Putting Data Into Action: 8 Questions for Educators on Effective Use of Assessments

As districts consider their assessment processes and how they will be used to support student learning, asking questions, and determining the goals for an assessment can help. Building and maintaining a balanced assessment system is essential for schools, but the process can be complicated. School district leaders want to make sure they’re using and administering formative, interim, and summative assessments at the right times and in appropriate ways.

The Role Educators Must Play in Building Digital Literacy & How to Start in the Classroom

Two education leaders at NWEA delve into what it means to be digitally literate and the role that digital resources with an emphasis on digital literacy should play in advancing students’ academic needs in this two-part series.

LAUSD Ransomware Attack: A Wake-Up Call for Policymakers?

Though Los Angeles Unified School District leaders framed last weekend's ransomware attack and response as "unprecedented," cybersecurity research shows the only things "unprecedented" were the immediate federal assistance LAUSD received in mitigating the damage and the international press attention — most districts have to fend for themselves, and experts say it's long past time for federal lawmakers to institute real change.

5 Ways to Reduce Teacher Burnout and Increase Retention

With National Education Association research showing that 90% of teachers identify burnout as a serious issue, an education expert offers 5 steps for school administrators to support teachers, reduce burnout and attrition, and pave the way for better learning outcomes.

Current School-Year Survey Assesses Teaching and Curriculum Choices in Light of Pandemic

A survey of 1,015 teachers and 343 preK–12 administrators across the U.S. asked how the pandemic had affected their teaching and curriculum choices, especially between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.

How to Save Teacher Content and Data Before Edmodo Shutters and Deletes Everything on Sept. 23

Edmodo will permanently shutter on Sept. 22, and educators who have used the platform will no longer have access to their accounts, their instructional content, nor their student data, the company announced this week on its website — here's how to export all the teacher and student files and data before the platform shuts down and deletes all accounts and associated files and data.

Way Beyond Virtual Field Trips: The Surprising & Incredible Ways Educators Are Using ClassVR Virtual Reality in Schools

Educators and instructional technology experts Michael Jaber and Charley Suter describe the “endless” ways that ClassVR virtual reality headsets can help educators get students excited about learning — and share some incredible and surprising ways they are using ClassVR in schools, particularly for special education students, students with autism, and those with limited mobility.

Report: Top State Education Priorities Lack the Resources They Require

A new report shines a stark light on the state of education technology in the United States. Among the findings: There's inadequate funding for information security and ineffective use of technology tools in schools, at least from the perspective of state education leaders, according to a new report issued today by the State Educational Technology Director's Association (SETDA) in collaboration with Whiteboard Advisors.

The 4 Online Tools That Changed Everything for This Innovative Spanish Teacher

A longtime Spanish teacher and winner of Cypher Learning’s #NEOClearsTheList contest for innovative online learning shares the free browser-based teaching tools that have become indispensable to her instructional practice — even with students back at school in-person.

Computer Science in 4-H? Google Says Yes, and So Do The Students

A large chunk of Google’s $20 million in new grants for nonprofits expanding access to computer science education will go to a group that, for those not familiar with rural student programs, might seem surprising: the National 4-H Council – but as 4-H CEO Jennifer Sirangelo points out, agriculture technology is poised to change the world, and now 4-H kids can lead the way.

Autodesk Education Launches Free CAD, CAM Resources for Educators Using Fusion 360

Secondary educators who use Autodesk Education’s Fusion 360 software can step up student engagement and excitement this fall by incorporating the company’s new free CAD and CAM resource center into classroom instruction, the company said in a recent news announcement.

Apple Launches New Education Community with Expanded Teaching Resources, New Forum for Educators

Apple has launched a new professional learning hub for educators called the Apple Education Community, which expands on the resources previously hosted on the Apple Teacher Learning Center and adds a brand new educator Forum, now live in beta.

Discovery Education Acquires DoodleLearning, Will Integrate Doodle's Math and ELA Solutions

Discovery Education and parent company Clearlake Capital today announced the acquisition of British ed tech provider DoodleLearning, whose four math and English Language Arts solutions will be integrated into Discovery Education’s suite of solutions in the coming months, Discovery Education said.

Browser-Based Video Editor Now Free for Education

Kapwing is now offering free subscriptions for students and educators to its browser-based video editing software, which works on all platforms, including Chromebooks.

Discovery Education Acquires Science Experiment Platform Pivot Interactives

Discovery Education and its parent company Clearlake Capital Group today announced the acquisition of Minneapolis-based Pivot Interactives SBC, whose science experiment videos are used by about 1 million students, according to the companies.

Frontline Education Being Sold to Roper Technologies

Frontline Education’s parent company, software investment firm Thoma Bravo, today announced an agreement to sell Frontline Education to Roper Technologies in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.725 billion, according to a news release.

HMH Rolls Out Offline Syncing, Integrations, New Student Content, Teacher Pathways

Learning technology company HMH this week introduced a host of enhancements to Ed, its teaching and learning platform, including integrations with Google Classroom and Clever and improvements to its core, supplemental, and intervention solutions and professional learning services, according to a company blog post.

Inspirit and Meta Team Up to Provide VR Learning to Title I Schools

The online 3D and VR STEM learning platform Inspirit recently announced its partnership with Meta (aka Facebook) Immersive Learning to provide VR Lab Starter Kits to over 100 Title I schools, starting as early as November. Applications for the program opened Sept. 1.

NCTM Seeks Math Teachers for Classroom Research Grants Application Deadline is Nov. 1

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is seeking PreK–12 math educators and classroom teachers who teach math for its Classroom Research Grant program, open to applicants through November 1, 2022.

Newsela's 'Biggest Update' Yet to Paid Solutions Includes Interactive Video, Knowledge Pages, and Novel Studies

Instructional content platform Newsela has unveiled its “biggest updates” since its 2013 launch, with enhancements on each of the company’s paid solutions, Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, Newsela Science, and Newsela SEL, according to a news release.

Capstone Increases E-Book Accessibility for K–5 Classrooms, Libraries, and at Home

Capstone, a publisher of interactive e-books, has announced enhancements to its platform to make it easier to use for K–5 students who have vision, cognitive, physical, and hearing disabilities, the company announced this week.

IXL Launches Universal Screener to Identify At-Risk Students

Ed tech provider IXL has launched a new universal screener designed to help educators determine student proficiency levels and identify students who may be at-risk or in need of extra supports.

Nationwide Initiative Offers Stipends for Math Teachers' Input to Build Evidence Database on Teaching Tools

A new project by two education nonprofits will pay thousands of teachers to document and share their experiences in selecting and using digital math tools — and that data will be available immediately to help math educators choose the best ed tech tools for their needs and more effectively implement and use those tools.

New Hampshire Deal Will Provide Unlimited Tutor.com Access to Every Middle- and High-Schooler Statewide

The New Hampshire Department of Education recently tapped Tutor.com to provide 24/7 online tutoring access to every middle and high school student in the state, including those enrolled in public, private, and charter schools, as well as home-schooled students in the Education Freedom Account and Home Education programs.

Expanded Imagine Learning Classroom Platform Combines Core ELA Math Curriculum Solutions

Imagine Learning, a top provider of digital curricula serving 15 million K–12 students nationwide, today launched a renovated and expanded platform for its core English Language Arts and mathematics solutions, called Imagine Learning Classroom, combining the resources formerly known as LearnZillion with Imagine Learning Illustrative Mathematics, Imagine Learning EL Education, Imagine Learning Odell Education, and Imagine Learning Guidebooks, the company told THE Journal in an exclusive interview.

New Lessons, Reports, Accessibility Features Added to i-Ready Personalized Instruction and Assessment

Curriculum Associates has updated its i-Ready Personalized Instruction and Assessment program with new reports, lessons, accessibility features, and other enhancements designed to help educators support grade-level work, monitor progress, and drive student engagement and motivation, according to a news release.

NoRedInk Premium Adds Benchmarks to Help Schools Track Student Writing Growth

Adaptive writing curriculum provider NoRedInk has added a new assessments feature called Benchmarks to its premium solution, enabling educators to measure growth in students’ writing skills school- or districtwide, according to a news release.

Newly Released Interim Guides Designed to Help Urban Districts Assess Progress of ARP Investments

The Council of Great City Schools has released a set of guides tailored to each function of school leadership to help urban school districts evaluate their American Rescue Plan investments and implementations one year in, the nonprofit said in a news release.

Project Prevent Grant Program, with $6.8M for LEAs, Accepting Applications Through October 3

The U.S. Department of Education is accepting applications through Oct. 3, 2022, for its Project Prevent Grant Program, which will award $6.8 million to about a dozen local educational agencies impacted by community violence to “expand their capacity to implement community- and school-based strategies to help prevent community violence and mitigate the impacts of exposure to community violence.”

Star Assessments Now Connects to Nearpod; Star Phonics & Spanish Language Literacy Assessments Unveiled

Renaissance’s Star Assessments platform now connects with Nearpod, enabling teachers using the Star platform to access the Nearpod lesson library and resources without leaving Star, Renaissance said, and it has launched two new foundational literacy assessments: Star Phonics, billed as the only web-based assessment of 12 phonics categories and 102 essential skills, and Star CBM Lectura, an assessment of literacy development in Spanish for K–6 students in bilingual and dual-language programs.

Presence Launches Interactive Therapy Platform Kanga

Presence has introduced Kanga, a new interactive therapy platform designed for clinicians who serve children in schools and other settings. The company also rolled out a free version of the new platform that clinicians can sign up for immediately.

Savvas Unveils New Enhancements, UX for Realize LMS Platform

Savvas Learning Company has launched a number of updates to its Savvas Realize learning management system platform with enhancements for educators and students and a new interface for teachers that aim to save time for busy educators, according to a news release.

Varsity Tutors' New Teacher Assigned Tutoring Platform Puts Educators in Charge, Connects Classroom Challenges to Sessions

Online tutoring provider Varsity Tutors today unveiled a new service that puts teachers in charge, enabling them to “prescribe” sessions to their struggling students, communicate with each tutor, ensure the extra help is focused on the topics students are struggling with in class, and monitor each student’s progress post-session.

Tract Launches Free Standards-Aligned Project Guides for Teachers, Sets December 'Tract-a-thon' Symposium to Feature Students' Best Work

Tract, a digital platform where kids teach kids through multimedia they can also create themselves, today unveiled new standards-aligned, project-based lesson guides for teachers in five subjects: Math, English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Art — all products of collaboration by subject-matter experts, educators, students, and influencers.

Vernier Software & Technology Changes Name to Vernier Science Education

Vernier Software & Technology has changed its name to Vernier Science Education to more closely reflect the company’s focus on providing schools with hands-on, socially relevant STEM education tools and resources, according to a news release.

WeVideo Acquires Video-Enrichment Software Company PlayPosit

Multimedia creation platform WeVideo has acquired PlayPosit, whose software allows users to layer learning experiences into video content, and users will soon be able to add interactive content to their videos as well as measure real-time results.

Community Brands Acquires BigSIS

Community Brands (CB), which offers an online software and payment program to charitable nonprofits and K–12 schools, announced this week it has acquired BigSIS, creator of the School Management Information System platform.

Vector Solutions Adds Spanish, French Translations to K-12 Staff Training Courses

Staff training and software provider Vector Solutions has added a new Course Translations feature that enables school district employees to access the company’s K–12 training courses in multiple languages, the company said in a news release.

Upcoming K–12 Grants