Features


How A Midwestern State Became a National Leader in K-12 Robotics Teams in 4 Years

One state leads the nation on the number of students participating in robotics competitions, and it’s probably not the state you’d guess. Indiana’s robotics initiative reaches about 20,000 students each year, with higher levels of diversity than STEM fields usually see — and all that on an annual budget of under $200K.

Robotics Education Competition Foundation Adds Drones Expands Other Computer Science

Drones as Competitive Flying Robots? How the REC Foundation is Expanding to Prepare Students for the Future Workforce

THEJournal.com editor and podcast host Kristal Kuykendall visits with REC Foundation CEO Dan Mantz, who explains the foundation’s recent adjustments to its mission and vision, the addition of curriculum and competitions for drones and automation, and all the ways that the REC Foundation programs are helping prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

7 Questions Ed Tech Explainer featuring Edthena CEO Adam Geller about AI Coach

7 Questions with Edthena CEO Adam Geller: How AI Coach Helps Teachers While Providing Autonomy and Privacy

Learn how the AI Coach platform engages teachers in an evidence-based learning process focused on the actual teaching and learning within their classrooms — tactical and practical feedback tailored to each teacher’s needs, and teachers interact with the computerized coach when it’s convenient for their schedules.

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Texas CIO Report Calls for New Law Requiring K–12 Schools to Report All Cyber Incidents

The Texas Department of Information Resources, in its newly released Biennial Performance Report, has asked the state legislature to require Texas school districts to report cybersecurity incidents to its office within a minimum reporting timeframe.

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The Teacher Support Program That Kept Growing Even Through the Pandemic

When COVID-19 prevented in-person coaching, observing, and co-teaching, the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program started using video and continued in full force, with over 1,000 teachers participating in the 2020–21 school year and the program has continued growing, with nearly 1,400 teachers participating this school year — data shows it is indeed helping the state retain teachers.

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7 Questions About Branching Minds MTSS Platform with CEO Maya Gat

For the 7 Questions Ed Tech Explainer series, Branching Minds CEO Maya Gat explains how its Multi-Tiered System of Supports solution works, how it impacts teachers, administrators, students, and learning outcomes, and how it incorporates a school district's existing data to help teachers equitably and efficiently differentiate instruction and ensure it's helping students catch up.

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7 Questions About PowerSchool's New Data-as-a-Service Platform, Connected Intelligence

THE Journal's 7 Questions: Ed Tech Explainer series features PowerSchool Group VP Shivani Stumpf, who explains the new Data-as-a-Service solution for education called Connected Intelligence, how it works, what it will offer public schools and state education agencies that is not commonly available now, and how she envisions it helping improve K–12 education.

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7 Questions About Discovery Education's Ready-To-Use Resources with SVP Lance Rougeux

This installment of THE Journal’s “7 Questions: Ed Tech Explainer” series gives Discovery Education Senior Vice President Lance Rougeux an opportunity to summarize Discovery Education's new Ready-To-Use Resources for teachers, how they help in the classroom, and what's planned for these kinds of instructional materials.

SchoolStatus CEO Russ Davis answers 7 questions about how the K-12 ed tech solution works

7 Questions about SchoolStatus with CEO Russ Davis

THE Journal’s “7 Questions: Ed Tech Explainer” series gives ed tech leaders an opportunity to summarize their solution(s), explain how their product helps educators and schools, and give a quick overview for K–12 decision-makers — sort of an extended (but not too extended) elevator pitch. For this installment, SchoolStatus Founder and CEO Russ Davis explains how SchoolStatus works in a school tech ecosystem, how it helps educators and students, and how it's pivoted over the past year.

Felisa Ford and two colleagues created Lessons in Good Trouble for Minecraft: Education Edition

How an Educator’s Persistence Led to a Student Leadership Initiative & the Most Popular Minecraft Edu Game of All Time

When Felisa Ford and her instructional tech colleagues in Atlanta had trouble getting the district's teachers on board with using Minecraft: Education Edition, she created a student ambassador program to empower young Minecraft experts to coach other students and teachers, and it was so successful that Microsoft started a learning path for educators to sponsor their own local student ambassador programs. Then came Good Trouble.