An edtech founder shares some of his purposes and motivation for helping others. 

GUEST COLUMN | by Adrián Ridner

Among the approximately 41 million Americans with some college credit but no degree, about 40% are estimated to be first-generation students. As a first-generation college student myself and an immigrant from Latin America, I understand the unique struggles first-generation students face. Like many, I experienced economic hardship while earning my degree. Plus, the challenges associated with acclimating to a new culture, overcoming language barriers and simply navigating the higher education system made my college experience dramatically different than it was for my peers.

‘…the challenges associated with acclimating to a new culture, overcoming language barriers and simply navigating the higher education system made my college experience dramatically different…’

Unique Challenges

According to the Center for First-Generation Student Success, a first-generation student is one whose parents did not complete a four-year college or university degree — even if other family members have. As first-generation students, we face unique challenges, including financial constraints, lack of academic support, and other barriers that impede our ability to complete a degree. With such an enormous population dropping out of college, whether struggling from self-doubt, poor grades or being the first in the family to pursue higher education, the need for targeted educational pathways and support systems for all students to obtain a degree is critical to ensure economic mobility for our country.

Many who started down the path of higher education without completing their degrees are left with the burden of debt without the benefit of a credential. I recognize the challenges first-generation students face, having experienced the struggles of navigating an educational system that wasn’t built with students like us in mind.

Creating Opportunities 

This personal experience has fueled my commitment to democratize education and create opportunities for learners who, like I once did, find themselves outside the traditional system. Today, my company is a platform dedicated to providing accessible, affordable and flexible education for all—especially those who need it most. Our goal is to help learners open the door to the life-changing impact of education.

Not only can traditional educational pathways often leave students of color and those from historically underserved populations behind, but they also can reinforce systemic inequities and limit opportunities for upward mobility. First-generation students often live in rural areas, where there may be fewer community and school resources than in urban areas which tend to receive more funding. It also may come as a surprise that more than 40% of full-time students and more than 74% of part-time college students need to work while pursuing their education. 

In addition to work, they also may be juggling childcare responsibilities; one in four undergraduate students have children. Even with financial aid to help offset the cost of tuition, those who most need the support often fall short, especially among students with more family responsibilities or those from historically underserved populations. The need for non-traditional educational options has never been more urgent, and within this context, we must create innovative solutions to provide alternative pathways to success.

Making Education Accessible 

One example is the Keys to College initiative, which offers flexible on-ramps and pathways for students to earn an affordable degree at a fraction of the cost of traditional tuition. This initiative is built on the College Saver program, which offers low-cost college credits that transfer to more than 1,200 universities. By offering multiple pathways to degree completion – including full and partial – this approach has made education accessible to diverse learners, breaking down barriers that have long prevented them from achieving academic success.

The College Saver program includes the most extensive American Council on Education (ACE) online library, featuring more than 220 college or graduate level courses. Backed by decades of learning science research, the curriculum is designed to be engaging, supportive and personalized, helping learners build the confidence they need to succeed.

‘Backed by decades of learning science research, the curriculum is designed to be engaging, supportive and personalized, helping learners build the confidence they need to succeed.’

The impact of the College Saver program has been profound. To date, the program has saved students more than $270 million in tuition costs and empowered thousands of learners to earn over 400,000 college credits. These are not just numbers—they represent breakthrough moments for individuals who may have struggled academically or financially to further their education.

Take, for instance, Tiaka Hyatt-Geter, a San Francisco Bay Area single mom of three kids and an HR analyst, who completed her college degree while balancing work and family responsibilities. Her success is a testament to the life-changing potential of affordable and flexible education. Or, the son of migrant workers who spent his youth in Stockton, California balancing school with working in the fields. Like me, he is the first in his family to complete a college degree and has plans to continue his education by earning a master’s degree. Because of his determination and with the support of my company’s flexible online College Saver course library, he could continue his education while working and caring for his four-year-old son.

Transformative for Many

This program has been transformative for many, particularly women and people of color. Among a subset of College Saver students surveyed that received additional coaching support from Study.com tutors, 68% of graduates are women, and 77% identify as non-white. The findings underscore that technology can serve as a bridge to further education, but it can’t replace the importance of personal connection with a coach to provide motivation, accountability and support. Moreover, 67% of graduates report income growth, and 87% report increased confidence and skills in the job market. One such graduate, a working mother from the San Francisco Bay area, said the program helped her achieve her dreams without sacrificing her family’s well-being.

My company has always been guided by a mission to ensure that all learners, especially first-generation and non-traditional students, have access to the life-changing impact of education. As we look to the future, our vision is to continue innovating and scaling our efforts to provide alternative educational pathways that build a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Together with community-based organizations and higher education institutions, we can fuel initiatives like Keys to College that offer on-ramps to success for all learners, regardless of where they start, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

—

Adrián Ridner is CEO and Co-Founder of Study.com, a leading online learning platform helping over 30 million learners and educators monthly, on a mission to open the door to the life-changing impact of education for all. Connect with Adrián on LinkedIn. 

The post How to Level the Playing Field for Non-Traditional Learners appeared first on EdTech Digest.

More than 15 percent of the world’s population—greater than 1 billion people—live with disabilities including hearing loss, vision problems, mental health challenges, and lack of mobility. EPICS in IEEE has engaged students’ ingenuity worldwide to address accessibility issues through adaptive services, redesigned technology, and new assistive technologies during its 2023 Access and Abilities Competition.

The competition challenged university students around the world to use their engineering skills to help with accessibility issues. The EPICS in IEEE Committee received 58 proposals and selected 23 projects, which were funded in early 2023.

EPICS is a grant-based program for IEEE Educational Activities that funds service learning projects for university and high school students.

The teams, which include faculty members and IEEE members, create and execute engineering projects in partnership with organizations to improve their communities.

“Some gamers with arm or hand deficiencies play with their feet, nose, mouth, or elbows, or they use devices not intended for that purpose and are forced to adapt. I realized that if there was a dedicated device designed for such individuals, they’d be able to play and experience the joy of gaming.” —John McCauley.

The four EPICS in IEEE pillars are access and abilities; environment; education and outreach; and human services. In the Access and Abilities Competition, student teams received between US $1,000 and $10,000. Each team had 12 months to build a prototype or solution in collaboration with its community partners. The projects, which involved more than 350 students and 149 IEEE volunteers, aimed to help an estimated 8,000 people in the first year of deployment.

The teams included participants from IEEE student branches, IEEE Women in Engineering groups, IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu honor society chapters, and IEEE sections.

Projects included a sound-detection device and a self-navigating robotic walking aid.

The competition was funded by the Taenzer Memorial Fund in 2019, with $90,000 allocated by the IEEE Foundation. The fund was established with a bequest from the estate of Jon C. Taenzer, an IEEE life senior member.

The student teams submitted their final reports this year.

Here are highlights from four of the projects:

Adaptive mouse for gaming

Members of the adaptive mouse EPICS in IEEE team at the University of Florida in Gainesville designed a device that contains keyboard functions and can be used with just one hand.EPICS in IEEE

A team of 10 biomedical engineering students at the University of Florida in Gainesville designed their project to help people whose hands or arms have an abnormality, so they could more easily play games.

The team built five adaptive mouse devices and plans to deliver them this year to five recipients involved with Hands to Love, a Florida-based organization that supports children with upper limb abnormalities.

The team incorporated the keyboard elements of gaming into a mouse, allowing gaming gestures and movements with just one hand. The 3D-printed mouse combines existing gaming technology, including the internal mechanisms of keyboards, a Logitech mouse, and Microsoft Xbox controller emulations. It allows the player to move and aim while gaming with just a mouse.

Gaming enthusiast John McCauley, a junior in the university’s biomedical engineering program, was behind the project’s conception.

“Some gamers with arm or hand deficiencies play with their feet, nose, mouth, or elbows, or they use devices not intended for that purpose and are forced to adapt,” McCauley says. “I realized that if there was a dedicated device designed for such individuals, they’d be able to play and experience the joy of gaming.”

The team used its $1,000 EPICS in IEEE grant to purchase the prototype’s components.

Making campus more accessible

Universidad Tecnólogica de Panamá students test their microcontroller-based prototype, designed to help make their school more accessible.EPICS in IEEE

A team of 15 undergraduate students from the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá in Panama City and 24 students from four high schools in Chiriquí, Panama, created several projects focused on people with visual or physical disabilities. The team’s goal was to make their campus and community more accessible to those with different abilities. The projects enhanced their classmates’ autonomy and improved their quality of life.

The team made braille signs using a 3D printer, and they designed and built a personalized wheelchair. The students also automated the doors within the engineering department to provide better access to classrooms and corridors for those with disabilities.

“This project will be very useful, especially [in Panama], where buildings have not been adapted for people with disabilities,” said team member Gael Villarreal, a high school junior.

While working together on the project, team members honed their technical and interpersonal skills. They came to appreciate the importance of collaboration and communication.

“I learned that you need to have new experiences, be sociable, meet and get along with new people, and work as a team to be successful,” high school junior Gianny Rodriguez said.

The team used its $8,100 EPICS grant to purchase materials and train the community on using the new tools.

Helping children with hearing impairments

A team of students from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology student branch, in Chennai, India, worked with the Dr. MGR Home and Higher Secondary School for the Speech and Hearing Impaired, also in Chennai, to build a device to help children with hearing aids and cochlear implants learn Tamil, the local language. In rural areas, young children often do not have access to specialized speech and hearing health care providers to learn critical language skills. The team’s assistive device supports native language skill development, helping parents and trainers support the children in language and sound acquisition.

The project is designed to provide access to aural rehabilitation, including identifying hearing loss and therapies for children far from hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

The kiosklike device resembles an ATM and includes surround-sound speakers and touchscreens. It uses a touch monitor and microphones to access tasks and tests that help young children learn Tamil.

The team worked with 150 pupils at the school between the ages of 5 and 8 to develop the prototype. The built-in app includes tasks that focus on improving auditory awareness, auditory discrimination (the ability to recognize, compare, and distinguish between distinct sounds), and language acquisition (how people perceive and comprehend language).

The device tests the pupil’s hearing range based on sounds with visual cues, sounds at low intensity, sounds in the presence of noise, and sound direction.

The speakers emulate real-life situations and are used to relay the teacher’s instructions.

The team received a $1,605 grant to execute the project.

This video spotlights the challenges youngsters with hearing disabilities in Chenni, India, face and how the assistive technology will help them.

Self-navigating robotic walking aid

Students from the IEEE Swinburne Sarawak student branch in Malaysia brought a prototype of their walking aid to Trinity Eldercare, their community partner.EPICS in IEEE

To help senior citizens with mobility issues, a team of students from the IEEE Swinburne Sarawak student branch at the Swinburne University of Technology, in Malaysia, created a self-navigating walking aid.

The team wanted to improve existing walkers on the market, so they surveyed residents at Trinity Eldercare to find out what features would be useful to them.

The students’ prototype, based on a commercial walker, includes a wearable haptic belt that detects obstacles and alerts the user. Pressure sensors in the hand grips sense which direction the user wants to go. One of the senior citizens’ most requested features was the ability to locate a misplaced walker. The team was able to address the issue using sensors.

“I gained substantial knowledge in robotics programming and artificial intelligence and deep learning integration for person tracking and autonomous navigation,” one of the team members said. “Additionally, presenting our smart walker prototype at the International Invention, Innovation, Technolgy Competition and Exhibition in Malaysia enhanced my presentation skills, as I successfully articulated its viability and usefulness to the judges.”

The project received a $1,900 grant.

Join the EPICS in IEEE mailing list to learn more about all the Access and Abilities Competition projects and other impactful efforts made possible by donations to the IEEE Foundation. To learn more, check out the video of the competition:

The EPICS in IEEE program is celebrating its 15th year of supporting and facilitating service-learning projects and impacting students and communities worldwide

There were early signs that Muhammad Hamza Ihtisham was born to excel in engineering or computer science, but family tradition initially steered him toward a career in medicine. Ihtisham’s mother and other family members were medical professionals. His father is a businessman.

Even though his father had dreamed of having a son in the engineering field, it was assumed that Ihtisham would become a doctor. And he almost did. But when he didn’t pass the medical qualifying exams in high school, he saw it as a sign to switch professions.

Muhammad Hamza Ihtisham

Employer:

Jazz in Lahore, Pakistan

Title:

Network experience specialist in radio

Member grade:

IEEE member

Alma mater:

University of the Punjab

“I asked my parents and my principal for permission to switch my focus from medicine to computer science,” he says. Although the change took effect only three months before he had to take exams, he scored high enough to place third among the computer science students at his school. He has never looked back.

Ihtisham is now a network experience specialist in radio at the largest telecommunications provider in Pakistan: Lahore-based Jazz. Ihtisham monitors, supervises, and troubleshoots nationwide wireless networks and is a team player who implements smart systems and AI-based solutions to optimize network performance.

“We are working with 2G, 3G, and 4G network supervision,” he says, “and we’re also evolving for 5G and optical fiber networks.”

Muhammad Hamza Ihtisham chats with 2018 IEEE President Jim Jefferies.Muhammad Hamza Ihtisham

Early evidence of STEM affinity

Ihtisham didn’t need much encouragement to become an engineer, he says, adding that he always has wanted to work with technology.

When he was young, his father bought him a computer with a Pentium II CPU “at a time when there were very few computers in my town,” he says.

Ihtisham’s curiosity led him to dismantle and explore its components, fostering a deeper interest in technology.

“I destroyed many motherboards and processors when I pulled them out of the computer to see how they worked,” he says. It was part of his innate tendency to get to the bottom of how things worked. “I still have that spark in me, that inner child who wants to open things up and investigate how they work.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in telecommunications from the University of the Punjab in 2018. He returned to pursue a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management—which he received in 2022.

Thanks to his IEEE connections, Ihtisham secured his position at Jazz even before getting his bachelor’s degree. As the university’s IEEE student branch chair, Ihtisham invited an engineer from Jazz to speak to students on campus. When Ihtisham later showed up at the company for a job interview, that same engineer was the department head and immediately recognized him.

Since his college days, Ihtisham has poured time and energy into giving back to the profession through participation in IEEE. He founded his school’s student chapter and today serves as chair of the IEEE Lahore Section’s Young Professionals group. He is also the deputy lead of the global technical and operation committee of the IEEE Young Professionals mentoring program, which connects experts with mentees to help them learn and further their career.

Active IEEE student leader

Ihtisham entered college thinking he would become a computer scientist, but before long he became convinced that his true passion lay in engineering. Noticing a gap in student activities within the school’s EE department, he joined IEEE in his third semester.

Although the university was more than 150 years old, electrical engineering was a relatively new course of study there.

“My graduating class had only the 10th cohort of graduates to earn that degree from the university,” he says.

As founder of the school’s IEEE student branch, Ihtisham set about adding activities and opportunities for would-be engineers that he felt were missing. He was the branch’s first chair, organizing activities, boosting membership, and overseeing initiatives that impacted his university and the wider IEEE Lahore Section. He was then appointed a student representative for the section.

“That was a turning point for me,” he says.

He originally started volunteering with IEEE for a pragmatic purpose that served the entire engineering student body, he says, but as he settled into his new leadership roles, volunteering became a source of personal fulfillment and development.

“When I started my IEEE journey, I was not prepared. But I worked on my leadership, my behavior, and improving my soft skills. So, you could say my involvement with IEEE has transformed my personality and served as leadership training.”

For his efforts, he has been recognized with several awards including the IEEE Lahore Section’s 2018 Outstanding Volunteer for organizing student activities and conferences.

“When I started my IEEE journey, I was not well groomed,” Ihistham says. “But I worked on my leadership, my behavior, and improving my soft skills. So, you could say my involvement with IEEE has transformed my personality and served as leadership training.”

The communications and negotiating skills he picked up by networking with IEEE members across the globe have benefited him at Jazz, he says.

His dedication to IEEE didn’t end with his student years. Today his roles involve mentoring, networking, and leading initiatives to foster growth and collaboration in the engineering community.

Now his leadership skills help him manage and motivate other volunteers and mentor engineering students. He received the 2021 IEEE MGA Young Professionals Achievement Award for organizing YP activities and the 2021 IEEE IAS Young Member Service Award for virtually engaging IEEE Industry Applications Society members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advice for aspiring engineers

To students considering a career in electrical engineering, Ihtisham emphasizes the importance of finding the right mentors and embracing open-source collaboration. He advises discussing ideas with experts to gain valuable insights and foster innovative thinking.

His success story underscores the value of mentorship, continuous learning, and community engagement. While he was in graduate school working toward his master’s degree, he began doing research to develop an effective and reliable brain-computer interface. He talked with the medical professionals in his family for information about how the brain works but then found himself at an impasse because there were not enough datasets in Pakistan for training his machine-learning software.

He reached out to the IEEE community and found a mentor for the project at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Their collaboration was fruitful enough that Ihtisham was invited to present a TEDx talk on what he had learned about addiction and neurofeedback.

Based on that project, he took home third prize in the IEEE IAS Chapters and Membership Department Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest in 2019.

Ihtisham’s journey with IEEE exemplifies the impact of dedication, mentorship, and continued learning on building an interesting and successful engineering career.

“My success is having an impact on my younger cousins,” he says. “If they want to pursue a career in engineering or another STEM field, they have someone in the family who can guide them.”

IEEE TryEngineering has partnered with Keysight Technologies to develop lesson plans focused on electronics and power simulation. Keysight provides hardware, software, and services to a wide variety of industries, particularly in the area of electronic measurement.

IEEE TryEngineering, an IEEE Educational Activities program, empowers educators to foster the next generation of technology innovators through free, online access to culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, and educationally sound instructional resources for teachers and community volunteers.

The lesson plans cover a variety of STEM topics, experience levels, and age ranges. Educators should be able to find an applicable topic for their students, regardless of their grade level or interests.

Lesson plans on circuits

There are already a number of lesson plans available through the Keysight partnership that introduce students to electrical concepts, with more being developed. The most popular one thus far is Series and Parallel Circuits, which has been viewed more than 100 times each month. Teams of pupils predict the difference between a parallel and serial circuit design by building examples using wires, light bulbs, and batteries.

“TryEngineering is proud to be Keysight’s partner in attaining the ambitious goal of bringing engineering lessons to 1 million students in 2024.” —Debra Gulick

The newest of the Keysight-sponsored lesson plans, Light Up Name Badge, teaches the basics of circuitry, such as the components of a circuit, series and parallel circuits, and electronic component symbols. Students can apply their newfound knowledge in a design challenge wherein they create a light-up badge with their name.

Developing a workforce through STEM outreach

“Keysight’s commitment to workforce development through preuniversity STEM outreach makes it an ideal partner for IEEE TryEngineering,” says Debra Gulick, director of student and academic education programs for IEEE Educational Activities.

In addition, Keysight’s corporate social responsibility vision to build a better planet by accelerating innovation to connect and secure the world while employing a global business framework of ethical, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible operations makes it a suitable IEEE partner.

“TryEngineering is proud to be Keysight’s partner in attaining the ambitious goal of bringing engineering lessons to 1 million students in 2024,” Gulick says.

The IEEE STEM Summit, a three-day virtual event in October for IEEE volunteers and educators, is expected to include a session highlighting Keysight’s lesson plans.

Educators and volunteers engaged in outreach activities with students can learn more on the Keysight TryEngineering partnership page.

The arrangement with Keysight was made possible with support from the IEEE Foundation.

Unlike most people who encounter the IEEE-USA MOVE (Mobile Outreach VEhicle) emergency relief truck, Ananya Yanduru wasn’t a survivor of a natural disaster who needed to charge her cellphone or access the Internet. Instead, the 16-year-old got a guided tour of the truck on the grounds of her high school. She had requested MOVE visit Canyon Crest Academy, in San Diego, so she and her classmates could learn about the technology it houses.

The vehicle is equipped with satellite Internet access and IP phone service. MOVE can charge up to 100 cellphones simultaneously. It also has a mobile television for tracking storms, as well as radios for communications. A generator and three solar panels on the roof power the technology.

When it’s not deployed to help in disaster recovery, the vehicle stops at venues so its team can provide guided tours, educating people about ways technology helps during disasters.

Yanduru spotted the truck in June 2023 when it was parked at the San Diego Convention Center. She was there to accompany her father, an IEEE senior member, to a conference.

“I saw that the truck had traveled across the United States to help with hurricanes, be there for disaster relief, and work with the American Red Cross,” she says. “I thought that was a big deal.” MOVE’s volunteers often coordinate their disaster-relief efforts with the Red Cross.

Tours were over for the day, but that didn’t stop her. She was so determined to explore the vehicle that as soon as she got home she went to the MOVE website and requested a visit to her school. It showed up a few weeks later.

Yanduru was most interested in its communications system. She was impressed that the vehicle had its own Wi-Fi network, she says.

“I really liked how the IEEE-USA MOVE truck is able to establish such a strong communication system in a disaster area,” she says. “The radio engineering communication part really clicked with me.”

The vehicle was a big hit at her school, Yanduru says. More than 70 students and teachers toured it. Some of the students brought their family and friends.

Qualcomm’s devices inspired an interest in engineering

Yanduru is no stranger to engineering or technology. She comes from a family of engineers and is a member of her school’s radio engineering, coding, and 3D printing clubs.

Her father, electrical engineer Naveen Yanduru, is vice president and general manager of Renesas Electronics, in San Diego. Her mother, electrical engineer Arunasree Parsi, has worked as a computer-aided design engineer for Qualcomm and other semiconductor companies. Parsi is now president and CEO of Kaleidochip, also in San Diego.

“I really liked how the IEEE-USA MOVE truck is able to establish such a strong communication system in a disaster area.”

Yanduru says her mother sparked her passion for technology. When the girl was a youngster, the two visited the Qualcomm Museum, which displays the company’s modems, chips, tracking systems, and other products.

“I got interested in engineering from looking at those devices and seeing how engineering could be applied to so many different aspects of the world and used in so many fields,” she says.

Her parents support her interest in engineering because “it’s something that we can talk about,” she says. “I always feel open to discussing technology with them because they have so much knowledge in the field.”

Students and teachers from San Diego’s Canyon Crest Academy line up to tour the IEEE-USA MOVE truck during its stop at the high school.Ananya Yanduru

Participating in ham radio, 3D printing, and coding clubs

It’s no surprise Yanduru was interested in the MOVE’s communication system. She is a cofounder and copresident of her school’s radio engineering club, which has 10 members. It teaches students about topics they need to know to pass the amateur radio licensing test.

Yanduru is a licensed amateur radio operator. Her call sign is K06BAM.

“Getting a license sounds cool to a lot of high school students,” she says, “so as the founders, we thought the club would get more interest if we showed them an easy way to get their ham radio license.”

Now that most members have a license, they decided to participate in other activities. They first chose NASA’s Radio JOVE. The citizen science project provides kits for building a simple radio telescope to conduct scientific analysis of planets, the Milky Way, and Earth-based radio emissions. The findings are then shared with radio observatories via the Internet.

The club’s students plan to build their telescope during summer break, Yanduru says, adding that in the next school year they’ll conduct experiments about energy coming from Jupiter, then will send their results to NASA for analysis.

Yanduru also helped establish the school’s 3D printing club. She teaches club members how to print. The six members also help teachers repair the printers.

Another hobby of hers is writing code. She is secretary of the academy’s Girls Who Code club, which has about 20 members, not including the classmates they teach. The program aims to increase the number of women in the tech field by teaching coding.

She is sharing the knowledge she gains from the club as a volunteer teaching assistant for the League of Amazing Programmers. The San Diego–based nonprofit after-school program trains students in grades 5 to 12 on Java and Python.

“I really like being part of all the clubs,” she says, “because they use different aspects of engineering. For 3D, you really get to see the creative and the physical aspects. Radio is obviously more abstract. And coding is fun.”

Yanduru is still a few years away from attending college, but she says she plans to pursue an engineering degree. Choosing which field is a dilemma, she says.

“There’s a lot of things in electrical engineering and computer engineering that I find interesting,” she says. “I’ll definitely be studying something in one of those fields.”

How artificial intelligence can empower teachers to deliver quality education.

GUEST COLUMN | by Richard Savage, Ed.D.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Grammarly have taken the world by storm. ChatGPT alone is setting records with more than 1.6 billion visits per month and 180 million active users. 

While technology has always driven educational transformation, the fast arrival of AI tools has created considerable debate among educators, largely due to uncertainty about their operation and path forward.

‘While technology has always driven educational transformation, the fast arrival of AI tools has created considerable debate among educators, largely due to uncertainty about their operation and path forward.’

As an online-based school, we’ve asked ourselves how AI will impact our own curriculum as an online-based learning environment and our academic integrity. Whether we’re prepared or not, students are already embracing the AI trend: roughly one-in-five teenagers who have heard of ChatGPT utilized the tool to aid them in their schoolwork, according to a 2023 Pew Research Study.

Parents Say AI Skills for Children ‘Crucial’ 

While the need for critical conversation around AI tools is warranted, optimism is rising. An April 2024 YouGov survey revealed that two-thirds of parents with children under 18 consider learning AI skills crucial for K-12 students’ future career prospects.

As schools nationwide face learning loss and low student engagement, coupled with overwhelmed and understaffed teaching staff, educators have opportunities to improve their classrooms through AI:

• Tracking Classroom Learning and Student Outcomes. One of the key advantages of AI is its capacity to process large volumes of data. In the classroom, this can provide teachers with deeper insights into student learning and outcomes. Platforms like BrightBytes use AI to track student performance, identify areas of difficulty and design effective interventions. Consolidating and analyzing classroom data through AI can help teachers create targeted instructional plans, ultimately enabling them to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks.

Educators Need Proper Training

However, our educators need proper training, AI literacy, and ethical guidelines to ensure responsible usage. This includes safeguarding student privacy, maintaining human oversight in AI-based decision-making and actively addressing algorithmic biases.

• Personalize Learning Experiences. If the technology is available, kids will find it and use it. When it comes to AI, that may not be a bad thing. In a 2023 study by Quizlet, 73 percent of students indicated that AI helps them to understand material better; 67 percent said it helped them to study faster and more efficiently. 

 

In the classroom, AI-powered platforms and tools have the ability to provide students more tailored instruction and feedback that caters to their individual learning styles, preferences and pace of learning. Personalized approaches both enhance student engagement and motivation while fostering deeper understanding of material. New technologies can also play a pivotal role in aiding classroom inclusivity by offering tools that accommodate diverse learning needs. Technologies like text-to-speech, speech recognition and language translation break down barriers, allowing students with varying levels of language proficiency or learning abilities to engage with educational content. 

On the teacher’s end, educators can leverage AI-powered platforms like Curipod or Eduaide.Ai to develop interactive lessons, activities and assessments for specific students or the class as a whole in topics that might be a little harder to comprehend. 

• Deploy AI in the Classroom To Assist with New Curriculum: Young people are prolific at using technology as it is something they have grown up with. Students have more information at the tip of their fingers than we ever thought possible. Unfortunately, there are times when the sources of news and information that students access contain misinformation.  

Getting Educated

Last year, the California Assembly passed Bill 873, which mandates media literacy education in various subjects, in response to the massive spread of misinformation and need for such skills. AI-based tools can help educators teach students how to recognize trusted sources vs. misinformation. In turn, this underscores the responsible use of technology and our responsibility as global citizens.

• New, Innovative AI-Themed Classes: Offer “Intro to AI” or AI-forward classes. These types of classes can help students learn about the vast, real world applications of AI beyond ChatCPT and open up a world of future possibilities for them to consider. Potential class offerings could include a coding class for AI or science which focuses on the vast applications of AI in medicine today. 

 

Lastly, if your school is incorporating AI into the classroom or including it as part of the students’ educational experience, it is imperative that you establish a clear AI policy. Also, it is very important to explain and reiterate the policy to students as they advance grade levels.

As educators, we play a crucial role in molding the foundation for the next generation. Drawing upon our own experience in the technology revolution and leading in the next, let’s ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive.

—

Dr. Richard Savage is the superintendent of California Online Public Schools, an accredited, tuition-free online public school serving students in grades TK-12 across 32 California counties. He has taught high school Spanish, coached soccer and volleyball, and served as vice principal to over 2,500 students at Antelope Valley High School. He also coordinated a Distinguished School Award, a successful six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and school-wide project-based learning implementation, during his time as school principal at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School. He holds an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of Laverne. Connect on LinkedIn.

The post The AI Advantage appeared first on EdTech Digest.

Today’s high school experience is overwhelming for students – many schools have complex rotation schedules, and students are expected to juggle their academic lives with an ever-expanding set of extracurriculars. The hardest part of high school shouldn’t be managing your schedule, and this cool tool, Saturn, aims to solve this.

Saturn is the first calendar built specifically for high school students. It has been designed from the ground up to support all of the irregularities of high school schedules, whether that is lunch waves, block schedules, or unusual rotation patterns. The app helps students become more productive and engaged members of their communities by better managing their class schedules, after-school activities, and community events – all while connecting with their friends.

Saturn was founded on the belief that students’ most important community is actually the community closest to them – their high school. Unlike other social media platforms that serve as time-sinks via an endless feed of content, Saturn’s mission is to give students time back so they can focus on spending more time with the people that matter most to them. Features include countdowns, communal bulletin boards, and the ability to upload class schedules with just a photo.

Dylan Diamond (look for an upcoming interview with him in EdTech Digest) first built a calendar app in 2015, when he was a high school junior. He was in search of a tool to help manage his high school’s complex schedule, telling him where he needed to be and when, and also where his friends were. Three years later, Dylan and his co-founder launched a similar calendar app for other high schools, and the results were clear. This was a product that high school students badly needed. Today, Saturn is a leading mobile app, supporting students at almost 20,000 schools and millions of students used it during this past school year.

Saturn is designed to prioritize student safety throughout the product. Saturn employs multi-layered verification processes aimed to connect users to their specific school community on Saturn. Saturn also maintains Community Guidelines, and monitors content and user reports on the app to facilitate  content that upholds a vibrant, informative, and safe environment for all users. When Saturn or its users identify inappropriate content, Saturn may report it to the relevant school or law enforcement. Learn more.

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Rebecca Leis, Ph.D. is a Full Sail University Program Director overseeing the Computer Science Bachelor of Science – Mobile Development Concentration, Computer Science Master of Science, and User Experience Bachelor of Science degree programs. In her role, she continues to work to build new hands-on educational opportunities for current and future students.

Leis brings with her into the role knowledge from earning a master’s and a Ph. D in Modeling and Simulation. Her research focused on an acute understanding of the human mind through technology. For example, while earning her master’s degree, one of her research studies explored how people could use technology to become safer, more efficient workers in high-risk jobs at oil rigs or nuclear power plants.

Recently, Leis, Ph.D. has done the following:

Aided in the launch and deployment of three new Full Sail emerging technologies degree programs – Computer Science Master of Science, User Experience Bachelor of Science, as well as the Computer Science Bachelor of Science Mobile and Artificial Intelligence (AI) concentrations.

Played an instrumental role in the grand opening of the “Full Sail University Fitness Technology Lab Powered by Echelon Fit.” This on-campus lab environment allows students across the emerging technologies-focused degree programs to participate in innovative research initiatives centered on enhancing existing Echelon equipment and features, as well as the development and implementation of new features for different Echelon product lines.

Continued to manage a team of over 50 educators while regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the programs she oversees. For these reasons and more, Rebecca Leis, Ph.D. is The EdTech Leadership Awards 2024 Winner for “Best Higher Education Leader” as part of The EdTech Awards from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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When it comes to addressing climate change, the “in unity there’s strength” adage certainly applies.

To support IEEE’s climate change initiative, which highlights innovative solutions and approaches to the climate crisis, IEEE’s TryEngineering program has created a collection of lesson plans, activities, and events that cover electric vehicles, solar and wind power systems, and more.

TryEngineering, a program within IEEE Educational Activities, aims to foster the next generation of technology innovators by providing preuniversity educators and students with resources.

To help bring the climate collection to more students, TryEngineering has partnered with the Museum of Science in Boston. The museum, one of the world’s largest science centers, reaches nearly 5 million people annually through its physical location, nearby classrooms, and online platforms.

TryEngineering worked with the museum to distribute a nearly four-minute educational video created by Moment Factory, a multimedia studio specializing in immersive experiences. Using age-appropriate language, the video, which is posted on TryEngineering’s climate change page, explores the issue through visual models and scientific explanations.

“Since the industrial revolution, humans have been digging up fossil fuels and burning them, which releases CO2 into the atmosphere in unprecedented quantities,” the video says. It notes that in the past 60 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide increased at a rate 100 times faster than previous natural changes.

“We are committed to energizing students around important issues like climate change and helping them understand how engineering can make a difference.”

The video explains the impact of pollutants such as lead and ash, and it adds that “when we work together, we can change the global environment.” The video encourages students to contribute to a global solution by making small, personal changes.

“We’re thrilled to contribute to the IEEE climate change initiative by providing IEEE volunteers and educators access to TryEngineering’s collection, so they have resources to use with students,” says Debra Gulick, director of IEEE student and academic education programs.

“We are excited to partner with the Museum of Science to bring even more awareness and exposure of this important issue to the school setting,” Gulick says. “Working with prominent partners like the museum, we are committed to energizing students around important issues like climate change and helping them understand how engineering can make a difference.”

Founded by Michael and Fiona Holmstrom, leaders in the STEM education space through pedagogy and innovative, engaging STEM programs globally. STEM Punks originated as modest after-school garage classes, our initiative rapidly gained popularity among parents and educators. 

STEM Punks is driven by the mission to ”Inspire Tomorrow’s Innovators,” a journey begun long before STEM education was part of the national curriculum in Michael and Fiona’s home country of Australia.

They offer a comprehensive range of online STEM programs meticulously crafted to nurture creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship for primary/high school students.

Some recent highlights: 

• Pioneering modern broadcasting techniques and digital technology delivers high-quality, cost-effective, ”STEM Punks TV”, bridging the equity gap in STEM education. Gained global recognition, attracting major players like Amazon Web Service and UNESCO, with over 200,000 interactions.
• Collaborations with industry leaders, such as Lockheed Martin, Komatsu, and World Science Festival, to cultivate future-focused skills, essential for tomorrow’s workforce.
• Innovation Sports, merging STEM, design thinking, and eSports, empowered over 500 Australian students with plans for expansion into the US through a partnership with NASEF.
• Secured an eight-year contract with Lockheed Martin, shaping STEM career pathways for 40,000 high school students,
• Introduced a three-year School Partner program benefiting 5,000 students and teachers in Chile, Peru, and Colombia.
• Initiated SPACE 2101, five-day STEM and Design Thinking events across the UK, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia, and Thailand with astronauts, fostering new STEM skills and collaborative solutions for the space industry.
• Collaborations with Vietnam National University introducing SMART gardens and micro bits.
• Ensuring equality in STEM education, encouraging more girls to take part.

For these reasons and more, Michael and Fiona Holmstrom of STEM Punks were named Winners of The EdTech Leadership Awards for “Best Founder(s) / CEO” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.

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