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.

Biden announces $930M in grants to expand internet access, digital equity

Key points:

  • A new $930 million investment can help close digital equity gaps by expanding much-needed internet access across the nation
  • Middle mile internet infrastructure, which moves large amounts of data across vast distances, is an essential part of the grants
  • See related article: 5 strategies to tackle the homework gap

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced $930 million in grants aimed at expanding middle mile high-speed internet infrastructure across 35 states and Puerto Rico. The grants are part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative, the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program invests in projects that build regional networks that connect to national internet networks.

Middle mile internet infrastructure carries large amounts of data over long distances, increases capacity to local networks, boosts network resiliency, lowers the cost of bringing high-speed Internet service to unconnected households, and helps connect unserved regions to the Internet backbone.…Read More

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Intervene K-12 Receives $150,000 Grant From National Nonprofit Accelerate To Make High-Impact Tutoring Sustainable And Cost-Effective

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Intervene K-12, a Houston-based online tutoring platform, announced today it will receive a $150,000 Innovation grant from Accelerate, a national nonprofit working to make high-impact tutoring a standard feature of the American school day. The grant will advance research on the impact of Intervene K-12’s signature tutoring method that pairs high-impact tutoring with mentorship to encourage academic success and career exploration. The grant will also support Intervene K-12’s unique curriculum integration and staffing model to hire tutors from various business sectors to expose scholars to diverse professionals. 

“Our unique combination of tutoring and career exploration has been implemented in dynamic, urban districts with measurable and replicable results,” said Aaron McCloud, founder and CEO of Intervene K-12. “With this grant we will be able to hire even more tutors from diverse personal and professional backgrounds to allow scholars to connect with tutors who look like them and work in highly desirable fields.” 

Intervene K-12 uses evidence-based lessons that are designed especially for Intervene K-12 scholars to meet them where they are. These lessons are leveraged using high-impact, online tutoring within the school day, during which small groups of three to five students facing similar challenges are paired with a tutor. …Read More

Students know best when it comes to transforming education

Since formalized education was in its infancy, legislators, educational leaders, and governments worked together to develop models that make education more efficient and cost effective–but they often fell short of serving the needs of students or enriching their lives. And, while people under the age of 18 comprise 25 percent of the global population, it never occurred to most people in positions of authority to ask what they need from their educational systems.

Students experienced great tumult these past few years, especially because of the global pandemic. This singular event put a spotlight on the challenges of quality and equity in education. And it is students who can help change how the world’s young people learn.

In September 2022, the UN convened the inaugural Transforming Education Summit, with the ambition to elevate education to the top of political agendas and spur action considering global school closures caused by COVID-19 to address the issues faced by students during this time. 2023 also marks the “halfway point” to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, with SDG4: Quality Education to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. …Read More

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Discovery Education and Social Impact Partners Offer K-12 Teachers and Families Nationwide Digital Resources to Engage Students in Engineers Week  

Charlotte, NC — Discovery Education and its social impact partners present teachers and families nationwide a curated collection of engaging, no-cost digital learning resources designed to engage today’s students in Engineers Week. Established in 1951, Engineers Week immerses students in the future of engineering and helps create pathways to careers. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.  

Taking place February 19-25 with the theme “Creating the Future!” Engineers Week shows students the excitement of engineering and its importance to the world. To support this theme, Discovery Education is providing educators, students, and families with a collection of no-cost resources tailored for any learning environment. Among the resources created in collaboration with leading social impact partners are:   

Virtual Field Trips  
The Future is Now Virtual Field Trip from Reach for the Sky – designed with Edge at Hudson Yards – takes students on a virtual adventure into NYC’s newest and most forward-thinking neighborhood and the incredible observation deck where marvels of modern engineering elevate the possibilities of everyday life to meet with various leaders about the history, social impact, and STEM behind the new gravity-defying structure. After the VFT, students can start engineering by creating prototypes of their own design using the Engineering Design Process. …Read More

STEM Careers Coalition Offering Educators No-Cost Resources to Celebrate Black STEM Leaders During Black History Month

NC — The STEM Careers Coalition™ – the first-of-its-kind national STEM initiative powered by corporate leaders and anchored in schools by Discovery Education – presents a curated collection of no-cost content celebrating the careers of Black leaders in STEM for use during Black History Month and beyond. The collection of dynamic on-demand resources showcasing careers of Black professionals across an array of STEM industries and supports educators’ efforts to drive deeper student engagement by connecting classroom lessons to the real-world. Discovery Education is the worldwide EdTech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Since its founding in 2019, the STEM Careers Coalition has reached more than 6 million students in its mission to support the next generation of diverse STEM solution-seekers. To continue in the mission of reaching 10 million students by 2025, the Coalition presents a robust array of career profiles featuring diverse leaders across various industries and job roles. Included in the curated collection are digital career profiles featuring leaders from Boeing, Capital Power, Chevron, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi, Stanley Black & Decker, and more. The career profiles also feature student activities and career preparatory materials that introduce students to the world of career planning. In addition, educator guides support teachers in integrating these resources into any lesson plan. Learn more here.  

“I love the resources from the STEM Careers Coalition for so many reasons, including the fact that they’re constantly updating, relevant to my students, and easy to use.  Showing students that there are individuals just like them in these high-profile careers has never been easier,” said Tamille Wilson, Fourth Grade Math and Science teacher at Cobb County Schools. …Read More

How K-12 IT leaders can protect schools from ransomware

Cyberattacks on public schools are becoming more common and more severe every year. Between 2020 and 2021, more than 56 percent of K-12 education organizations suffered ransomware attacks with an average cost of $268,000.

Most recently, an attack on the LA Unified School District in September 2022 conducted by the Russian hacking group Vice Society shut down access to emails, computer systems, and applications for more than half a million users. Before that, a ransomware attack on the school system in Buffalo, NY cost the state more than $10 million in damages.

How can these K-12 school districts defend themselves from these ransomware attacks? And why are they being targeted so frequently?…Read More

Discovery Education and Social Impact Partners Present Engaging Resources Supporting STEM Day Observances

Charlotte, NC.— Discovery Education and select social impact partners are offering engaging, high-quality digital learning resources to students and teachers to support observances of National STEM Day. Held annually on November 8th, National STEM Day unites communities in celebrating the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students in grades K-12. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.  

Discovery Education offers educators, students, and families hundreds of no-cost resources tailored to STEM teaching and learning wherever it takes place. Among the resources created in collaboration with leading social impact partners now available to support observances of National STEM Day are:   

Engaging Classroom Activities 
Integrate STEM into instruction with activities from the STEM Careers Coalition™ – the first-of-its-kind national STEM initiative powered by corporate and non-profit leaders and anchored in schools by Discovery Education. These activities span a broad range of STEM topics and feature important skills, as well as step-by-step guides for implementing activities in your classroom.  …Read More

Discovery Education and Dollar General Literacy Foundation Partner on New Initiative Promoting Literacy

(Tuesday, October 25, 2022) – Discovery Education announced today the launch of a new education initiative – Discover Literacy – created in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation promoting literacy nationwide. Designed to support the development of critical literacy skills in K-2 students, Discover Literacy offers teachers, students, and caregivers access to a powerful suite of in-school and after-school digital resources at no cost.  

Discover Literacy’s standards-aligned resources are designed for wherever learning takes place. Addressing the five key literacy topics of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, Discover Literacy provides educators, students, and afterschool professionals with six-to-eight-minute microlearnings that provide hands-on learning for an explicit, systematic approach to instruction, as well as opportunities to practice new skills. The partnership also helps up-skill teachers and after-school professionals with research-based support for professional learning that focuses on promoting equity in education. Learn more about Discover Literacy here. 

“We are excited to help equip and empower teachers with research-based microlessons and fun activities for students,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “A great education is built on strong literacy skills. We are thrilled to partner with Discovery Education and National Afterschool Alliance to bring high-quality literacy resources to classrooms across the country.” …Read More

Winsor Learning Releases Free Professional Development Resource in Response to Steep Declines in National Reading Scores

MINNEAPOLIS (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the wake of devastating recent news about the nation’s reading test scores, Minnesota-based Winsor Learning, the nation’s leading expert and provider of science-based reading instruction and teacher training, announced the release of a new and entirely free professional development resource for administrators and teachers. The 90-minute Science of Reading-based training is now available for download at no cost to teachers, administrators, tutors, and other teachers of reading.

To download the resource, go to: https://members.winsorlearning.com/5-strategies-for-teachers/

The most recent results of National Association of Education Progress (NAEP) testing indicate performance levels of 9-year-olds in math and reading dropping to levels not seen in more than two decades. The declines include nearly all races and income levels and are the most steep for at-risk and already lower-performing students.…Read More