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.

Are you choosing the right classroom visual displays?

Key points:

  • Size isn’t the only important part of classroom visual displays
  • Brightness, contract, interactivity, and resolution are all critical factors

The transfer of knowledge is an educator’s principal concern–one that has led them, along with researchers, to ask: “What’s the best way to help transfer that knowledge and help students learn?”

Research has shown that students learn better with visuals than words alone. Visual presentations using a projector or interactive display can help to promote a much more active learning environment and more successful outcomes. However, in the last few years, as interactive displays have become more popular, there has been a significant debate on which is the best display type–projectors or interactive flat panel displays–for the classroom.…Read More

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MDM solutions and gamification make perfect interactive learning partners

In the era of mobile devices and tablets, interactivity has become the norm for schoolchildren. To facilitate effective teaching and learning, modern schools must equip every classroom with interactive touchscreens and utilize gamification techniques. As these modern education tools require management and security, integrating MDM solutions has become imperative for every organization.

Understanding the Basics of Gamification in Education

Gamification means adding interactive gaming elements to processes such as learning. Everyone loves games, and competition motivates people to perform their best. So, by adding gamification elements during teaching sessions, schools can significantly increase their participation and engagement levels.

In addition, gamification can improve student skills such as active learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking. It also helps students enhance teamwork and collaboration.…Read More

BenQ Board RP03 Series Recognized as First Smart Board to Achieve Eyesafe® Certification for Low Blue Light

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, is helping to minimize blue light emission with the Eyesafe® Certification of its latest interactive display, the BenQ Board RP03. The industry’s only interactive display to meet the safety standard, BenQ Board RP03 features built-in EyeCare™ technologies that have been tested and certified to protect users’ eyesight by reducing high-energy blue light while maintaining optimal color performance.

“Blue light may contribute to visual discomfort and sleep problems,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ Education. “Our built-in blue light technology and Eyesafe Certified screen effectively reduces the potential risks from blue light. Together with our other EyeCare technologies — flicker free and antiglare features, germ-resistant screen and accessories, air-quality sensors, and air ionizer, schools and other organizations can feel confident that the increased screen time that comes with the demand for greater interaction and engagement doesn’t come at a risk to users’ health.”

Minimizing Blue Light is Critical…Read More

TeachingBooks, Sora and Pear Deck Announce Collaboration to Expand Student Engagement and Learning

CLEVELAND –   TeachingBooks.net today announced a unique collaboration with  Pear Deck, providing expanded opportunities for student engagement and learning. In this new collaboration, Pear Deck takes book-specific supplemental materials from TeachingBooks and creates a custom, interactive lesson. When used with the  Sora student reading app, a complete interactive literacy experience is created that engages students of all ages and provides unique learning opportunities. All TeachingBooks templates, as well as Pear Deck’s other content, are available for free at  Pear Deck’s Content Orchard.

“By partnering with TeachingBooks and Sora, we’re bringing free, ready-to-teach literacy lessons to teachers and learners, furthering Pear Deck’s mission to create powerful learning moments for every student, every day,” said Stacy Yung, a former teacher and Senior Instructional Designer at GoGuardian, parent company of Pear Deck. “Reading is a strong lever in building a community in the classroom. We’re confident that this partnership will increase access to engaging lessons that help students connect with books, gain new insights and improve understanding, ultimately building deeper love of reading.”

With Pear Deck, now part of leading digital learning company GoGuardian, educators can transform lessons into impactful formative assessments and active learning experiences that seamlessly integrate with learning management systems. Templates, quick-start activities and ready-to-teach lessons connect students across all grades and subjects. TeachingBooks offers high-quality instructional assets such as author interviews and cultural reflection prompts that help educators bring books to life. The Sora student reading app is the leading digital book platform for schools that helps students read or listen to school-selected ebooks and audiobooks, 24/7 on any device. Sora offers the largest collection of premium materials used for instruction, novel sets and choice reading, including the most in-demand and beloved books and authors such as  Diary of a Wimpy Kid and  The Great Gatsby. All three platforms offer free access to a “starter set” or “introductory catalog” as well as paid content options. California educators already have premium access to TeachingBooks.net via the  State Library of California and the California K-12 Online Content Project.…Read More

Nearpod Announces the 2022 Educator of the Year Award Winners

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (PRWEB) —  Nearpod, a Renaissance company and a teacher-centric, interactive instructional platform that gives teachers real-time insights into student learning, announces the  2022 Educator of the Year Award winners. With 2,900 nominations and 4,600 votes received, Nearpod’s 2022 Educator of the Year Award winners represent the best and brightest in education, recognizing five winners and five finalists within the U.S. and abroad for their innovative and impactful work in the classroom.

“You cannot imagine how much I am excited to be one of the five winners for the 2022 Educator of the Year Awards,” said Liudmyla Katereniuk, a School Director in Ukraine and one of the award recipients. “I believe that teaching is the most difficult job in the world. As a school director, I am always trying to support and encourage my teachers, especially these days, in spite of the challenges presented by the ongoing war. Some people say challenges and barriers make our lives complicated, but I think they are essential for success and self-development.”

The awards program—now in its second year—highlights how educators use  Nearpod and  Flocabulary in their classrooms to best support their students. Nearpod expanded the awards program in 2022 from one to five winners to shine a light on the hard work and dedication of educators who are making an impact. Educators were encouraged to nominate someone making a difference with their students, peers, and local communities and then vote for their favorites.…Read More

Explore Interactive Announces Partnership with Award-Winning Curriculum Developer, EiE

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Explore Interactive and EiE, the award-winning curricula division of the Museum of Science, Boston,are now collaborating to expand engineering and STEM curricular resources to teachers and students across the globe. MindLabs by Explore Interactive brings state-of-the-art technology that, combined with award-winning EiE curricula, will provide teachers with standards-aligned, engaging activities to help students build skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, engineering design, and team collaboration — all skills required for jobs in the 21st century.

Explore Interactive and EiE will combine the power of research-driven curricula with engaging activities that use augmented reality (AR) for hands-on discovery. EiE currently develops research-based, classroom-tested programs that empower children to become lifelong STEM learners. Its pre-K-8 curriculum encourages all children, including those from underrepresented groups, to see themselves as engineers. MindLabs brings to the partnership expertise in augmented reality and digital resources for STEM learning as well as critical components for teaching, such as digital assessment, digital engineering notebooks, and integrated technology for social-emotional learning.

“Involvement in STEM subjects can help to develop a student’s critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills, all essential for success in STEM fields. Early exposure can also pique a student’s interest in STEM subjects and careers as well as dispel stereotypes or misconceptions about STEM fields,” said Katie O’Shea, Associate Director of Curriculum and Instructional Design at EIE, Museum of Science, Boston. “By incorporating MindLabs, we’re furthering our goals of helping students learn to think like engineers and promoting their STEM literacy.”…Read More

SMART Technologies Rolls Out Two New Editions of the ONLY True Multi-User Interactive Display

CALGARY, AB – Today SMART Technologies debuts the latest industry-leading SMART interactive displays for education at the 2023 TCEA Convention & Exposition in San Antonio, Texas. This new release includes the new SMART Board® MX (V4) series, and the SMART Board GX (V2) series. These new displays join the SMART Board 6000S series as the only interactive displays that allow multiple users to freely write, erase, and gesture at the same time, across platforms and applications. 

SMART displays provide the best annotation experience on the market, along with other key, unique features that make them a true ‘walk up and teach’ experience for teachers and students. 

“At SMART we care deeply about the ease of use of our products, and we are working tirelessly to make the most advanced and intuitive tools,” said SMART Technologies CEO Nicholas Svensson. “These products are designed for teachers to ‘walk up and teach’ and to make their days easier – reducing lesson prep time and allowing teachers to provide more collaborative and engaging learning experiences for their students with ease.” …Read More

Intelitek Opens the First of 20 STEAM centers in the Republic of Ghana

DERRY, N.H. – In partnership with the Ghanaian Ministry of Education and Israeli government, Intelitek and its parent company, Robogroup T.E.K. Ltd., have opened the first of 20 planned STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering and Mathematics) centers in the Republic of Ghana. Located at the Accra High Senior High School, the new center is part of the ministry’s initiative to increase student interest and instructional quality around STEAM. Students ages 6-14 will be trained to use advanced STEAM technology in a modern interactive learning environment.

The Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education held a commissioning ceremony for the Accra High STEAM Centre in November. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, commended all involved for their commitment to the project and called the center a testimony of the government’s commitment to STEAM education.

“We can become a developed nation,” Dr. Adutwum said, “but it is going to emanate from how well we focus ourselves, how we remain determined and focused in the midst of challenges and say to ourselves we can.”  …Read More