THE Journal Remote Learning Environment
Strategies for supporting education beyond the traditional classroom
8/9/2023
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Spotlight

Ed Tech Is Critical to Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis

Students’ unique mental health challenges require all stakeholders to work closely and collaboratively to help all students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically. With school social workers, teachers, counselors, and administrators already working exceptionally hard to support their students, ed tech solutions will play an important role in helping schools meet students where they are, providing effective solutions that enable impact at scale.

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Viewpoint & TRENDS

Majority of School Apps Advertising to Kids Even In SOPIPA States, ISL Data Shows

A new in-depth analysis from Internet Safety Labs’ 2022 K–12 EdTech Safety Benchmark Findings reveals alarming data about advertising in apps widely used by schools and finds that state privacy laws and third-party certifications claiming to keep students’ data private are often not making kids any safer.

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Enhancing Teaching & Learning Tops Digital Transformation Goals for K–12 IT Leaders, Administrators

Among the many goals for digital transformation among IT leaders and administrators in K–12 districts, "enhancing teaching and learning" topped the list, followed by "enhancing digital literacy" and "improving the student experience."

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Governance, Strategy Needed in Enterprise Generative AI Adoption

The current wave of popularity for generative AI is just "scratching the surface." The real impact will be felt in enterprises — including education — which, over the next seven years, will see growth in the hundreds of billions of dollars, according to a new market analysis, "Generative AI Business Outcomes: Identifying Enterprise Commercial Opportunities."

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Aurora Calls for Federal Policy to Advance Work Based Learning

Educational research organization Aurora Institute is calling for the federal government to "let go of the notion that education has to be a linear, time-bound sequence of learning that occurs only within formal education institutions."

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Report: Generative AI a Top Emerging Risk for Enterprises

Generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT and Google Bard have cracked the top-10 list of emerging risks for enterprises, according to a new report my market research firm Gartner.

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Study Finds Positive Results for Disadvantaged Children in Fifth Grade from Public Pre-K Programs

A recent study conducted by University of California Irvine School of Education associate professor Jade Jenkins, along with other researchers, showed marked positive outcomes for Black and Hispanic disadvantaged children in the fifth grade who had attended pre-K programs. The study has implications for states such as California providing funding for free pre-K attendance.

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Turnitin AI Detection Rates for 65M Papers Illustrate Pervasiveness in Student Work

Having reviewed over 65 million student papers between the April launch of Turnitin’s AI detection tool through June 30, the company revealed today that over 2 million — or 3.3% of all papers reviewed — were flagged as containing 80% or more text written by AI, according to a news release.

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5 District Communications Platform Rollout Tips

Here are five steps that we took to ensure a smooth transition away from email, phone calls, and paper and over to a single, unified school-home communications platform.

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Ed Tech News

FCC Proposal Would Create Voluntary Cybersecurity Label for Smart Devices

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has introduced a proposal to create a “voluntary cybersecurity labeling program” for smart devices in an effort to boost transparency and protection against cyber threats in the growing Internet of Things market.

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Microsoft Seeks Teachers for Pilot of Visual Studio Code for Education

Microsoft has introduced Visual Studio Code for Education, a new computer science instruction platform that takes students beyond beginner coding and teaches them tools used by professional developers. Microsoft is inviting educators to join the pilot program, try it out in their classrooms in the 2023–24 school year, and provide feedback.

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Aurora Institute Report Outlines Recommendations for K–12 Next Gen Credentials

Education innovation organization Aurora Institute has released a new publication, “Going Beyond the Traditional: Next Gen Credentials and Flexible Learning Pathways.” The publication outlines the difference between what traditional high school diplomas and next generation credentials demonstrate about a student’s learning, competency, and achievement and makes recommendations for adopting new ways of tracking them.

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AVID Partners with Packback to Offer Free AI Writing Coach to Grades 7–10

Student success preparation company AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) has teamed up with digital writing tutor Packback to provide free access to Packback’s AI-enabled platform for AVID middle and high school teachers through the 2023-24 school year.

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AWS, Lincoln Learning Partner to Create 110,000-Asset Content Bank

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Lincoln Learning Solutions have announced their collaborative creation of the Lincoln Learning Content Bank, a preK–12 materials library for the coming 2023-2024 school year. The library boasts 110,000 multi-modal educational assets to help teachers create courses and individual resources for their students.

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Class-Action Lawsuit Says Securly Collected, Sold Student Location Data, Video History Without Consent

The parents of two California children are suing Securly, accusing the online-activity surveillance provider of violating California wiretapping and data privacy laws and of violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act by collecting protected private information without consent and selling it to third-party advertisers.

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CTL Introduces Tracking Dashboard for K–12 Districts to Keep Tabs on School-Issued Chromebooks

CTL Corp. has debuted HiddenApp for K–12 schools to keep track of loaned Chromebooks. The app integrates with the district’s Google Chrome Admin console and monitors, locates, and tracks devices through a dashboard, the company said. It does not invade privacy, but gives schools a better way to keep tabs on their Chromebook fleet.

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Free McGraw Hill Augmented Reality App Expanding Capabilities for K–12

McGraw Hill and Verizon Innovative Learning have announced new subject offerings and a collaborative feature update to their free mobile augmented reality app, McGraw Hill AR, launched last year. The updates will work both in and out of the classroom.

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Minecraft Education Adds Virtual NASA Artemis Mission Worlds to STEM

Created in partnership with NASA, Microsoft’s Minecraft Education has added virtual Artemis Mission Worlds, which will give STEM students a chance to use coding to design a rocket, navigate it to the Moon, and eventually, learn how to keep a Moon base habitat safe. All of this is designed to inspire the next generation of computer and space scientists. NASA’s future goal is to go to Mars.

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NMSI Launches the GM New Teacher Academy to Train Over 1,300 STEM Teachers of Color

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) has announced the GM New Teachers Academy, an initiative to train over 1,300 Black, Latinx, and Indigenous first-year STEM teachers of grades 3 through 12.

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Parent Assist Link Solutions Intros AI-Driven Early Childhood Intervention Tool

Parent Assist Link Solutions has unveiled its new software to assist parents, educators, and providers with early childhood (0-5 years) intervention information and tracking. The software is driven by AI and machine learning digital bots that can work on devices such as Amazon Echo and Apple Watch.

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PowerSchool to Buy SchoolMessenger, Integrate with its Cloud SIS

Cloud-based K–12 software provider PowerSchool has signed an agreement to acquire SchoolMessenger from its parent company, West Technology Group, for $300 million and plans to integrate SchoolMessenger’s features with the PowerSchool Student Information Cloud platform, according to a news release.

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Skooli Partners with PowerSchool to Provide Online K–12 Tutoring by Licensed Teachers

Online academic tutoring company Skooli has announced its collaboration with cloud-based learning provider PowerSchool to offer personalized tutoring for K–12 students at schools that use Schoology Learning. Tutors are licensed teachers who have passed a Level 2 criminal background check as outlined by the International Task Force for Child Protection, Skooli said.

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TouchMath Releasing Spanish Language Update for Dyscalculia Screener

TouchMath will release a new Spanish-language version of its online dyscalculia screener later this month. The screener, DySc, has been available in English since early July.

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Blackboard Learn Ultra Adds AI-Powered Course-Builder, Progress Tracking

Blackboard Learn Ultra is gaining new AI capabilities, as well as a host of other new features. The AI features will be rolled into production in September, with testing for Blackboard Learn Ultra clients in August.

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D2L Adds AI-Based Plagiarism Detection via Partnership with Copyleaks

D2L has partnered with Copyleaks to bring AI-based plagiarism detection integration to its D2L Brightspace platform.

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New & Upcoming K–12 Grants

Ongoing K–12 Grants

  • Inventionland Grants for K–12 Schools

    Sponsor: Inventionland Education
    Award: Funds for Innovation Labs, professional development, and Innovation curriculum (varies by request)
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: Ongoing (rolling)
  • NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants

    Sponsor: National Education Association Foundation
    Award: $2,000 or $5,000
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: Feb. 1, June 1 and Oct. 15 of each year
  • Association of American Educators Foundation Classroom Grant

    Sponsor: Association of American Educators Foundation
    Award: $500
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: March 1 and October 1 of each year
  • Toshiba STEM Project-Based Learning Grants for Teachers Grades 6–12

    Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
    Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and Over $5,000 
    Number of Awards: Varies
    Application Deadline: For grants up to $5,000, deadline is March 1, 2023, and every three months thereafter; for grants over $5,000, deadline is May 1, 2023, and Nov. 1, 2023
  • Association of American Educators Foundation Teacher Scholarship

    Sponsor: Association of American Educators Foundation
    Award: $500
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: March 1 and October 1 of each year
  • Calm Room Grants for Schools

    Sponsor: Cook Center for Human Connection
    Award: $5,000 matching grant
    Number of Awards: 20 for 2022–23 school year
    Application Deadline: Ongoing
  • CDA Funding for Maryland Early Educators

    Sponsor: The Council for Professional Recognition, Maryland State Department of Education, and Maryland Family Network
    Award: $425 initial online assessment fee; $125 renewal online application fee; $33 for the Child Development Associate (CDA) National Credentialing Program and CDA Competency Standards book
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: Ongoing
  • Edthena Innovation Fund

    Sponsor: Edthena
    Award: Varies based on district size; matching grant
    Number of Awards: Not specified
    Application Deadline: Ongoing (monthly reviews on the 30th of each month)
  • Connect For Success Grants

    Sponsor: Mobile Beacon
    Award: Up to 25 laptops with one year of free 4G LTE high-speed internet each
    Number of Awards: Varies
    Application Deadline: Accepted year-round; awards granted on rolling basis
  • Naiku Innovative Teacher Grant

    Deadline: Ongoing (30 total awards in 2021, with applications accepted until Nov. 1)
  • Sony Grants for Education

    Deadline: Ongoing (grants awarded on a rolling basis)

Upcoming K–12 Events 

  • Tech Tactics in Education: Data and IT Security in the New Now

    Brought to you by the producers of Campus Technology and THE Journal, the 2023 Tech Tactics in Education conference offers hands-on learning, practical tips, and strategic discussions on critical cybersecurity issues and key data infrastructure and practices across K–12 and higher education. Access the latest thinking on current and emerging technology, data, and security trends impacting education institutions, as well as models for implementation, best practices, and strategies for effective technology leadership. If you are a technology leader in K–12 or higher education, data specialist, cybersecurity pro, or other individual charged with technology decision-making on campus, you’ll find valuable information for any experience level, team size, or institution type.
    Nov. 7–9, 2023
    Orlando, Florida

Call for Papers & Proposals

Submit calls for papers/proposals to [email protected].
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