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.

 Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools’ New Partnership Powers the Creation of Dynamic Digital Learning Environments Supporting Science Education 

Charlotte, NC – Minnesota’s Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Public Schools (GFW) today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education supporting the creation of engaging science lessons in K-12 classrooms districtwide. In this new multi-year collaboration, educators in every GFW school will integrate Discovery Education’s suite of innovative digital resources into instruction to create dynamic learning experiences that will awaken students’ natural curiosity about science and the natural world. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Nestled in the prairie of south-central Minnesota and serving students from the communities of Gibbon, Fairfax, Winthrop, and surrounding townships, GFW uses progressive technology applications to access educational resources from around the world. Parents cite small class sizes, school-aged childcare, early childhood programs, and co-curricular programs as the desirable features of the school district. With a mission to grow future world-class leaders, GFW aims to provide all learners an equitable and quality education that meets the individual needs of students with future-forward instruction. 

As part of its continuous effort to prepare students for success beyond graduation, GFW sought digital resources that would drive deeper engagement in science. These resources needed to be simple to use, accessible for all teachers and students, easily integrated into the district’s robust science program, and aligned to Minnesota state and NGSS standards.  …Read More

Investing in classroom collaboration tools? 3 things to know

Key points:

  • Flexibility and ease of use should be important parts of decision making
  • Meet today’s needs, but keep tomorrow’s needs in mind

Modern technological advancements affect virtually every area of daily life, and today’s educational institutions are looking to new digital tools to help improve student achievement and engagement while fostering collaborative learning environments for both in-person and remote learners.

To maximize a system’s effectiveness and ensure investments pay dividends for students and instructors, decision makers and school technology managers must maintain a strong understanding of all the available solutions, devices, and platforms that can meet their needs. While differences in location, age range, and budget naturally affect technology decisions and opportunities, there are several key factors central to any successful implementation.

Keep It Simple, Schools…Read More

1 2

Illinois’ Geneva School District 304 Renews Longterm Partnership with Discovery Education Supporting Science Education

Charlotte, NC — Illinois’ Geneva School District 304 (Geneva CUSD 304) today announced it has renewed its multi-year partnership with Discovery Education supporting science education in grades K-5 through the year 2026. This continued collaboration ensures K-5 students and teachers districtwide will continue enjoying access to Discovery Education’s award-winning Mystery Science service, which is helping drive deeper engagement in science instruction. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

Each day, Geneva CUSD 304’s teachers, administrators, and staff seek to educate the nearly 5,500 students they serve within an environment that encourages the desire to learn and meets the unique academic, personal, physical, and social needs of each child. In 2016, district educators selected Mystery Science to support hands-on elementary science instruction and foster within each student a love of science. Today, Mystery Science continues to fulfill that mission as it helps district students develop into complex, creative thinkers. 

Mystery Science, which joined the family of Discovery Education services in 2020 and is a winner of SIIA’s Best Science Instructional Solution CODiE Award for Grades PK-8, provides K-5 educators simple-to-use, open-and-go, hands-on lessons that inspire students to love science. Each lesson begins by posing a question commonly asked by young students. Students then explore these questions through interactive videos featuring real-world visuals fostering a sense of wonder and actively supporting student engagement in the accompanying discussion prompts.  …Read More

New Mexico’s Middle College High School Selects Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives to Support Student Science Explorations

Charlotte, NC —New Mexico’s Middle College High School, a public charter school within Gallup-McKinley County Public School District, today announced it has selected Discovery Education’s innovative digital resources to support student science explorations. In this new collaboration, Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives will help students in the school’s high school physics class more deeply engage with phenomena and other scientific concepts as they develop their understanding of the discipline. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. 

Located in Gallup, New Mexico, the mission of Middle College High School (MCHS) is to provide an innovative and high-quality individualized learning environment for a distinct set of students. Operated in partnership with University of New Mexico-Gallup, MCHS provides a seamless educational continuum that benefits students as they move from high school to their post-secondary goals. MCHS is increasing student involvement in postsecondary education by emphasizing service to students of diverse backgrounds who are normally underrepresented at the local, regional, and national levels. 

MCHS’s leaders sought a new suite of high-quality, standards-aligned digital resources that could quickly be integrated into instruction and were adaptable enough to meet the needs of students’ varying learning styles. Following a careful review of potential solutions, school administrators selected Discovery Education’s Pivot Interactives for use in both middle and high school classrooms. …Read More

Free Resources from Discovery Education Support Financial Capability Month

Charlotte, NC — Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place—is providing an array of free digital resources to support National Financial Capability Month. 

Taking place annually in April, National Financial Capability Month was founded by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and is produced by the Jump$tart Coalition. In support of financial literacy education Discovery Education offers a curated collection of resources in collaboration with partners committed to giving students the financial skills they need to be successful in life: 

Self-Paced Modules 
Grades 6-12 
On-demand, self-paced modules take high school students on a journey of choices they can make around concepts such as using credit and making major financial decisions. Nationally recognized with the Jump$tart Coalition’s 2021 Innovation Award, Pathway to Financial Success in Schools is a personal finance education resource complete with classroom activities, family connections, educator guides, and a master class series on teaching financial education topics. This series sparks ideas, connects educators, and helps prompt conversations with administrators about the need for financial education and was created by Discover Financial Services and Discovery Education.  …Read More

New Mexico’s Aztec Municipal School District Renews Multiyear Partnership Driving Student Engagement in Science  

Charlotte, NC — New Mexico’s Aztec Municipal School District (AMSD) today announced the renewal of its multiyear partnership with Discovery Education supporting science education in three district elementary schools. This renewed collaboration ensures students and teachers in the district’s K-5 classrooms will continue to use the company’s award-winning Mystery Science service to drive deeper student engagement in science instruction. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports instruction wherever it takes place. 

AMSD serves 2,800 K-12 students in a rural community located in the northwest corner of New Mexico within the “Four Corners region” where New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona meet. AMSD’s diverse student population is approximately 63% Anglo, 22% Hispanic, and 13% Native American. The district employs over 200 certified staff members and a support staff of more than 150 to provide transportation and educational services to students. The family-oriented district is a nurturing learning community in which everyone has a job title, but their key role is to improve learning for all students.  

AMSD’s talented team of educators are dedicated to ensuring all learners develop a strong educational foundation that will serve as a launching point for future success. In 2021, the district selected Mystery Science to help teach students how to think like scientists and develop a life-long love of learning. This year, following a careful review of the district’s usage and success with the Mystery Science service, school administrators elected to renew for two additional years the partnership with Discovery Education that brings Mystery Science to ASMD’s elementary school classrooms. By doing so, the district believes they are helping build young learners’ knowledge of the scientific fundamentals that will drive future success in the subject in middle school, high school, and beyond.  …Read More

Riverside Insights and Kognito Partner to Offer Intervention Professional Development for School Health Providers

ITASCA, Ill. – Riverside Insights®, a leading developer of research-based assessments and analytics, today announced a partnership with Kognito, a provider of practice-based digital learning experiences, which provides strategies to improve mental health and well-being across schools. With this collaboration, school health professionals, such as psychologists, counselors and school nurses, will have access to additional training to support mental health-related cognitive interventions for at-risk students.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research shows that in 2021 more than four in 10 students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health. Through the partnership, health professionals will have additional training to notice the early signs and establish a therapeutic collaboration with the student.

“Riverside Insights’ partnership with Kognito is another example of our commitment to supporting the whole child,” said Sunjay Talele, clinical general manager at Riverside Insights. “School health professionals play a critical role in identifying and supporting students with behavioral or mental health concerns. Together we can provide the tools and training necessary to effectively manage the specific conversation with each student to motivate healthy behaviors.”…Read More

Paper Acquires Readlee To Address Literacy Crisis With Artificial Intelligence

MONTREAL – Paper™, the leading Educational Support System (ESS), today announced that it has acquired Readlee, an innovative learning tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and speech recognition technology to help students improve their reading skills. Master teachers, in collaboration with Harvard researchers, created Readlee to provide better literacy tools for students.

Pandemic-related learning loss is fueling a growing literacy crisis, with national reading scores at their lowest levels since the 1990s. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, approximately one-third of 4th and 8th graders can’t read at the “basic” achievement level – the test’s lowest level. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that only 34% of American high school students graduate with proficiency in reading. Proficiency levels decrease further to 18% for recent graduates of color. The statistics are clear, the literary crisis is a systemic issue, and the current approach is failing students.

The newly acquired Readlee will become Paper Reading, fully integrated into Paper’s ESS, and available to over 3 million students nationwide. The tool listens to students as they read aloud and provides immediate feedback, individualized support, and measurable success. The platform uses the latest in AI, speech recognition, and learning science, which shows that reading aloud improves memory, vocabulary, and confidence.…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

Wayside Publishing and Nualang Partner for World Language Education

Freeport, Maine – Wayside Publishing announces the launch of Nualang within Learning Site®, Wayside’s digital learning platform. This pioneering collaboration brings advanced technology to the world language classroom, providing learners with opportunities to practice their listening and speaking skills in a safe, confidence-building environment.

“As Wayside Publishing grows, we continue to expand our range of creative and time-saving technologies for educators—ones that also provide students with engaging and supportive learning-enhancement tools,” says Wayside President Greg Greuel. “This partnership shows Wayside’s commitment to enhancing how we deliver products for the world languages education community. Initially, Nualang will be available for the readers connected to the EntreCulturas Companion Reader Edition, and we will continue to expand its availability for other languages and products.”

“We see immense potential with our partnership with Wayside Publishing. At Nualang, we take pride in our technological innovation. Our tools give Wayside the ability to bring content to life with digital conversation exercises that are linked to their products,” says Greg Cawley, CEO of Nualang. “Together, we provide an engaging and comprehensive language learning experience that seamlessly integrates with Wayside’s Learning Site® and reaches a wide audience of world languages educators and students.”…Read More