Teachers Agree: Classroom Design Can Help Learning, and More Room is Better

If educators could create the ideal classroom, they'd give themselves more room, and it would be more open and flexible and include collaborative spaces.

Detailed Picture of 'Inequality of Opportunity' Emerges

Where kids grow up has a big impact on how well they'll do as adults. While that may sound obvious, a new program that brings together economists from Harvard University and Brown University and researchers from the U.S. Census Bureau has found that kids who grow up in the same community just miles apart end up with very different futures.

Developing a Consistent Approach to Computational Thinking Opportunities

Researchers at Digital Promise are developing a project to track the progress of computational thinking skills across the K–12 school spectrum through student feedback and teacher integration.

Learning Analytics Can Be Deceiving

"… Learning analytics … has the potential to transform American education …" A(nother) Holy Grail? Perhaps. In this week's blog post we present a cautionary tale from a real classroom with real students and real learning analytics.

High-Poverty Schools Face Academic Offering Challenges

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds public schools with more students in poverty are less likely to offer advanced course offerings that prepare students for college.

Report: Collection of Ed Data Useful but Challenging

The burgeoning collection of data in education poses "infrastructure challenges" related to creation and storage that reduce the usefulness of data and presents "data privacy implications" that haven't been resolved, even with the current crop of regulations.

Digital Promise Develops 'Map' to Help Schools Face Common Challenges

The Digital Promise Research team worked with school districts in its League of Innovative Schools to create an online tool that suggests resources for helping address common challenges found in education. The "Challenge Map" covers 36 different challenges, including supporting English language learners, assessing 21st century skills and addressing social-emotional learning.

Read to Achieve Program Defies Progress

Five years in, test scores have remained "relatively flat" in grade 4 and have even "slightly" declined in grade 3.

Gartner Tech Trends for 2019 Include Immersive Experiences, Autonomous Things and Blockchain

IT analyst firm Gartner has named its top 10 trends for 2019, and the "immersive user experience" is on the list, alongside blockchain, quantum computing and seven other drivers influencing how we interact with the world. The annual trend list covers breakout tech with broad impact and tech that could reach a tipping point in the near future.

ED Pumps $279 Million into STEM Programs

The U.S. Department of Education is renewing its commitment to STEM education through dedicating $279 million to fund programs.

Report: Evidence Lacking for Current CTE Investments

A new report has examined whether career and technical education (CTE) deserves all the attention it's getting. The jury's still out.

Teaching 21st Century Skills Requires New Assessments

A new report from the Brookings Institution finds technology will play an integral part of assessing the ability of students to grasp 21st century skills.

U.S. Department of Education Forms Partnership to Establish Comprehensive Research Agenda

The Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences is partnering with the Jefferson Education Exchange to hear directly from educators through a series of events designed to gain insights on how academic research can inform everyday classroom teaching activities.

Free Online Math Competition Awarding $100k for Juniors, Seniors Opens for Registration

By participating, students get a feel for what it's like to work on a team tackling a real-world problem under time and resource constraints — similar to the experiences of professional mathematicians working in industry. The goal is to make math "relatable" and show its importance and value in addressing complex issues.

Rhode Island Includes Teacher Absenteeism Indicator in ESSA Plan

While 28 states have designated the reduction of "chronic absenteeism" among students as school quality indicators in their ESSA plans, Rhode Island is the only one that's included chronic absenteeism among K-12 teachers as well. The state has included it as a metric for schools in its Every Student Succeeds Act plan, alongside suspensions and high school and science proficiency.

Texas Charter Operator Gets Millions to Grow STEM Program into Elementary Schools

Harmony Public Schools, a charter network in Texas, will be dedicating a new five-year, $7.9 million grant to expand a STEM project-based learning model from middle and high school into its elementary schools. "Launching Elementary Academic Foundations to STEM" or "LEAF to STEM," as the initiative is named, will reach 7,000 students in 16 elementary schools.

Tennessee Aims to Improve Testing Experience with Changes to Assessment Program

Following a statewide listening tour, the Tennessee Department of Education is updating its TNReady student assessment program for the current school year and the 2019-2020 school year.

Nintendo Bringing Labo to Classrooms

Nintendo is working with the nonprofit Institute of Play to bring its popular Labo kits for Nintendo Switch to classrooms in North America. The Institute of Play is developing STEAM curriculum and a teacher guide for Labo and is seeking classrooms to participate.

Unlocking Time Releases Free Scheduling Assessment

Unlocking Time has released a free tool for schools to assess how time is being used and whether it can be used more effectively for student and teacher professional learning.

ED Releases Ed Tech Toolkits for English Learners

The U.S. Department of Education has developed two toolkits for educators and developers on how to use educational technology to instruct English language learning students.

YouTube Investing $20 Million in Educational Content

YouTube, a Google company, has announced plans to invest $20 million in YouTube Learning, an initiative hinted at during the summer. The goal: "to support education-focused creators and expert organizations that create and curate high-quality learning content on the video site."

Achieve3000 Acquires Digital Reading Platform Actively Learn

Actively Learn will operate as a stand-alone unit within Achieve3000, and Jay Goyal, co-founder and CEO of the first company will serve as president.

Exploration Theme for 2019 TCEA Ed Tech Conference

This annual education tech event draws attendees to tracks on 1-to-1, leadership, library media, online and blended learning, PD, special populations and more.

Follett Challenge Invites Schools to Share Programs with a Positive Impact

Education technology company Follett has opened its latest challenge, inviting schools to submit video entries about their programs that have made a positive impact. Prizes include $200,000 worth of Follett products and services.

Free Online Music Program Adds New Instruments and Voice Composition

An update to a free online music production program includes new virtual instruments and allows users to compose with their voices. Amped Studio 2.0 lets the user record and play both audio and MIDI content simultaneously on the same track, while also adding as many other instruments and effects as he or she wants.

Khan Academy Launches Video Series on Civics and U.S. History

The Khan Academy has launched a new series of videos focused on civics for students in K-12 and higher education — and anybody else interested in learning how government works in the United States.

NEC Unveils Infinity Board for Collaboration

NEC Display Solutions has introduced a new collaboration tool that is intended to include everything needed to set up collaboration among multiple locations. Infinity Board includes hardware and software to "elevate" the interactive meeting experience.

BloomBoard Adds Greater Badge Cohesion in Microcredential Platform

An education technology company that works with schools and districts to implement digital badging for professional development has revamped its service to help users make more sense of the progress of their training.

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