New Report from Global Google Research Project Considers the 'Future of Education'

Google for Education has released the first report from a massive, two-year study considering the role of education in a “radically different future,” and what that might look like, focusing on big-picture themes seen as most likely to impact education and the future workforce in the coming years and decades.

Nearly Half of Public Schools Have Open Teaching Positions

Forty-five percent of public schools in the United States had at least one teaching vacancy as of October 2022, with 27% reporting multiple vacancies, according to information released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The shortages disproportionately affect schools in areas of high poverty (57% versus 41% in more affluent areas) and in schools with a student body composed of 75% or more minority students (60% versus 32% of schools with 25% or less minority population).

National Survey Finds High School Graduates Not Prepared for College or Career Decisions

According to a new survey, "75% of high school graduates are not ready to make college and career decisions. This is despite the fact that the National Center for Education Statistics reported that in the 2018-2019 school year, the graduation rate for high schools was 86%, the highest it had been since 2010."

NCES Data Show More Than Half K–12 Schools Offer After-School Help, but A Large Percentage Require Minimal COVID-19 Prevention

A National Center for Education Statistics School Pulse Panel K–12 survey done in September 2022 of 1,010 public schools showed that over 56% offered intensive summer school or after-school programs during the 2022-23 school year, but measures to prevent COVID-19 have stayed the same or decreased since the 2021-22 school year.

These 5 Proven Methods for Teaching Foundational Literacy are Vital to Overcoming Pandemic Losses

While addressing the needs of all students (especially after a global pandemic) could never boil down to a common formula, educators as well as families and tutors must rely on proven methods for teaching foundational literacy skills, says a literacy instruction expert from ReadingPartners.org, who offers five key elements that every literacy learner needs.

What's Next for 1:1 Devices: Strategies for Maximizing Purchases and Learning Outcomes

With more ed tech being underutilized than not in K-12 schools across the United States, an education researcher from Logitech offers methods for evaluating ed tech hardware tools and strategies for using them after purchase, paving the way for better returns on ed tech spending and more positive impacts on student achievements.

Smart Technologies Rolls Out Android 11 Update as Part of iQ 3.12 Release for Smart Boards

Interactive whiteboard maker Smart Technologies has announced its iQ 3.12 release, which includes an over-the-air upgrade to the Android 11 operating system.

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.

NSTA Teacher Awards, with $60K in Prizes, Accepting Nominations till Dec. 21, 2022

The National Science Teaching Association is accepting nominations through Dec. 21, 2022, for its annual teacher awards, with grant prizes totaling over $60,000. The awards recognize informal and classroom educators, researchers, new teachers, longtime teachers, and more.

DARPA AI Adult Learning Tools Competition Open for $750,000 in Awards

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), is taking proposals to compete for $750,000 in awards to develop projects that use innovative AI approaches, such as self-directed, remote AI tutoring, to train adults for the current and future national security workforce.

Inventionland Course and Contest Leads to Product License for Middle School Students

Two eighth-grade students in the Grove City (PA) Middle School have garnered a product license for their invention following completion of Inventionland’s K–12 Innovation Curriculum course and winning both their middle school and regional contests. The course, which Inventionland describes as a “cross-discipline STEAM toolbox,” uses the same proprietary nine-step invention process the company follows in its own commercial applications.

Navigate360 Adds PBIS Rewards to Its Student Wellness, Safety Solutions Portfolio

Student wellness and physical safety company Navigate360 has announced its acquisition of SaaS platform PBIS Rewards to round out its K–12 programs focusing on safer school environments and strengthening academic performance through positive behavior reinforcement, interventions, and other measures.

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.

PBLWorks Opens Registration for 2023 Project-Based Learning Conference, Awards

PBLWorks has opened registration for its annual project-based learning professional development conference and awards to be held June 26-29, 2023, and the discounted early bird registration deadline is Dec. 30, 2022 for the annual event whose 2023 theme is “Sharing Stories of High Quality Project Based Learning.”

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.

Promethean Adds Digital Whiteboard App Explain Everything to its Portfolio

ActivPanel interactive display maker Promethean has acquired the digital whiteboard platform Explain Everything, which allows users to create lessons, activities, and interactive presentations on any mobile device and whose team and assets will be “merged” with Promethean’s, according to a news release.

STEM Fuse Releases Advanced Game-Design Coding Curriculum for Construct 3 Platform

Digital K–12 curriculum provider STEM Fuse and game and animation developer Construct have released the latest in a series of career and technical education curricula: GAME:IT Advanced, which is recommended for grades 10–12 and uses the Construct 3 platform to teach coding through game design.

Takeda and Discovery Education Partner to Provide Health Equity Education to Grades 6 to 8

Japanese global biopharmaceutical company Takeda and ed tech company Discovery Education have partnered to offer health equity and STEM education topics to students, educators, and families in grades 6 through 8 free of charge through the Better Health in Action: From Classroom to Community initiative, to interest students in health equity careers.

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. Listen now at THEJournal.com or on your favorite podcast platform.

Texas Tech to Pilot Statewide Online Diploma Completion Program

Texas Tech University is launching a new pilot program to help students in the state complete their diplomas or earn a GED. The program is in partnership with TTU K–12, a fully online school district operated by Texas Tech, and is being made possible by a $1.8 million grant from the United States Department of Education and the Texas Workforce Commission.

Virtual Lab Environment Cyber.org Range Launched to Make K–12 Cybersecurity Skills Training Available Nationally

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) in Louisiana, along with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, have announced the expansion of Cyber.org’s new virtual lab environment, Cyber.org Range, available to teach cybersecurity skills to all K–12 students nationwide free of cost through a Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP) grant.

Upcoming K–12 Grants