Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas) is a free K-12 charter school program serving over 23,000 children on 21 campuses. Students are taught English, Spanish and Mandarin as part of a demanding curriculum designed to foster future success. Of ILTexas’s 2022-23 student population, 71.8% were categorized as economically disadvantaged.
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At Cannon School in Concord, North Carolina, esports has become a tool for raising spirits and building collaboration among its high school students. To encourage participation and better compete with other schools, the school increased its available bandwidth with the installation of Spectrum Enterprise fiber solutions.
…Read MoreCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo./PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — TouchMath, a multisensory math program that makes learning crucial mathematical concepts accessible and clear for students who struggle to understand grade-level content, announces the launch of TouchMath Extend and Dyscalculia Extension. These groundbreaking solutions aim to bridge mathematical gaps and advance dyscalculia advocacy. Coinciding with two significant milestones, International Dyscalculia Day (March 3rd) and the 50th anniversary of the term ‘Developmental Dyscalculia,’ coined in March 1974, TouchMath reaffirms its commitment to providing essential resources and support to students experiencing mathematical barriers.
“Considering TouchMath’s unwavering commitment to educational equity over nearly five decades, the launch of TouchMath Extend and Dyscalculia Extension signifies a pivotal moment in our mission,” stated Dr. Sandra Elliott, Chief Academic Officer at TouchMath. “Recognizing that approximately 75% of students with dyscalculia also experience dyslexia, it’s clear that both conditions warrant equal recognition and support. Through these innovative solutions, we aim to not only raise awareness but also provide concrete assistance, empowering students to overcome mathematical challenges. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ladislav Kosc’s pioneering work, it’s time to dispel misconceptions, deepen understanding, and champion inclusive education where every learner, regardless of their challenges, can thrive.”
Dyscalculia, estimated to affect 3-7% of the population, is a learning disability with profound impacts on academic performance and daily life. Challenges include struggles with basic math operations and understanding mathematical concepts. However, only about 15% of students have been screened for dyscalculia, while 40% of math teachers report students performing below grade level. Unlike dyslexia, dyscalculia lacks systematic tracking in the U.S. despite the urgent need for skilled STEM professionals. While more than 45 U.S. states have enacted dyslexia-related legislation, fewer than ten states have passed laws addressing math intervention and instruction since 2021.…Read More
Key points:
While finding their work meaningful, a majority of education professionals experience burnout above the national average, according to a recent study. In fact, more than 20 percent plan to switch to a related field and more than 30 percent look to change careers altogether.
Soliant, a healthcare and educational staffing company, published the report to help the industry better understand and address educator burnout, staffing challenges, and opportunities facing U.S. schools. …Read More
FREMONT, CA – Optoma, a world-leading manufacturer of pioneering visual solutions, today introduced the new Creative Touch 3-Series Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs), featuring improved functionality and added interactive features designed to meet the evolving needs of education and corporate environments. Available in 65″, 75″ and 86″ formats, the Creative Touch 3-Series IFPDs include intuitive and user-friendly software, including an enhanced Whiteboard for effortless 1-to-1 collaboration whether in remote, in-person, or hybrid environments across classrooms, lecture halls, boardrooms, and other professional settings.
With the new Optoma IFPDs, users can work together seamlessly in-person or in real time from home by accessing their content through the Optoma Solution Suite (OSS)™, a proprietary software stack consisting of the cloud-based Whiteboard, Display Share, and File Manager.
Whiteboard provides users with an infinity canvas, floating toolbar, and annotation tools for endless, creative lesson opportunities. Educators can sync their cloud accounts, such as Google Classroom, for convenient lesson planning from anywhere and access their materials from any Creative Touch IFPD on campus. For remote lessons or in hybrid sessions, educators have the option of writing on the board while their students have a real time view of the annotations, either via one other Creative Touch display or online, valuable for use cases such as hiding quiz answers for later discussion. Users can also conveniently embed browser pages for easy dragging and dropping of image and video content into the canvas for smoother, uninterrupted lessons. …Read More
One of the biggest announcements out of FETC24 this year involved Lightspeed, the leading provider of instructional audio solutions that create equal access to learning, and their launch of Cascadia—a networked instructional audio platform that not only projects the teacher’s voice within the classroom but also empowers teachers to call for help and communicate outside of the classroom directly from their lanyard microphone.
I had a conversation with Tony Zeikle, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Lightspeed Technologies, Inc. about the features of the new product, its integration with existing school systems like phone networks and paging solutions, and its potential benefits for teachers and students, especially in light of challenges posed by the pandemic. We also touch upon the evolving landscape of educational technology, including the role of audio in augmented reality, virtual reality, and language learning. Have a listen:
More details about the launch:…Read More
Lincolnshire, IL & Boise, ID – 95 Percent Group LLC, the trusted source for comprehensive, proven literacy solutions, today announced the acquisition of Morpheme Magic, a company founded by Deborah R. Glaser, Ed.D., to help learners build morphological awareness. Morphological awareness is the ability to recognize, understand and use the units of meaning that make up words, helping build student reading comprehension skills.
“Morphological awareness plays an important role in helping learners decode, build reading fluency and comprehension skills, and develop a strong vocabulary. Research shows that morphological awareness is a strong contributor to reading proficiency,” said Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer, 95 Percent Group. “The resources that Dr. Glaser created for Morpheme Magic provide teachers with the tools they need to enhance student growth in this important area of literacy skill development.”
Morpheme Magic’s two supplemental curriculum offerings are Morpheme Magic: Lessons to Build Morphological Awareness Grades 4-12 and Morphemes for Little Ones: Bringing the Magic of Language into K-3 Classrooms, complementing the morphology lessons included in 95 Percent Group’s flagship 95 Phonics Core Program®. Morpheme Magic: Lessons to Build Morphological Awareness for Grades 4-12 features 53 lessons, including assessments, covering suffixes, prefixes, roots, and Greek combining forms. Morphemes for Little Ones K-3 provides systematic, structured literacy lessons to help teachers teach morphological awareness appropriately to students.…Read More
Key points:
When we think about AI in education, we think about how AI is offering innovative tools and solutions. From personalized learning experiences to automated grading systems, AI is reshaping traditional educational approaches. This transformative technology holds the potential to enhance student engagement, adapt to individual needs, and pave the way for a more inclusive and effective educational landscape.
The end goal of artificial intelligence is to create systems and machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. This encompasses a broad range of capabilities, from basic tasks like recognizing patterns and solving problems to more complex activities such as understanding natural language, AI education tools, learning from experience, and exhibiting creativity. The ultimate aim is to develop AI systems that can surpass human capabilities in various domains.…Read More
BOSTON – Lexia, a Cambium Learning Group brand, is celebrating its 40th anniversary as a leader in science of reading-based solutions. Since its founding in 1984, Lexia has grown from a small home-based business in Lincoln, Massachusetts, to a company with nearly 1,000 employees currently serving more than 6.8 million students and over 620,000 educators across more than 23,000 schools nationwide.
Lexia was founded by the late Bob Lemire, an investment adviser and land-use consultant whose son had been diagnosed with dyslexia. Lemire realized many other children with reading difficulties did not have the resources and guidance he’d been able to provide for his son. He founded Lexia with the help of technology expert Dr. Littleton Meeks and Dr. Edwin Cole, a noted neurologist, head of the Reading Clinic at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and founder of several schools for students with dyslexia.
“Back then, leveraging technology for explicit, systematic, and personalized instruction was a novel concept for schools and educators. It was out on the fringes,” said Lexia President, Nick Gaehde who joined the company as its head in 2005.…Read More
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo./PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — TouchMath, a multisensory math program that makes learning crucial mathematical concepts accessible and clear for students who struggle to understand grade-level content, had three executives and three solutions recognized at the 2023 Excellence in Equity Awards, including a category win in Special Contribution to Equity. TouchMath was a finalist in the following categories: Company of the Year, Leader of the Year (Sean Lockwood, CEO), Best Special Education Solution (TouchMath Standards Edition), Product Enhancement of the Year (TouchMath PRO 2.0), and Author, Speaker, or Consultant (Dr. Sandra Elliott).
Created by The American Consortium for Equity in Education, the Excellence in Equity Awards program recognizes the companies, nonprofits, leaders, and educators whose work contributes to the critical goal of ensuring access and equity for every learner. The award program received more than 120 nominations across its 25 different categories, each demonstrating innovative, diligent work being done nationwide to improve learner outcomes.
“We’re honored to have so many TouchMath team members and solutions recognized at this year’s Excellence in Equity Awards,” said Sean Lockwood, Chief Executive Officer at TouchMath. “This recognition is not only a testament and validation to the work my colleagues do every day, but it also serves as a reminder to prioritize equitable instruction in everything we do. Congratulations to the TouchMath team members who were selected as finalists and Scott for winning Special Contribution to Equity.”…Read More
Key points:
For any school, keeping students, faculty, and staff safe is a top priority. Many school leaders will therefore be shocked to learn that 52 percent of U.S. schools include areas that fail to meet current building code requirements for minimum indoor radio signal strength for police and fire department communications.
The implications are clear. In an emergency, when timely and effective communications are vital, first responders may have trouble connecting via their smartphones, hand-held radios, or other devices. This can adversely affect their ability to respond to an emergency and, in worst-case scenarios, put lives at risk.…Read More
Through December, the editors at eSchoolNews will be collecting, reporting, and sharing the bold, provocative, and even dare we say, audacious predictions of edtech experts. Want to join in the fun? It’s as easy as sending us a voice or video recording, or even just a comment on our LinkedIn page. We’ll be selecting the best for our annual prediction post!
The predictor: Noel Loughrin, Strategic Solutions Manager at Laserfiche
Click below to hear Noel’s predictions in context:…Read More