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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.

Pivot Interactives Announces New Iris™ Technology to Increase Students’ Active Phenomena-Based Learning

(May12, 2022) — Pivot Interactives introduces a new set of tools, Iris™, which make learning critical science concepts—such as heat transfer, Beer’s Law, light emission, population density, temperature (infrared and blackbody), pH, and wavelength—accessible to students regardless of classroom equipment or teaching experience. With this new patent-pending collection of color and light measuring tools, students can now take quantitative measurements of color & light for themselves directly from information encoded in a video within a web browser.

“Making measurements using light is a fundamental practice of science. From optical measurements made by microbiologists to the light gathered by powerful telescopes, light, and color-based measurements are at the heart of science at every scale,” says Peter Bohacek, CEO and Founder of Pivot Interactives. “But light- and color-based measurements are normally out of reach in the classroom, limited to expensive and complex equipment. Pivot Interactives brings the power of light- and color-based measurements to students’ fingertips. As the leader in using interactive videos for science education, we are thrilled to be the first to make the power of light- and color-based measurements available to classrooms everywhere.”

Iris technology addresses three critical issues that science classrooms face:…Read More

ParentSquare Announces 2022-23 Advisory Council Members

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. MAY 6, 2022— ParentSquare Inc., developer of the premier unified school-home engagement platform for K-12, today announced the members of the 2022-23 ParentSquare Advisory Council. The Advisory Council members help inform the company’s plans for the ParentSquare platform and serve as a peer-to-peer forum for discussing best practices and pressing issues in school communications and family engagement.

The ParentSquare Advisory Council is an invitation-only group, comprised of K-12 communications, technology, and administrative leaders who use ParentSquare. New and returning members include:

  • Abby Broyles, Public Information Officer for Garden Grove Unified School District (Calif.)
  • Brian C. Burke, Executive Director of Communications, Community Partnerships, and Strategic Planning for Bristol Public Schools (Conn.)
  • Dr. Jeffrey K. Butts, Superintendent of Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (Ind.)
  • Caroline Chapman, Director of Communications and Advisement for Canandaigua City School District (N.Y.)
  • Stacy Conrad, Executive Director of Communications for Center Grove Community School Corporation (Ind.)
  • Kris Hagel, Executive Director of Digital Learning for Peninsula School District (Wash.)
  • Steven Langford, Chief Information Officer for Beaverton School District (Ore.)
  • Marci McFadden, Chief of Communication and Engagement for Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (Calif.)
  • Emily Mejia, Associate Director of Student Data, Achievement First (N.Y.)
  • Susan Moore, Director of Technology for Meriden Public Schools (Conn.)
  • Brad Orth, Executive Director of District Data Management, Business Information Systems, and Data Reporting for Cherokee County School District (Ga.)
  • Michael O’Shaughnessy, Supervisor of Curriculum for Montgomery County Educational Service Center (Ohio)
  • Rod Russeau, Director of Technology & Information Services for Community High School District 99 (Ill.)
  • Kelly Urraro, Director of Technology for Copiague School District (N.Y.)

“ParentSquare has a long history of listening to and incorporating feedback from our school district partners,” said Dr. Chad A. Stevens, Chief Strategy Officer of ParentSquare. “Our Advisory Council members are leaders who are shaping the future of school-home communication. Their expertise is instrumental in guiding our product development roadmap to address key needs and priorities and enhance communication in K-12 districts nationwide.”…Read More

Slooh’s ‘Online Telescope for Families’ Brings the Wonder of Space Exploration to Homes Worldwide

Washington Depot, Connecticut, April 6, 2022 – Slooh, the only organization offering live online telescope feeds to students, is now making its award-winning learning platform and network of online telescopes accessible to families worldwide. Described by educators as “the complete package” that is truly “out of this world,” The Online Telescope for Families enables families to explore, capture, and analyze more than 1,000 real-world space objects and events using professional-grade technology together – all from the comfort of their homes.

“We want to make space exploration accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said Michael Paolucci, founder of Slooh. “For less than $10 a month, The Online Telescope for Families provides parents and children alike with an engaging – and fun – learning experience they can participate in together. Rather than having to buy expensive equipment that will end up collecting dust, families can now explore space just like real astronomers as they embark on starry expeditions, view and capture dynamic phenomenon, and ignite their love for space.”

Available for $9.95/month or $99/year, The Online Telescope for Families gives up to five family members control of a network of professional-grade online telescopes located in the Canary Islands and Chile. Families can book time on a telescope to view a specific space object or event or join other families in the Slooh community that have already reserved time to view and photograph astronomical phenomena.…Read More

DreamBox Learning® Promotes Dianna Winegarden to Chief Customer Officer

BELLEVUE, Wash. — March 24, 2022 —  DreamBox Learning (“DreamBox”), the leading education technology provider and pioneer of intelligent adaptive learning, announced today that Dianna Winegarden has been promoted to Chief Customer Officer. With this new role, DreamBox will strengthen its commitment to fostering thriving, engaged, and successful customers across its personalized, research-proven dual-discipline learning solutions.  

As Chief Customer Officer, Winegarden is responsible for leading DreamBox’s customer strategy and cultivating a company-wide devotion to nurturing an enthusiastic and growing customer base, including broad responsibility for all customer initiatives such as: customer support, customer success, customer operations, and professional services. A key strategic role at DreamBox, the new position will drive cross-functional programs to design, innovate, and continuously improve the customer experience across an expanding range of products and services. 

“We are delighted to elevate Dianna to Chief Customer Officer where she will continue to lead our Customer Organization to further strengthen our district partnerships and ensure their students and educators are equipped with the support, services, and engagement they need to grow and thrive,” said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President and CEO of DreamBox Learning. “Dianna embodies what it means to be a values-driven leader at DreamBox. She is a proven innovator, creative thought leader, and passionate customer advocate who continues to demonstrate her strong commitment to unlocking learning potential for all learners, regardless of who they are or where they live. I am thrilled to recognize Dianna’s consequential contributions to DreamBox growth and success with this promotion.” …Read More

A fresh perspective on VR in special education

In early 2021, Spaulding Academy & Family Services applied for and received a technology grant from the Flutie Foundation for the purchase of virtual reality (VR) headsets. 

We are a small, nonprofit special education school serving students with a wide range of abilities, including many who are on the Autism Spectrum and/or have limited mobility, and it was very important to us from the onset that we use this technology to meet the needs of all our students.

Selecting a VR solution…Read More

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How our district established a unified communication platform

With 3,300 students across three different schools, our district was using a variety of diverse applications for school-to-home communications. They all handled separate aspects of our teacher-parent communications, but they weren’t cohesive.

We started looking for a new solution in 2019 that would consolidate the multiple, disparate tools into one platform and then quickly kicked that effort into high gear at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

After speaking with other districts about their experiences using school-home communication platforms, and taking our own technology director’s recommendation to heart, we decided to implement ParentSquare. We put together a core group of people that would be using the new communications technology we adopted in order to assess how well it would work for their teams and respective buildings.…Read More

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Seven keys to effective teacher development

(Editor’s note: This article is the third in a three-part series about how school systems can build on the progress and leverage the investments they’ve made in technology during the pandemic to achieve true digital transformation. Part 1 looks at how K-12 leaders can develop an effective blueprint for redesigning education in a way that’s more equitable, meaningful, and learner-centered, and Part 2 explores how leaders can obtain stakeholder buy-in and support for their vision.)

Building on the changes that school systems have made during the pandemic to achieve true digital transformation requires an adaptive approach to K-12 leadership, as well as a focus on successful change management. These are adjustments that have to take place at the administrative level. But real transformation won’t occur unless it reaches the classroom as well, with teachers embracing change and trying out new approaches to instruction.

For this to happen, teachers not only have to buy in to what their school systems are looking to accomplish; they also need effective professional learning.…Read More

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When edtech concepts become practical classroom realities

In this week’s episode of Getting There: Innovations in Education, host Kevin Hogan explores the following:

  • Bringing the world to life through augmented reality
  • 3 wireless technology trends to track in 2022
  • How artificial intelligence can transform professional development for teachers




 

 …Read More