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.

App of the Week: Teen-created inclusion

Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. Click here to read the full app review.

Sit With Us

What’s It Like? 

Sit With Us is a social app designed to help teens find a seat at lunch. After registering with a Facebook account or an email address, students can either search for tables welcoming other people at lunchtime or invite others to sit with them as they eat. They can also apply to be “Ambassadors” who host open lunches from time to time by reading and agreeing to a pledge.…Read More

Majority of teachers avoid classroom social media

Eighty-six percent of teachers in a recent survey say they have not incorporated social media into their classrooms, and of those who have not, 62 percent said they have no plans to do so.

A University of Phoenix College of Education survey of more than 1,000 K-12 teachers explores how teachers feel about using social media as an educational resource and the reasoning for why teachers are still reluctant to integrate social media into the classroom.

Just 14 percent of teachers say they use social platforms in the classroom. The reluctance to integrate is due to a number of reasons, teachers said, including possible use issues and student knowledge exceeding teacher knowledge.…Read More

14 surprising facts about educators’ social media use

Social media has fast become an educator’s dream, with almost immediate responses to questions about teaching strategies, resources, and professional development opportunities.

But how are educators really using social media, and is it really as widely-used as everyone assumes?

FrontRow Education recently asked 1,000 K-8 teachers how they are using social media personally, professionally and as a communication tool with parents and students.…Read More

Survey reveals why teachers aren’t embracing social media

Survey reveals that the majority of classroom educators shy away from social media integration

social-mediaA new survey finds that just 13 percent of participating educators have used social media as part of their classroom learning.

The University of Phoenix College of Education survey of 1,002 U.S. K-12 teachers found that 87 percent of those surveyed said they have not embraced social media platforms. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they are reluctant to use social media in the classroom, compared to 55 percent of participating educators in a 2013 survey.

Fewer than half of teachers surveyed (44 percent) said they believe social media can enhance a student’s educational experiences.…Read More

LinkedIn spends $1 billion on education company to improve skill training

LinkedIn to acquire lynda.com to better connect the global workforce, says company.

linkedin-lynda.com-graphLinkedIn is acquiring lynda.com, an online learning company that offers courses on business, technology, and creative skills with the aim of helping people achieve their professional goals–a move that could have big impacts on the way students and others find jobs and leverage skill sets.

Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organizations have access to a collection of courses taught by what the company says are industry experts, offered in various languages. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations.

Through the acquisition, LinkedIn has revealed some formidable ambitions. Eventually it hopes to “map the global workforce” by creating profiles for each company, and job within that company, as well as the skill sets required to obtain those jobs. LinkedIn then hopes to connect workers to educational institutions and platforms like lynda.com where they can master those skills. (More information about this approach is in the video below).…Read More

5 Twitter hashtags you should be searching

Regularly searching education-related Twitter hashtags can help educators expand their professional growth

twitter-hashtagSocial media remains a game-changer in education. Through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, students are able to collaborate on projects or discussions about assignments.

Educators connect with peers across their district, state, or, in many cases, across the world. This ability to stay connected has led to the development of professional learning networks, sometimes called professional learning communities, in which educators build networks of peers they admire, those they share common interests with, and those they hope to learn from.

Much of this connecting occurs on Twitter. Many states have regular Twitter chats focusing on general education or highlighting specific education topics.…Read More