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.

How I’m making learning more engaging for my gifted students

Key points:

Keeping gifted students focused and engaged in learning can be challenging. They complete tasks quickly, are often motivated to dig deeper into a subject, and are prone to boredom if not sufficiently challenged. This can lead to disengagement, especially for gifted students.

To better support my gifted and talented students, I have integrated the Talents Unlimited approach into my classroom practice. The Talents Unlimited approach to education was created by Dr. Calvin Taylor, who researched the thinking skills people need to be successful in the world of work. Specifically, the Talents Unlimited model identified the following five key thinking abilities that lead to success: Productive Thinking, Communication, Forecasting, Decision Making, and Planning. Nurturing and expanding these talents can help students develop creative and problem-solving skills.…Read More

Ensure Your District is Data Ready with this Free Playbook

Unprecedented funding has flowed into districts over the last several years as part of pandemic support and recovery efforts. As a result of this increased investment in technology, schools are generating more valuable data than ever—but much of that data isn’t readily available and actionable because it’s siloed in systems that aren’t connected to each other.

Simultaneously, with NAEP scores showing declining progress across the United States, school districts are trying to understand the scope of educational inequities and narrow equity gaps. However, it’s challenging to understand the root cause of these issues and to determine how best to address them without whole child insights made possible through interoperability—the seamless, secure, and controlled exchange of data between applications.

4 Key Considerations Around Data Interoperability for 2024…Read More

3 ways to support special education students with college and career readiness

Key points:

There are more than 140,000 special education (SPED) students in the state of Washington. Often, these students don’t have access to the same level of resources that are available to general education students. While we have made great strides in how we support students receiving special education services, there are still equity gaps that exist in areas like college and career planning. 

Special education students can be perceived as being unable to succeed in general and advanced level high school classes, engage in challenging job training, or succeed in postsecondary education. Often, these low expectations are fostered by previous educational experiences that teachers, school counselors, and parents had during their own K-12 education. Special education students should have their ambitions, interests, and talents acknowledged and encouraged, while also taking into consideration the learning supports needed for them to succeed. …Read More

Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 Uses Rise Vision for Digital Signage Across District

Rise Vision, the #1 digital signage software, is excited to announce the release of its newest case study featuring Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 (CUSD 204). Indian Prairie CUSD 204, a large school district in Illinois, uses Rise Vision to bolster its school communication strategy and increase student engagement. This case study highlights how Indian Prairie has successfully implemented digital signage to communicate with its student body population.

Efficient communication to reach students effectively and engage them in critical announcements, events, and activities is a challenge in any school – but it’s even more challenging in a large school district with over 34 sites. Digital signage is a tool that makes disseminating information across any sized campus simple. Brian Grinstead, the Director of Technical Support Services, was looking for a cost-effective, user-friendly, and feature-rich solution to meet their evolving needs.

Indian Prairie CUSD 204 is a large, one-to-one school district with over 26,00 students and a significant number of devices to manage. Brian needed to ensure that the digital signage solution the district implemented wouldn’t be a burden on his team. Implementing digital signage through Rise Vision was a solution that didn’t require extensive management from the technology department and could be handled by the individual schools after the initial deployment was completed.…Read More

5 science and technology videos to get students talking

Key points:

  • TED-Ed Lessons are short videos designed to engage students and stimulate critical thinking
  • Here are 5 videos covering science and tech topics such as earth science and animal behavior
  • See related article: Cool! 6 TED-Ed lessons about the cold

School is back in session, and for many students, that means a major shift from an unstructured schedule to a more regimented school day. It may still be challenging to keep students’ attention on topics like science and technology now that classrooms are once again full.

Creating a video-based lesson that explores different concepts around science and technology is one fun way to boost student engagement.…Read More

Scribbles Software Announces “Mass Lottery” Feature to Help Schools and Districts Quickly Manage Complex Lotteries

Charlotte, North Carolina – Scribbles Software, a leading provider of K-12 records and enrollment software, announces significant updates to streamline and improve lottery management for schools and districts – especially for those managing complex lottery systems.

Managing lotteries – the process in which students apply for high-demand specialty programs or schools – is challenging. It requires processing incoming applications, assigning students to programs or schools, and managing waitlists.  The larger and more complex a school lottery system is, the more challenging it is to oversee.

Scribbles Software has helped districts and schools streamline and automate lottery management processes for more than a decade with its ScribChoice lottery management software. The new mass lottery feature allows districts and schools to automatically configure multiple lotteries of any size and level of complexity.…Read More

5 ways to help students struggling with algebra due to learning loss

Key points:

Since the pandemic, students have struggled markedly in math, particularly algebra. According to NAEP Mathematics Assessment data, eighth-graders’ algebra scores were eight points lower in 2022 than in 2019. According to the Nation’s Report Card, the average eighth-grade mathematics score was lower than all previous assessment years—going back to 2003.

As a gateway content area, algebra prepares students to tackle advanced study in calculus, physics, and other subjects—yet it often is a sticking point for many middle and high school students. Without a solid understanding of algebra, many students find that they get stuck in their math studies.…Read More

Mobile app helps students with special needs self-monitor behavior

Key points:

  • A new grant will fund research around increasing the academic engagement of students with special needs
  • Teachers will benefit from insights into how to best support students with unique needs who also wish to be independent
  • See related article: What matters most for our special education teachers?

When Sara Estrapala started her career as a high school paraeducator supporting students with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, learning disorders and challenging behaviors, she quickly recognized a challenge–her teenage students desire to make their own decisions and their teachers’ struggle to keep them engaged and following directions.

Now an assistant research professor in the University of Missouri College of Education and Human Development, Estrapala is leading a four-year, $519,939 early career development and mentoring grant aimed at increasing academic engagement and decreasing disruptive behavior by empowering select students to self-regulate their own behavior.…Read More

4 exciting ways AI is a game-changer for teachers

Key points:

In the world of education, where innovation and creativity are especially vital, technologies with AI-generated content are reshaping teaching and how students learn in surprising ways.

There has been no shortage of news coverage on AI in education. However, much of that coverage has centered on the student experience. As a former teacher who now interacts with edtech companies on a daily basis, I think we miss a hugely important part of this conversation if we don’t also focus on how this technology could positively impact the teaching profession.…Read More

Roblox, PLTW team up for immersive STEM experience

Key points:

  • Immersive learning experiences are highly engaging and give students another way to grasp key STEM concepts
  • Roblox and Project Lead The Way are offering 3D immersive learning with a new STEM experience
  • See related article: Are you teaching with Roblox? You should be

Immersive learning experiences are all the rage, and for good reason—they engage students and help make challenging concepts–particularly STEM concepts–a bit easier to learn thanks to they way they are presented.

Pathogen Patrol, a new 3D immersive learning experience from Project Lead The Way, brings important STEM learning content to life. These learning experiences give students another way to learn educational concepts, such as space exploration or different processes in the human body, which are typically challenging to teach with traditional methods.…Read More

Half of teachers expect AI to make their jobs more challenging

Key points:

A majority of teachers and administrators in a recent survey believe artificial intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on teaching and learning–but that impact may not be all positive, as roughly half of surveyed teachers believe AI will make their jobs more challenging.

As artificial intelligence (AI) quickly becomes a focal point in U.S. schools, the new survey of educators and administrators conducted by Clever, a digital learning platform, underscores the need for greater preparation for educators and administrators on the use of the emerging technology in classrooms.…Read More