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.

The future of gamification

Key points:

In the past decade, students have been inundated with more and more distractions. The internet provides an infinite amount of said distractions: YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to name a few. While the environment that grows children into students–and eventually young adults–has been changing, the education system has proved less dynamic. There are ways to embrace these changes as a means of benefit to a child’s education instead of a burden.

Engagement is the name of the game here, and educators are losing. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades and do well in school. This is massive, but even more impressive is that they are 4.5 times more likely to be hopeful about the future than their actively disengaged peers. Students who are happy to come to school and who see it as an opportunity are bound to feel more self-agency and to be better prepared for their post-educational lives.…Read More

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First Look—Discovery Education Back To School ’23

Discovery Education today announced a slate of new services and curricula to coincide with the fall semester. eSchool snuck a sneak peek with Lance Rougeux, Senior Vice President of Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Engagement, on some specifics. Click below to listen and scroll down for details and selected edited highlights:

Creating Curious Classrooms is a free professional learning series for school and science curriculum leaders that takes a fresh approach to how the latest digital resources and tools can be integrated into instruction to drive engagement. Live and on-demand sessions will provide participants with examples of how teachers from across the country can create and deliver science lessons that unlock student curiosity in grades K-12 and inspire exploration of the world around them.

It’s new professional learning pathway that focuses on practical strategies. We know we have a lot of new teachers and teachers coming in from other fields, whether it’s from the military or from business careers. This really dives into ideas that ultimately are research based, but that also get kids interested and excited —LR.…Read More

Indiana’s Vigo County School Corporation Adds New, High-Tech Tools Supporting Teaching and Learning to Students’ Digital Book Bags

Charlotte, NC — Students across Indiana’s Vigo County School Corporation (VCSC) will add new, high-quality learning resources to their digital book bags this Fall thanks to a new partnership with worldwide edtech leader Discovery Education. In this new collaboration, Discovery Education will provide district students in grades K-12 exciting new digital and print services that will help them explore their curiosity about all subjects. In addition, district educators will receive in-depth professional learning opportunities that will help them integrate their new resources into instruction and create engaging lessons that prepare students for success beyond the classroom.

VCSC is one of Vigo County’s largest employers, serving nearly 14,000 students across three traditional high schools, five middle schools, 15 elementary schools, an alternative school, and a virtual school. VCSC works to build upon the strengths of their diverse community to create a comprehensive and engaging learning environment that supports the lifelong success of all students.

The VCSC community sees educational technology’s potential to advance relationships between teachers and their students, shrink long-standing accessibility gaps, and increase the depth of learning experiences for all children. So, to support district goals in the sciences and other academic disciplines, school administrators sought high-quality digital resources that featured hands-on components and could easily be integrated into teaching and learning. Following a thorough review of available solutions, VCSC’s administration selected the following Discovery Education resources for K-5 classrooms:…Read More

Discovery Education and its Corporate Partners Offering Free Resources for Families to Keep Learning Alive All Summer 

Charlotte, NC ) — To keep students engaged in learning while on summer break, Discovery Education and select partners have created free dynamic digital resources for students and caregivers to use at home. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

The following selection of family activities that connect families to engaging learning experiences anywhere learning is taking place:  

Build the Change: Take the power of play beyond the classroom with collaborative activities that inspire students and families to learn through play by solving creative challenges as a team while exploring their own local environments with these activities from Build the Change, a program by the LEGO Group’s sustainability team. …Read More

Students and Teachers in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools Set to Return to Classrooms this Fall with Engaging New Tools from Worldwide Edtech Leader 

Charlotte, NC — Students and teachers in grades K-8 across Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) will return to their classrooms this Fall to find new resources in their high-tech pencil cases thanks to a deepened collaboration with worldwide edtech leader Discovery Education. In the latest phase of this more than 20-year partnership, Discovery Education will provide district elementary and middle school students exciting new digital science textbooks that will help them explore their curiosity about the natural world. In addition, Discovery Education will provide teachers with stimulating professional learning experiences that will help create engaging lessons that prepare students for success beyond the classroom. 

PGCPS is one of the nation’s 20th largest school districts and has 198 schools and centers, more than 131,000 students, and nearly 20,000 employees. The school system serves a diverse student population from urban, suburban, and rural communities located in the Washington, DC suburbs. PGCPS is nationally recognized for college and career-readiness programs that provide all learners with unique learning opportunities, including dual enrollment and language immersion. 

PGCPS seeks to provide all PreK-12 students equitable access to exemplary teachers, science curriculum programming, instructional practices, and standards-based assessments that are reflective of research and best practices. To support this effort, the district’s science curriculum team sought a digital K-8 science resource aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and supportive of improved student achievement and heightened career and college readiness. Following a thorough review of available digital resources, PGCPS selected the  Discovery Education Science Techbooks for use in elementary and middle school classrooms. …Read More

Elementary Schools Across Kentucky’s Johnson County School District Adding to Their High-Tech Toolbox 

Charlotte, NC —When elementary school teachers and students across Kentucky’s Johnson County School District (JCSD) return to their classrooms this Fall, they will find new resources in their high-tech toolkits thanks to an expanded partnership with Discovery Education. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Located in Eastern Kentucky, JCSD’s dedicated staff of professionals serve more than 3,200 PK-12 students in 11 locations across Johnson County. Driven by a bold mission to create the ultimate educational experience for every child, every day, JCSD’s educators partner with the community to create an innovative school system focused on learning without borders. 

As part of their ongoing effort to ensure all learners have access to engaging, standards-aligned, digital content capable of supporting academic achievement at home or at school across all subjects, JCSD’s administrators sought a classroom-tested solution with a record of success. Following a careful review of available solutions, the JCSD selected Discovery Education’s award-winning K-12 learning platform for use by the district’s K-6 teachers and students. …Read More

 Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools’ New Partnership Powers the Creation of Dynamic Digital Learning Environments Supporting Science Education 

Charlotte, NC – Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools (GFW) today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education supporting the creation of engaging science lessons in K-12 classrooms districtwide. In this new multi-year collaboration, educators in every GFW school will integrate Discovery Education’s suite of innovative digital resources into instruction to create dynamic learning experiences that will awaken students’ natural curiosity about science and the natural world. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Nestled in the prairie of south-central Minnesota and serving students from the communities of Gibbon, Fairfax, Winthrop, and surrounding townships, GFW uses progressive technology applications to access educational resources from around the world. Parents cite small class sizes, school-aged childcare, early childhood programs, and co-curricular programs as the desirable features of the school district. With a mission to grow future world-class leaders, GFW aims to provide all learners an equitable and quality education that meets the individual needs of students with future-forward instruction. 

As part of its continuous effort to prepare students for success beyond graduation, GFW sought digital resources that would drive deeper engagement in science. These resources needed to be simple to use, accessible for all teachers and students, easily integrated into the district’s robust science program, and aligned to Minnesota state and NGSS standards.  …Read More

Discovery Education, Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated Launch New Initiative to Inspire Next Generation of STEM Professionals

Charlotte, NC – Discovery Education, the Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated today announced the launch of a new education initiative – Innovation at Play. This unique program leverages the power of play by using engaging, hands-on digital resources to educate and inspire students in grades 9-12 to consider exciting careers in a variety of STEM professions. 

Innovation at Play provides standards-aligned digital resources that make it easier than ever for educators, after-school instructors, and parents to connect STEM concepts to potential career pathways. Classroom activities, play-inspired lessons, and phenomena-based videos exemplify how curiosity drives STEM solutions while empowering students to learn by doing and seeing. The content will equip students with the right skills and knowledge to pursue STEM careers at home, in the classroom, or wherever learning takes place. 

“The future STEM innovators are sitting in classrooms all across the country. No matter where they are, Innovation at Play will empower students to connect their STEM curiosity with STEM skills to solve problems and secure careers,” said Asha Varghese, Caterpillar Foundation President. …Read More

As ESSER spending increases, digital learning is a priority

After a slow start in allocating federal ESSER funds, most states have found ways to spend their COVID relief dollars. In Montana, the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is directing its ESSER money to digital learning resources.

OPI Superintendent Elsie Arntzen announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, a provider of state-of-the-art digital resources that support instruction wherever it takes place. Through this multi-year partnership, OPI is providing all 496 public school districts statewide access to a curated collection of high-quality, grade level appropriate, digital content aligned to Montana’s rigorous K-12 Content Standards.

The partnership–which is funded through ESSER–supports core instruction across Montana. In addition, the collaboration supports the state’s workforce readiness, rural education, Native American tribal history and culture, and parent and family engagement initiatives. Montana School Superintendents can activate their school district’s Discovery Education account by visiting this website.…Read More

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3M and Discovery Education Name 10 Grant Recipients Supporting Nation’s Young Scientists 

St. Paul, Minn. and Charlotte, NC. – 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) today announced the 10 recipients of the inaugural 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Network Alumni Grants Program. Launched in 2023, the program supports past participants and future scientists as part of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge ( #YoungScientist).  

As the nation’s premier middle school science competition, the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge invites students in grades 5-8 to compete for a mentorship with a 3M scientist, a $25,000 grand prize, and the chance to earn the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” The new Alumni Network and Alumni Grants Program offers previous participants networking opportunities, resources, events, and funding for existing science projects. Former finalists must be registered members of the 3M Young Scientist Alumni Network to apply. 

The Alumni Grants Program awarded a total of $25,000 in funding to ten 3M Young Scientist Challenge alumni. The 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Grants Program recipients across three funding areas are as follows:  …Read More