Here’s why civics education should teach students how to self-govern

In April, Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch called for improving civics education, saying the future of the republic depends on it. Indeed, the United States has never needed civics education more. The differences between opposing parties on the governing principles of our country are greater today than at any time in our history, even during the Civil War.

That’s not hyperbole. Looking at the Constitution of the Confederate States, it’s clear that both sides felt they were defending the U.S. Constitution. On the other hand, today’s battle is between two opposing views of how we govern ourselves.

There is a lot at stake. Congress is debating major changes to the core constitutional principle of checks and balances by increasing the number of Supreme Court justices and abolishing the electoral college. If implemented, these ideas would fundamentally change the Constitution. Our citizens, especially our student citizens, should understand the ramifications, whether they believe the country needs such dramatic changes or not.…Read More

Equity and equality are not the same

A rising tide raises all boats. However, it is hard to guarantee equal outcomes in education when students are not starting from the same place, nor are they exposed to the same quality of instruction. People throw around the term “equity in education” so frequently that it has lost significance. Inclusion and respect for diversity is a virtuous and necessary goal for public education, but what exactly is equity?

Writer Robert Longley explained how equity and equality have been misconstrued over the years. Longley states: “Equality refers to scenarios in which all segments of society have the same levels of opportunity and support. Equity extends the concept of equality to include providing varying levels of support based on individual need or ability.”

Writer Ellen Gutoskey added, “Equality has to do with giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients.” Gutoskey points out, “equality is about dividing resources into matching amounts, and equity focuses more on dividing resources proportionally to achieve a fair outcome for those involved.” Gutoskey and Longley both put forth excellent analysis. However, the communist slogan is similar, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” was put forth by Karl Marx in Critique of the Gotha Program.…Read More

Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education Announce 2021 Making for Good Challenge Winners

Silver Spring, Md. (Thursday, April 29, 2021) – Today, three students across the United States are recognized for innovative solutions to societal and environmental issues as winners of the Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education 2021 Making for Good Challenge. Working individually or in teams of 2-4, high school students nationwide created 60-90 second videos outlining innovative solutions to societal or environmental problems.

The annual challenge builds upon a Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education educational program – Innovation Generation – igniting, engaging, and empowering students to become innovators through no-cost dynamic digital resources. Through real-world explorations of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM), Innovation Generation cultivates students’ collaboration, problem solving, and creative thinking.

The winning 2021 Making for Good Challenge teams and prizing are as follows:…Read More

A guide to choosing the right edtech partner

Based on the sheer amount of marketing emails and sales calls received on a weekly–or even daily–basis, district leaders can surely attest to the seemingly countless number of technologies on the market today. But just how big is the edtech industry? To put it in perspective, there were nearly 1,400 edtech companies in the United States alone last year, according to a report from RS Components. That’s a lot.

With so many technologies and providers out there, how can district leaders choose the right edtech partner or partners? Below are four questions to consider during the procurement process.

Does the company understand my goals? It is important that any edtech partner or prospective partner understand what the district is trying to accomplish, as well as share the district’s vision in reaching those goals. This involves honest and straightforward conversations from the start about where the district is at, where it is looking to go, and how the edtech partner can help.…Read More

6 strategies for better K-12 cybersecurity

The education sector has had to rapidly adopt and scale new technologies to enable remote and hybrid learning as a result of the pandemic. This has created an expanded threat landscape, and malicious actors have taken this opportunity to target academic institutions to an even greater extent.

In mid-March, the FBI issued a warning about an increase in specific ransomware targeting education institutions in 12 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. This alert follows a steady wave of cyberthreats facing educational institutions in recent months. We first saw a spike when remote learning kicked off last fall.

Education leaders must take a proactive stance to mitigate risk. Remote school, and the hybrid approach many districts have switched to in recent months, have placed new challenges for network security that cannot be ignored. Cybersecurity posture must be baked into educational IT infrastructure in this ever-evolving threat landscape.…Read More

The U.S. needs billions to close the digital divide

As Americans close out one year of pandemic-related school disruption and head into a second, the digital divide remains a daunting challenge for K-12 public school systems in most states.

Although progress to bridge the divide has been significant, as many as 12 million K-12 students remained digitally underserved just before 2021, according to a report by Common Sense, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and the Southern Education Foundation.

The report, titled Looking Back, Looking Forward: What It Will Take to Permanently Close the K-12 Digital Divide, provides a granular understanding of the digital divide’s impact on students, and offers a set of recommendations at the federal, state, and local levels to permanently close the digital divide.…Read More

PBL students excel compared to peers in typical classrooms

Students in project-based learning (PBL) classrooms across the United States significantly outperform students in typical classrooms, according to four studies released from Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), along with researchers from five major universities.

In the first study ever reported on project-based learning and Advanced Placement results, research scientists at the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC Dornsife found that students taught AP US Government and AP Environmental Science with a PBL approach outperformed peers on exams by 8 percentage points in year one of a randomized controlled trial, and were more likely to earn a passing score of 3 or above with the chance to receive college credit. In year two, PBL students outperformed peers by 10 percentage points.

The yearlong curricula were developed by University of Washington professors alongside Seattle and Des Moines teachers. For example, in one of the five projects in the AP Government course, students answer the question, “What is the proper role of government in democracy?” by conducting a presidential campaign, taking on the roles of candidates, lobbyists and media. In the first of five projects in AP Environmental Science, students explore sustainability by conducting a personal environmental impact audit and developing a proposal to reduce consumption.…Read More

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

CoderZ Announces CoderZ League World Champions

CoderZ today announced the winners of the all-new CoderZ League: the Virtual Cyber Robotics Competition (formerly the Cyber Robotics Coding Competition or CRCC). Students in grades four through 12 throughout the United States and the world joined in the cloud-based robotics tournament. Three teams from each of the tournament’s two levels – Junior and Pro – became CoderZ League World Champions.

Beginning coders, schools new to the competition, and students in grades five through eight competed at the CoderZ League Junior level using Blockly. The three CoderZ League World Champion teams were the following:

  • The Legend Z team from Union High School (Pennsylvania)
  • The Avenues FLL MG team 1 from Avenues the World School (New York City)
  • The Method K20 all-girls team from Methodist Girls High School located (Ghana)

The CoderZ League Pro level was for students in grades seven through 12 who could use Blockly or Python. The three CoderZ League World Champion teams were the following:…Read More

Lexia Learning’s PowerUp Literacy Program is 2.5x More Effective in Helping English Learners Close Critical Reading Gaps

Many English Learners (ELs) across the United States have gone months without exposure to the academic English they require for success in school and that they would normally receive in formal education settings. A lack of access to connectivity and devices for distance learning, especially in low-income and under-resourced communities, has resulted in ELs being at a high risk for suffering from “COVID learning slide.” However, a recent study on the Lexia® PowerUp Literacy® (PowerUp) adaptive blended learning program found that PowerUp users outgained non-users by nearly 30 points. In fact, the program was more than 2.5 times more effective than typical interventions for both EL and non-EL middle school students. The cluster randomized control trial met ESSA’s standards for Strong Evidence—the highest tier of efficacy evidence outlined by federal law.

“According to a report from the Council of the Great City Schools, instructional technology that both accelerates learning and supports academic language development is particularly important for ELs, ” said Lexia Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke. “Since ELs have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, the fact that PowerUp is proven to help this population just as effectively as their non-EL peers will be an important part of post-COVID recovery.”

Developed to address the decades-long gap in reading proficiency across the nation, Lexia PowerUp Literacy is designed to enhance core English language arts instruction for struggling readers in grades 6-12. Blending personalized online student-driven instruction with teacher-delivered lessons and activities, the program accelerates the development of both fundamental literacy skills and higher-order thinking skills through adaptive learning paths. PowerUp is currently used by more than 300,000 students globally.…Read More

CoderZ to Launch New CoderZ League Sprint Challenge Virtual Tournament in March

This year, students across the United States can look forward to another type of March Madness. On top of cheering on their favorite collegiate basketball team, they’ll be the ones competing – in the new CoderZ League Sprint Challenge. The cloud-based robotics tournament is designed to give participating students the chance to connect with peers, improve their STEM skills and have fun while learning.

The challenge will take place in the CoderZ Cyber Robotics Learning Environment, an innovative, online platform which has a coding interface where users can activate a virtual robot, or “cyber-robot,” and watch the results in a real-time simulation.

Students will form five-member teams and compete against other teams within their school. A statewide leaderboard will also allow them to compare their progress with that of other teams throughout their state. The challenge can accommodate whatever method a school is using to deliver instruction, whether it’s in person, online or a hybrid model.…Read More

VHS Learning Once Again Earns High Satisfaction Rates from Schools Around the Globe

Students from schools in 66 countries (up from 44) and 46 U.S. states (up from 45) have enrolled in VHS Learning courses in the past academic year. While its geographical scope increased, VHS Learning’s retention rate has remained steady; 92% of schools that partnered with VHS Learning in the 2018-19 school year continued to do so in the 2019-20 school year. In fact, VHS Learning’s school retention rate has been over 90% for the last ten years, indicating strong satisfaction in the program.

“Our high retention rate and increased participation is a testament to how dedicated VHS Learning is to providing excellent service and support to the educators and students who utilize our program,” said Carol DeFuria, President & CEO of VHS Learning. “According to our latest participant surveys, the vast majority of administrators (98%), site coordinators (91%) and teachers (85%) reported satisfaction with their VHS Learning experience.”

Christopher Savio, a teacher at Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey said, “I think the thing I love the most is meeting students from around the world. I have also been able to meet students, from China in particular, and learn much more about their culture and their ways of life.”…Read More