the entire Nimble Stories’ library, as if it were your own. All eBooks are easy to read, available offline and can even be printed at home or in the classroom.…Read More

Rise Vision Creates Free Black History Month Posters for Schools

In honor of Black History Month, Rise Vision has released 10 FREE Black History Month posters for schools to print out, share on their digital signage, websites, and social media, or use in their classrooms and lesson plans.

The posters are available for download in high-resolution JPG and landscape and portrait-oriented PDFs.

“As a software company that supports K12 schools, we live and breathe technology development and all things education. For Black History Month, we want to help raise the visibility of unsung contributors to U.S. and world history.” Shea Darlison, Head of Marketing…Read More

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

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Oklahoma’s State Textbook Committee Unanimously Approves Discovery Education Science Techbook

Following a comprehensive evaluation, the  Oklahoma State Textbook Committee has unanimously approved the Elementary and Middle School editions of  Discovery Education’s  Science Techbook for statewide use as core instructional resources.  Oklahoma’s adoption of the Science Techbook empowers the state’s school systems to purchase and integrate this innovative digital resource, and corresponding print resources, into teaching and learning.  Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.

Delivered through the dynamic, flexible  Discovery Education Experience K-12 platform, Science Techbook drives engagement with exclusive phenomena and interactive content. Virtual and hands-on investigations, STEM activities and a variety of instructional supports enhance the delivery of impactful, blended instruction, in person or at a distance.

Available with the Science Techbook are coordinated digital and print teacher guides offering unit, concept, and lesson overviews, standards connections, and differentiation activities to inform instructional planning and guide three-dimensional learning. Teacher editions also provide flexible pacing options, embedded teacher notes, and Pathways for Learning to address diverse learners. Print student editions and interactive worktexts are available for every grade level and integrate seamlessly with the digital and hands-on assets of this comprehensive program.…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

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Savvas Launches New Interactive US and World History Series

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation learning solutions provider for K-12 education, today announced the release of its new print and digital high school history series, US History Interactive ©2022 and World History Interactive ©2022, that promotes a deeper investigation of the past and connects history to the present.

With a focus on inquiry and critical thinking, the programs’ curriculum boosts student engagement with digital activities, culturally responsive content, and support for integrating social emotional learning skills. The series takes interactive learning to new heights with the inclusion of the award-winning Project Imagine series, which uses fully immersive experiences and diverse primary sources to make learning history come alive.

“History is more than the story of past events. It’s the story of people and their decisions, actions, and viewpoints, which in turn shape the story of our present and future. History becomes more relevant to students when they can experience it in a more personal way,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Our new US History Interactive and World History Interactive series brings a modern lens to history by helping students make connections to compelling, real-world topics, while enabling them to become critical thinkers with valuable inquiry skills for college, career, and civic responsibility.”…Read More

With Print Supplies Disrupted, More Schools Adopt Digital Books

With a record number of students going back to school online, educators are urgently turning to digital books in place of print for their established curriculum. In response to this need, OverDrive Education, the leading digital reading platform for K-12 schools worldwide, today announced support for several major curriculum systems. This means that schools can provide instant access to assigned titles as ebooks and audiobooks for in-class and distance learning for all students.

More than 35,000 schools have shifted to OverDrive Education for digital books as the company has significantly expanded its catalog to include grade-leveled class sets aligned to teaching units. To supply both required and recommended ebooks and audiobooks for the classroom, the company is collaborating with a variety of the most popular curriculum developers including EL Education, StudyForge and Schoolwide. With a growing catalog of over one million premium digital titles, students can benefit from anytime, anywhere access with the Sora reading app. In demand curriculum titles include Just Mercy, The Lightning Thief, Hidden Figures, Llama Llama Time to Share, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Ghost and A Long Walk to Water.

“Though there are many challenges and barriers in education right now, Sora has made it so that student access to worthy texts is not one of them,” said Kim King, Director of Virtual Learning & Media Services of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “OverDrive worked hard to help us be strategic within our budget to get our students one-to-one access to our anchor texts and a circulating collection of supplemental texts to build our students’ content knowledge and enthusiasm for reading.”…Read More

BIOZONE Launches Comprehensive Environmental Science Program

BIOZONE has just published an exciting new AP Environmental Science title (in print and eBook) dedicated to addressing the College Board’s new APES Course & Exam Description (2019).
Using engaging, current, and relevant case studies, this includes activities on:

  • COVID-19 pandemic (snapshot up until July 2020)
  • Increased incidence and severity of wildfires (California, Australia, Brazil, Siberia)
  • Global climate change – latest scientific data (up to 2019 in some cases)
  • Finding and applying solutions to environmental problems

Take a quick look now – you can access an immediate FULL PREVIEW (see every page) by going to the product page and clicking on the Full Preview button at: www.thebiozone.com/apes
“I’d be delighted to receive any feedback about your impression of this resource,” Richard Allan Biozone’s President commented. “Our writing team have put their heart and soul into making it as engaging and as cutting edge as we can get it. We intend to publish a new edition every 2 years to keep it that way. So much is going on in this subject right now and we are super excited to share our passion to inspire better outcomes for our planet through science education!”
BIOZONE’s resources are available in both print and digital formats:

  • Digital version: allows teachers to assign and mark lessons remotely. A low-cost eBook Lite option is now available for budget-constrained districts.
  • Print version: Learning-from-home solutions can also include our print titles. Limited broadband access may be an obstacle for many students. Print titles, used alongside learning
    management tools and teacher coaching can provide effective “learning-from-home” solutions.

About Biozone
BIOZONE International is a world leader in delivering cutting-edge high-quality student instructional materials and teacher resources for high school sciences (grades 9-12). With a 30-year presence in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, along with a global footprint of dedicated educators, we possess an absolute passion for next generation science.…Read More

Ambassador Launches Revolutionary Course Materials Platform, Easing the Entire Process for Students, Schools and Publishers

Ambassador Education Solutions today launched its next generation Course Materials Platform, RODA, transforming digital content and all course materials for students, schools and publishers. Unlike any other technology on the market, RODA provides seamless access to print and digital materials, publisher and platform integrations, support services, analytics, financial controls, and compliance — all through one flexible and easy-to-use platform.

“Education is being reimagined. At Ambassador we’re not looking back; we’re focused on what’s next,” said Steven M. Blicht, CEO of Ambassador. “More than a year ago, we set out to develop a Course Materials Platform that would combat the fragmented approach to content and be all things for all stakeholders — one platform for everyone. Fast forward to today, RODA is more important than ever to address new learning models, especially in this increasingly digital world.”

Course materials have become more complex for everyone, and this is being amplified as schools evolve their online, on-campus and hybrid programs. Students are being forced to figure out how to access content and navigate multiple platforms, which can be both time intensive and confusing. At the same time, schools don’t have the bandwidth or necessary controls to handle an ever increasing number of publisher and platform integrations, and they don’t want to put the burden on their IT teams to manage various technologies, analyze analytics, and verify usage and costs. Schools also are facing increased pressure to comply with applicable Department of Education regulations, including Inclusive Access and opt-out requirements. Finally, publishers need greater transparency into how and how often their materials are being used so they can protect their content and reconcile fees. Publishers also need peace-of-mind that schools and students have the necessary support when using their content.…Read More