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.

More than a passion project, literacy advocacy takes a village

Key points:

The most effective advocacy programs often begin with a personal passion to make a difference.

When former National School Library Program of the Year librarian Marge Cox retired, she began volunteering at Youth Haven, a shelter designed to help abused and neglected children and teens in Southwest Florida. “I got involved with Youth Haven after a former Collier County Public Schools employee contacted me and said Youth Haven needed my skill set,” Cox told me. “They had boxes of books that had been donated to them and wanted to create a library. I had retired at the end of the 2020 school year and had been praying for God to show me my next adventure.”…Read More

MackinVIA Wins The Distinctive Platinum Award Its 8th Consecutive Modern Library AwardFrom LibraryWorks

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 and winner of its eighth Platinum Award in LibraryWorks’ tenth 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 of 2023 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 entries 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 9.598, resulting in their eighth 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

5 strategies to ignite student engagement

Key points:

When you think of education, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it might be a pile of homework or a stack of books that need reading. Others may recall the flashcards they used to memorize specific formulas or expand their vocabulary. All these examples have a place in the learning ecosystem, but true education should be about so much more. Student learning should involve curiosity, discovery, and the opportunity to experiment with a variety of different solutions. To put it more simply: true education requires student engagement.

Every teacher hopes to ignite, empower, and engage the students who walk through their classroom door. Ample research has shown that student engagement is crucial to overall learning and long-term success. However, implementing this is easier said than done. To better ignite student curiosity and interest, teachers should consider trying one of these strategies that help make student engagement second nature:…Read More

What students are reading

Key points:

About five years ago, my New Year’s resolution was to read all the books on my bookshelf I’d never managed to crack. While that resolution was a complete failure (I still have unread books on my shelf), it reignited my love of reading.

Each year, I document my #BritReads reading journey on my social media channels. This year, I decided to bring #BritReads to life with my close family and friends. In lieu of a Christmas present, I’m buying each of them four books a year – books I’ve read or those that are at the top of my list to read. Rather than a one-size-fits-all #BritReads Book Club, I’m curating books just for each of them. For example, my Christmas movie-loving, hopeless-romantic childhood friend will not get my favorite thriller or whodunit!…Read More

Engage younger students with tech the right way

When it comes to building literacy skills, students are never too young to start—as long as it is implemented in a thoughtful way. That’s the perspective of John Costilla, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer at Capstone, the nation’s leading educational publisher of K-5 digital solutions, children’s books, and literacy programs for school libraries, classrooms, and at-home reading. 

In this recent conversation with eSchool News, John touches on integrating technology into primary classrooms, highlighting the need for a scaffolded approach, where EdTech complements traditional teaching methods. He mentions, (what else?), innovations like AI, and emphasizes the importance of metadata, transparency, and standards alignment in content development and search capabilities. Just as important, he touches on the intangible significance of providing joy and fun in teaching and the importance of building strong connections and relationships in education. Click below for a listen and scroll down for some more takeaways.

  • Focus on K5 Education: John emphasizes the importance of focusing on the K5 (Kindergarten to 5th grade) sector in education. He mentions the challenges students face in these grades, especially in the context of the pandemic, with some students missing significant amounts of schooling
  • Importance of Literacy: John stresses the significance of literacy in K5 education. He highlights the need for explicit instruction, phonics, decoding, and a focus on vocabulary development within the context of students’ interests, whether related to EdTech, science, social studies, or other subjects.
  • Diversity and Representation: John discusses the importance of diversity and representation in educational content. He mentions the need for students to see themselves in the materials they use and learn from, citing examples of books featuring diverse characters and cultures.
  • Balanced Approach to EdTech: John advocates for a balanced approach to technology in early education. He acknowledges the role of EdTech in providing innovative learning experiences but emphasizes the importance of a balance between technology and non-technology-based teaching methods.
  • Role of AI and Metadata: John discusses the role of AI, including ChatGPT, in educational content. He mentions the use of AI for tagging, metadata, and content creation, as well as its potential for enhancing the transparency of educational materials for districts and educators.
…Read More

BookmarkED Addresses the State of Challenged Books with Industry-First Technology to Enable Parental Choice in School Libraries

DALLAS, Texas – BookmarkED, the industry-first technology solution to personalize libraries with parental choice, has announced its official launch in Texas. With the passing of  Texas House Bill (HB) 900, school districts face a pressing need to meet the changing requirements for parental engagement on library books that children have access to. BookmarkED is a Texas-based company that enables parents to make individual decisions on literary options for their children and protects school districts from liability by ensuring compliance.

Library book challenges are increasing across the US. The  American Library Association (ALA) documented 2,571 unique library books and resources challenged in 2022, nearly double the number of challenges reported in 2021 and the highest since ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago. BookmarkED’s technology addresses the current state of challenged books by fostering parental choice to decide what books their children have access to, based on their family’s values and interests. 

“BookmarkED is an innovative solution that fosters parent’s choices for their individual child so that decisions are one-to-one versus one-to-all. Our platform puts the power into the hands of their parents, so that they can decide the literary path for their children by setting parameters over what books their children have access to. We are driven to first empower Texas school districts with this technology, and then move to a national level,” said Steve Wandler, CEO and Co-Founder of BookmarkED.…Read More

I work with struggling readers–here’s what’s standing in their way

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.”

I learned to love reading as a kid, spellbound by wizarding worlds and ghost stories. I wanted to share this love, so I became an intervention teacher, working with struggling readers and special education students. 

Kids love reading. I don’t care what think pieces say about screen addiction, children still gravitate towards books. If they can’t read, they like looking at the pictures in “Dogman” or listening to Junie B.’s antics. …Read More

Books, ebooks, and audiobooks, oh my!

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My 2023 #BritReads book tally experienced a massive slowdown in April when my husband and I welcomed Holden Lane to the world. After about a week of silent late-night feedings, I found myself dozing off while reading a print book. It had nothing to do with the nature of the content and everything to do with the fact that I was simply tired. Because I’m a compulsive multi-tasker, I decided the overnight feedings called for earbuds and audiobooks. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t dozed off or zoned out for a section here or there, but overall, audiobooks have allowed me to get my #BritReads book fix in, even with a newborn. 

Despite my affinity for audiobooks, looking at the book industry sales figures, it is clear print is still king. I agree, there’s nothing like turning the page of a print book. But audiobook critics say the format doesn’t count as reading…I disagree.…Read More

4 resources to differentiate computer science instruction

Differentiating instruction is not a new approach to bridging the varying learning styles of students with different backgrounds and learning abilities. For years, educators have strategized how to differentiate instruction in math, ELA, and science. Countless articles and books offer best practices for differentiation in those subjects, but comparatively, very little has been written about differentiating computer science instruction. 

I believe computer science is more important than ever. In the age of artificial intelligence, the study of computers and computational systems—including their theory, design, development, and application–represents a new frontier in science. 

New fields in computer science seem to emerge each day and now include computer systems and networks, security, database systems, human computer interaction, vision and graphics, numerical analysis, programming languages, software engineering, bioinformatics, and theory of computing.…Read More

ISTE and Capstone Collaborate on Children’s Books Championing Digital Citizenship

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Capstone, an innovative learning company merging children’s content with easy-to-use edtech tools for K-5 classrooms, libraries and homes, announces a licensing agreement with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), an education nonprofit that supports the use of technology to accelerate innovation in education, to publish a collection of children’s books promoting digital citizenship awareness and the positive and creative use of technology and digital tools. The license includes world rights for print and digital books, with ISTE providing supplemental resources supported by the ISTE Standards, a framework for using technology to support learning.

“We’re thrilled to partner on this project with ISTE, connecting their subject matter experts and research-based best practices on technology use in schools with Capstone’s delightful, engaging storytelling for young readers. Our collaboration gives educators an accessible way to start a positive dialogue around digital citizenship, creative use of technology, and our global connection—all knowledge kids need to help prepare them to confidently navigate the digital landscape,” said Beth Brezenoff, Capstone VP of Publishing.

The first title debuting in the ISTE Young Innovators collection, Sonia’s Digital World (pub 8/1/23), is written by award-winning librarian Shannon McClintock Miller, an ISTE Making IT Happen Award recipient, Future Ready Librarians spokesperson, Follett thought leader, and AASL Leadership Luminary social media superstar. The picture book follows the characters on a virtual trail as they chat, create and play together, and make discoveries and connections with digital tools. Preview an advance copy of the book at: bit.ly/SoniasDigitalWorldARC.…Read More

6 ways to help reluctant readers become booklovers

Not everyone loves to read. Even in schools with strong reading cultures, some students just don’t feel the spark—yet.

Through helping reluctant readers find books that capture their imaginations, teachers and librarians can ignite a newfound enthusiasm for reading in students.

Here are six strategies for engaging hesitant students:…Read More