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.

Reflecting on the Parkland tragedy, its lasting impacts, and work still to be done

Written by Jen Easterly, Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Last month marks six years since 17 students and faculty senselessly lost their lives and 17 others were injured when a mass murderer entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and started shooting. Since that horrific day, 124 more Americans have been killed and 331 injured on campuses across the country in 189 separate school shootings—almost 3 shootings a month since Parkland. This is simply unacceptable, and it must stop.

Last month, I joined Education Secretary Cardona to not only remember, but also to walk in the shoes of those who lost their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building 1200. I had the privilege of talking with the parents of Alex Schachter, Gina Montalto, Luke Hoyer, Jaime Guttenberg, and Alyssa Alhadeff, beautiful students with the brightest of futures ahead of them, and Debbi Hixon, the wife of Athletic Director Chris Hixon, who gave his life rushing into the building to save hundreds of students that day.…Read More

CASE Once Again Endorses Classworks® Special Education Platform

The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) has re-endorsed Classworks® for an additional three years. The CASE Executive Committee designated the award-winning platform as a CASE-endorsed product that delivers high-quality assessment and instructional resources to special education teachers and students.

CASE has recognized Classworks as a tool that “successfully addresses the inherent challenges of special education,” since 2010. This month, CASE re-endorsed Classworks as a top-tier special education resource through 2027. Every three years, the platform undergoes a rigorous evaluation by the CASE Executive Committee. As part of the review process, CASE considers the impact on achievement for special education students as well as any new enhancements. In addition to the tremendous impact Classworks has on special education students, two significant product changes were made:

  • Classworks released a new student experience focused on student ownership over their learning and growth
  • Dyslexia and Dyscalculia indicators were added to the screener assessments

These and several other  new Classworks enhancements answer the imminent need in the marketplace for comprehensive, valid and reliable programs that simplify processes for special education teachers, and provide a more engaging and motivating experience for students. …Read More

The 5 best ways to celebrate CTE Month 2024

This post on CTE Month originally appeared on iCEV’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

As a career and technical education (CTE) teacher, you know the importance of preparing students for the workforce–no matter which CTE career cluster or pathway they follow.…Read More

A model to reduce school shootings

Key points:

For three consecutive years, the U.S has had a record high number of school shootings, resulting in a repetitive cycle of grievances, anger, and frustration. The U.S. had 344 school shootings in 2023, which surpassed the record-breaking number of 308 school shootings in 2022 as reported by K-12 School Shooting Database.

On January 5, 2024, this past month a mass shooting occurred at  Perry Middle school in Iowa and left an 11-year-old student and the school principal dead and six other individuals wounded. The shooter, a student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.…Read More

4 lessons learned about AI in 2023

Key points:

As a forward-thinker in the realm of education, I’m constantly exploring how emerging tools and strategies shape learning. Each year I share my predictions about these trends. (Here’s a look at my 2023 predictions.) While these predictions are rooted in reality, just as in the show Black Mirror, technology can have some unintended consequences.

It’s no surprise to find that artificial intelligence (AI) made the top of my prediction list last year. In January 2023, about one month after the release of ChatGPT, there were already stories about colleges switching to “pen-and-paper” tests to battle the AI bots.…Read More

To foster young talent, employers need to share their social capital

This article originally appeared on the Christensen Institute’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

In July 2023, our team published “People-powered pathways: Lessons in how to build students’ social capital through career-connected learning.” In the report, we describe successes and challenges in bringing social capital–building strategies to a variety of educational settings. Our observations draw from an 18-month pilot during which we leveraged our social capital playbook to provide direct support to a group of three intermediary organizations—Education Strategy Group, Generation Schools Network, and Hawai‘i P-20—collectively supporting 20 sites in the K–12 career pathways space. In the course of the pilot, we sought to understand how schools and nonprofits can make social capital-building an explicit, effective, and equitable component of existing career-connected learning models. …Read More

Big Deals—Khan Academy Boosts National Civics Bee, AI Tackles Campus Safety, and Stanford Offers Online Math

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation this month announced the launch of the 2024 National Civics Bee. The competition is expanding to 27 states for the 2023-2024 school year, tripling its reach from nine states last year. Students may apply for the competition here. The deadline to enter is January 8, 2024.

The National Civics Bee is a nationwide competition that encourages young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. Middle school students in grades 6-8 flex their civics knowledge for a chance to win recognition and cash prizes. Chambers of commerce across 27 states will host in-person contests in their communities this school year. Top performing students will advance through local and state rounds, culminating in a national competition held in Washington D.C.

This remarkable expansion reflects the deepening civics education crisis in America and has been made possible by significant multi-year grants from supporters like the Daniels Fund. Recent studies have shown alarming gaps in Americans’ understanding of our democratic processes and systems. More than one third of U.S. adults cannot name the three branches of government. The National Civics Bee taps into business leaders’ deep commitment to strengthening civics education and the long-term health of our democracy.…Read More

Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) Launches Sister Schools Program Across Four States and the Territory of Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) today announced the launch of the ALAS Sister Schools Program, a year-long partnership in which teams of students from schools in the continental US and Puerto Rico collaborate on projects focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM).

A total of eight schools have been selected to participate in the inaugural program. For the program, which launched during Hispanic Heritage Month, students work together to develop solutions to real-world challenges. Each sister school team will develop their own solution and the project will culminate in April 2024 with each team creating a TED Ed Student Talk about their solution.

“We created the Sister Schools Program to connect and enrich learning for students at predominantly Latino-serving schools across North America including our territorial affiliate, Puerto Rico,” said ALAS Executive Director Dr. Maria Armstrong. “It’s an amazing opportunity for these students to go beyond their traditional lessons and we’re excited to follow their experiences and their progression in academic and 21st Century skills, and to celebrate their successes at the end of the year.”…Read More

Poptential™ High School Economics Curriculum by Certell Offers Free Stock Market Investment Lessons

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — October historically has been a month of notable volatility in the stock market, with historic crashes like the 1929 Great Depression and Black Monday in 1987. These events have given rise to a sense of “Octoberphobia” among some investors. Lessons on these events and others are included in Common Sense Economics from Poptential™, a comprehensive and free high school digital curriculum. Click to tweet.

“It’s never too early for teachers to engage students in discussions about the history of the stock market, its impact on economic growth or decline, and how it can potentially empower students to invest in their own futures,” said Julie Smitherman, a former social studies teacher and director of content at Certell, Inc., the nonprofit behind Poptential.

Poptential course packages boost student engagement by using a variety of pop culture media to illustrate concepts, including those taken from sitcoms, movies, animations, cartoons, late-night shows, and other sources. Lessons on the history of the stock market and how to invest in stocks are covered in the new 2023 Poptential Common Sense Economics e-book, including:…Read More

Crunch the numbers: The latest edtech data you can use right now

Study.com released new survey data last month that sheds light on parents’ evolving attitudes towards the role of schools as students head into the third school year post-pandemic. The education platform surveyed parents in California and Texas to understand their perspectives on their children’s education. Notably, 55 percent and 47 percent of parents in California and Texas, respectively, support extending the school year to provide students with increased learning time, and 46 percent of California parents and 43 percent of Texas parents favor the use of A.I. tools like ChatGPT for academic help in schools.

Across both states, a significant number of respondents believe in a shared responsibility between parents and schools to foster academic growth. Over a third assign a major or complete responsibility to schools in this regard. However, a large percentage of parents in California (28 percent) and Texas (27 percent) feel that schools are taking minimal or no responsibility post-pandemic to help their child catch-up academically. A significant number of parents demonstrated dedication to improving their child’s education through the utilization of district and schoolwide resources as well as support in the home:

  • 37 percent of California parents and 41 percent of Texas parents have sought external educational support, such as tutoring or counseling, for their children.
  • In California, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (26 percent), homework help or after-school programs (23 percent), or educational online platforms (20 percent).
  • In Texas, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (31 percent), homework help or after-school programs (19 percent) educational online platforms (16 percent).

The enduring consequences of academic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic underpin the motivations driving parents to seek additional support tools for their children’s education. In both states, more than a third of parents reported a substantial negative impact on their child’s academic performance due to the pandemic and related social-emotional challenges.…Read More

How AI could save–or sink–creative writing in schools

Key points

This story originally appeared on the Christensen Institute’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Ninth-grade English was a paradox for me—both the best and worst year for helping me learn to write. …Read More