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.
Three requirements for an effective mass communication system for schools and districts
Mass communications: There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all communication. Any school or district communications plan isn’t complete without a reliable system that can frictionlessly reach your entire community.
However, reaching all citizens and ensuring they get the right messages whenever needed requires more than just sending messages at scale. But selecting a platform that reaches the entire population all the time isn’t easy.…Read More
Teach your students the importance of CPR and AEDs
Introduce your students to the importance of CPR and AEDs with our free “Restart a Heart” activity book. The activity book features coloring pages, connect-the-dots, and other fun activities for kids, together with age-appropriate CPR and AED tips.
…Read MoreThe future of gamification
Key points:
- Gamification can help engage students when they might otherwise lose motivation
- Engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades and do well in school
- See related article: MDM solutions and gamification make perfect interactive learning partners
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
How to teach writing skills in the ChatGPT era
Key points:
- It’s time to welcome ChatGPT into classrooms–and embrace the opportunities that come with it
- Using the AI tool in writing instruction can help students develop critical digital literacy skills
- See related article: 4 ways to use ChatGPT for learning and creativity
When ChatGPT appeared in November 2022, most educators felt it could become a threat and change the whole niche forever. No wonder: This language model algorithm is smart enough to produce logical and grammatically correct texts for any prompt.
Today’s digital-savvy students welcomed ChatGPT with open arms and began using it for writing assignments. According to a new study from Academic Help, 67 percent of students use AI for creating texts – the basis for their essays and other papers.…Read More
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
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
How to redefine learning in the digital age
Key points:
- ChatGPT-4 enriches curriculum, fosters collaboration, and prepares students for the challenges of the digital age
- As higher learning institutions embrace ChatGPT-4 and AI technologies, they contribute to shaping a future-ready generation of learners
- See related article: At ISTELive 23, balancing humanity with AI
In an era defined by technological innovation, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has become a game-changer in higher education. ChatGPT-4, developed by OpenAI, presents an extraordinary opportunity for higher learning institutions to revolutionize education. By incorporating ChatGPT-4 as a required part of the learning experience, institutions can unlock a new realm of innovation, critical thinking, and personalized learning.
The integration of ChatGPT-4 enriches the curriculum, fosters collaboration, and prepares students for the challenges of the digital age. Dr. Ryan Watkins, a professor of education at The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development, said he plans to have his students use ChatGPT to write outlines for class presentations: “I might have my students use it as a starting place, and then they can add their content in and comment about how useful or not useful it was.”…Read More
Digital tools are a vehicle–not a standalone solution–for trauma-responsive care in schools
Key points:
- Investing in mental health training, resources, and digital tools supports students’ immediate needs and creates a foundation for the long term
- By leaning into the power of human connection and leveraging digital health tools, schools can proactively enhance student well-being
- See related article: Using tech to combat trauma
Schools play a vital role in nurturing the well-being of their students. And, as the primary setting where children spend a significant portion of their time, schools are well-positioned to be an additional touchpoint in the mental healthcare continuum. This additional touchpoint is particularly critical amid mental healthcare provider shortages, enduring access challenges, and the stigma associated with these illnesses.
As a result, schools can help bridge the gap to treatment through a trauma-responsive environment, which has shown to improve student well-being, reduce chronic absenteeism, and raise student engagement. But in my experience, it will take a multipronged approach that centers relationship building, integrates digital tools, and invests in the long-term to make a difference for a school community.…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