-
As COVID-era tutoring need outpaces supply, California nonprofit offers AI-powered alternative
CK-12, a nonprofit focused on pairing educational content with the latest technologies, has fully embraced artificial intelligence, giving students and teachers using its free learning system access to an AI-powered tutor dubbed Flexi. Employing artificial intelligence, CK-12 engineers programmed Flexi to act as a tutor, responding to math and science questions, testing students’ knowledge, helping...
By Tim Newcomb | July 25, 2022
-
Ex-teacher’s mission: Making sure ed tech really works in the classroom
Katie Boody Adorno taught middle school math for five years, both in the Kansas City Public Schools and as a founding teacher at Alta Vista Charter Middle School. It was there she realized that ed tech solutions weren’t all she had dreamed of and weren’t always ideal for her students. She wanted more say in...
By Tim Newcomb | July 7, 2022
-
SXSW EDU launch winner Our Worlds bringing Native American culture to life through mobile-based immersive reality
Sign up here for LA School Report’s newsletter Take a stroll along the La Jolla Shores Beach in San Diego, and you might find sand between your toes. But users of the new Our Worlds app, winner of the 2022 SXSW EDU Launch Competition, might also find much more. Through augmented reality, they can look...
By Tim Newcomb | May 18, 2022
-
Helping students feel seen and heard: Along, a new digital SEL tool, helps teachers engage their pupils — and unlock better learning
Teachers’ ability to connect individually with students went from tricky to downright challenging during the pandemic. But a new digital reflection tool, Along, can help teachers create personal relationships with students while allowing each student to feel seen and understood. After a pilot program with hundreds of teachers last school year, this summer’s launch of...
By Tim Newcomb | August 16, 2021
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
-
LA-based education platform Numerade offers free online STEM bootcamps to help MS and HS students overcome COVID learning loss
Summer is a time for students to explore personal interests, and for an expected 100,000 students, free STEM bootcamps will provide a chance to expand their understanding of everything from calculus to chemistry, biology to algebra. For the second straight summer, Numerade is offering free summer bootcamp courses as a way to combat pandemic learning...
By Tim Newcomb | July 27, 2021
-
SXSW EDU launch winner Inspirit creates interactive 3D science models for student exploration
STEM-focused education startup Inspirit wants high schoolers to have access to accurate, interactive 3D scientific models. And with its newly released, award-winning app, students can explore, learn and discuss the parts of the body and other biological subjects in a wholly immersive way. The app contains more than 1,000 3D models created specifically for the...
By Tim Newcomb | May 20, 2021
-
Begun in NYC public schools, Techrow makes virtual reality work for students of all income levels, no matter where they’re learning
With students stuck at home during the pandemic, disengagement from school has turned from concern to danger. But with the challenge of distance learning comes an opportunity for virtual reality to create accessibility and understanding for kids of all demographics, even in the most disadvantaged districts. Travis Feldler saw firsthand how early in their educational...
By Tim Newcomb | April 7, 2021
-
App that matches students with community service takes a virtual pivot during pandemic & opens up fresh opportunities
Michael Kadisha wanted to make it easy for students to engage in meaningful community service. So last year, the 26-year-old entrepreneur launched the Treedom app, helping to connect high school students to local partners. But while Treedom had some early success after its fall 2019 launch, its entire model was built upon in-person connections. The...
By Tim Newcomb | January 26, 2021
-
Educators spend $13 billion a year on ed tech for K-12 classrooms. EdTech Genome Project is looking to help them make better choices
Educators in the United States spend $13 billion annually on ed tech but have no way to collectively track the success of those technology tools. That’s why the EdTech Evidence Exchange, part of the University of Virginia, has launched the EdTech Genome Project — to create a framework to give K-12 school and district decision...
By Tim Newcomb | September 1, 2020
-
Schools tell ed tech leader they expect lots more blended, hybrid learning in the fall. What this means for teachers and students
Uncertainty surrounds the start of the 2020-21 school year. Districts around the country must prepare for three types of learning environments: the in-person style they’ve known for decades, the distance learning most were tossed into during the pandemic, and the most likely of scenarios — a hybrid environment, mixing both remote and in-classroom education. This...
By Tim Newcomb | July 16, 2020