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.

These Education Startups Are All Business

The pandemic forced the greatest beta test in education history—billions of students pushed home and online. And while there were obvious devastating effects with which we are still coming to terms, there were also plenty of innovations that sprung from the experience. Many of those ideas and techniques are reflected in this year’s crop of finalists for the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) according to John Gamba, Penn GSE’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence. 

Catalyst @ Penn GSE—a global center for education innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE)—and the Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation announced the selections this week. The finalists’ ventures are focused on some of the biggest challenges in education, including college access and persistence, social-emotional learning, literacy, adaptive learning, and more. 

Considered the most prestigious and well-funded competition of its kind, the EBPC attracts innovative education ventures from around the world. To date, the EBPC has awarded over $1.8 million dollars in cash and prizes. Winners and finalists have gone on to secure more than $180 million in funding.…Read More

Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) Names Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready® Assessment a Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool for Grades K–3

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass.—The GaDOE recently named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Assessment as a Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool for Grades K–3. School districts across the state can now use the program’s online Diagnostic and offline literacy assessment tasks to support with the identification and referral of students who exhibit characteristics of dyslexia. Today, the i-Ready program serves more than 11.5 million students and approximately one-third of all Grades K–8 students in the United States, including approximately 485,000 students in Georgia.

“It is so important that teachers have effective tools to identify students who may be at risk for dyslexia,” said Elizabeth Bassford, vice president of content and implementation at Curriculum Associates. “Now teachers across Georgia can use i-Ready’s single assessment along with its offline literacy assessment tasks to complete the screening and identification process, and develop individualized, data-driven instruction to support each student who will benefit from that specificity.”

All programs named to GaDOE’s Qualified Dyslexia Screening Tool list undergo a comprehensive review and demonstrate that they address—and measure—specific components. These components include phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, sound symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, decoding skills, encoding skills, rapid naming, accuracy of word reading on grade-level text, and sight word reading efficiency skills.…Read More

Swing Education Raises $38 Million in Series C Funding

SAN FRANCISCO  – Swing Education, an online marketplace that connects schools and substitute teachers, announced today $38 million in Series C funding. The funding round was led by funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”), a leading global private equity advisory firm, and by edtech investment firm Reach Capital. The funding enables Swing Education to invest in its growth and better address the nation-wide substitute teacher shortage.

This financing follows a 2018 Series B funding co-led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Owl Ventures and a seed round from a consortium that included Social Capital, Kapor Capital, Moment Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Red House Education, and Edovate Capital.

Swing believes that every classroom deserves a teacher, and every student deserves to learn without disruption. Since its founding in 2015, Swing has worked to improve the experience of being a substitute teacher and made it easier for K-12 schools to grow and manage their substitute teacher pools. Swing currently works with over 2,800 school partners and in the 2022-23 school year has supported these schools in filling over one million instructional hours with substitute teachers. …Read More

5 tips to keep online students motivated

Key points:

  • Educators must support efforts that boost online student motivation
  • Peer mentors, change of scenery, and spending time with students are important for online students

A student’s motivation in school is a key driver of their academic success. Yet, the demanding nature of high school classes, mixed with a teenager’s natural craving for independence and individual identity, can stand in the way of that motivation. COVID-19 took a toll on student motivation, and 80 percent of educators are still feeling the effects. Following the rapid and sudden shift to online learning, parents and educators remain concerned about keeping online students motivated and engaged. 

As we move past the pandemic and rethink the role of online education, it’s vital to education reform that teachers remain focused on fostering student motivation. …Read More

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How online learning changed the post-covid era

Key points:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the introduction of new learning technologies into the mainstream
  • Educators and students were forced to adapt to new edtech tools, which now have a permanent place in today’s classrooms

It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic affected every aspect of our lives in one way or another. The world was forced to adapt to a new reality to overcome the numerous challenges and hardships brought by the virus.

The field of education was affected like no other. More specifically, online education saw massive changes and transformations that were accelerated by the pandemic. Without further ado, here’s how pre- and post-Covid education differs and how online classes changed.…Read More

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6 ways AI tools will impact tutoring

Key points:

  • AI tools can greatly personalize and individualize tutoring
  • ChatGPT brings new perspectives to old problems and helps students think outside of the box

As the layers of post-pandemic classrooms are peeled back and learning losses become more evident, schools are searching for effective means to improve student achievement. Tutoring plays a major role in these efforts–and now, advances in AI are taking tutoring to a new level.

As the NAEP results made clear, students lost an alarming amount of progress in reading and mathematics. Already-overburdened teachers are scrambling to play catch-up and fit entire months of lost learning into their instruction.…Read More

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Breezeline Promotes Online Safety Awareness

QUINCY, Mass. (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Breezeline, the nation’s eighth-largest cable operator, has partnered with CyberSecurity NonProfit (CSNP) to create a series of blogs, videos and social posts to inform and educate the public on ways to protect against cybercrime and to promote online safety.

Recent educational materials created by CSNP staff and experts from the cyber security profession include ways to keep children safe in public online spaces, the benefits and concerns with authentication methods like two-factor and facial recognition, the benefits and risks of location services, identifying cryptocurrency scams, password tips, and Internet of Things (IoT) safety.

“Easy access to online content provides tremendous benefits to society for learning, work, and keeping connected to the world around us,” said Andrew Walton, a spokesperson for Breezeline. “Awareness of online best practices will help reduce risk and ensure that content can be enjoyed safely.”  …Read More

5 long-term benefits of our online literacy programs

Key points:

  • Online literacy programs help educators differentiate instruction
  • Engaging literacy solutions help students absorb learning material

When we started using a new literacy program 10 years ago, our reading scores were mediocre. Within a few years we had moved up to being a Level 1+ school, which is one of the highest rankings for Chicago Public Schools’ rating system (which is currently being replaced with a new system). We’re using the literacy program as a main component for grades K-5 in addition to another program for fifth graders.

We really like how both online literacy programs differentiate instruction for students, identify learning gaps and place students at the right levels for their individual needs. This functionality also lets teachers know when to pool students for the offline Skill Builders to help move past specific challenges students are facing. Additionally, the data that we get from the platforms is invaluable; we’ve become so used to looking at it and then using it to help inform our instruction.…Read More

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SIIA Announces Education Technology Finalists for 2023 CODiE Awards

WASHINGTON (PRWEB) — In celebration of the 38th annual SIIA CODiE Awards, the  Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) announced Education Technology finalists. Finalists, selected by expert reviewers, represent the most innovative and impactful products from education technology developers, online learning services and related learning-focused technologies.

“The 2023 CODiE Award finalists are some of the most inspiring products, services and leaders who are blazing a trail in the education technology space,” said SIIA President Chris Mohr. “Their innovations stand to improve the teaching and learning experience for teachers and students here in the U.S. and globally. Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists.”

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry’s only peer-reviewed awards program. Educators and administrators serve as judges for the first-round review of all nominees. Their scores determine the SIIA CODiE Award finalists and account for 80 percent of the overall score. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products. The scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Details about each finalist are listed at  https://www.siia.net/codie/codie-finalists/. The category winners will be announced June.…Read More

Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success

Key points:

  • Virtual learning expanded access to student mental health support
  • Hybrid learning offers improved satisfaction during IEP meetings

In the business world, we’ve seen a sea change in the way people work. While some have returned to the office full time, some are still working remotely, and others are opting for a hybrid approach of being in-person just a few days a week. If the pandemic showed us anything, it is that flexibility is in the best interest of the employee and the company in a competitive marketplace. 

The same lessons are true in schools. Forced to go online, in some cases for a year or more, schools quickly turned to video conferencing and online tools to facilitate the development of Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and even deliver mental health services to help students cope with the changes resulting from the pandemic. These new approaches offered ways to reduce many of the traditional barriers to services and support. Plus, they provided flexibility to create individualized plans that best meet the needs of students and their families.  …Read More

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