Your blog is a powerful resource for educators to keep up with technological innovations. What inspired you to launch it?

In 2012, I spoke at an Apple education event in New York City, and shared some of the things I was doing with iPads and apps that I had found. After I spoke at that event, people started asking me where they could learn more
about my work.

That was the year I started sharing ideas, apps that I found, strategies, and lessons that educators might find helpful on my blog. We just celebrated 10 years of the blog in 2022.

The introduction of the blog corresponded with social media websites like Twitter and Pinterest, places to share ideas. That was my first place for sharing, then the books, quick reference guides, membership site, and podcast followed after.

What’s an emerging trend right now in tech that you are excited about?

One conversation I’m often having is around artificial intelligence (AI), which isn’t new to education. There have been many tools and adaptive learning software that use AI for everything from graphic design to helping decide what support or resources a student needs.

With things like ChatGPT and other tools that may have an influence in professional settings, the conversation has also branched into what teachers need to do to prepare students to navigate digital spaces after school.

What advice do you have for educators who are struggling to integrate traditional learning technology in the classroom?

It can be easy to get overwhelmed with all the different types of digital tools that are out there. My biggest piece of advice is to keep it as simple as possible.

Choose one great open-ended creation tool, something that you can do lots of great projects with your students that has features like voice-to-text, audio recording, video, or whatever is important to you. Focus on ways for kids to share their learning.

Embrace what you’re asked to use by your school administrators, as opposed to trying to find lots of new things. It’s a great way to stay focused, keep things simple, and not get overwhelmed throughout the school year.

Read blog posts, listen to podcast episodes, and more on https://classtechtips.com.

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Alfonso Mendoza Jr., M.Ed.

Host, My EdTech Life; Instructional Software Specialist, Sharyland SID

Can you tell me about your background in education and technology?

My name is Alfonso Mendoza Jr., and I was born in the Deep South of Texas, right along the border of Mexico. I graduated from high school in 1989 and went to university not wanting to be a teacher, or even get into education.

My first love was business, and that’s where I intended to make my fortune. Unfortunately, my dad got sick and needed some help. I had to make a decision to find a more flexible job, and ended up applying for jobs as a math teacher.

Through my job, I was able to get comfortable enough to take risks with integrating technology and build a sense of community. I was comfortable saying, “I’m not the subject matter expert here, but I’m okay with not knowing everything.”

Having that vulnerability and working with my students with a mindset of, “Okay, I’m just going to teach you what I know,” is what helped me grow.

What is something in the EdTech space that you wish more educators and parents prioritize?

The best advice I can give to parents, educators, and districts is: keep it simple. There is so much technology out there and a lot of tech seems to be doing a lot of the same things.

What we did in our district was adopt four major platforms. While we stuck to those core four platforms, we did encourage innovative teachers to search for and use other tools.

We wanted to use technology that we can get the most return on investment from for lesson delivery and ease of use for all users. So, if you keep it simple, and adapt as needed, it helps weed some of those platforms out that may offer the exact same
thing.

I tell educators all the time, treat your platforms like an instrument. After a little while you’re going to be playing some wonderful melodies, if you stick to it.

Visit https://www.myedtech.life/ for episodes of the My EdTech Life podcast.

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A Toniebox is a 5-inch, squeezable speaker with buttons shaped like cat ears. When you place a Tonie — a 3-inch-tall magnetic figurine — on the top of it, the Toniebox starts telling a story or playing music related to that character.

Users can pinch an “ear” on the box to adjust the volume, and tap the sides to fast forward, rewind, or change chapters. When they’re ready for a new story or song, kids can switch out the Tonie on the top of the box.

“It creates autonomy and empowerment for young kids because they can manipulate the figures on their own and it puts them in control of the audio experience,” said Drew Vernon, marketing director for Tonies. “It’s tactile as well, so it helps their fine motor skills.”

Tonies launched in the United States in 2020, during the pandemic, at a time when too much screen time was becoming an even bigger problem for kids. This screen-free tool was a hit.

“When you remove the visual stimulus, you put a greater responsibility on the listener, because they have to imagine what’s taking place,” said Vernon, noting that listening trains students to focus, imagine, and be creative. “That helps them with problem-solving, and creative and critical thinking.”

Tonies for teachers

Tonieboxes can supplement the reading that teachers and parents are doing with kids, offering stories from beloved children’s authors like Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. It keeps kids engaged and helps them develop early reading skills, like vocabulary and comprehension.

Tonieboxes can also provide mindfulness exercises and social-emotional learning opportunities. With Creative Tonies, users can create up to 90 minutes of custom content, such as parents of grandparents recording themselves reading stories or teachers recording lesson plans, like instructions for small group work.

Cera Alber, who has been an early childhood educator for 10 years, uses Creative Tonies to record family and teacher messages and stories for her students. “The look of joy and surprise when they hear a familiar voice is so uplifting. Creating and then sharing this with the class is so much fun.”

Alber is a program and outreach director at Green Trees Early Learning Center Inc. in rural Pennsylvania. The center has purchased Tonieboxes for each class. She says the kids love the independence they get when using the device.

“In our listening and quiet spaces, children have gravitated to a calm Tonie in self-guided meditation and soothing stories,” she said in a testimonial. “Being able to use the Toniebox has supported these children in social-emotional growth and self-regulation while having fun.”

Alber is a member of Tonies for Teachers, a program that encourages preschool and grade school teachers, librarians, and children’s museums to use Toniesboxes. The program gives teachers and other educators a 20% discount on Tonies products.

Teachers in the program feel supported, too. For example, there’s a Facebook group where the community comes together to discuss content and how they use Tonies in their classrooms.

Wonder of storytelling

Tonies are sharing the wonder of storytelling in 10,000 U.S. classrooms, as well as libraries.

There are more than 700 Tonies representing kids’ favorites like Disney, Sesame Street, Peppa Pig, Cocomelon, National Geographic, and more. Content is available in several languages, including English, Spanish, German, and French. Literacy advocate LeVar Burton, known for his work on “Reading Rainbow,” joined Tonies as a spokesperson.

While the target audience is children ages 2 to 5, Tonies have applications for kids through age 9. It’s a great tool for children with special needs, too, since it’s tactile and creates a sense of control.

For more information, please email helloclass@tonies.com

The post Why Teachers Love This New Tool That’s Helping Kids Learn to Read appeared first on Education and Career News.

Jay Stake

President, Indoor Air Quality Association

Luke VonOldenburg

Education Chair, Indoor Air Quality Association

What is the biggest challenge you see schools facing today when it comes to indoor air quality?

These days, indoor air quality (IAQ) is being brought to the forefront because of the coronavirus, and people spending more time indoors and not commuting to work. This has brought up the importance of IAQ and the awareness of it. There are a lot of variables (e.g., colds, flu, chemical off-gassing, poor air circulation, poor air filtration) that affect the IAQ, which ultimately affects us.

The main challenge in obtaining good IAQ is to first diagnose what is causing the poor IAQ, and then to address the problem. Sometimes the remedy may be as simple as opening a window to allow fresh air into the area, then other problems can be more complex and involved. 

Is the problem related to a defect in the building? Is there water/moisture intrusion into the building/structure? There might be a need for a process of elimination to accurately diagnose. Is the cause biological, chemical, etc.? Sometimes the poor IAQ is caused by influencers outside of the building (e.g., buses running outside near classrooms, landfills or manufacturing stacks located upwind of the schools). 

With COVID-19 shutting down in-person learning, schools’ heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in a lot of instances have not operated for long periods of time. This can create poor IAQ and allow moisture to elevate when it would normally be under control. With the moisture increasing, the possibility of mold growth is highly likely.

Schools shutting down can cause a whole other set of problems to arise as well. The drain traps could dry out, allowing sewer gasses to seep into rooms. Legionella could possibly grow. Dust and other debris could accumulate in the building and then be circulated into the HVAC system when it is activated. The proper filtration of the air being circulated should be addressed when activating the systems and changing the filters more often at the beginning of operation.

Which technologies have you seen make the biggest impact in helping schools to ensure quality indoor air in a post-pandemic landscape?

As always, technology is constantly changing and improving. There are monitors that can be installed into the HVAC or throughout the school to monitor particulates, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature, relative humidity, etc. You can also have an environmental assessor measure, test, and assess the conditions of the area(s) of concern, or the entire building/structure.

Along with the assessment being monitored or being performed, a building’s filtration is vitally important to the health and well-being of its occupants. Activated carbon has special properties that allow it to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors, and other gaseous pollutants from the air. 

A high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is a type of pleated mechanical air filter that can theoretically remove at least 99.97 percent of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns (µm). In comparison, a human hair can be anywhere from 40 to 300µm.

What would your recommendation be for a school or district that wants to improve its indoor air quality but does not know where to start?

Have an indoor air quality assessment performed inside the school.  The assessment would evaluate and determine if there is a concern inside the school, and if there is a notable concern, then develop a plan to remedy the cause. A simple starting point may be circulating a questionnaire for the staff to note any observations they may have seen recently; these questionnaires may be completed once a month or quarterly. The school staff are in these rooms on a consistent basis, and as such would recognize any changes, etc. 

Have the HVAC system inspected by a licensed contractor to verify it is operating as intended, and that the filters and the filter exchange program are appropriate for the intended location and the number of people.

If the problem is related to moisture or mold, IAQA will soon be releasing “The Standard for the Assessment of Educational Facilities for Moisture Affected Areas and Fungal Contamination.” This document will give the assessors and school personnel a consistent barometer in the mold and moisture assessment of educational facilities. 

What are some best practices for developing an effective IAQ program?

Have an environmental assessor assist in the development of the IAQ program if needed. Get the input of staff and all involved personnel in the development of the program. 

Keep it clean and moisture free; cleanliness is a very important aspect of a healthy environment. Develop a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly routine for staff to follow (e.g., dust on a regular schedule, remove trash daily, remove damp/wet materials immediately). Use only EPA- and school-approved, unscented cleaning products, and follow the directions for proper use. 

Verify that the HVAC units and filters are being maintained, and that the work is being performed correctly. Develop a form that allows staff to notify maintenance of any existing or potential problem. 

If there are animals in the classroom, keep the cages clean and do not place them near the supply or return air vents. Keep students with allergies away from the animals. 

If there is a sink or drain in the classroom, do not allow the p-trap to dry out.  Remove excess moisture (window condensation), prevent drafts, and keep art supplies in airtight containers when not in use.

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Enrico Gandolfi

Assistant professor and Program Coordinator in the Educational Technology program, Kent State University with the Research Center for Educational Technology

How does earning a master’s degree in education technology benefit both educators and students? 

Our master’s in educational technology is appropriate for anyone who is passionate about best practices for improving learning, teaching, and effective technology integration in educational and training settings. 

What area of education (e.g., math, science, English) is this kind of degree most applicable to? 

The field of educational technology is content-independent and therefore applicable to any area of education. Our program focuses on effective technology integration in various contexts, including online and blended education, immersive learning technologies, computer science, public health, nursing education, and workforce training. 

What other career opportunities does a master’s in education technology open up? 

Our graduates work in schools, community colleges, universities, the military, private companies, workforce training, and government agencies as teachers, technology coordinators, instructional designers, technology curriculum experts, online and blended specialists, educational technologists, multimedia and game developers, health technology consultants, and training specialists.

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Not only have Boys & Girls Club staff members broadened their education of technology resources and the pivotal role they serve for youth beyond the club’s walls, but it has also brought its digital platform, MyFuture, supported by Comcast NBCUniversal, to the forefront of this conversation for kids and teens. 

Boys & Girls Clubs of America is building tools to meet kids where they are, whether they’re at the club, at home, or riding the school bus. Plus, with 95 percent of kids having access to a smartphone, our programs are just a click away in the palm of their hand. 

Through MyFuture, kids and teens can learn to code, write lyrics, explore different career paths, and much more, all while building their digital citizenship, deepening real-life skills to succeed in school and the future workforce, expressing and engaging their creativity, and safely socializing. In the meantime, Boys & Girls Club members are also coached on how to make safe online choices, like how to stop cyberbullying in its tracks. 

Vital resource

Since the onset of the pandemic, the MyFuture platform has engaged over 120,000 more young people, making up for 66 percent of the platform’s entire current usership. Now offering key integrations, such as career exploration opportunities through RoadMap to Careers, and college preparation and planning resources like Diplomas to Degrees, kids and teens can also connect with friends and club staff, all while receiving recognition for the work they’re doing and investing in educational resources that support bright futures. 

To emphasize the importance of workforce readiness, the MyFuture careers page also provides tweens and teens the opportunity to explore different careers, develop their skills, and apply their knowledge to gain real-world opportunities. Interactive media help them learn from experts, while interactive planning tools highlight members’ dreams and aspirations to serve as inspiration for others.

Not only does this honor kids’ and teens’ efforts to learn, but these virtual experiences also help to spark excitement in new areas. DIY STEM, for instance, has been integrated into the digital platform through the support of Raytheon Technologies, providing virtual experiences that spark STEM career excitement and focus on highlighting diverse leaders with whom youth from similar backgrounds can relate and see themselves represented in the industry. 

As such, the platform meets kids and teens where they are digitally, while also paving the path for future opportunities. 

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Reading, writing, math, social studies, science. These five subjects have formed the traditional foundation of K-12 education in America for ages. If students learn them well, the story goes, they will fare well in the world.

But what if the world is different today than it was when we went to school? What if life is changing faster than we ever imagined? Education needs a more enduring foundation upon which our children build their academic lives. This is what social and emotional Learning, or SEL, provides.

Understanding ourselves

Positive Action SEL challenges students to be the best they can be by showing them not just how to study the world, but how to live in it, gaining knowledge from life experiences that they can’t get out of a textbook.

SEL focuses on self-awareness and self-management. In SEL classrooms, students reflect inwardly and discover the concept of “self” to become more effective independent learners. With a strong sense of self, they grow a strong sense of self-motivation, drive, and grit. 

Teaching students how to understand themselves is vital, but in today’s increasingly technologized world, the learning lives of even the youngest children are affected by global culture and expanding human diversity. If our students don’t know others — in particular, how to live, work, and play with others — high levels of academic achievement may not ensure their lifetime success and happiness. An understanding of self-concept provides the foundation for students to understand others.

That’s why SEL focuses on three other foundational competencies: social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Get along to go along

Instruction in social awareness helps children understand the dynamics of teams, groups, communities, and cultures. Without this foundational knowledge, children grow up in bubbles cut off from the wider world around them, unable to navigate the burgeoning diversity of an increasingly interconnected world.

SEL teaches students how to create and sustain healthy relationships across all racial, cultural, political, and socio-economic fault lines. If ever there was a time in our nation’s history when people needed to get along, that time is now, and SEL is the subject that teaches children how.

Choices

Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills are vital, as long as students use these skills to make good choices in their lives. Here again, SEL is the key because it focuses sharply on the essential life skill of responsible decision-making.

In one sense, our lives are the sum of the choices we make. If we want students to live good lives, then we need to teach them how to make good choices. In school, the most important choice students make is the choice to learn.

Even when children are very young — and certainly as they stretch into their tween and teen years — as each learning opportunity presents itself, they choose whether to learn or not. For most students, this choice is not a conscious one, but in SEL classrooms, students are taught to bring consciousness to the choices they make and awareness to the results they achieve — good and not-so-good — as a result of their actions.

Soft skills

To many people in our society, SEL seems like it’s all about so-called “soft” skills, as though these types of skills are not as powerful or valuable as skills students learn in reading and math. And yet, SEL programs have been shown, in randomized controlled studies, to contribute to significant academic gains in reading and math.

Soft skills are proving to be the most important skills students learn in school, and the keys to a great education in a rapidly changing world. As research in many areas is beginning to show, SEL is the foundation upon which all learning is built.

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As the principal organization representing U.S. state and territorial educational technology and digital learning leaders, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is committed to promoting edtech teaching standards so educators are better prepared to inspire students in modern learning environments, no matter where they go to school. 

SETDA believes when states, schools, and teachers are equipped to use digital tools in the most effective manner possible, the result is a more personalized — and successful — learning experience.

Overcoming barriers

Computer device and platform issues have posed problems for remote online learning, as have connectivity glitches and student isolation. But SETDA board chair Doug Casey, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Educational Technology, says the use of tools for collaboration and problem solving is essential in preparing students for what lies ahead.

“Many of us in the workforce pivoted quickly to using technology for these purposes during the pandemic,” Casey said. “Modeling for students what effective online teamwork looks like and giving them the opportunity to choose and use different tools provides great learning opportunities that will prepare them well for the workplace. 

“And with proper guidance from teachers and peers, we hope mastery in the use of technology also includes better discernment, awareness of data sharing, and overall cyber hygiene.”

 The impact of COVID-19

“I would encourage those considering the use of technology for learning not to look at what took place during the pandemic as a model,” Casey cautioned. “Practically overnight, teachers needed to learn new tools and expand the use of existing platforms to provide effective, all-remote learning experiences. Virtual schools have been working for decades to do just that, so it’s no surprise there were some serious shortfalls in the shift to remote learning.”

It’s also important to note that remote learning doesn’t work if parents and students aren’t completely on board with educator and school system supports. 

Gaining perspective

Through the ThoughtExchange platform, Connecticut officials used a Delphi model of input and feedback to survey parents, students, teachers, professors, and administrators across K-12 and higher education.

 “While we’re still evaluating the results, using tools that employ the Delphi approach can be powerful,” Casey said. “The result is an aggregate of ideas, as well as blind and unbiased rankings of those ideas, by the entire learning community.”

Providing access

Connecticut and other states have made significant inroads in closing the digital divide by equipping students with computer and broadband internet connections. Connecticut has also launched an open education resources site where teachers and college professors can create, search for, and curate high-quality learning materials. 

“We also streamlined data privacy management by hosting a free, virtual clearinghouse where edtech providers can list and teachers can find software that complies with Connecticut’s student data privacy law,” Casey said.

Being prepared

Dr. Sydnee Dickson, Utah’s state superintendent of public instruction, says her state has made a concentrated effort to invest in edtech initiatives, with education stakeholders and legislative leaders discussing how to infuse technology into schools for a more personalized approach.  

“Our assessment system was moving online, and stakeholders saw an intentional investment as an important investment,” Dickson said. “When we abruptly closed our doors to in-person learning in March 2020, we were able to deploy digital tools to 70 percent of our students.” 

Equal opportunities

Utah is the home of a tech industry, and educators want students to have the option to stay in their rural communities and build a life for themselves and their families, while not being hindered by demographics or geography.  

“Some of our rural districts, thanks to early investments, have been our most innovative places for education technology to be an integral part of the school community,” Dickson pointed out. “The challenge has been equitable access to adequate broadband. Efforts have been ramped up to ensure that a remote or rural location does not limit access.”

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But that has changed. With hybrid and flexible teaching models, some days all teachers see are black Zoom squares. It’s like every teacher has been plunged back into their first day trying to manage a classroom, teach a new curriculum, and make sure each student feels supported — all with the challenge of collective, worldwide trauma, and sometimes even without a common bond of physical space. 

Burnout

According to a RAND study in 2021, nearly 25 percent of current teachers said job-related stress leads them to think often about quitting.

Teachers are experiencing record burnout. Being a teacher has always been hard, but at a distance, with little resources, when you can’t see your students, or hug them, or know if they’re okay, that’s just scary, and tough, and isolating. 

We need to give our teachers personalized support to make sure they can succeed in the daunting task of guiding their students through what’s next, whatever next may be. Because as much as education is a calling, it’s also deep, personal work — work that requires an investment of time and resources to help teachers, district leaders, and paraprofessionals provide the scaffolding for students to achieve their potential. 

Development potential

At BetterLesson, we develop growth opportunities for educators that go beyond a single day of professional development. We started in 2008 as an online platform with a catalog of thousands of research-based instructional strategies built by master teachers to support fellow educators. 

Over the years, we’ve expanded on those strategies with professional development pathways that include topics ranging from curriculum adoption, to social-emotional learning and trauma-informed instruction. We then follow up our workshops with one-to-one, executive-style coaching that helps teachers expand upon understanding to gain true ownership of best practices. And it’s all online, so teachers can be matched with a coach who fits their goals no matter where they are or what their schedule looks like. 

Teachers do what they do because they love kids and believe in them. With all the challenges of the past two years, it’s so easy for that love to not be enough. When you feel like you aren’t able to reach your students, when you feel like you are failing, it can be so hard for even the most seasoned educator to keep going. 

Coaching gives each teacher the chance to achieve small but meaningful victories. By trying something new and measuring how it worked in a regular cycle with a coach, teachers learn new ideas and implement them with one-on-one support. Having a coach in their corner helps teachers remember that they’re not in it alone, that there are new approaches to try, and that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed. 

Tools to succeed

Any time a teacher has the resources and coaching to examine their practice critically, they’re bound to find opportunities to create a more rigorous and inclusive classroom for their students.

And, of course, teachers aren’t the only ones who need support. The past few years have been hard on district leaders and principals struggling to keep their schools running in the midst of a pandemic, and still find the resources to support teachers in the classroom. BetterLesson offers tools for school and district leaders for everything from adopting new curriculum to peer collaboration.

One thing I’m especially proud of at BetterLesson is how we make sure teachers and district leaders are partners in this process. We take the time to really listen to the challenges they’re experiencing and the root causes so we can design solutions that work. And now we’re introducing self-directed learning that will empower teachers with the opportunity to explore concepts that inspire them — everything from trauma-informed practices, to flexible instructional models and curriculum tools. 

Through our library of instructional strategies and lesson plans, workshops, coaching, and self-directed learning courses, we’re here to ensure every teacher can feel confident in developing the next generation of resourceful, compassionate, and resilient learners. And we can do that by meeting educators where they are with the tools they need to support each student.

Visit betterlesson.com to learn about how you can support teachers in confidently navigating what’s next. 

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Collectively, we’re more aware than ever before of the academic, social, emotional, and institutional challenges experienced by American students and educators alike. Many of these challenges were pre-existing, and many have been exacerbated further by the pandemic’s impact. 

On a positive note, this spotlight on our issues has brought action and, hopefully, lasting change. Increased public awareness and access to relief funds for education initiatives have given education leaders the opportunity to focus on addressing these challenges head-on — and prioritize implementation of new methods, technologies, and curriculum to support positive outcomes.

Special education resources

As we saw during the initial stages of the pandemic with school closures, quick and widespread adoption of education technology was essential. The abrupt transition to virtual learning, while necessary, also highlighted some glaring inequities amongst our students and families, and their ability to adapt to virtual environments. 

For special needs students, there were uniquely complicated challenges. Many districts and school systems struggled to provide the appropriate level of instruction and supports for their special education students remotely, and many others couldn’t reliably provide virtual special needs services or IEP compensatory services.

What was reinforced during school closures was a fact many of us are already familiar with: Every learner is unique. What engages one student may not work for another, and vice versa. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to curriculum and technology-assisted learning for special education students. 

In short, there’s room to better support our most vulnerable student populations and improve their opportunities for learning. 

For school year 2022-23 and beyond, we hope to see school systems and districts make greater investments in specialized special education resources, and invest in education technology solutions with inclusive elements; accessibility features, speech/language or visual impairment support features, and kinesthetic learning components — specifically those designed for special needs.

Mental health support

According to Mental Health America’s data sets for 2020-21, almost 14 percent of American youths (age 12-17) report suffering from at least one major depressive episode in the past year. That’s more than 1 in 10 youths who are severely struggling. 

It’s worth noting this percentage doesn’t factor in students under age 12, those with non-depression mental health challenges, emotional disturbances, or those who aren’t receiving any formalized mental health support services. Considering that, we can infer the percentage of our nation’s school-age students suffering from mental health challenges is likely much, much higher.

The current data on mental health and youth can’t be ignored. To put it simply, education leaders are no longer in a position to regard mental health services and supports in school environments as merely “optional” supplements. We need to acknowledge the integral role of these supports for our students and actively incorporate them. 

Now is the time for school systems and districts to fully embrace integrating mental health support services and social-emotional learning into curriculum design, and into the daily culture of educational environments. There are countless resources and organizations to help education leaders navigate this effectively, as well as public/private partnership options with companies like ChanceLight Education, which provides turn-key education solutions complete with trained staff, infrastructure, technology, and enhanced curriculum. 

As educators and parents both know, a student’s mental health and well-being are vital to achieving success in the classroom and in life. 

The post Why We Need More Special Education Resources and Mental Health Support Services appeared first on Education and Career News.