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.

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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Millwood Public Schools receives $116,000 from Paycom, benefitting marching band, music program

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Paycom Software Inc. (NYSE:PAYC),  a leading provider of HR software, gave $116,000 to the Millwood Enrichment Foundation as part of a two-year commitment to the school district. The donation is an investment in the future of Millwood Public Schools and brings new resources that support ongoing and new educational programming. One specific area the funding will impact is Millwood’s expanding marching band program. 

“We greatly appreciate this generous donation from Paycom,” said Milo Wilson, president of Millwood Enrichment Foundation. “The funding will help to provide ongoing support for programs at the district and further improve the quality of education in our schools, specifically to improve our music education programs and provide new instruments for students who participate in band.” 

Millwood’s marching band has grown from around a dozen students in 2019 to over 70 students from grades 6-12 today. The first installment of the two-year financial gift from Paycom of $54,000 will directly support this important program. …Read More

Students Go Behind the Scenes at the CMA Awards to Discover the Power of STEAM in a New Virtual Field Trip from Discovery Education and the Country Music Association 

Charlotte, NC — The Country Music Association and Discovery Education today announced a new virtual experience from their Working In Harmony: Every Voice is Instrumental educational initiative. Country Music’s Biggest Night: STEAM Takes the Spotlight Virtual Field Trip shows students in grades 6-12 how science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) drive innovation in Country Music.  

Premiering February 16th at 1 PM ET and available on-demand, this first-of-its-kind experience takes students behind the scenes of a major music event to discover the processes and people that make the televised production seem effortless. Students will meet the various STEAM professionals with diverse skills and backgrounds that help make Country Music’s Biggest Night™ a reality. By introducing students to critical behind-the-scenes professions, which include stage management, hair and makeup, production, and security, the Country Music’s Biggest Night: STEAM Takes the Spotlight Virtual Field Trip pulls back the curtain on the CMA Awards, the longest-running annual music awards program on network television. Learn more here. 

“STEAM is incredibly important to the arts, including the Country Music industry,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “In partnership with Discovery Education, students now have a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the exciting inner workings of Country Music’s Biggest Night™ that shows both how a production of this magnitude comes together and the talented people behind the scenes that make it happen. Our hope is for students to see themselves in these roles, inspiring their ambitions beyond the classroom.” …Read More

How to provide effective and engaging virtual therapy for kids

As was the case for so many other therapists working with children and families, March 2020 felt overwhelming in our center for child and family therapy. From seeing clients in-person all day in our client-centered, carefully designed therapy rooms equipped with all the therapeutic tools that a child therapist might need to engage a child in the hard work of therapy, we scrambled to figure out a way to transfer our clinical tools to the virtual realm. The transition from using toys, games, animal assisted therapy, art, music, movement, and parent-child attunement enhancing interventions to connecting through a digital screen seemed at times to be an impossible mission.

The transition was especially challenging for our very young clients and those who appeared to have significant struggles with the adjustment to virtual education. Even after weeks of creating and identifying multiple virtual tools that enabled us to engage most of our clients in expressive ways to process their experiences and share their internal worlds with us, we consistently received skeptical messages from parents who were certain that their child would not be able to effectively use a virtual platform for their therapy work.

We were convinced that we would be eager to return to our carefully designed, in-person therapy rooms as soon as we possibly could safely do so. Little did we know that we would not only find the virtual therapeutic tools to be highly effective, even in some of our most challenging and complex cases, but we would also discover that there are many unexpected and valuable therapeutic benefits that come with this virtual approach to providing child and family mental health therapy services. …Read More

5 tech tools I use in my elementary music classroom

Technology has become more prevalent in schools in recent years, with a big uptick due to the pandemic. Teaching online during the pandemic has shown us that high-quality tech tools are out there–but how do we continue to use these resources in our classrooms today?

The creation and use of digital music has also become more common today. How are we exposing our students to creating music through technology? I have found some online music resources that have transformed my teaching as an elementary general music teacher and have provided engaging content for my students.

1. Chrome Music Lab…Read More

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Eason Rytter Of New York, Ny Named 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholar In The Arts

NEW YORK, NY (May 12, 2022) – Eason Rytter, 2022 YoungArts award winner in theater, from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art, and the Performing Arts in New York City, has been named a 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. The U.S. Presidential Scholars award—one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify artistic and academic excellence, leadership qualities and community service—is presented on behalf of the President of the United States and honors up to 161 graduating high school seniors of high potential each year. This year marks the 58th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program and the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. A full list of 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts can be found here.

Rytter joins an illustrious group of YoungArts award winners and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts alumni, including Tony Award-nominated performer and choreographer Desmond Richardson; Los Angeles Music Center President Rachel S. Moore; novelist and National Book Award Finalist Allegra Goodman; Grammy Award-winning violinist Jennifer Koh; Bravo’s “Work of Art” winner Abdi Farah; Obie Award-winning actress Donna Lynne Champlin; and RCA Records award-winning singer-songwriter and Grammy Award-nominated artist Chris Young.

As part of the application process, nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars were asked to write about the high school teacher who has most influenced their development. Mala Tsantilas, of the Drama Studio at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School was nominated by Eason Rytter. Tsantilas is also recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholars Distinguished Teacher. A list of the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Distinguished Teachers can be found here:…Read More

VHS Learning’s New Flexible Courses Expand Student Options for Online Course Enrollment

Boston – May 12, 2022 – Scheduling flexibility is frequently cited by students and teachers as a major benefit of working with VHS Learning’s asynchronous online courses. Starting in August, students will be able to take advantage of an even more flexibly paced course format.

The new Flexible course model will be available for 16 courses beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year:

  • Algebra 1 Flexible
  • AP® Calculus AB Flexible
  • AP® Calculus BC Flexible
  • AP® Computer Science Principles Flexible
  • AP® Environmental Science Flexible
  • AP® Macroeconomics Flexible
  • AP® Microeconomics Flexible
  • AP® Music Theory Flexible
  • AP® Physics 1 Flexible
  • AP® Spanish Language and Culture Flexible
  • AP® Statistics Flexible
  • AP® United States Government Flexible
  • AP® United States History Flexible
  • English 9 Flexible
  • English 11 Flexible
  • Spanish 1 Flexible

Each Flexible course is self-paced, and teacher led. Courses begin on the first of every month from August through February (August through December for AP® courses). The courses will end at the completion of the school year, so later enrollees will progress through course material at a faster pace.…Read More

How peer feedback can improve student writing skills

The art of writing, invented roughly 5,000 years ago, represents a blip in human history. It’s younger than agriculture, music, and construction. And as recently as the Revolutionary War, a majority of Americans couldn’t put pen to paper. In short: Writing remains a new feat of technology. We’re still figuring it out. 

Despite its relative youth, writing has evolved into a vital skill. Today, we broadly recognize that citizenship requires the ability to read and write. As Orwell put it: “If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.”

Perhaps as importantly, writing is a key skill for professional success. Hiring managers, for example, are more likely to cite writing skills as “very important” for new hires, compared to technological and quantitative reasoning skills. If students leave campus without refined writing skills, we’ve done them a great disservice. …Read More

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3M Names America’s Top Young Scientist of 2021:14-Year-Old Sarah Park, for Music Therapy Treatment to Improve Mental Health

St. Paul, Minn. and Silver Spring, Md. (Friday, October 22, 2021) – 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) have named 14-year-old Sarah Park from Jacksonville, Fla. the winner of the 2021 3M Young Scientist Challenge ( #YoungScientist), the nation’s premier middle school science competition. Sarah created Spark Care+, an innovation that personalizes music therapy treatment for mental health improvement using artificial intelligence (AI), skin response (GSR) and photoplethysmography (PPG). As the 3M Young Scientist Challenge grand prize winner, Sarah received a $25,000 cash prize, the prestigious title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” and a special destination trip.

“The 3M Young Scientist Challenge aligns with 3M’s commitment to fostering the next generation of science leaders, and exemplifies how a quality STEM education can get young people interested and excited about science as a way to improve lives all around the world,” said Dr. Denise Rutherford, senior vice president and chief corporate affairs officer at 3M. “Against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists have each shown how grit, determination, resiliency, innovative thinking, and the scientific process come together to create truly incredible innovations with the potential to address major global challenges. 3M is inspired by these young inventors, and we celebrate their accomplishments. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Sarah Park, and to all our 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists. We thank you for inspiring us through your efforts.”  

The global pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health – negatively affecting millions of people and creating new barriers for people already suffering from mental health disorders. For her project, Sarah developed SparkCare+ as an efficient, affordable, portable, and personalized music therapy for mental health improvement. SparkCare+ is made up of two components: a communication with the participant, and a mechanism that uses deep neural networks to select therapeutic music.…Read More

How a former music teacher approaches school leadership and learning

The pandemic has taught us that change is inevitable, but being prepared can set a school apart. It’s important to bring together research and outside learning tools to a team that is always striving and driving in the same direction. As a principal, I’m enthusiastic about what lies ahead for our school and district after a year of adjustments.

Like the characters in the Ron Clark book, Move Your Bus, we are all independently and collectively moving together to reach a positive objective. As a former music teacher, I see it as an orchestrated process where all members, from school leadership to teachers to custodial staff, realize their role, importance, and dynamic in the school’s overall symphony. It takes communication, organized teamwork, and a belief in modern data-driven approaches to bring forth learning success.

A school is an orchestra…Read More

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