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.

Friday 5: How esports engages students

Key points:

Academic esports programs aren’t simply a group of students sitting in a classroom playing video games. Rather, teams and tournaments promote collaboration, critical thinking, communication skills, and offer inclusive environments that welcome students from all backgrounds and with all abilities.

How can schools create esports programs and teams?

Conversations around the benefits of esports have centered on collegiate and secondary levels, but recently, the conversation has expanded to include elementary esports, too. Like any new venture, this is something that takes time to fully understand. The beauty is that there is a room full of experts to journey alongside their teacher. It is incredibly powerful when the classroom is flipped and students have an opportunity to share their passions and expertise with their teacher. Here are 6 tips to start an elementary program.…Read More

5 ways to keep schools safer with innovative visitor management

Key points:

One crucial aspect of school safety is monitoring who comes on and off campus, including visitors. Visitor management can be tricky, because school campuses tend to have various points of access. In recent years, schools have put in the effort to advance all safety measures within schools, including visitor management. In fact, recent research by Pew Research Center found that 98 percent of schools require visitors to check in and wear a badge. 

Schools can emphasize their protection of students and staff by requiring visitors to wear a visitor-specific safety badge that can monitor their location while on campus. Opposed to staff safety badges, which only provide location information once an alert is initiated to maintain staff privacy, the visitor badge will monitor the visitor’s location in real-time while on school grounds.…Read More

7 tips and ideas to make the eclipse engaging for students

This article originally appeared on Vernier’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible over the United States, starting in Texas. This upcoming eclipse event is an exciting opportunity to incorporate phenomenon-based learning into your instruction and engage your students through inquiry.

Here are some tips for making the most out of this rare occasion as you study it with your students.…Read More

Math is not a universal language—but it can be a universal thread

Key points:

Say what you will about the universality of numbers and symbols; I’d politely argue that it does not follow that mathematics is a universal language. The problem for many struggling math students is that often those “universal” numbers and symbols hide in surrounding contexts of unfamiliar vocabulary, settings, and narratives.

As math educators, we can help those students by finding ways to relate their classroom learning to more recognizable cultural frames of reference that are authentic to the range of experiences in the room. In the process, math can actually become a universal thread to connect many types of content and learners. Number sense and quantities are some of the very few things that tie us together in a common experience.…Read More

Purdue begins work to advance science of reading with $1.5M grant

This article on the science of reading originally appeared on Purdue University’s site and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

Purdue University has begun work to improve the reading abilities of K-12 students in Indiana by strengthening teacher preparation using science-based methods. The work is funded in part by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded to Purdue in August as part of Lilly Endowment’s Advancing the Science of Reading in Indiana initiative, which launched in 2022.…Read More

U.S. Senate and White House Honor ‘National Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Week’ with Bipartisan Resolution, Presidential Letter

CHICAGO – This week, the U.S. Senate introduced a bipartisan resolution designating March 4-8, 2024 as ‘‘National Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Week’’ to recognize the critical role SEL plays in supporting the academic success and overall well-being of students, educators, and families. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Susan Collins (R-ME). 

President Joe Biden also recognized “National SEL Week” in a letter this week underscoring the importance of SEL to support the academic, social, emotional, and mental well-being of students that were a critical part of the Biden Administration’s two signature legislative achievements—the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. 

This second annual “National SEL Week” comes at a critical time for students’ academic recovery and social and emotional development. With COVID-relief funds ending, education leaders are increasingly seeking sound, evidence-based investments in students’ learning and development. …Read More

Friday 5: Online learning’s evolution

Key points:

Online learning has limitless potential for students and teachers, offering the ability to learn from any location and at all times of the day. Let’s take a look at some of the latest online learning trends:

Is online learning really effective?

The short answer: Yes. Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success. Schools should reimagine the learning processes and leverage in-person and hybrid learning to help students achieve the best possible results. The potential for innovation and student engagement are only scratching the surface when it comes to the advantages of online learning. Having many new, effective tools in educators’ toolboxes, it’s time to cast aside conventional processes and rethink the way we provide services to, and support, our students. Take the first steps toward this innovation.…Read More

5 ways to teach like a pirate

Key points:

Learning is a dynamic process, one in which learners must be actively engaged. However, studies suggest that a significant percentage of students feel disengaged in their learning, posing a challenge for educators. As teachers strive to adapt their instructional methods to nurture student curiosity and drive deeper student engagement, the principles outlined in Teach Like A Pirate offer valuable insights. 

A few years ago, I read the book Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess, and the ideas resonated with me and changed my perspective on instructional practices. In his book, Burgess emphasizes the importance of Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask/Analyze, Transform, and Enthusiasm (P.I.R.A.T.E.) in teaching. Central to this approach are the hooks – strategies that captivate students’ attention and foster excitement for learning. Here, we explore five effective hooks I’ve shared with the educators I support that are inspired by the book, along with specific examples of their implementation: …Read More

How to direct a districtwide tech transformation on a budget

Key points:

Irvington Public Schools is an urban district with the hometown feeling of a place where everyone knows each other. Our student body is predominantly Black, but we are quite diverse and have many cultures represented among our students. Approximately 20 percent of our scholars speak English as a second language.

I have been with the district for 20 years, though I didn’t become the superintendent until April 2020. When I came into the office, I had a tech-focused vision for the future of our district, but the pandemic was beginning to force us to move in that direction anyway, albeit without the careful consideration and planning we would have preferred. I gave our technology department marching orders to get every student and every teacher on a Chromebook and trained in the Google Suite within two weeks. It was immensely stressful for them, but they got it done and we haven’t looked back.…Read More