Today's educators need versatile products that can be used to teach more than one aspect of STEAM. Schools want to engage students with hands-on activities that, for example, blend art and reading with core science and math instruction. Manufacturers have therefore developed cross-curricular STEAM tools that cover multiple subjects and align with learning frameworks such […]
While online curricula platforms have propelled personalized learning to new levels, Coppell ISD in north Texas takes the concepts a step further. Using IBM's MobileFirst iPad app, teachers tap into the internet of things to instantly see all the data collected throughout the school year on any student in class, including test scores, homework and […]
High school students in the tiny Magazine School District in Arkansas receive three hours of sex education a year in grades 9 through 12—an approach that Superintendent Brett Bunch acknowledges is inadequate.
One day in May 2016, while browsing Twitter, Eric Langhorst stumbled upon a call for participants for the Dremel Idea Builder Ambassador program. Dremel Education, a manufacturer of 3D printers, was looking for 10 educators to use the Idea Builder 3D40 printer in innovative ways in their classrooms. "I heard you needed to have hands-on […]
The issue of fake news drew national attention during the 2016 presidential campaign, when fabricated stories were widely accepted as genuine. According to recent research, the problem extends to K12 classrooms, where students have trouble judging the credibility of online information. A national assessment of 203 middle school students by Stanford History Education Group at […]
Andrew Smith, chief strategy officer in North Carolina's Rowan-Salisbury School System, is leading a digital-first initiative that three years ago aimed to give an iPad or a MacBook Air to all students—and their teachers—from grades 3 through 12. Rowan-Salisbury became 1-to-1 by the 2014-15 school year. Three years into a digital-first initiative, Andrew Smith, chief strategy […]
Ken Montgomery knows what his school looks like to outsiders. "We have people who come in and say, 'Oh, we could never do that,'" says Montgomery, executive director of Design Tech High School, or d.tech for short. But he says looks can be deceiving. The charter school, which opened in 2014 and is authorized by […]
As in years past, this new year will bring all sorts of new technology to schools. The question for educators is: To what degree do these technologies enhance education? "Figuring out which tech belongs in education is just the start" says Kelly J. Calhoun, research director at Gartner Research, a Connecticut-based market analysis firm. "The […]
District leaders in 2017 will focus heavily on adopting new assessment strategies and instructional technology when it comes to classroom instruction, according to a DA survey of K12 leaders. In the 2015 survey, about 50 percent of respondents say that new testing techniques will be a top priority, compared to only 40 percent in the […]
K12 educators increasingly embrace life skills curricula that promote social-emotional learning, mindfulness, problem-solving and other soft skills. Many districts no longer view such programs as "nice to have" but as essential components of overall instruction. The growing emphasis on life skills is making an impact. In schools where students demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional […]
