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3M and Discovery Education Name 10 Grant Recipients Supporting Nation’s Young Scientists

St. Paul, Minn. and Charlotte, NC. – 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) today announced the 10 recipients of the inaugural 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Network Alumni Grants Program. Launched in 2023, the program supports past participants and future scientists as part of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge ( #YoungScientist).

As the nation’s premier middle school science competition, the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge invites students in grades 5-8 to compete for a mentorship with a 3M scientist, a $25,000 grand prize, and the chance to earn the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” The new Alumni Network and Alumni Grants Program offers previous participants networking opportunities, resources, events, and funding for existing science projects. Former finalists must be registered members of the 3M Young Scientist Alumni Network to apply.

The Alumni Grants Program awarded a total of $25,000 in funding to ten 3M Young Scientist Challenge alumni. The 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Grants Program recipients across three funding areas are as follows: …Read More

Instructional audio can boost confidence in the classroom

Ask me what technology I’d most like to see implemented in every single K–12 classroom and I’d say instructional audio. As a long-time audiologist, I’m admittedly biased. But research bears out the benefits and I’ve seen the results firsthand in my 27 years (and counting!) working in public schools.

Here are some of the ways we know instructional audio technology helps build students’ confidence and benefits all student groups—as well as a few suggestions on how to get started.

Amplifying students’ voices…Read More

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7 Mindsets Announces Formation of 7m Cares

ROSWELL, Ga. — 7 Mindsets, the leader in PreK-12 mindsets-based learning and well-being solutions, today announced the formation of 7M Cares, an initiative that will expand the company’s philanthropic impact. 7M Cares will offer support to charitable organizations and causes that embrace mindset-based youth empowerment.

At launch, 7M Cares will exclusively support the Magic Wand Foundation (MWF), an organization co-founded by Scott Shickler and Jeff Waller, co-founders of 7 Mindsets. The Magic Wand Foundation has a mission of spreading mindset-based empowerment globally to help young people live extraordinary lives and positively impact the world. Founded in 2008, the MWF accomplishes this through directly empowering young people and equipping youth organizations with mindsets-based training and resources to help them transform the lives of the youth they serve.

“The 7M Cares initiative fully embraces the Live to Give Mindset, which teaches us to inspire and serve others,” said Mark Belles, CEO of 7 Mindsets. “We look forward to growing 7M Cares and supporting organizations that share our mission of helping young people live lives filled with passion, purpose and meaning.”…Read More

How edtech is embedded in Society 5.0

The pandemic saw countless education institutes scramble in a bid to offer remote learning, which just highlighted how ill-prepared they were for future learning.

But in this transition, we also learned something vital: Edtech learning helps to level the playing field for those who are unable to join regular classes due to location, illness, or financial constraints. It offers access to courses that many could only have dreamed of, and it allows for education to be consumed on the students’ own terms, around work, family commitments, or other appointments.

It suddenly opened the door to those with young children or those working in low-paid jobs who wanted to learn more skills and fit them around their working hours. Entrepreneurs could learn vital skills such as business strategies, investments, marketing and more, enabling them to pivot to a digital business plan in an ever-changing world.…Read More

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Whitney Brothers® Nature View Writing Center Earns Platinum Spaces4Learning 2022 New Product Award

Keene, NH, July 29, 2022 – Acclaimed Early Learning furniture brand Whitney Brothers® today announced its new Nature View Writing Center received the Platinum 2022 Spaces4Learning New Product Award, one of the most widely recognized awards for product innovation in the educational products market.

The inventive design of the Nature View Writing Center accommodates social distancing and activity workspace in Early Learning environments, a nod to the impact of covid-19 on student desk design. The vibrant woodland scene on the desk’s clear back panel brings the calm of nature indoors and creates a comforting personalized activity space for young children that also provides important visibility for adult supervision. Notably, the 2022 award marks the company’s third consecutive win and fourth in the last six years, vaulting it to the level of a few select brands.

Now in its seventh year, the Spaces4Learning New Product Award program honors manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are judged for their ability to enhance learning environments. The contest judges are members of the publication’s Editorial Advisory Board, a panel of executives and professionals from leading industry vendors, industry associations, and architecture firms.…Read More

Powerful strategies to motivate girls in STEM

The history of STEM is filled with amazing women who revolutionized our understanding of science. Take Grace Hopper, one of the first computer programmers who went on to become a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Chien-Shiung Wu was a renowned physicist who helped crack the secrets of nuclear physics. Alice Ball saved countless lives by developing a treatment for leprosy, while Ynés Mexía gave us a better understanding of the many plants which make up our environment. The list goes on, and only grows more extraordinary!

Unfortunately, women only make up 28 percent of the STEM workforce. This is because many young girls have struggled to engage with STEM while in school. The reasons for this are numerous, from forced stereotypes to a lack of role models.

As a result, many young women are missing their chance to pursue STEM in higher education, and the world is poorer for it. So, how can educators take steps to correct this imbalance?…Read More

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Is it time to double down on digital citizenship training?

About a week ago, my 5-year-old daughter asked me a question I was not quite prepared for. As we were walking back to our house from the neighborhood park, she asked, “Daddy, when am I going to get a cell phone?”

She went on to explain the specific ways in which a cell phone would benefit her life. She even assured me that she wasn’t too young for a cell phone. In fact, other kids her age already had one! Even though it was difficult saying no to her sweet little face, I explained that she would need to wait a few more years to take on this type of responsibility. But, why?

My daughter’s question really got me thinking. With so many young people having increasing access to technology, is it time for schools to take digital citizenship training more seriously? …Read More

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Can your schools keep pace with student mental health demands?

Even before the pandemic, a third of U.S. students struggled with anxiety, depression, trauma, or attention issues that made it difficult to focus, stay motivated, and learn. That number has grown exponentially during the pandemic and recovery: now half of students feel persistently sad or hopeless. This is an urgent need that schools can no longer ignore.

Why? Coping with mental health concerns negatively impacts young people’s ability to meet the many demands of school—from learning, to interacting with peers, to maintaining energy and stamina through the physical demands of the day. Early intervention is critical, or else these students can spiral quickly into avoidance and loss of motivation. This impacts grades, attendance, discipline, and referrals to special education.

Even pre-pandemic, 50 percent or fewer of children and adolescents with a mental health disorder had received services in the previous 12 months. That number is certainly higher today. And yet, many schools have struggled to implement anything beyond Tier 1 interventions, which are simply mental health-related activities designed to meet the needs of all students regardless of whether or not they are at risk for mental health problems.…Read More

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How to address mental health needs in youth sports

Numerous studies have shown the lifelong importance of exercise and playing sports for young children. Physically active children are often happier children. Children involved in team sports develop lifelong friendships and develop a work ethic that stays with them through adulthood. But sometimes, the pressures of performing can have negative impacts on children.

Challenges arise when sports become a source of anxiety for children. Ideally, sports provide a fun activity for children to move their bodies and release some stress. They also offer a safe space for children where they are supported by coaches who are trusted adults they can lean on for advice and guidance if they are experiencing mental health issues.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a few examples of youth who have reached out to coaches when they struggled with mental health issues. And, unfortunately, we’ve seen tragic examples of youth who were unable to access the support they needed.…Read More

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The digital dilemma in student well-being

The second week in May was the 21^st annual Mental Health Awareness Week, which this year focused on the impact of loneliness and the practical steps we can take to address it.

For young people in particular, mental health has become one of the greatest challenges they are faced with today. In the UK, government figures indicate that one in six young people aged 6 to 16 had a probable mental health condition in late 2021, a sharp increase from one in nine in 2017.

Meanwhile, 50 percent of all lifetime mental illnesses develop by the age of 14, with 75 percent developing by the age of 24, according to NAMI, The National Alliance for Mental Illness in the US. This shows just what a crucial and vulnerable stage adolescence is and why it is so important to support young people in this stage of life.…Read More

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