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

Years after pandemic closures, we’re seeing their effects inside our schools

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

Since school buildings reopened after COVID closures, I’ve heard teachers say, again and again, that the older elementary children in their classrooms are just not the same.

I lead a small network of schools, and many of our current fourth graders remain dependent on adults’ opinions and find it hard to move from one problem to the next without reassurance. Our fifth graders can solve a basic math problem but often struggle to explain how to answer a word problem. Across fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, we’re seeing students have trouble with sharing, taking turns, and working with others — symptoms of the developmental milestones many children missed in recent years.…Read More

2024: The year of generative AI

Editor’s note: This story on generative AI originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

As we step into 2024, the educational landscape is just beginning to feel the transformative shift brought on by generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). This year marks a significant milestone in integrating advanced AI technologies into educational practices, heralding a new era of teaching and learning. Gen AI is set to revolutionize the way we approach education.…Read More

Ed Tech Company SuperDville Awards Over $25,000 In Microgrants!

NEW YORK, NY – SuperDville is proud to announce the winners of it’s first  SEL for Students who Learn Differently Microgrant 2023. SuperDville is a mission driven woman and minority owned and operated company which produces a video based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed to empower 7-13-year-olds with learning differences. www.superdville.com 

“The response was incredible. Everyone demonstrated a true need and presented creative ways to support or rethink their approach to social emotional learning.” “We received so many thoughtful entries that we couldn’t select just five awards, “so we ended up providing seven full site licenses!” “This is not a nice to have instruction, SuperDville is an absolute must-have instruction, which targets the one-in-five student with dyslexia or other learning differences. .”SuperDville CEO Peggy Stern said. 

The entries all demonstrated great promise for transforming the teaching and learning community in schools, which have been hit so hard throughout the pandemic. …Read More

Can artificial intelligence help teachers improve?

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

A network of small public high schools in New York City is exploring whether artificial intelligence can change the way teachers receive feedback about their classroom instruction.

Urban Assembly, a network of 21 schools, is working with the American Institutes of Research to develop an AI-powered tool that can help instructional coaches analyze videos of teachers delivering lessons and offer feedback, according to network leaders.…Read More

How this middle school teacher gets students to challenge themselves in math

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

When Salvador Quijada, a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at Philip’s Academy Charter School, thinks back on his own journey as a mathematician, he gives credit to one high school math teacher who pushed him to take on AP calculus. Quijada said his teacher’s belief that he could succeed allowed him to challenge himself in ways he might not have otherwise considered.

Now, Quijada channels that positivity into his lessons. Last year, he approached Philip’s principal, Yasmeen Sampson, and asked to pilot a new, accelerated program to help prepare more students for Algebra 1.…Read More

Voters skeptical of college, more supportive of CTE

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

It’s more important for Colorado schools to prepare students for the workforce than to prepare them to attend college.

That’s the opinion of more than 60% of respondents in a recent poll of education attitudes among Colorado voters. Magellan Strategies surveyed a representative group of 1,550 Colorado registered voters in September. The survey has a margin of error of 2.5%.…Read More

I’m a first-year teacher. How can I find success in the classroom?

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on equity, edtech innovation, immersive learning, and the science of reading. This year’s 9th most-read story focuses on first-year teaching supports.

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

This is my first year as a teacher and I’m teaching sixth grade, so both my students and I are new to the school. I’m wondering if you have any advice for how to make students feel welcome in a new building? — I’m New Here…Read More

Schools have struggled to add learning time after COVID–here’s how one district did it

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

It was just after 2:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday, and the school stage hadn’t yet transformed into a reading room.

Christopher VanderKuyl, an assistant principal in Chicago’s west suburbs, hurriedly dragged brown folding chairs across the wood floor. He made a mental note to figure out who’d rearranged the furniture.…Read More

As teens rethink college and career options, counselors are trying to adapt

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

When students come into Danielle Insel’s college and career advising office with their sights set on higher education, she has a checklist of next steps ready. For years, around nine out of 10 kids fell into that camp, she estimates.

But recently, a growing number of seniors–upwards of 30 percent, she guesses–have told her they have no intention of going to college. And more kids than ever are considering ways to make money without a college degree, Insel said–driven in part by people and jobs they’ve encountered on social media. For those students, there’s no equivalent checklist.…Read More

Here’s why anecdotes are as important as data in edtech decisions

Key points:

From the moment they first set up shop centuries ago, businesses have depended on word-of-mouth to build their customer base–and today, word-of-mouth marketing is still the main driver of sales.

Ninety percent of consumers are more likely to trust a brand recommended by friends and influencers, while 46 percent of small businesses make choices regarding software purchases based on the experiences of their colleagues. Yet, when it comes to edtech, the consensus industry-wide is that recommendations from your peers mean nothing when compared to data points.…Read More

Outdoor classrooms should outlast COVID

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

For me, the smiles in back-to-school photos felt extra forced this year.

How can I hold in one hand dystopian headlines about schools — closures for excessive heat, dilapidated buildings with dangerous indoor air quality, shortages of school-based mental health professionals, a worsening mental health emergency — and, in the other, the promise and excitement of a new year of learning?…Read More