How are school leaders managing the pace of change and explosion of technology? The Future of Education Technology Conference in Orlando, FL gathered thousands of educators for a non-stop techfest of keynotes, sessions, and exhibits. Lisa Schmucki, the founder of edWeb.net, attended and was particularly interested in hearing how school leaders are managing the pace… read more →
The Education Technology Industry Network (ETIN) and Empirical Education Inc. have recently released the Guidelines for Conducting and Reporting EdTech Impact Research in U.S. K-12 Schools. These guidelines help clarify how research is conducted and how information is presented to users of edtech products based on the changes brought by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In “Measuring Edtech Impact in the ESSA Era,” experts delved into the details of the guidelines.
edWeb.net and Learning Without Tears have launched Crayons, Pencils, and Keyboards: Inspiring Learning in Your Elementary School Classroom, a free, professional learning community on edWeb. Through this online community, Learning Without Tears will bring together educators around the world and provide tips and tricks for making Pre-K-5 readiness, handwriting, and keyboarding fun and easy, and create confident communicators. Good handwriting is a crucial skill for student success. It develops the brain, enhancing neural activity and impacting the areas of the brain related to literacy. Students with good handwriting are also more likely to succeed in other subjects.
This site provides free professional development webinars and podcasts for educators on a broad range of topics. There more than 1,400 Professional Learning Communities to join. This is a great resource for academic as well as special subject educators working with students from grades PreK through high school. In addition to free webinars, many communities provide access to downloadable resources and discussion forums. Webinars cover popular topics such as Open Education Resources, STEAM, and Social Emotional Learning. Educational partners and sponsors include familiar names such as Common Sense Education, ISTE, Time for Kids, and Britannica Digital Learning.
Setting up a structure for fundraising to support your students who want to travel is crucial regardless of their family income. Educational travel can be made attainable for all students if you create a plan and stick with it. Carrie A. Olson, PhD, Researcher and Teacher at West Leadership Academy, Denver Public Schools, presented with Carylann Assante, CAE, Executive Director of SYTA and the SYTA Youth Foundation, in “How We Helped 800 Students Participate in Educational Travel: Proven Tools and Tips.” The experts shared tips on planning for educational travel to make it accessible for all students.
Parent engagement in their child’s education is key to successful growth, but consistently engaging parents is at the top of the list of teacher frustration. Teachers must establish communication with parents by figuring out what works best for them and showing that they are a team when it comes to their child. Sarah M. Rich, Lead Teacher Champion at Squiggle Park, presented creative ideas from her own experience building parent engagement in “Finally, A Guide to Parent Engagement That Works Every Time!”
If you get some down time over the holidays, it’s a great time to catch up on some of the most popular edWebinars of 2017! This year we hosted over 275 edWebinars on a wide range of innovative topics for early childhood educators, librarians, teachers, and administrators. Here is our Top 25 List for 2017 based on those that had the most views. Our #1 program of the year, Understanding and Addressing Challenging Behaviors in the Classroom, hosted by Kaplan Early Learning, has had over 4,500 live and on-demand views. The 25 programs below have been viewed by over 55,000 educators, and you can click on the links and watch the recordings any time, on any device.
This year during the annual Computer Science Education Week, educators and students around the world participated in the Hour of Code, an event designed to demystify and engage educators and students in coding. What are some ways to get started with coding, for an Hour of Code or afterwards? Kelly Knight, STEAM Coordinator at Riverside Presbyterian Day School, Jacksonville, FL, presented ideas and tips in “Get Ready for Hour of Code.”
While coding is an essential 21st century language, coding alone won’t be enough to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s careers. What students are able to DO with coding is what matters. Jon Samuelson, Innovation Strategist at Beaverton School District in Beaverton, OR, presented tips and tricks for student involvement in the recent edWebinar, “Coding + STEAM: Getting Students Future Ready.”
Teacher turnover has an impact on all stakeholders in the school environment, and research shows that students struggle to perform well in schools with turnover year after year. Retaining effective staff can be a big challenge for schools and districts, as can figuring out how to solve the issues around this problem. In “Using Data to Combat Attrition and Keep Good Teachers,” Henry Wellington, CEO and founder of Upbeat, discussed issues that cause teacher turnover and how schools and districts can intervene.