Communication

Districts have several options when introducing a badging program. For students, the process tends to be more intricate because these badges, often awarded for soft skills and career-preparation activities, contain metadata that details what students did to earn the badges. Such higher-tech “open badges” can be shared on social media and live on an online […]

Next time you want to reward students or teachers for going above and beyond, consider how you might turn that recognition into something substantial—something a high-achiever can add to a rˆš©sumˆš© or an e-portfolio. Give them a digital badge for excelling in a skill such as teamwork or leadership, and they can take it with […]

Fast disappearing from schools are internet “lock and block” policies that keep students off social media and restrict them to carefully curated websites. Even with sophisticated filters and firewalls, today’s learners carry all the access in the world in their back pockets. “We’re past trying to stay ahead of the digital native” says Morgen Larsen, […]

Whirling fidget spinners invaded classrooms across the country this past spring, but with many schools banning them as a distraction, their future as a potential remedy for students with attention difficulties is in doubt. Classroom impact Teachers from districts including Mt. Pleasant City School District in Michigan and Catawba County Schools in North Carolina, were […]

In a classroom in New Hampshire, second-graders pull out iPads to film themselves discussing the characters of a book they are reading. Such video selfies increase students’ understanding of the story’s characters and how those characters resolve problems, says Amy Riley, who teaches at Stratham Memorial School in School Administrative Unit 16 in Exeter. “The […]

Principal preparation programs continue to place more demands on candidates, in some cases requiring a yearlong internship. When the time comes to assume the role, no amount of preparation can prepare a person for what lies ahead. The constant demands, interruptions, rules, pressure and stress can wear down even the most resilient person. In a […]