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.

4 ways admins can support teachers’ technology use

Key points:

Technology is quickly changing the way we learn and teach. To keep up with these changes, administrators need to support teachers in using technology in the classroom.

Following are three ways administrators can help teachers become successful with technology in the classroom and help student engagement.…Read More

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3 tools that foster gamification in my 4th grade classroom

Key points:

Gamification is one of the biggest in education trends right now in education. According to ISTE, “Gamification is about transforming the classroom environment and regular activities into a game” (Haiken, 2021). Many students want more than just good grades from school–they want something physical or immediate. “Gamification empowers students with the ultimate in choices when setting goals for what badges and achievements they want to complete, which leads to learners building skills for self-reliance and self-control” (McCarthy, 2021).

Embracing gamification in the classroom will lead to students taking responsibility for their learning while also enjoying their time in class.…Read More

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Will, skill, & thrill: How learner agency accelerates innovation

Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permissions.

When it comes to students in the classroom, they want to feel ownership and control of their learning. According to the American Institutes for Research, encouraging student agency is beneficial because:

  • students who believe their knowledge can grow over time perform better on IQ tests,
  • those with a growth mindset are more likely to set academic goals focused on mastering content versus studying for a test score or course grade,
  • students who set mastery-focused goals tend to process information in a deeper and more organized fashion, and
  • the skills and behaviors that learner agency fosters are positively related to higher education and career outcomes.

During CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation 2022-23 cycle, our esteemed Advisory Board of about 100 educators and technologists agreed that learner agency is, indeed, one of the top three accelerators in education today. Download the 2023 Driving K-12 Innovation Report: Hurdles + Accelerators to learn more.…Read More

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Is generative AI a new secret weapon, or just another gadget?

Key points:

  • Generative AI can provide consistent, personalized feedback to students
  • It’s crucial to remember that AI is a tool, not a replacement for teachers–it’s there to enhance the educational experience
  • See related article: The importance of teaching generative AI

Today, we’re going to take a peek behind the curtain of edtech to examine the developing phenomenon that’s on all of our lips: Generative AI. The question, of course, is whether this fancy newcomer is the secret weapon educators have been waiting for or just another high-tech toy with a lot of hype and little substance. Spoiler alert: It might just be the former.

A brief primer on generative AI…Read More

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BenQ Education Partners With ANTON Learning App

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, announced that the ANTON learning app is now available on BenQ Boards. Trusted by over 15 million learners and teachers in over 60,000 schools, the ANTON learning app features learning material across a multitude of subjects, with the goal of making learning fun for students and easy for teachers to create and deliver engaging lessons. This partnership strengthens BenQ’s commitment to providing direct access to the apps and learning software that educators use daily from their BenQ Boards for a more streamlined, future-ready classroom.

“We’re steadfast in our mission to make it as easy as possible for educators to use the BenQ Board while helping students achieve great outcomes,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ Education. “ANTON is widely used by thousands of teachers. This is a great addition to the many resources now available in our BenQ Boards and is another step in bridging the gap between traditional teaching methods and cutting-edge technology that will help teachers shape the future of learning.”

The ANTON learning app and online learning portal are part of a standards-aligned curriculum available in multiple languages. Boasting over 100,000 exercises and 200 exercise types, it contains interactive elements, feedback, games, and explanations aimed at supporting and engaging young people in learning. It covers English, math, science, social studies, languages, and music, following set lessons with exercises in each topic. Users are able to select the subject that they wish to focus on and then follow scaffolded exercises developed to help them understand the material. Students can earn coins through their learning to spend on fun games and avatars.  Teachers are able to create classes, assign homework, and track the learning progress of their students. This information can then be used to personalize any learning or to bridge the learning between school and home.…Read More

Roylco, Inc Merges with MESH to Boost Social Emotional Learning in Children

ANDERSON, S.C — Since the rise of the pandemic and the isolation of quarantine, a surge of concern regarding children’s mental and social health has been the forefront for parents across the world. Roylco, Inc- an upstate South Carolina based educational toy manufacturer- has grasped these concerns in consideration for their products. With the release of their new STEAM product line alongside their additional educational classroom aids, each product provides an outlet for children to master mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) in and outside the classroom.

MESH- an acronym discovered by ThinkFun in partnership with child development expert Deborah Gilboa, MD., – confronts the escalating apprehension around children’s mental health. This concept was developed to raise awareness for both industry specific and non-specific professionals to promote resiliency through play. For more information visit meshhelps.org.

“Roylco has taken all factors of MESH into consideration to develop thought provoking, confidence boosting, teamwork building educational play for young children to build a bridge into understanding their mental, social, and emotional health” says Darby Smith, Business Developer at Roylco.…Read More

4 AI-powered language tools I use in my classroom

Key points:

  • Teachers shouldn’t be afraid to try AI language tools as part of their instruction
  • AI-powered tools can help students write well and revise their writing more efficiently
  • See related article: Is AI the future of education?

Since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT several months ago, there’s been an almost-complete panic in academic circles about the possibility (and sometimes, the reality) of students using AI-powered tools to cheat. 

As an English teacher myself, but also as someone who’s been interested in the development of OpenAI’s work since my own high school days, I admit that I’ve been rather more excited than worried by this development. AI-powered tools, especially language tools, have the potential to help students write well, revise their writing more efficiently, and even to think about languages in a more sophisticated way. …Read More

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4 pieces of advice for aspiring tutors

Key points:

  • You don’t have to be an expert to be a tutor–you just need a willingness to learn as an adult
  • Working with a reputable tutoring organization is essential
  • See related article: 6 keys to effective tutoring

What do directing planes to land successfully on the runway and directing students to read successfully in the classroom have in common? A lot, as I found out during my transition to tutor following three decades of managing the flow of aircraft around the country. 

When I joined the Air Force in 1988, I became an Air Traffic Controller. I didn’t know it then, but this job would lead me down a path that included an eight-year military career and 22 years at the Department of Defense. During my 30 years of service, I managed both the training, and standardization and evaluation departments before becoming the tower chief controller.…Read More

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District virtual schools need to innovate beyond flexibility and security

Key points:

  • It’s time to transform district virtual schools from pandemic stop-gaps into pioneering models of 21st-century learning
  • The sustainability of district virtual schools hinges on whether they can evolve beyond the current versions we see in most districts
  • See related article: 5 tips to keep online students motivated

Imagine a classroom where learning transcends physical boundaries, and where every student’s need is met with individualized attention. This isn’t a distant dream, but an emergent reality born in the wake of the global pandemic. 

Prior to the pandemic, approximately 375,000 students attended online schools—less than 1% of the total number of US K–12 students. But as the crisis unfolded in 2020, virtual schools became a preferred educational choice for a significant number of families. Our survey in August 2021 found that 43% of districts had introduced a full-time virtual school option during the pandemic. These were new schools that students and families could opt into, separate from the emergency remote instruction commonly provided during the pandemic though existing brick-and-mortar schools.…Read More

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