In December’s edFocus newsletter, we published a summary, written by John Richards, Founder and President of Consulting Services for Education, Inc. (CS4Ed), of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. The book is a thought-provoking new work by Shoshana Zuboff. In his report, Richards discusses Zuboff’s analysis of Surveillance Capitalism and how, specifically, it applies to the realm of education.
For the last seven months of 2020, school districts have gone through extreme changes regarding how learning is happening in a pandemic-induced educational environment. In a recent edWeb edLeader Panel sponsored by Project Tomorrow, Dr. Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, and Christina Fleming, Vice President of Blackboard K12, presented the Speak Up 2019-2020 National Findings titled Digital Learning During the Pandemic: Emerging Evidence of an Education Transformation. The research surveyed over 136,000 K-12 students, teachers, and parents and focused on what digital learning looked like during the pandemic and revealed potential emerging transformation evidence.
Preparing all students for college and 21st century careers can no longer be the sole responsibility of K-12 educators. Increasingly, district administrators need to add another task to their already long checklists—forging partnerships with organizations that can supplement and enhance the education being provided by local schools.
As mathematics pedagogy moves further toward thinking about the process of getting the answer rather than just the answer itself, developing problem-solving skills is key to student success. With the continued move to distance learning and digital resources, educators need to make sure any tools support this new mindset. During an edWeb edLeader Panel sponsored by ORIGO Education, the presenters offered their key criteria for digital mathematics tools and how they should support teachers and students.
“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” This quote by Dr. James P. Comer highlights the importance of strong teacher-student connections. In an edWeb edLeader Panel, sponsored by Intellispark, the presenters concurred with Comer that it is now even more critical to monitor student wellbeing and maintain healthy relationships.
If young students say the letter R makes a /rih/ sound and M makes the /muh/ sound, there is a strong chance they might have trouble learning to read. While they studied the letters A to Z and their sounds, they probably cannot link them to actual words.
As schools reckon with learning equity, they’re often focused on academic progress. During the edWebinar, “Leading for Equity: Academic Development Through an Equity Lens,” hosted by AASA, The Superintendents Association and AASA’s Leadership Network, the presenters talked about the important role social-emotional learning (SEL) plays in the process. In fact, they argued that schools must connect academic equity with SEL if they’re going to reach their goal of serving all students.
Beyond just the ability to pivot and be prepared for any type of learning, the pandemic has brought new concerns with “Zoom bombing” and increased outside access to school networks. As part of a series on technology best practices for school district leaders, presenters in an edWebinar sponsored by ClassLink and co-hosted by CoSN and AASA discussed five key reasons why everyone needs to be on top of their cybersecurity plan and continuously evaluate its effectiveness.
Strengthening students’ grasp of language and knowledge takes more than merely learning a weekly list of core words, contended Dr. Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert, Author of Scholastic W.O.R.D., in a recent edWebinar sponsored by Scholastic Digital Solutions, exploring a more strategic approach to vocabulary acquisition.
With remote learning still at play, students now rely on virtual engagement with their teachers to have questions answered and assignments clarified. With the appropriate tools and tech access, instructional assistance from afar can be academically beneficial.