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.

4 ways digital tools streamline summer program administration

Summer school is more important than ever this year as school administrators establish new learning programs to give K–12 students an opportunity to catch up on schoolwork and enrichment programs they missed during the pandemic. The federal government is also paying extra attention to summer programs, earmarking $1.2 billion in its massive relief package.

By the end of the 2020–2021 academic year, most U.S. schools were open, but administrators are still taking precautions to mitigate potential virus outbreaks among staff and students. This will be the norm for the foreseeable future since vaccines are widely available for staff and older children but haven’t yet been approved for younger kids.

Last year, teachers and school administrators adopted digital tools in greater numbers than ever before. Companies offering tools like online forms saw a spike in demand, and they are now seeing it rise again as schools organize summer learning programs.…Read More

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5 ways to make the summer count for students

For students, summer break often feels fleeting. In what seems like minutes, sunshine and freedom are quickly replaced by books and backpacks once again. 

However, if you are a parent trying to engage your child for the summer, these same two months are anything but fleeting as you balance planning for your child with other obligations. 

And if you are a school or district leader in 2021? Summer offers two months to reignite a love of learning in students and support unfinished learning through acceleration or remediation. You also face questions about how to best help staff and students return to school after a tumultuous year.…Read More

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How physical stress impacts you and your classroom

Being a teacher was already one of the most stressful occupations in America, even before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered widespread classroom changes and sudden shifts in teaching modalities. The impacts of physical stress in the classroom are widespread and have ramifications that stretch far beyond the classroom.

Educators, along with school administrators, must invest time in social-emotional learning and stress management. Following is some helpful information that can help educators learn about the impact physical stress has on their classrooms.

How stress impacts educators and the classroom…Read More

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Oransi Offers 5 Tips for Schools Seeking Better Classroom Ventilation to Help Stop COVID-19 Spread

Experts agree that ventilation in schools is inadequate and many administrators seek clarification regarding best practices to improve classroom air quality and reduce infectious disease transmission.

School administrators continue to struggle with selecting the right ventilation system for classrooms, as more states reopen schools for in-person learning. The U.S.-based air purification company, Oransi, offers the following guidance for schools that will allow them to select the right ventilation products, the first time, thereby helping to avoid any delay when reopening.

To achieve good indoor air quality the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states there are three strategies:

1) source control (removes the source of the pollutant),
2) ventilation (brings in fresh air from outdoors)
3) and air cleaning (through use of an air purifier).

For school ventilation there are two options: a HEPA air filtration system or an HVAC ventilation system. Knowing which option is right for a school depends on the efficiency (percentage of particles of a given size that are removed by the air filter with each air pass) and if enough air is moving for the room size.

Commercial HVAC systems are expensive, time-consuming to upgrade, and generally use lower efficiency air filters that do not remove fine particles such as viruses – allowing them to pass back into a room’s air. However, upgrading or installing an HVAC system is the right solution if there is a very large space to clean – usually larger than 1,500 square feet – and removing viruses or fine particles is not a concern. But a new HVAC system may not be realistic when a school’s budget is limited or the campus buildings are older and source control and proper ventilation cannot be achieved. In this case, HEPA air purifiers may be the best supplemental solution for a school’s budget and layout.

But how can schools select the right HEPA air purifier? Oransi offers the following tips:

1) Based on the recommendation of Harvard University School of Public Health, look for 5 air changes per hour (ACH). If a school’s existing Commercial HVAC system provides 3 ACH, then the air purifier selected would need to provide 2 ACH as a supplement.

2) Look for a portable air purifier with a HEPA filter.…Read More

ManagedMethods Launches Industry-leading Student Cyber Safety Monitoring Powered by Artificial Intelligence

ManagedMethods, the leading Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cybersecurity, student safety, and compliance platform for K-12 school districts, today announced the launch of its Signals student safety monitoring feature.

Signals by ManagedMethods is an AI-powered student safety monitoring feature that helps administrators detect when a student is in crisis and in danger of potentially harming themselves. It does this by monitoring district Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts for distress signals, and hidden cries for help. Upon detection, Signals sends alerts to designated school administrators in real-time. These alerts include the information needed to understand the incident, allowing for quick response to a student in need.

“We have put a tremendous amount of effort into developing the K-12 education industry’s leading AI technology for student safety monitoring over this past year,” said Charlie Sander, Chief Executive Officer at ManagedMethods. “Student safety is such an important focal point in making—and keeping—schools safe. We’re proud to see Signals already making a positive impact on students and staff in schools today.”…Read More

Frontline Education has Acquired Forecast5 Analytics

Frontline Education, a leading provider of school administration software and services purpose-built for K-12, today announced that it has acquired Forecast5 Analytics from Riverwood Capital. Forecast5 offers a suite of decision support software that provides financial forecasting, benchmarking, student performance dashboards and geovisual analytics to empower school administrators to make more informed financial, academic and strategic decisions. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are excited to welcome the Forecast5 team to Frontline Education. Forecast5’s decision support capabilities are a natural extension of our solutions and further our commitment to innovation, supporting the growth of district staff and optimizing the management of their processes,” said Mark Gruzin, CEO of Frontline Education. “In the current climate, budgetary, financial management and planning considerations have become more complex. Together, our organizations will provide more advanced solutions and resources to address those needs for school districts.”

The acquisition expands the reach and impact of Forecast5’s data analytics and decision support capabilities by introducing the company’s solutions and expertise to thousands of Frontline Education clients across the country. Frontline’s Student Information System (SIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) clients will have opportunities to take advantage of Forecast5’s decision support capabilities. Forecast5 clients will benefit from Frontline Education’s expansive data set as well as the company’s broad portfolio of school administration software and services for human capital management, business operations and student management. Frontline will continue to support Forecast5’s unique expertise, client success and advisor model, as well as their extensive partnerships to provide best practice guidance and resources to clients.…Read More

Digital signage offers teachers the tools they need to succeed

Many of us can recall scratchy, static-muddled murmurs of elementary and high school administrators making announcements over the public address system, accepting such antiquated technologies as the norm.

Fortunately, a better way has emerged. Today, educators can install screens in classrooms that easily and effectively serve many purposes over the breadth of a typical school day, including pushing out important messages and reminders.

A public address system gives a school principal or someone else in the building one shot each morning to reach yawning youngsters with key information. A screen in each classroom changes the dynamic from easily tuned-out audio to hard-to-miss visual messaging that can run for as long as necessary. That messaging can also be scheduled and targeted by location and serve many needs, limited only by imagination.…Read More

New Data from Rave Mobile Safety Shows Schools’ Top Safety Concerns About Returning to the Classroom

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave), the critical communication and collaboration platform customers count on when it matters most, today announced a new survey report that reveals the top safety concerns that school administrators, teachers and staff have about returning to the classroom, as well as the steps they are taking to create a safe environment. Chief among those concerns are the mental and physical health of both teachers and students and enforcing social distancing practices. The report also addresses what learning will look like once everyone does return to classrooms and managing a hybrid learning environment.

Key findings of the report include:

  • Social distancing and mental/physical health of school staff are the top health and safety concerns for the new year as the coronavirus evolves. Social distancing is a top concern for those returning to school (77%), followed closely by teacher/staff physical health (70%) and mental health (69%), as well as student mental health (69%) and physical health (67%). To address these concerns, schools will be putting up signage promoting social distancing (74%) and issuing daily temperature checks (69%) and wellness checks (57%).
  • State and local governments will be the major influencers about when schools reopen and teachers and students return to the classroom — and many are starting early. While parent preference (43%) and a belief in the importance of in-person learning (50%) are factors in the decision whether to return to the classroom or not, most school leaders report that state (81%) and local (57%) governments are major influencers in that decision. Additionally, 44% report that their school districts are going back before September, compared to 6% considering a December or later return to in-person learning.
  • Hybrid learning is the most likely class model for students and teachers this year, meaning that schools also need to overcome distance learning challenges.As circumstances force schools to consider alternate learning models, a hybrid approach of in-person and remote learning is the most popular solution (75%). For that model to be successful, schools need to consider the challenges that emerged from classes held remotely this spring, chief among them being students lacking internet access and low student and parent engagement.

“This year, ‘school safety’ has taken on an entirely new level of meaning, from meeting CDC standards to caring for the mental health of those in the building,” said Todd Miller, Chief Operating Officer, Rave Mobile Safety. “Clear communication about safety standards and compliance with everyone involved in that effort, from teachers and administrators to parents and students, has never been more critical. We are proud to support schools in these efforts through tools that enable daily wellness checks and frequent communication with all stakeholders, which help promote health and safety and create a sense of consistency during a disruptive, stressful time.”…Read More

Stream 75+ character and fitness videos

To support school administrators, teachers, and school families nationwide, Booster is making their fitness and character resources available to ALL families through the end of the school year. They welcome you to share this link and access code for your friends, family
and colleagues to utilize these resources with their children.

View more at www.boosterthoncharacter.com
Access Code: ONLINE

…Read More