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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.

IXL Wins 2021 CODiE Awards for Best Math and English Language Arts Solutions

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ —  IXL Learning, developer of personalized learning products used by more than 12 million students, announced that the IXL platform won two  SIIA CODiE Awards in the Best Advanced Mathematics and Best Foundational English Language Arts (ELA) categories.

The CODiEs honor the most innovative educational technology products around the world. IXL’s recent achievements mark its sixth CODiE win in five years: IXL secured a second consecutive Foundational ELA win and is also a three-time winner of the prestigious  Best Educational App award.

“It’s incredibly rewarding that IXL Math and English Language Arts are recognized by the CODiE Awards as the most effective ways for learners to master essential concepts,” said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning. “These honors underscore IXL’s commitment toward addressing the evolving needs of educators and reinforce our deep sense of responsibility to inspire all students to excel.”…Read More

Eleven new ed-tech services to know about

These emerging ed-tech services were participants in the SIIA’s Innovation Incubator program for spring 2014

ed-tech
‘Mosa Mack: Science Detective’ was one of two Educators’ Choice winners.

A “discovery engine” that uses a personalized search service to help professionals find reputable online degree programs from accredited universities, and an assessment application that allows teams of instructors to grade documents online, were among the new ed-tech services recognized for their promise by the Software and Information Industry Association’s Education Division.

The SIIA’s Innovation Incubator Program identifies and supports ed-tech entrepreneurs in their development and distribution of innovative learning technologies.…Read More

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Eleven new ed-tech services to watch

Ten ed-tech companies and one alternate took part in SIIA’s Innovation Incubator program in San Francisco last week.

An online simulation in which students create their own company, then compete with each other by buying and selling shares of stock, and an iPad app for visual learning and assessment of special-needs students are two of the products from participants in the Software and Information Industry Association’s 2013 Innovation Incubator program, which raises the profile of fledgling ed-tech companies and helps them succeed.

Ten ed-tech companies and one alternate took part in SIIA’s Innovation Incubator program at the organization’s Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco last week.…Read More

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Survey: Ed-tech use falls short of desired goals

Despite the tough economy, schools still have been able to maintain ed-tech integration plans—though they’d like to do more.

Despite budget constraints brought on by a lagging economy, K-12 schools and colleges are holding steady when it comes to ed-tech use. But they’d like to be doing even better.

That’s the key takeaway, anyway, from a self-assessment of educational technology use conducted by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).…Read More

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Ed-tech leaders schooled on interoperability standards

Interoperability presents an issue for educational technology leaders who often must integrate diverse products made by different developers.

When school technology directors purchase an innovative product from one vendor and an exciting upgrade from another vendor, schools can find themselves in a tangle of incompatible formats. A primer released this spring by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) explains how adoption of interoperability standards can streamline technology systems in K-20 education.

Interoperability, the ability of different systems to work together, presents an issue for educational technology leaders who often must integrate diverse products made by different developers. Those developers, too, must walk a fine line when trying to create products that encourage brand loyalty but also can be readily adapted to diverse systems.…Read More

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Twelve new ed-tech companies to watch

"The Social Express," from Language Express, is an animated program that uses video modeling to help students with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, or ADHD learn the first steps to social interaction.

Game-based learning and mobile apps are beginning to catch on in schools—and these also were key characteristics that defined several of the dozen emerging ed-tech companies recognized for their potential by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) last month.

During SIIA’s Innovation Incubator program, held in connection with the organization’s Ed-Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco May 6-8, two new educational technology companies in particular—Language Express and Filament Games—were voted by the 350 conference attendees as being the “Most Likely to Succeed” (first place and runner-up, respectively). Filament Games and Language Express also were voted as the “Most Innovative,” in that order.…Read More

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New guidelines for ed-tech research could help educators, vendors

SIIA is hoping for broad distribution of the guidelines, because one of its main goals is to improve the credibility of publisher-sponsored research.

To produce a stimulating 21st-century learning environment, school leaders see educational technology as a no-brainer. But using research to distinguish a truly effective ed-tech product from a less-than-effective product can prove difficult when the research is conducted by a vendor or for-profit company.

Now, new guidelines for vendors and educators aim to solve this comparison conundrum.…Read More

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Survey reveals slow progress in education technology

The annual survey lets schools measure their progress toward a 21st century education.
SIIA's annual survey lets schools measure their progress toward providing a 21st-century education.

U.S. schools’ average overall scores on an annual survey designed to measure their progress toward implementing 21st-century classrooms and learning skills increased less than 1 percent from 2009, even though schools did improve on four out of five measures of progress.

The Vision K-20 survey, from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), was developed to help educators and administrators track their institutional progress in five areas, called measures of progress, and compare it with the national average. These five measures are 21st-century learning tools, anytime/anywhere access to technology, differentiated learning, assessment tools, and enterprise support. The aggregate results give a picture of the nation’s progress in education technology as a whole. The 20 survey questions, each designed to measure a particular indicator of ed-tech implementation, are grouped according to the five measures of progress.…Read More

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Summit: Mobile computing is education’s future

Students in a Project K-Nect math class use smart phones to learn algebra.
Students in a Project K-Nect math class use smart phones to learn algebra.

Speakers at a recent education technology industry summit had a key piece of advice for the company executives who make and sell products for schools: Go mobile.

Hosted by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the summit was intended to keep company executives abreast of the latest trends and recent developments in school technology. But its content also gives educators a glimpse into where business leaders see the ed-tech industry heading.…Read More

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Cracks in school innovation fund might present problems

Federal officials say schools may find difficulty providing evidence of successful programs when applying to the Investing in Innovation Fund.
Some say schools might have trouble providing evidence of successful programs when applying for i3 funding.

Just days before the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released applications for the $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund on March 8, education technology researchers and developers expressed some concerns about the i3 program’s procedures and requirements.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) set aside $650 million in the i3 fund for three levels of competitive grants that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies in schools.…Read More

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