EDTECH ShowDaily
ORLANDO JAN. 26, 2024 Oser Communications Group
CodeMonkey Unveils New Data Science Course: Empowering Kids with Skills for the Future
Edulastic Launches AI Capabilities Designed to Save Teachers Time & Support Positive Learning
CodeMonkey introduces its latest addition, a cutting-edge data science course designed for grades 5-6. This immersive experience introduces students to concepts such as data collection, storage, visualization and validation, making learning about data science enjoyable. Through 16 meticulously curated data science lessons accompanied by two engaging creation sessions, students dive into the essentials of data comprehension in a manner that’s both educational and exciting. The course seamlessly blends guided learning with interactive games that reinforce newfound knowledge and comprehension. By navigating this innovative curriculum, children not only grasp the fundamentals of data science, but also gain hands-on experience in applying their skills through stimulating gameplay and review questions. CodeMonkey is not just about learning; it’s about preparing the next generation for a data-centric future. Data science skills have become indispensable in today’s world, offering an array of promising career prospects across
GoGuardian, the leading digital learning company providing simple, proven solutions to create effective, engaging and safer learning environments, announced new add-on AI features from popular student assessment tool Edulastic that aim to propel learning forward while helping educators save time when building and grading assessments. Teachers spend a median of five hours a week planning and preparing their lessons, and another five hours a week grading, according to the 2022 Merrimack College Teacher Survey. Edulastic’s new AI capabilities save teachers significant time on grading and question creation, freeing them to focus their effort where it can make the most meaningful impact on supporting positive learning outcomes. Question Generator automatically crafts questions based on a teacher’s given criteria, while Assisted Rubrics automatically designs rubrics for essay questions and recommends grades. Both new AI features are offered as add-ons for Edulastic. Question Generator is an AI feature that enables educators to automatically generate questions tailored to subject, standard, Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and difficulty level, which can be input in a variety of question formats (multiple choice,
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EdTech Leader Swivl Expands Its Toolset, Launching the Mirror
Study.com's K12 Learn Solution Achieves Research-Based Design Product Certification
Swivl, a future-ready edtech company with a suite of reflective tools, announced the addition of its newest tool, Mirror, an AI-enabled hardware and software platform that automates reflection and brings valuable metacognitive insights for educators. The Mirror aims to partner with teachers and help them develop the metacognition and even higher-order skills students need to thrive with AI. Reflection holds untapped potential to revolutionize education and prepare students for life in an AI-driven world. Automated reflection can help solve the intrinsic motivation challenge by fostering goal alignment on both individual and communal levels, expediting learning processes and establishing fresh assessment benchmarks. The time of exclusively grading based on results is behind us; assessing reflection is now crucial for advancing education. In today’s classroom, there’s not enough time for students to accurately reflect and for teachers to obtain this data. According to a study conducted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on average, American teachers only have three minutes per hour of instructional time to devote to activities that allow students to reflect on their learning. The Mirror makes it easier to apply reflection to more learning
Study.com announced that its K12 Learn solution has been awarded the ResearchBased Design for Instructional Learning Products: Product Certification from Digital Promise. This esteemed certification demonstrates the company’s commitment to leveraging research on learning sciences to inform and enhance the design of their learning platform. The Research-Based Design Product Certification from Digital Promise signifies that Study.com’s K12 Learn has undergone a rigorous evaluation process, demonstrating a substantial integration of research-based principles into its instructional design. This certification serves as a valuable resource for educators, school leaders and families seeking educational technology that is grounded in proven methodologies for effective learning. “We are honored to receive the Research-Based Design Product Certification from Digital Promise. This recognition reaffirms our dedication to providing educators and students with a learning platform that is not only innovative but also backed by sound research principles,” said Chris Mancini, Chief Growth Officer. “At Study.com, we open the door to the life changing impact of education, and this certification underscores our commitment to delivering high-quality, evidence-based
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EdTech Show Daily
Friday, January 26, 2024
Lexia Announces Second Season of “All for Literacy” Podcast Series Lexia, a Cambium Learning Group brand, announced the second season of its “All for Literacy” podcast series. Hosted by Lexia’s Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke, the podcast
explores how scientific findings are being applied in classrooms today – and how teachers can use this information to help all students become successful readers. The series debuted in February 2023 and has a rating of 4.9 on Apple Podcasts. Season two premiered on January 2. Since the series’ debut in February, its episodes have been downloaded more than 40,200 times. “I’m excited to see that even our older episodes are still being downloaded, which speaks to the value educators have found in this podcast,” said Brooke. “In fact, our premiere episode with Emily Hanford and Dr. Tiffany Hogan, currently has more than 9,000 downloads, and over half of those downloads occurred in the second half of this year.” “Due to wonderful audience
response, we’re increasing the frequency of the episodes from once a month to twice a month,” continued Brooke. “First, we’ll discuss a trending literacy topic with a prominent expert. Then in the second episode for the month, we’ll discuss the same topic with a current practitioner who can speak about the practical aspects or applications of the challenge, best practice, or research in today’s classrooms.” The first episode of season two will feature an interview with Dr. Sharon Vaughn from the University of Texas at Austin and Dr. Jeanne Wanzek from the Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development. The trending literacy topic these two experts will talk about is adolescent literacy. Because the focus in recent discussions around science of reading has been on early elementary students, Vaughn and Wanzek will share research findings and strategies related to literacy instruction in upper elementary and middle and high school to further listeners’ understanding of how to support students in the upper grades. Vaughn is the Manuel J. Justiz Endowed Chair in Education and the executive director of The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk
Groundbreaking Initiative Bridges the Digital Divide for K-12 Students in 10 U.S. Cities A new impact report has been released by Digitunity, revealing the transformative success of a two-year, 10-city initiative to close the digital divide for K-12 students and their families. Led by Digitunity and funded as part of AT&T’s Connected Learning commitment to address the digital divide, the project drew upon and featured the work of 11 top-tier nonprofit technology refurbishing organizations. An effort to bridge what is known as the “homework gap” in the project’s 10 markets, this collaborative effort surpassed its two-year target within the very first year, culminating in twice the projected impact by its conclusion. Key outcomes include: • 41,597 devices comprising laptops, desktops and tablets. • 2,171 Wi-Fi hotspots ensuring connectivity. • 26,571 students equipped with digital literacy training. • An estimated 2,633,110 pounds of e-
waste diverted from landfills. The initiative, launched in August 2021, was designed to foster long-lasting relationships between private, public and social sectors within each community. This involved activating local non-
profit technology refurbishing organizations within Digitunity’s practitioner network, alongside a wide and diverse range of local businesses and nonprofit organizations. The project sought to source, refurbish and deploy free or extremely affordable devices to underserved K-12 students. Championing this cause in the 10-city initiative were the following organizations: • Inspiredu in Atlanta, GA • Mission Ignite in Buffalo, NY • Compudopt in Dallas, TX
at The University. She has written more than 35 books, 250 peer-reviewed research articles and 65 chapters regarding research and practice with learning problems. Wanzek is the Currey-Ingram Endowed Chair and associate professor in the Department of Special Education at Peabody College. She has a number of publications as well as national and international presentations in the areas of early reading, learning disability, response to intervention and adolescent reading intervention. Topics planned for the season include: • Developing equity-minded school leaders. • The impact of literacy on adult lives. • Supporting educators through the effective implementation of science of reading and implementation science. “We’re lining up a fascinating roster of guest experts for this season,” said Brooke. “I’ll be talking with other figures in education such as Dr. Gretchen Givens Generett, the Dean of Duquesne University’s School of Education on equity-based leadership and Harvey Hubbell, the producer of the documentary ‘Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars.’ This podcast is my passion project because I want to make sure we not only make sure educators have access to the research findings, but that we connect those findings to the real world of schools and classrooms. I’m looking forward to sharing all my guests’ insights on elevating literacy and creating real equity • Digital Bridge in Milwaukee, WI • Electronic Access Foundation and Human I-T in New York, NY • Computer Reach in Pittsburgh, PA • Kramden Institute in RaleighDurham, NC • Computers 2 Kids in San Diego, CA • InterConnection in Seattle, WA • Wilderness Technology Alliance in Washington, D.C. In Atlanta, Nafeesah Burson, after receiving a computer from Inspiredu, enrolled in 100 hours of cybersecurity training and CompTIA certifications. Similarly, in the Bronx, New York, students empowered with personal laptops embarked upon job workforce programs, refining their resumes and exploring new job opportunities. The “AT&T Pioneers” employee volunteer network also played an active role. They not only volunteered at local used electronic donation drives but also demonstrated practical environmental responsibility by upcycling t-shirts into pet toys and promoting “going green” through seedling distributions at some of this initiative’s computer collection events. “We’ve always believed in the necessity of connectivity and device accessibility for success. Working
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in the classroom.” For more information, visit www.allfor literacy.com. alongside Digitunity, we’ve been able to place devices directly into the hands of those most in need,” stated Mylayna Albright, AVP, Corporate Social Responsibility, AT&T. With hundreds of devices also being extended to recently arrived Ukrainian refugee families in Seattle, the initiative’s reach is both deep and expansive. Dr. Estelle-Marie Montgomery, Ph.D., Executive Director at the Faunteroy Center in the Washington, D.C., area, added, “Basic computer skills are now fundamental for connectivity across all generations.” The alliances fostered by this project have paved the way for a brighter future, with stakeholders from various sectors coming together behind a unified cause. As the pages of this initiative’s success stories turn, they stand as a testament to the power of private, public and social sector collaboration in creating lasting solutions to digital inequities. To read more about the two-year project’s details and to learn more about the lives that were positively transformed, the summary report can be accessed at links.digitunity.org/ homework-gap-10-cities-download. For more information, go to www .digitunity.org.
Friday, January 26, 2024
EdTech Show Daily Edulastic (Cont’d. from p. 1)
true and false, multi-select). The Question Generator provides sets of questions that teachers can revise and choose to include in their assessments. As a result, teachers can more easily create differentiated assessments and develop more accessible and diverse question pools – ultimately leading to increasingly individualized learning opportunities for students. Teachers will also be able to use Question Generator within Edulastic Video Quiz, a new feature that allows educators to create fun, focused experiences for learners by turning their favorite YouTube videos or other video recordings into engaging formative assessments, lessons or assignments within Edulastic. Edulastic has partnered with YouTube to implement YouTube Player for Education, delivering distraction-free video quizzes with no ads or personalization tracking. Within Video Quiz, educators can use Question Generator to build prompts, considering the video transcript, and then plot questions on individual, releSwivl (Cont’d. from p. 1)
scenarios and will enable teachers to gather reflection insights quickly. “After observing classrooms for more than a decade, we believe the implementation of AI into student learning must be done intentionally, and one of the biggest opportunities is in helping them reflect,” said Brian Lamb, Chief Executive Officer and CoFounder of Swivl. “Reflection is incredibly powerful, but it has been left behind other edtech advances. Fortunately, the Mirror allows educators and students to easily and regularly reflect throughout the learning Study.com (Cont’d. from p. 1)
solutions.” Study.com’s K12 Learn is a comprehensive educational platform offering a range of curriculum, skills practice and assessment components designed to support diverse learners in middle and high schools. The solution features multimedia microlessons, repeated practice and built-in supports to facilitate personalized instruction. With seamless integration into major learning management systems, Study.com’s K12 Learn empowers educators to streamline teaching tasks and focus CodeMonkey (Cont’d. from p. 1)
diverse industries. As children master data analysis, they cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, enabling them to decipher information, identify patterns and make informed decisions based on evidence.
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vant moments within the video. “Edulastic is excited to offer this AIdriven solution to teachers, enabling real-time quiz creation for their students,” said Sharad Gupta, Chief Product Officer at GoGuardian. “Now, teachers can build in relevant assessment throughout instructional videos, specifying standards, difficulty level and more.” Assisted Rubrics automatically generate rubrics for essay questions, recommend grades for rubric questions and save teachers hours of time manually grading assessments with rubrics. While creating rubrics and grading assignments are important methods for teachers to understand their students’ progress, they take tremendous amounts of time – time that could be spent analyzing results and providing students with valuable feedback. Teachers can use Assisted Rubrics to expedite grading and conduct an initial pass at their students’ results. By enabling auto essay response evaluations within Edulastic, teachers can get a head start on their grading, review recommended grades
and feedback, and focus more of their time on digging into expanding student feedback and setting goals. “Teachers face a number of challenges when it comes to assessment, including building differentiated standards-aligned questions, setting goals with students and determining students’ most impactful next steps,” said Anirban Jhuri, General Manager for assessments at GoGuardian. “Through Edulastic AI, we aim to give teachers valuable time back in their days, automating portions of assessment creation and grading, and freeing them up to connect with students and analyze students’ learning outcomes.” “Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how AI can make my life easier as a teacher so I can focus more on meeting the needs of individual students,” said Amy Ballard, a math teacher and instructional coach in South Carolina. “Video Quiz coupled with the AI Question Generation will allow me to differentiate instructional methods for students while ensuring I’m able to collect the formative data I need to make the next instructional
experience and develop skills, creating short-term and long-term benefits.” The Mirror requires minimal teacher setup and can serve as a selfservice kiosk, enabling students to engage in reflection at their convenience. Teachers have the flexibility to define recording goals and arrange activities for both individuals and small groups. These simple or multi-step activities encompass a wide range of tools for recording skills, discussions, visual thinking and even mindful breaks. The device, designed for versatility, is rugged and portable to accommodate various usage scenarios.
“With the Mirror, teachers can spend less time setting up and gathering reflections and more time focusing on applying their insights,” continued Lamb. “This brings the benefit of a more goal-aligned classroom and develops stronger metacognitive skills than ever – an essential skill for thriving in an AI-driven world.” The Mirror is available today with expected delivery within 30 days. Swivl is kicking off the launch with The Innovator’s Program, a limitedtime campaign for schools to partner with them on the software features that will be seamlessly delivered over the air with each month of use. As
For more information on Swivl and Mirror, visit www.swivl.com/mirrorcampaign.
more on instruction. Currently adopted in over 10,000 school districts, Study.com’s K12 Learn embodies pedagogical innovation by providing evidence-based personalized learning tailored to diverse learners across all subjects with a focus in science and social studies curriculum. The platform’s ability to address the multifaceted challenges in education today positions it as a beacon of effective pedagogy. The certification process involved Study.com submitting comprehensive evidence to Digital Promise, showcasing the alignment between the prod-
uct’s design philosophy and research on how students learn. The company also demonstrated its commitment to transparency by making this research accessible to the public. Christina Luke Luna, Chief Learning Officer, Pathways and Credentials at Digital Promise, remarked, “Digital Promise’s ResearchBased Design Product Certification recognizes the edtech products that incorporate research about learning into their design and development. Congratulations to Study.com’s K12 Learn for demonstrating that research informs product design!”
Design Research-Based The Product Certification employs a competency-based learning framework, developed in collaboration with Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project advisory board, expert researchers in the Learning Sciences field and educators across the United States. Additional details about the framework’s development can be found in Digital Promise’s reports, “Designing Edtech that Matters for Learning: Research-Based Design Product Certifications (2020)” and “An Overlooked Indicator of Edtech Quality: The Use of Learning Sciences Research (2022).”
CodeMonkey’s Data Science Course is a comprehensive package comprising teacher guides, course explanations, interactive Q&A sessions, games to reinforce learning, student review questions and creation lessons. By immersing young learners in the intricate world of data at an early age, this course equips them with the
essential skills needed for a future where technology, healthcare, finance and countless other sectors rely extensively on data analysis.
how to code in real programming languages. CodeMonkey offers an engaging and enjoyable coding curriculum for schools, after-school clubs and camps as well as self-paced online courses to learn coding at home.
About CodeMonkey CodeMonkey is a leading coding for kids program. Through its award-winning courses, millions of students learn
decision. I am able to generate questions quickly and easily, and get immediate feedback, which allows me to adjust as needed during class.” Edulastic’s AI capabilities and Video Quiz are sold as a separate addon for Edulastic customers. About GoGuardian GoGuardian aims to help all learners feel ready and inspired to solve the world’s greatest challenges by combining the best in learning and science technology across every part of the learning journey. Its award-winning system of educational tools, which includes Giant Steps, Pear Deck and GoGuardian Teacher for learning engagement; Edulastic for assessments; TutorMe for virtual ondemand tutoring; and GoGuardian Admin and Beacon to support student safety, is purpose-built for K-12 and trusted by school leaders to promote effective teaching and equitable engagement while empowering educators to help keep students safe. For more information, go to www .edulastic.com and www.goguardian.com. part of this partnership, participants can acquire the Mirror at a reduced cost and, in exchange, contribute a second Mirror to a school of their preference. Swivl is a future-ready edtech company with a suite of reflective tools. The company built its foundation in education with tools to support the development of classroom management skills. With over a decade of operation, Swivl has expanded to cover a full range of reflection applications for students and teachers.
For more information, go to www .codemonkey.com.