For many teachers, edtech translates to visuals and video. But during the edWebinar, “Voice Devices and Beyond in the Classroom,” the presenters made the case for using voice technology in schools to assist with all types of activities, from practicing math to classroom management, and more important, to improve listening comprehension skills.
Now that online games have become so popular among K-12 students, school and district administrators can use gamification techniques to create a positive school climate and encourage positive behavior by individual students who have differing needs. Shawn Young, co-founder and CEO of Classcraft, explained during a recent edWebinar how gamification techniques can be combined with research-based approaches such as Response to Intervention (RTI), to create engaging and systematic Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
24/7 access to technology has brought many benefits, from online collaboration to improved parent-teacher communication. But that 24/7 environment has also brought increased stress to students’ lives as issues they encounter at school, especially on social media, follow them home. In the edWebinar “How Digital Stressors Impact Student Learning,” Jamie Nunez, Bay Area Regional Manager at Common Sense Media, explained what digital stressors are and how social-emotional learning (SEL) can be used to combat them.
Teaching computer coding skills and concepts in the primary grades may sound like a challenge, but now there are hands-on activities and age-appropriate software that engage young students in this type of learning. And, starting the learning process in grades K-2 can build students’ confidence and reduce the challenges they face later when working on coding projects in the upper grades.
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 2019! This year we hosted 331 edWebinars, 46 more than in 2018. Our programs covered a wide range of timely topics for early childhood educators, librarians, teachers, and administrators. In 2019, our edWebinars had 475,000 views from educators all around the world, in 185 countries.
There is a massive demand for qualified cybersecurity talent with the current number of open positions ranging from 300,000 in the United States to 4 million globally. In a recent edWebinar, Casey O’Brien, Executive Director, National CyberWatch Center, and Jim Kowatch, CEO, Infosec Learning, underscored that to fill the demand for cybersecurity experts, secondary and higher education should focus their attention on developing cybersecurity courses that are rooted in IT operations and applications.
Do you know where your data is stored? With the increased emphasis on student data privacy, many school leaders might think they have a handle on cyber security. But even that seemingly simple question may have complex answers. Presenters in the recent edWebinar, “Cyber Security: Concerns, Strategies and Solutions for Schools,” warned that with the increasing variety and strength of cyber attacks, most schools will face incursions. They offered key strategies for going on the offensive against hackers.
Attending trade shows seems like an absolute must for educational publishers; the cost, personnel, and logistics can be obstacles for even the larger companies. But going shouldn’t be booth or bust, though. In a new edWeb series Making the Most Out of Trade Shows, industry veterans discussed key factors in deciding when and where to go and how to make sure events support your company’s overall plan.
With all of the digital tools available to teachers these days, developing learning experiences should be a cinch, right? While virtual resources abound, the systems are not coordinated enough to fully address teachers’ curriculum-design needs and to support them as they help students build a coherent body of knowledge. But there are solutions, some already in place that are making it easier to design quality curricula that truly benefit learners.
Rural school districts face many unique trials, and access to educational technology is no different. But the obstacles aren’t just about location. In many cases, school leaders need to justify why the district should invest in the first place. During the edWebinar “Technology in Rural Schools: Leading with Why,” the presenters discussed how they overcame challenges and helped the community understand the value of tech in schools.