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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.

Seven TED 2013 videos you don’t want to miss

Andraka, the 16-year-old who developed the cancer test, says he might be done with school. Photo: James Duncan Davidson.

These days, it seems even the masses—the Silicon Valley masses, specifically—have an education-focused mindset, and to prove that point, this year’s TED Talks focused on education in particular.

And it wasn’t just the “old guys” talking about data or assessments. Rather, the conference—titled “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered.”—highlighted the brilliant minds of some of the most inventive, and just plain genius, high schoolers in the world.

These young participants mingled with the more seasoned education crowd to come up with some groundbreaking ideas.…Read More

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Nobel Peace nominee: Pay teachers more, focus on mobile technology

Geldof says teachers are now responsible for all the “stuff we don’t want to do ourselves.”

Sir Bob Geldof—an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor, and political activist—noted during the Consortium for School Networking’s recent K-12 Technology Leadership Conference that the world’s economy is changing, thanks largely to mobile technology.

Geldof is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, an honorary knight, and recipient of the Man of Peace title, which recognizes individuals who have made “an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace.”

“When I heard the statistic recently that 20 percent of the world’s population has a mobile phone, I thought ‘tyranny can no longer exist,'” Geldof said.…Read More

How to be an effective 21st-century education leader

Being tech savvy is now an expected part of the job for today's school superintendents.

Today’s K-12 superintendents must be forward thinkers, bold leaders, and skilled communicators in order to lead their schools effectively in the 21st century, said the winners of eSchool News’ 2012 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards.

Sponsored by GlobalScholar and JDL Horizons, the 12th annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards recognized 10 senior school district executives from around the nation who demonstrate outstanding leadership and vision in using technology to advance their district’s goals.

The winners were honored at a special awards ceremony Feb. 18. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the Century Club 100’s annual meeting during the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education in Houston.…Read More

2012 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Award winners discuss the keys to their success

The winners of eSchool Media’s 12th annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards, sponsored by GlobalScholar and JDL Horizons, were honored at a special awards ceremony Feb. 18.

Before the ceremony, the winners sat down with eSchool News Editor-in-Chief Dennis Pierce to discuss the qualities they think are important for today’s superintendents, the initiatives they’re most proud of having led in their schools, and the advice they’d give to colleagues in piloting schools effectively in the Information Age.

To hear what these exemplary leaders had to say, click on the headlines below. …Read More

eSchool Media honors 10 of the nation’s tech-savvy superintendents

Sponsored by GlobalScholar and JDL Horizons, the 12th annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards from eSchool Media recognized 10 senior school district executives from around the nation who demonstrate outstanding leadership and vision in using technology to advance their district’s goals.

The winners were honored at a special awards ceremony Feb. 18. The ceremony—which featured a keynote speech from noted ed-tech consultant Alan November—was held in conjunction with the Century Club 100’s annual meeting during the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education in Houston.

Watch the full awards ceremony here:…Read More

Alan November: What’s your plan for making every home a center of learning?

The 2012 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards ceremony featured a keynote speech from Alan November, a former classroom teacher and ed-tech pioneer who co-founded the education consulting firm November Learning. November challenged his listeners to make sure they include students’ home environments in their strategic plans.

“What is your plan for making every home a center of learning?” he asked those in attendance. “I’m concerned that we’re spending too much time fixing schools as the dominant focus in helping children succeed.”

South Korea is putting a 1-gigabit internet connection into every home in the country, he said, adding: “That’s more capacity than some states have for all their schools.”…Read More

Mark Evans: The ‘three Cs’ that ed tech can help address

For Mark Evans, being a tech-savvy superintendent means “always looking down the road,” with an eye toward how technology can help school districts achieve what he calls the “three Cs”: classroom engagement, cost efficiency, and communication.

Evans, the superintendent of Andover Public Schools in Andover, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita, is a 2012 winner of the Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards from eSchool Media. He recently sat down with eSchool News Editor Dennis Pierce to discuss his district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.

In the interview, Evans discussed how virtualizing its servers has allowed Andover to save at least $750,000 by not having to build a data center to contain them. He also described the growth of the district’s virtual school, which is providing new learning opportunities for more than 300 students—with more students enrolling every year.…Read More

Daniel Frazier: ‘Bold leadership’ is needed for today’s schools

Daniel Frazier, superintendent of Iowa’s Sioux Central Community School District, believes the most important thing school leaders need to do today is “show bold leadership.”

“We’re talking about fundamentally changing the structure of the 21st-century classroom. That’s a scary proposition that is going to alter the perceptions of our public as to what the classroom [environment] should be,” said Frazier, a 2012 winner of the Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards from eSchool Media.

Frazier recently sat down with eSchool News Editor Dennis Pierce to discuss his district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.…Read More

Nicholas Gledich on the importance of ‘pausing and planning’

Nicholas Gledich, superintendent of the Colorado Springs School District 11 in Colorado, says one of the things his district has learned is the value of “pausing, planning, and executing” when it comes to ed-tech implementation.

“There’s nothing wrong with pausing. There’s nothing wrong with planning, because you won’t have a good execution if you don’t do that,” said Gledich, a 2012 winner of the Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards from eSchool Media.

Gledich, who came to Colorado Springs after serving as the chief operating officer for Florida’s Orange County Public Schools, recently sat down with eSchool News Editor Dennis Pierce to discuss his district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.…Read More

Michele Hancock: The key to ed-tech success is ‘constantly communicating’

Michele Hancock, superintendent of the Kenosha Unified School District in Wisconsin, attributes much of her district’s ed-tech success to constant communication with stakeholders.

“Even when you’re getting pushback, you have to keep plowing through—and you [do this] by constantly communicating and being consistent with your message,” she said. “If you have a passion for the work that you’re doing, other people will join you. And they will become your leaders beside you, not just your followers.”

Hancock is a 2012 winner of the Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards from eSchool Media. She recently sat down with eSchool News Editor Dennis Pierce to discuss her district’s ed-tech accomplishments and the keys to its success.…Read More