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.

Whitney Brothers® Introduces 36-inch High Curve In and Curve Out Cabinets In The Nature View Collection

Keene, NH – Acclaimed children’s furniture brand Whitney Brothers® today introduced two new 36-inch high curved cabinets in the Nature View Collection, its innovative line of biophiliainspired furniture for Early Learning environments.

The curve-in and curve-out cabinets join the Nature View Serenity series, an assortment of 36-inch high straight and curved divider panels, storage cabinets, and activity centers depicting a brilliant forest image that intentionally draws the attention of children and fundamentally changes how they engage a space. The 36-high Serenity items also coordinate seamlessly with all other pieces in the brand’s award winning biophilia-inspired Nature View Collection, an industry first in Early Learning furniture.

Scientific studies support that biophilic design helps to reduce stress, enhance creativity, focus clarity of thought and improve well-being, benefits that can foster a child’s deep connection to their learning environment and set a positive trajectory for future learning outcomes. The Nature View Collection by Whitney Brothers® now encompasses 73 separate furniture pieces that have earned multiple design awards from Interior Design magazine, Spaces4Learning, GOOD DESIGN™, Architizer A+ and Teacher’s Choice Award.…Read More

4 ways to enhance critical thinking skills

Critical thinking is plainly in decline.  Everywhere we look, people are uncritically consuming and spreading information that is distorted, misleading, and sometimes intentionally deceptive. Conspiracy thinking is rampant–QAnon, Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook shooting, Pizzagate, and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud are just a few of the most notorious examples. The very foundations of our democracy are arguably at risk when millions are willing to believe irrational and unfounded claims.

Nobel prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman (Thinking Fast and Slow) demonstrated that we’re generally inclined to draw conclusions based on gut instincts, thereby avoiding the hard work of closely examining evidence.  Psychologists and neuroscientists have shown that we are subject to “confirmation bias,” the tendency to believe whatever reinforces our prior views and to disbelieve what challenges them. We are especially prone to this bias if changing our views would be costly–financially, to our reputation, or to our identity. These natural tendencies, exacerbated by the pervasiveness of social media and the limitless access to information on the internet, leave us vulnerable to being duped by disinformation.

But we are not defenseless.  There are some simple exercises we can use to combat both our natural instincts and the rising tide of digital misinformation.  …Read More

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Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) Partners with Scholastic to Create Latino-inspired Book Collection

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) partnered with Scholastic to help them develop “ Rising Voices: Elevating Latino Stories,” a new collection of books for grades K-5 which showcases positive images of Latino protagonists.

ALAS Executive Director Dr. Maria Armstrong, along with author Sulma Arzu-Brown and Emmy-award-winning actor and producer John Leguizamo, serve as mentors for the project, providing insight and guidance during the development of the collection.

“Representation matters, and many students of color simply don’t see themselves in most traditional classroom texts. That is a disservice for both those students, and for their classmates,” said Dr. Armstrong. “This collection helps address this issue and supports teachers in creating inclusive classrooms where stories are discussed and embraced and where students learn about each other’s culture and heritage. It is the mission of our organization to support the education and sense of belonging for all students and in particular for Latino students and students of color. Helping one of the world’s largest book publishers create inclusive learning and teaching materials is one way we can do this.”…Read More

Poptential™ Free U.S. Government Curriculum from Certell Teaches Students About U.S. Debt

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Poptential™, an award-winning family of free social studies course packages, offers instructors a variety of content to help students learn about the national debt using pop culture media to engage students. Click to tweet.

On January 19, 2023, the United States hit the national debt ceiling, the limit on how much national debt Congress allows the treasury to incur. Experts predict that Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling by summer in order to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts.

“Increasing the debt ceiling isn’t new, but this time there are serious debates taking place about the need to reign in spending at the same time,” said Julie Smitherman, a former social studies teacher and director of content at Certell, Inc., the nonprofit behind Poptential. “The debt ceiling will be in the news this spring. The topic could be dry for high school students, so Poptential helps explain it using pop culture references, including video clips from the animated sitcom The Simpsons.”…Read More

MackinVIA Receives Its 7th Consecutive Modern Library Award From LibraryWorks, Winning The Distinctive Platinum Award

Burnsville, MN – Mackin, a leading provider of print and digital fiction and nonfiction books for PK-12, is pleased to announce it is a multiyear honoree, winning another Platinum Award in LibraryWorks’ ninth annual Modern Library Awards (MLAs). The MLAs were created to recognize the top products and services in the library industry.

Products and services were submitted in the fall using a simple application, and then were posted on a private site with an enhanced description and attendant materials. These products were batched into small groups and sent to the LibraryWorks database of more than 80,000 librarians in public, K-12, academic, and special libraries. Only customers with experience with these products/services in their facilities were permitted to judge the products/services, resulting in a truly unbiased score.

Each judge scored the product from 1-10 on a series of questions regarding functionality, value, customer service, etc. MackinVIA received a remarkable score of 8.84, resulting in their seventh Platinum Award from this prestigious organization. “Since its inception over a decade ago, MackinVIA has made great progress becoming the preferred digital content management system in schools around the world and has continued its technological growth to remain one of the world’s top choices. As a company, Mackin has always been known for their ingenuity and superior customer service. It’s no surprise that these motivating forces helped MackinVIA to be recognized and validated again,” remarked Troy Mikell, Director of
Marketing and Communications at Mackin.…Read More

Whitney Brothers® Introduces Nature View Mobile Book Browser

Keene, NH, – Award winning children’s furniture brand Whitney Brothers® today introduced the Nature View Mobile Book Browser, an imaginative interpretation of a standard book display for Early Learning environments that features a stunning waterfall image on the front and dry erase marker board on the back.

The exclusive design combines utility with beauty to entice children to pick a book and sit down by the serene brook for a peaceful read. The front features four graduated display shelves with a lip that provides stable book display and maximum front cover visibility. The back includes a dry erase marker board for drawing, writing, lessons or whatever the classroom activity entails. The browser is mounted on four heavy duty non-marking lockable casters and coordinates with all other furniture pieces in the
company’s award-winning biophilia-inspired Nature View Collection, an industry first in Early Learning furniture.

Scientific studies show that biophilic design helps to reduce stress, enhance creativity, focus clarity of thought and improve well-being, benefits that can foster a child’s deep connection to their learning environment and set a positive trajectory for future learning outcomes. The Nature View Collection by Whitney Brothers® now encompasses 35 separate furniture pieces that have earned product design
awards from Interior Design magazine, Spaces4Learning, GOOD DESIGN™ and Teacher’s Choice Award.…Read More

Microsoft and Optoma Partner to Offer Cloud Based Remote Management Solution for Audio Visual Displays

LAS VEGAS, June 8, 2022 – Optoma, a world-leading manufacturer of large visual display products, and the #1 DLP brand worldwide,* today announced its cloud version of the Optoma Management Suite (OMS)™, an intuitive display management solution, powered by Microsoft Azure, to streamline operations by monitoring, diagnosing, and controlling audio visual displays worldwide via a single platform.

Complimenting Optoma’s award-winning display products, the OMS remote management solution is compatible with other displays that are connected via PJLink, enabling easy integration into existing display fleets while offering differing levels of access and control for users, ensuring devices are securely managed.

“The collaboration with Optoma and Microsoft marks an important milestone in our IoT business’ partnership and boosts Optoma’s capabilities to focus on end customers and IoT operations at scale,” notes Jenna Lee, Head of Asia Technical Sales – Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions at Microsoft. “In strengthening our IoT partnership with Optoma through Azure IoT services, we aim to serve and empower Optoma’s IoT ambitions to enhance existing businesses, develop new opportunities at the global scale, and bring the best IoT solutions to the market.”…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

“Biodegradable sanitary pad made out of dragon fruit peels designed by a team of Vientamese girls wins USD 100,000 in The Earth Prize 2022 competition!”

On Friday, March 25th, The Earth Foundation held a fully virtual event, The Earth Prize 2022 Awards Ceremony, to announce the winner and runners-up of the USD 200,000 environmental sustainability competition for teenagers. Team Adorbsies, made up of three young women – Quynh Anh (Dorothy), Uyen and Huyen, from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam – was proclaimed as the victorious recipient of the USD 100,000 grand prize that comes with The Earth Prize 2022 Winner title. The prize money will be split evenly between the team members and the educational program with which they registered for the competition, Summit Education.

The winning idea is the “Adorbsy” biodegradable menstrual pad. As the students explained in their submission, due to a drop in dragon fruit sales caused by the Covid pandemic, Vietnam was suddenly forced to deal with considerable amounts of unsold fruit, with an initial plan of simply burning it. The students had already been thinking of a project linked to making more eco-friendly menstrual pads – as they were virtually non-existent in the Vietnamese market – when Uyen learned about the absorbent properties of dragon fruit. This planted the seed for their Earth Prize project submission.

“This was a very difficult choice for The Earth Prize Adjudicating Panel to make; but Team Adorbsies’ project is an idea turned into a solution that can make a genuine difference”, said Rina Kupferschmid-Rojas, Chair of the Panel.…Read More