3 critical STEM action-items for administrators

Like other subject areas, STEM instruction undoubtedly looked very different this school year. From virtual teaching to new safety protocols if students returned to science labs, students and educators alike had to make adjustments.

With summer approaching, now is an opportune time for administrators and science department leaders to work collaboratively with educators to examine what worked and what didn’t, to close the year out safely and on a high note, and to start to envision what STEM instruction will look like in the fall.

Below are three STEM-related action items that should be prioritized during this time.…Read More

How will the edtech boom transform the existing education system?

For centuries, education has been confined to the walls of schools, colleges, and institutions. Enter the education technology (edtech) boom since 2020 and the very ideology around teaching and learning has been revolutionized. Edtech has completely redefined how knowledge is imparted and how skills are acquired. Highlighted by the coronavirus shutdowns, edtech has emerged as a viable–arguably superior–alternative to traditional education systems. At the very least, the technology has well and truly earned its seat at the table of valuable education methods. The question is, what does the future of edtech look like, and how will this boom fit into our existing education system?

The edtech boom accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic is just the beginning of a paradigm shift in the ways we view education and work. In fact, the need for a genuinely 21st century education system that reflects the needs of the economy is long overdue. Edtech companies are offering solutions to many of the issues–such as skills gaps, inequality, and unemployment–that have troubled economies globally for the past decade or more.

In the USA, the curriculum followed by education establishments centers around subject study, with students gradually honing down interests and passions to follow a set career path. But is this process adequately equipping our young people with the skills they need for today’s job market, much less tomorrow’s? What if ultimately, students are ill-prepared to meet their full potential and offer meaningful value to the working world?…Read More

Lexia Learning and Voyager Sopris Learning Recognize Structured Literacy Champions with ‘Dr. Louisa Moats Award’

Cullman City Primary School in Alabama Awarded Grand Prize Celebrating Schools and Districts Teaching Literacy Based on Science of Reading

DALLAS, May 4, 2021 Lexia® Learning and Voyager Sopris Learning® today announced three awardees and three finalists of the first-ever “Dr. Louisa Moats Award for Excellence Implementing the Science of Reading.” The award celebrates schools and districts for their excellence using the science of reading and LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), a professional learning solution that provides K-5 educators with the knowledge to be literacy and language experts.

Cullman City Primary School in Alabama is the grand prize awardee and will receive a $5,000 cash prize. The first runner-up, Enid Public Schools in Oklahoma, will be awarded $2,000. The second runner-up, Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa, will get a $1,000 prize. All three awardees will also receive a handmade ‘M’ trophy engraved with their school name, a certificate of award signed by Dr. Louisa Moats, 30 LETRS Champion T-shirts, and 30 LETRS Champion journals.…Read More

How AI is revolutionizing education

Artificial intelligence will accelerate the evolution of teaching and learning. Overall, AI should allow students to get personalized instruction and teachers to have more free time to prepare classes and update their information.

While it’s still too early to evaluate the extent of the change in the quality and scope of instruction that AI might achieve, what is certain is that it will cause a revolution. That is because educational systems around the world remain rooted in the foundations established in the 1800s. Most of all, AI will crush the idea that all students must learn in the same place, in the same way, and at the same speed.

Kai-fu Lee, an AI expert, has described the current education system as an “educational assembly line,” in which children advance from class to class without paying too much attention to differences in terms of learning, personal preferences, and abilities.…Read More

AVER LAUNCHES ADVANCED AI AUTO TRACKING DISTANCE LEARNING CAMERA FOR THE ‘NEW CLASSROOM’

The AVer DL30 Features Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tracking to Seamlessly Follow Teachers in the Classroom and 12X Optical Zoom

AVer Information Inc., the award-winning provider of video collaboration solutions and education technology solutions, announced today the launch of the innovative and ground-breaking DL30 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Auto Tracking Distance Learning Camera. Designed specifically for the evolving K-12 distance learning classroom and ever-changing teaching and learning environments, the DL30 boasts advanced AI to automatically detect the teacher’s movement in the classroom, allowing them to focus on delivering their curriculum instead of worrying about staying within the camera’s view.   

The AI technology of the DL30 drives two auto tracking modes including Presenter Tracking or Zone Tracking with no need for a camera operator. Presenter Tracking allows the camera to automatically follow the presenter with either full body or half body, or manually track any other specific presenter with a simple click. Since the AI technology focuses on the body rather than the face, the camera recognizes and follows the presenter even if he or she is wearing a PPE mask. Since the DL30 does not rely on voice tracking or the need to wear a lanyard, the teacher is always kept in camera view regardless of any other noise interference or loss of contact with a sensor. Zone Tracking allows automatic and seamless tracking between multiple preset zones to support different learning stations in the classroom.  Completely hands-free, the DL30 provides the flexibility for the teacher or presenter to move freely about the room and let the camera do the work.…Read More

Illuminate Education and Education Advanced Announce Partnership to Integrate Products

Companies will integrate SchoolCity and TestHound assessment tools to improve teaching and learning

In an effort to provide greater visibility and support to K-12 school districts,  Illuminate Education announces the integration of its SchoolCity assessment platform with TestHound, a test enablement tool from  Education Advanced. Through this partnership, school districts will be able to more effectively coordinate assessments and manage student accommodation data.

“Our goal is always to help educators bring teachable moments to light. This includes making the assessment process easier for all our students. By partnering with Education Advanced, we hope to save educators a significant amount of time when planning assessments and coordinating student accommodations,” said Christine Willig, CEO at Illuminate Education. “Users will have additional options for customizing assessments, and the ability to dive deeper into students’ progress and accommodation needs.”…Read More

Edthena Makes it Easy to Blur Teaching Videos with New Feature

In a physical classroom, it’s easy to move the camera to hide details. It’s quite a bit harder when teaching is Zoom-style or hybrid.

The rise of teaching in virtual spaces has increased the need for teachers to be able to hide parts of their classroom videos, such as students’ names, for privacy reasons. Now, Edthena is making it easy for teachers to blur teaching videos before sharing with peers and coaches for instructional feedback on the award-winning platform.

“While sharing videos inside Edthena is always safe and secure, there are times when masking student information is important – maybe a teacher wants to share a video of teaching as an example across the district and the student name should be redacted,” said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of Edthena. “Our new platform functionality helps teachers quickly and easily blur whatever areas of their videos they need, with no extra programs or extension needed, so they can focus their time on self-reflection and collaborative PD.”…Read More

3 ideas to successfully run virtual clubs

You really can do anything online.

While COVID-19 has drastically reduced our ability to gather in-person, the social-emotional growth of children, including the need for regular social interaction among students, has not diminished. In addition to providing academic training, schools also bear responsibility for teaching societal norms and offering a space for students to practice corresponding social skills. As traditional brick-and-mortar schools continue to adapt and deliver academic instruction virtually or through a hybrid approach, they must also reimagine face-to-face socialization opportunities in an online environment.

Developmentally, teenagers seek opportunities to connect and share, explore, and engage in healthy debate. These crucial years provide the framework students need to discover and build on their passions through extracurricular pursuits while forming, nurturing, and navigating friendships.…Read More

We need to rethink assessments for remote learning

Assessment is the linchpin to driving essential skill and competency development. Traditionally, assessments have often been used as an indicator of what students know, understand, and can do, after the learning has been completed.

More recently, educators have implemented formative assessments, allowing students to receive ongoing feedback about their learning during the learning process.

Often, students are given their own agency and reflect on their learning, set their own goals and next steps, and work in partnership with their teacher to identify gaps and opportunities for deeper understanding.…Read More

Wizrobotics launches Wizprodigy, a new online competition experience for STEM students

Wizrobotics, an online live learning platform for teaching and inspiring K-12 students to explore STEM fields, announced the launch of Wizprodigy.  Wizprodigy is a new and exciting online STEM competition focused on inspiring middle school and high school students across North America to learn coding and to build their own design of a mini Tesla Cybertruck. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the learning environment of students, Wizprodigy is looking to bring together creative young minds by offering a unique way for students to learn about STEM and gain hands-on experience in robotics while providing them with an opportunity to compete for scholarship prizes.

With approximately 1.3 billion students world wide staying at home, it has been a real struggle for many parents to keep students engaged. Learning at home is not the same as learning in person with amazing teacher interactions and friends to keep students motivated and upbeat.

“The goal of Wizprodigy is to create a sense of community for students across North America, inspire students to stay motivated during tough times and most of all, have fun with STEM,” described Jack Zhou, Founder of Wizrobotics on this initiative. “By being a part of the Wizprodigy competition, students have the opportunity to feel connected and interact with other students sharing  their common interest in STEM.”…Read More

Gale In Context: For Educators Launches New Teacher Learning Center 

Gale, a Cengage company, is helping educators enhance skills for virtual lesson planning and online teaching. The company has launched Gale In Context: For Educators’ new Learning Center, an on-demand professional learning hub for finding, organizing and learning how to teach – virtually or in-person – using the content created within For Educators. Now teachers can take control of their own professional learning and find support as they work to use For Educators to drive student learning outcomes.

Studies show that lack of training and ongoing support around using technology for classroom instruction is a major pain point for educators, who increasingly rely on tools for teaching in remote, in-person or hybrid learning environments.[i] With the Learning Center, educators get on-demand training that provides immediate access to support and guidance, anytime, anywhere.

“In the last nine months, we have repeatedly seen educators given access to teaching tools without the support they need or the time for formal training,” said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager at Gale. “The For Educators Learning Center enables teachers to take the lead, with on-demand training built right into their workflow to get up and running fast.”…Read More

6 teaching resources for the Presidential Inauguration

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021. The Presidential Inauguration will be a departure from years past due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, but there are still a number of engaging learning opportunities for in-person and virtual students.

The inauguration also comes on the heels of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and students are bound to have questions about the state of our nation’s government, priorities, civil rights, and where things go from here.

Traditionally, the public has been able to attend inaugurations, but people are discouraged from doing so due to COVID-19 restrictions. The ceremony will be broadcast on television news stations and most are expected to also offer a livestream.…Read More