A school librarian coordinates online learning to help students extend their reach.   

GUEST COLUMN | by Tara Grosso

For smaller high schools like ours, offering students a diverse and enriching curriculum can be hampered by having limited local resources. It’s no secret that fewer students often means fewer course offerings—a reality that can restrict student choice and hinder their academic aspirations. Before online learning emerged, the answer could only be solved in one of two ways: either hire more teachers to cover the additional workload or offer fewer course options to students.

‘Success with online learning requires students to keep up with due dates, be self-motivated, and take control of their learning. These are all soft skills that translate well in college, the workplace and life in general.’

Today, small schools don’t have to settle for limited course offerings. By establishing a partnership with an online education program, small schools can offer courses that align with their school’s goals and open up new opportunities for students, enabling schools to utilize their resources more efficiently. Our 300-student high school (Hull High School, in Hull, Massachusetts) discovered this win-win scenario about 12 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. 

I was the library media specialist and after my first year of working at my school our principal decided to partner with a nonprofit online course provider to better serve the academic needs of our student population. We initially used the online provider for credit recovery and later added electives. We currently purchase 25 student enrollments plus receive another 10 at no charge from the STEM Advanced Placement (AP) Access Expansion Opportunity (SAPAO)—a statewide initiative funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) designed to increase Massachusetts students’ participation in advanced STEM coursework. SAPAO has provided Massachusetts high schools with access to ten AP STEM courses free of charge. Advanced course options include AP Computer Science Principles, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, and more.

Top 5 Reasons We Use Online Learning to Enhance Our School

Here are some of the top ways we work with our online learning partner to provide new opportunities for students: 

Let students delve into AP courses. Our small high school doesn’t always have enough students interested in specific AP subjects or enough AP teachers to teach all the different subjects requested. For motivated students who want to take those extra classes, the online learning program gives them a chance to add those advanced classes (e.g., AP Statistics, AP Biology, and AP Psychology) to their schedules. Last year, one of our students who wants to be a pharmacist took both the AP Statistic and AP Chemistry classes online.

Offer unique elective courses. Students can take a wide range of electives that they wouldn’t have access to in our traditional classrooms. Our school is located on a peninsula that sticks out into the ocean, for example, so they absolutely love the fact that they can take Oceanography. This semester, some students also took Psychology of Crime, which was new for us, and a few others began taking Business Law. The options are virtually limitless.

Break down barriers for students. We encourage our entire student body to give online learning a try. Being in an online classroom helps the students from our small school learn with and from students from around the world, leading to a better understanding of global perspectives. We always encourage someone to go for it, even if they’re dubious and unsure about the difficulty level. We just tell them to give it a chance.  This year, we started offering American Sign Language (ASL) for the first time and we also offer a “Who Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?” course to help students discover possible careers. We had two students who both did well in the latter course several years ago who I still keep in touch with today. 

Teach soft skills for success in college, career, and life. Success with online learning requires students to keep up with due dates, be self-motivated, and take control of their learning. These are all soft skills that translate well in college, the workplace and life in general. If a student runs off track a bit with his or her coursework, we also encourage them to advocate for themselves, communicate with their online teachers, and get the support they need to be able to get back on track. 

Prep students for career success. Our online learning program also teaches students the basics of time management, which is extremely critical as these young people move from high school to college to career. The 200+ different courses also help students who aren’t sure about their future college or career paths. They can try out a few different options and decide what is or isn’t right for them. The great thing is that these courses can be taken as electives and with much less pressure. 

Let them Take a Risk and a Chance

This year, two of our 52 high school graduates got accepted into Harvard University, and both took AP courses. We’re immensely proud of this accomplishment and of our entire graduating class. In fact, one of them has been taking online courses from our partner since her sophomore year, and most recently took AP Statistics and AP European History.  

Whatever unique subject our students want to explore, they can find it online. There are so many options available within a safe, secure environment and our students can stretch themselves academically while also expanding their horizons by meeting students from all over the world.

—

Tara Grosso is Library Media Specialist and VHS Learning site coordinator at Hull High School in Hull, Mass.  A librarian and educator for over two decades, she earned her Masters of Education, Elementary Education and Teaching from Lesley University. Connect with Tara on LinkedIn.

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Xello is an online, K-12 college, career and future readiness program that helps students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds cultivate their self-knowledge and skill building while exploring options for life after high school.

Founded in 1995 by a team of recent college graduates struggling to understand their career options, Xello builds solutions for students to become future-ready by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and insights to make informed decisions and build actionable plans.

Starting in elementary school, Xello sparks curiosity and excitement around exploring current interests and future options in developmentally appropriate ways. The reflective activities help students build social-emotional skills like communication, problem-solving, and self-advocacy. For older students, a series of assessments helps them dig deeper into their interests, aptitudes, and aspirations.

Students with access to college and career readiness programs in elementary school have been shown to have better self-knowledge, be more engaged in school, and be better prepared to plan for a successful future. Students spend over 1 million hours using the Xello software each academic year, with 20% of logins happening outside of school hours, making Xello 14 times more engaging than the average education software program.

The content is available in English and Spanish and optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop. It can be accessed via single sign-in and incorporated into Google Classrooms and Google Drive, making it easy for students to log in at the 9,000-plus schools across North America that use Xello. For these reasons and more, Xello is the Winner of a Cool Tool Award for “Best Career Planning Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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Helping educators build and maintain healthy literacy ecosystems to support transfer of knowledge at scale and improve student outcomes.

GUEST COLUMN | by Ethan Scherer

What does science and social studies have to do with moving the needle on nationwide reading outcomes? 

• Only thirty-five percent of 4^th grade students were proficient readers before the pandemic, and this has declined. 
• Research shows that high-quality science and social studies units can help build skilled readers.

The good news is that your ELA block doesn’t have to work alone to achieve your academic goals.

Instead, educators can steadily and systematically build connections over time to help students transfer explicitly taught knowledge to new, untaught topics —in the classroom and beyond.

‘…educators can steadily and systematically build connections over time to help students transfer explicitly taught knowledge to new, untaught topics —in the classroom and beyond.’

Developed out of READS LAB at Harvard University, Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) is an elementary science and social studies program that improves academic outcomes – including literacy and math. 

How does MORE do it? Schemas. What are schemas? They are knowledge frameworks that help students organize and connect information. 

READS Lab found that their schema-building program caused lasting improvements in elementary-grade students’ ability to read for understanding in science, social studies, and English language arts.

How did they get such powerful results?

It wasn’t just due to standards-aligned lessons. MORE’s unique focus on schemas and returning to topics and concepts year-after-year with increasing complexity, encouraged students to “hang” new vocabulary and topics onto existing knowledge to make connections and bigger patterns visible. For example, in economics, students “think like a buyer” in first grade and think about market systems as a whole by third grade. 

Through an innovative, digital portal that can be incorporated into a classroom Learning Management System, MORE equips teachers with three evidence-based tools:

• Lessons
• Digital activities
• Formative assessments of transfer

Teachers use these three tools flexibly to get their students reading, writing, and discussing complex science and social studies topics.

READS LAB

Thanks to the funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the team behind MORE was able to conduct a randomized controlled trial – a rigorous study using the highest levels of evidence –  to follow students who received MORE over time, as well as after the program completed. They found that:

• The difference in reading for long-term MORE students was equal to more than two months’ worth of additional literacy learning after embedding MORE within the science and social studies blocks for only 6 weeks per year.
• MORE also improved state mathematics scores.
• The results of MORE persisted two years later without additional lessons.

But teaching schemas doesn’t start and end in the classroom.

The MORE team spent years distilling research into core principles and practices that build schemas throughout the school day. The next phase is all about making these principles and practices available to a broader audience. MORE has developed a unique model to successfully scale up and transfer these significant results by:

• Building a low-cost, high-impact teacher training model that is being used by more than 1,800 teachers.
• Developing a robust technological infrastructure that lets teachers, administrators and district leaders cohere around a common goal and leverages resources, real-time data, and tools to adapt the program to their context.
• Empowering local educators to adapt the core concepts of MORE to meet specific needs of their students and fit flexibly into their school day.
• Increasing the number of students served by more than tenfold in the last three years.

Based upon this strong foundation, MORE won a highly selective federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant to continue to scale its impact to help kids learn to become skilled readers.  The combined support of CZI and the EIR grant expands the reach and access to MORE, and provides an additional runway to allow for long-term sustainability and growth of the program.The grant and CZI’s continued support will provide funding through the end of 2029, providing time to develop MORE’s self-sustaining model.

Here’s the bottom line: MORE’s core principles and practices – their emphasis on schemas and transfer – can be applied to any subject in any classroom. So, instead of skimping on science and social studies, try a schematic approach to improve academic outcomes. If you are a district with over 20,000 students and want to hear more, let the MORE team know via the MORE website sign-up page. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about our offerings as we continue to scale.

—

Ethan Scherer is the Director of READS Lab at Harvard University. READS Lab helps educators build and maintain healthy literacy ecosystems to support transfer of knowledge at scale and improve student outcomes and created the Model of Reading Engagement (MORE). Connect with Ethan on Linkedin.

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This cool tool is perhaps the only comprehensive, career-first platform, shifting from the traditional ”college-for-all” model by offering diverse career pathways aligned with the 21st-century job market.

Contrary to tools focusing solely on career selection, MajorClarity by Paper guides students to make informed and thoughtful academic decisions throughout their educational journey, steering clear of common indecision pitfalls. Students are directed to courses aligning with their career interests, providing opportunities for deeper experiences like micro-credentials and work-based learning. The platform’s active learning approach engages students in a dynamic cycle of feedback, from immediate corrections in career simulations to color-coded course plans aligned with their chosen career pathway.

Emphasizing modern skill development, MajorClarity offers micro-credentials co-authored with industry partners, actively updated career pathways, and support for soft skills through journal reflections and practical tools like Resume Builder. Active learning and visual content significantly boost student retention, leveraged through Q-and-A videos, proprietary simulations, and test-drives, increasing the likelihood of students selecting a career-aligned plan by 189%.

The platform offers a comprehensive suite of pre-built and customizable reporting for administrators at district and school levels. Reports cover all data elements, including work-based learning participation, micro-credential completion, progress on checklists, state-mandated Academic and Career Plans (ACPs), and more.

To balance student ownership over 4-year Academic Plans with logistical needs, MajorClarity’s Customer Success team collaborates with partners, building custom pathways, training educators, and providing pre-built lesson plans.

Addressing software underutilization, MajorClarity prioritizes student activation, achieving an industry-high 70% activation among top-performing districts, compared to the 10-20% industry average.

For these reasons and more, MajorClarity earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Career Planning Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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An expert provides guidance as a familiar assessment takes a turn. 

GUEST COLUMN | by Anne Huntington Sharma

The introduction of the digital SAT marks a significant shift in the landscape of academic assessments. As students embark on this new journey of digital testing, they face both challenges and opportunities unique to this format. At the forefront of this transition should be comprehensive support and tailored strategies to navigate these changes successfully. Personalized tutoring, targeted preparation programs, and a deep understanding of the digital SAT format equips students with the skills and confidence needed to excel in the digital era of standardized testing.

‘The introduction of the digital SAT marks a significant shift in the landscape of academic assessments.’

Understanding the Digital SAT

Format: The digital SAT mirrors the content and structure of the traditional SAT but is administered on a computer. This means that students will answer questions, write essays, and navigate through the exam using a digital interface.

Tools and Features: Test-takers have access to various tools such as highlighting, flagging questions for review, and a digital calculator. Familiarizing yourself with these features beforehand can streamline your testing experience.

Adaptability: Unlike the paper SAT, the digital version is adaptive, meaning the difficulty of questions may adjust based on your responses. This highlights the importance of pacing and accuracy throughout the exam.

Best Practices for Success

Practice with digital Tools: Before test day, spend time familiarizing yourself with the digital tools available during the exam. Resources that offer practice tests in a digital format can help you simulate the testing environment effectively.

Time Management: Develop a pacing strategy to ensure you allocate sufficient time to each section. With the digital format, it’s crucial to manage your time effectively, especially considering the adaptive nature of the exam.

Practice Typing Skills: Since the digital SAT includes a written essay, proficiency in typing can be advantageous. Practice typing essays within the allotted time to improve your speed and accuracy.

Review and Reflect: After completing practice tests or sections, take time to review your performance. Identify areas of strength and weakness to guide your study efforts effectively.

Simulate Test Conditions: To optimize your preparation, simulate test conditions by practicing with a computer, adhering to time limits, and eliminating distractions. This ensures you stay focused and create a conducive environment for concentration during practice sessions and on test day.

Seek Support: Don’t hesitate to reach out to teachers, tutors, or other trusted resources if you encounter challenges or have questions about the digital format. Seeking support from experienced professionals can help clarify any uncertainties and bolster your confidence as you prepare for the digital SAT.

From Here On Out

The digital SAT is the new normal and students must adapt their preparation strategies to succeed with the new format. It would be wise to find a trusted resource in this transition, offering tailored support and expertise to navigate the nuances of the digital platform effectively. Remember, thorough preparation, strategic planning, and a positive mindset are key ingredients for achieving your desired score. 

Embrace the transition to the digital SAT, and seize the opportunity to showcase your skills and knowledge on test day. With the right support, you’re well-equipped to conquer the challenges and excel in the digital era of standardized testing. As the ACT moves online in 2025, it would be wise to be equally prepared our students by getting help to successfully navigate this additional shift in standardized testing.

—

Anne Huntington Sharma is President at Huntington Learning Center, a leading K-12 tutoring and test prep provider offering customized programs in-person, online, and a combination of the two. Their certified teachers provide individualized instruction in phonics, reading, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. Huntington preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington is accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Connect with Anne on LinkedIn. 

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Today’s teens aren’t informed or confident enough about what they want to do after graduation – research shows that more than 65 percent feel they would have benefited from more career exploration during middle and high school. Moreover, 87% of middle schoolers were interested in ways to match their specific skills and passions with potential careers. This can’t possibly happen in the classroom alone, so why not meet them where they are—on their phones. Working with thousands of teens, American Student Assistance (ASA) created EvolveMe™, a free digital resource that gives teens fun digital experiences to learn about education and career possibilities that match their interests, along with building skills and confidence. It prepares teens for their career journey by incentivizing them to explore, experiment, and take actions via tasks related to mentorships, virtual internships, mock job interview coaching, and coding challenges offer transferable skills development, mentorships, and real-world experiences like virtual internships opportunities. EvolveMe works because we co-created it with thousands of kids who gave us feedback and direction on everything from features and functionality, platform names, color palette, fonts, and overall design. There are nearly two million users now and more than 200 career tasks. For these reasons and more, EvolveMe earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Career Planning Solution” as part of the EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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This student-centered approach engages students with math challenges, frees them to explore solutions collaboratively, and then connects the entire process to underlying concepts.

GUEST COLUMN | by Matt Haber

SIMPLELINE

Throughout my years in education, I’ve often heard that a teacher’s role is to fill empty brains. Educators know that is not accurate. Students come to us with so much knowledge, cultural skill, and understanding of the world, and filling “empty” brains doesn’t work anyway. The only way to learn is to connect new experiences with old ones. We can’t shovel math knowledge into students’ brains like we’re filling a hole, but we can provide them with math-based experiences and collaborate with them to make those experiences relevant.

I currently work in Oxnard School District, where we put this idea into action by creating “thinking classrooms” for math learning, based on the book Building Thinking Classrooms. Thinking classrooms also allow students to practice skills that are in high demand among employers, including collaboration, perseverance, resilience, and problem-solving. As this approach to teaching and learning has made its way into other classes, I’ve seen students become more intuitive in subjects such as social studies and science, too. 

Here’s how my district helps our students understand math by beginning with what they already know and then encouraging collaboration and exploration.

Engagement, Exploration, and Consolidation

When I was in school, a teacher would teach us how to do something, for example multiplying fractions. Then we would do 20 problems just like the one we’d been shown. There was no thinking involved. We were just mimicking, following a process we were shown with no understanding of the logic behind it. In an effort to move beyond mimicry and encourage deeper understanding, thinking classrooms have three parts: engagement, exploration, and consolidation.

We begin with an engaging and exciting launch. Recently, for example, I put an orange and a small, very light block on opposite ends of a seesaw. Of course, the seesaw tilted all the way toward the orange. The question I asked was, “How many blocks will balance the orange?” I told the class I wouldn’t give them a scale, and asked them what they would need to answer the question. They said they would need the weights of the orange and the block.

It’s important to get started quickly with a conundrum like this that grabs students’ attention. When students arrive in the classroom, I don’t ask them to sit down. I just have them toss their backpacks aside and join me at the front of the classroom. Together, we go through the engagement piece and I provide them with enough information to be successful (without giving them too much detail) in the first three to five minutes. I split them into groups by having them draw cards and putting the kings with the kings, the queens with the queens, and so on. It’s important that groups are random so that students are working with a variety of peers and encountering a range of approaches to the concepts we are learning.

Once in groups, the class moves into the exploration stage, where students use vertical whiteboards in groups of three to work together on solutions. Students talk to each other, begin to develop their voices, and exercise their mathematical agency. I give my students between 15 and 20 minutes to complete their exploration.

Educators are not always accustomed to seeing as much self-directed learning in math as they see in my teachers’ classrooms. My experience has shown me that allowing students to explore rather than “sit and get” will lead to higher interest, deeper engagement, fewer behavior issues, and a space for deeper learning to occur. During exploration, I like to give classes three “slices,” which are three different challenges. Three challenges are important because they give students who figure out the first one something else to focus on while other groups are still working. 

To transition from their exploration to solidifying a solution, we move to the consolidation or closure stage, which provides students the ability to present their solutions to the class. This is where we connect the experiences they’ve just had back to math concepts, creating the opportunity to take meaningful notes about what they have discovered and learned together.

Another example of consolidation is to conduct a “gallery walk,” where all students go from board to board, writing on sticky notes to place on the boards. When we sit back down, students write “notes to my future forgetful self,” in which they sum up what they learned during the lesson. One way to encourage more meaningful notes is to have students create a math problem in addition to solving the one I gave them. 

Writing their problems and solutions down helps to cement concepts in their minds, and the notes themselves provide excellent exit tickets to help teachers decide which students, if any, need additional support or instruction.

Building Thinking Classrooms with Visual-Spatial Puzzles

One of the most important tools we use to launch thinking classroom experiences during the engagement stage is ST Math, created by MIND Education, which uses visual puzzles to illustrate math concepts. I’ve actually used it with my own children, and have even completed a few puzzles myself to refresh my mind on some middle school math concepts. Oxnard adopted ST Math to support our shift from procedural math to a more conceptually focused approach.

The first time I used it as the engagement piece, I was working with a 5th-grade teacher on a fraction lesson. We selected three puzzles, each increasingly difficult, to serve as the three slices. We printed out the puzzles and made copies. At the end of the lesson, we used the software to show students how their proposed solutions worked.

I was excited because the ideas behind Building Thinking Classrooms became the structure of the class and the visual and engaging puzzles became the curriculum. The prep was as easy as making a handful of copies of the puzzles, and even that could be eliminated by having students bring their computers to the front of the classroom with the appropriate puzzle on the screen.

Since that first experiment, we’ve developed a small cohort of teachers who are continuing to use and refine this approach to engagement.

Tangible Results

To gauge how well our new model for math education was working, I identified everyone among Oxnard’s 800 teachers who use thinking classrooms at least twice a week. I then tracked the change in their Star Assessments scores from fall to spring. Students in classrooms that used thinking classrooms at least twice a week had an average improvement of 10.46 percentage points, compared to just 3.89 points among other students. I did have a control group, but this was not a rigorous study, so I can’t say for certain that the difference is attributable to thinking classrooms. It could be that the teachers using this approach are more conscientious or exceptionally hardworking. Nevertheless, it is promising.

Over the past five years, I have consistently interviewed students about thinking classrooms. One of the most frequent responses I get is that students feel less anonymous when they are standing up and working in small groups than when they are sitting at their desks. They share that they like using whiteboards so they can easily erase mistakes and start anew, making it easier for them to take risks as they work through problems. 

Recently, I worked with one of our special education classes that was trying this approach for the first time. The teacher and the aides were really excited after the lesson was over because they had never seen this kind of engagement during math. There were even students who I was told usually could not work together, but who had collaborated beautifully throughout the lesson. It reminded me of the misconceptions we hold about what our students are capable of and how they want to learn. These students can work together in the right context, and many more children can thrive when we center them and unleash their agency than when we sit them at a desk with a worksheet to complete.

Building a thinking classroom like we have is logistically very easy, but as is the case with anything new, it will require practice and the space to do so. The key is shifting our philosophy about how we teach and learn. It’s not the way teachers are used to teaching, and students have been taught to learn in a certain way. If it doesn’t work the first time, that may simply mean that everyone needs a little more practice.

My goal is to create spaces for students to explore and collaborate. It took thousands of years for mathematicians to come up with the division algorithm. With a little practice, we can allow our students to have some of that same fun of discovering mathematics — instead of trying to fill their heads.

—

Matthew Haber is manager of mathematics and physical education at Oxnard School District. He has been developing mathematics teachers for more than 25 years. He taught all grade levels in the Los Angeles area, then began leading teachers on special assignments and developing and facilitating professional development. For 10 years, he led mathematics in LAUSD. In 2013, he was recruited by the San Joaquin County Office of Education to improve math instruction in multiple districts. He has written two books, including New School Math for Old School Parents, a title for teachers and parents centered around supporting learners in the 21st century. Write to: mhaber@oxnardsd.org.

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Kaplan Career Core is the first example of a shared career service across multiple universities allowing for both highly-personalized and high-scale work readiness to prepare students for whatever’s next. This innovative model provides valuable career services and resources difficult for individual universities to offer, equipping students for their first jobs and ongoing career success.

It features access to generalist and industry-specific career coaches and an academically rigorous, asynchronous career education curriculum. Developed in partnership with Wake Forest University, this pioneering model enhances schools’ existing career programs with complementary capabilities, enabling them to meaningfully improve their career services affordably and efficiently, while still providing a flexible and tailored program.

Career Core’s self-paced online curriculum is divided into three phases to help students examine, explore and apply. Courses include world-class video content focused on personal and professional development, as well as self-assessment plans for career discovery. The engaging content is all in digestible learning units for thoughtful exploration.

Live, interactive group coaching sessions for in-demand fields including data science, technology, and finance, are available including on nights and weekends, meeting students where they are. This guidance helps students identify career goals and prepares them for a confident entrance into the professional world. Career Core coaches come from diverse backgrounds to mirror the diversity of students.

Schools receive real-time data, including enrollment, page views, and coaching sessions scheduled. Student satisfaction surveys, administered after live coaching sessions and completed learning journeys, have an average score of 4.8 out of 5.

For these reasons and more, Career Core from Kaplan earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Career Planning Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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CaHill Resources and subsidiary CAHill TECH have a mission to solve the labor gap in the trade space, with an initial focus on heavy highway, road, and bridge construction.

The company is committed to the vision of making trade-based training available to anyone, anytime. Using a digital platform and mobile application, they provide risk reduction and operational savings to construction companies that employ millions of frontline workers.

aQuiRe™ offers over 350 modules in their library, empowering users with knowledge about different subjects like Site Operations; Machine Inspection & Maintenance; OSHA & Field Safety, and much more.

In addition, aQuiRe Construction Academy is serving the “entry organizations” side of the market and offers diverse learning materials, including Module Videos, Resources, and Quizzes to cater to different learning styles. Whether a participant learns best through visual, auditory, or written means, the program provides an array of resources to support their unique needs. CaHill Resources is a certified WBE-DBE organization.

Currently, they support 29 municipal/private clients in New York State. They are also on the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) which will help gather students to complete the aQuiRe Construction Academy and receive construction training.

Upon the completion of a set of modules, learners earn a badge or micro-credential, signifying their achievement in the related Modules of Study. As participants progress and complete multiple micro-credentials under the same Library, they can earn different or multiple stackable credentials. These stackable credentials demonstrate that participants have acquired valuable knowledge and skills in construction training.

For these reasons and more, CaHill Resources earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Badging/Credentialing Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 and aQuiRe™ earned a Cool Tool Award Winner for “Best Mobile App Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2022 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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A veteran edtech leader who hires shares his inside look and why he’s hopeful.

GUEST COLUMN | by Jason Wilmot 

Current college seniors have certainly faced a challenging journey. They enrolled in higher education during the pandemic, just after their high school years were abruptly interrupted by school shutdowns. They likely spent a significant portion of their college experience engaging in remote learning. Now, they are getting ready to step into the professional world in a time of deep uncertainty. Alongside worries about the economy, the impending influence of artificial intelligence on numerous sectors raises questions about the future of work and job security.

However, there is reason for optimism. I’ve been an edtech leader for two decades and frequently hire candidates who are early in their career. I believe that recent college graduates may be much better prepared for the workforce than they think they are.

‘However, there is reason for optimism. I’ve been an edtech leader for two decades and frequently hire candidates who are early in their career. I believe that recent college graduates may be much better prepared for the workforce than they think they are.‘

Yes, the professional landscape is changing quickly. However, the experiences that these soon-to-be college graduates have had, while challenging, may not necessarily be a disadvantage. If they embrace the positives of those experiences and commit to learning and working hard, they can still find success. Here are some of the characteristics I look for when hiring:

Structured Independence. The ability to operate independently is a huge strength and a key trait that recent graduates bring to the table. They’re entering the professional world with a wealth of experience in remote work. They’ve shown the capacity to maintain motivation and complete tasks without immediate supervision. They’ve tackled problems in a structured way, independently and in collaborative groups. Staying on task, managing school projects, engaging in group assignments and presentations, they’ve collaborated using technology to complete a task. All these experiences hold significant value in the professional realm.

I also appreciate candidates who have a diverse set of passions and interests that they pursue independently. I believe that broad experiences and knowledge lead to stronger teams and better ideas. It’s easy to think that the best way to prepare for a role in tech is to focus narrowly on internships and other experiences in the industry. These certainly can help, but great candidates who exhibit a more holistic range of experiences can often be more successful. Did you learn a new programming language during the pandemic lockdown? Do you volunteer with a local organization? Did you start a club? Do you play sports? Did you drive a hot dog-shaped truck around the country as part of a job for a meat company, as one of my recent new hires did? Don’t overlook the value of those experiences on your communication and collaboration skills.

Curiosity. A common question I get asked is whether I consider proficiency in AI skills as a prerequisite for hiring. The reality is, right now, there’s no definitive measure of AI proficiency. The technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that we’re all in a constant state of learning and adapting.

However, it’s a huge positive when a candidate has used AI tools. It demonstrates curiosity. When working in tech, it’s important to stay on the cutting edge – but that doesn’t always mean formal courses or training. Instead, I want to hire folks who are genuinely curious about new technology and see its potential. How can it make me more efficient? How can it improve the quality of my work? How can it help me prioritize and stay organized? Especially for recent graduates, I’m more interested in their mindset than their skills. After all, when it comes to technologies like AI, we’re all still students.

Visual Communication. In a visual world where so much of our communication happens remotely, the ability to present your ideas in a compelling and creative way is increasingly crucial. At Canva, the final step in our hiring process involves candidates completing a project and presenting it. We’re on the lookout for creativity and authenticity; we encourage you to take risks and let your personality shine. Animations, videos, and engaging graphics to tell a story with data are all welcome.

Recent graduates are in a prime position to excel in this area. They are constantly communicating through visuals – not only in their classes, but also through social media platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. If they can intentionally refine their design skills and enhance their visual communication abilities, it’s a significant advantage.

The process of applying for that first job after college can seem daunting. However, recent graduates should not be disheartened. Their experiences and the challenges they’ve overcome have helped them to develop many skills that are extremely valuable in tech. If they lean into those skills while still being open to learning and adapting, they will find that they are not just ready, but well-prepared to make their mark in the tech world.

—

Jason Wilmot is Canva’s Head of Education. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

The post College Students, Don’t Despair: You May Be Better Prepared for the Workforce Than You Think appeared first on EdTech Digest.

How secure is your network IT? How easy is it to keep up with rapidly evolving demands?

GUEST COLUMN | by Tom Rixom

Network security within higher education has significantly transformed as institutions reevaluate their security frameworks to repel increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats. Recent research found that 79% of higher education providers reported being hit by ransomware in 2023, up from 64% in 2022. The average data breach cost in the higher education and training sector was $3.65 million between March 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 2.3% over the year before and a 15.3% surge since 2020.

The problem isn’t going away. With hackers targeting younger and younger students, today’s colleges and universities are part of a larger ecosystem that must meet increasingly demanding security realities to protect the network and the individuals within their community.

‘…today’s colleges and universities are part of a larger ecosystem that must meet increasingly demanding security realities to protect the network and the individuals within their community.’

Modern Challenges for Campus IT

Traditional, credential-based security measures have proven inadequate to secure campus networks. They’re frustrating for IT staff and users alike, who must frequently authenticate via credentials on multiple devices to networks (such as the university’s WiFi) or be forced to change passwords on arbitrary timelines. 

IT teams are racing to adopt security methods to withstand today’s threats without adding headaches for faculty, staff, or students. They know that introducing unnecessary friction, such as burdensome security measures, means that users often find workarounds; nearly seven in ten admins worry that adding additional security measures negatively impacts the user experience. It’s not enough to educate and train users: if a process is complicated or labor-intensive, you’ll annoy users and weaken your security posture.

Campus IT management is also complicated by the need to support a complex device environment. Students, faculty, and staff rely on a mix of desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and  IoT devices running on various operating systems like Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and more. Such device diversity makes uniform security measures complicated—if not impossible. It can be difficult to manually onboard users under bring your own device (BYOD)  policies due to the different operating systems, wireless utilities, drivers, and more. Trying to manually configure a device to attain the WPA2-Enterprise standard isn’t easy; incorrectly configured devices can leave users and the network vulnerable to over-the-air attacks.

Higher Education institutions face another challenge in the cost and limitations of on-premise infrastructure. Many depend on on-premise public key infrastructure (PKI) and RADIUS servers, which limit scalability and burden IT admins with getting and keeping everything running smoothly. Maintaining these systems requires significant IT resources for ongoing management, updates, and security, which can divert IT time from other strategic priorities.

Network Security for the Long-Term

As institutions tackle these challenges, they’re looking to build an IT environment with robust network security that’s simple for users and agile enough to adapt to evolving needs and threats. Cloud computing and digital transformation have rendered many legacy processes and hardware obsolete and help Higher Ed institutions demonstrate their commitment to an innovative—and inherently secure—environment.

Implement a few best practices that will help your campus transition to more effective network security:

Create a plan that provides ongoing monitoring: Continuous monitoring and access management automatically checks the security status and compliance of all connected devices in real time. With it, IT teams can quickly identify and respond to potential threats, adjusting access permissions based on a device’s health or a user’s identity. For example, if a device is found to be infected with malware, the system could automatically restrict its access to sensitive resources until the issue is resolved.

Consider cloud-based managed PKI solutions: Transitioning to a cloud-based PKI solution enables institutions to efficiently manage certificates and authorities, alleviating the burdens associated with on-premise infrastructure. By eliminating the need for extensive physical infrastructure, institutions can scale security measures up or down without major investments in hardware or a dedicated IT team for maintenance. It also allows for quicker deployment of certificates, enhances security with up-to-date technology, and reduces overall operational costs and complexities associated with managing an on-premise PKI system.

Move toward passwordless authentication: Implementing digital certificates for authentication, managed through cloud services, provides a more secure and user-friendly alternative to traditional password-based systems. Tied to a user’s device, certificate authentication can be set for just a semester or for years. This eliminates the need for students, faculty, and staff to reset their passwords every few months or whenever they log into a device or an application or reconnect to the university’s Wi-Fi. It also eliminates the threats introduced by users’ sloppy password management (reusing or sharing passwords, etc.).

Smart cards: Smart cards serve as physical tokens that store certificates for secure authentication, and offer a robust multi-layered authentication mechanism that significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access for personnel who access more sensitive systems and require greater security. This process can be introduced gradually by initially equipping IT teams with certificate-backed smart cards and then rolled out to the broader staff and faculty user base. Campuses leveraging smart cards and extended certificate-based authentication can offer multi-OS support to simplify login processes and enhance security across a broad range of devices.

Securing the School, Securing its Community

Institutions can create a more secure, efficient, and user-friendly network environment by incorporating digital certificates and employing cloud-based solutions for PKI management and RADIUS authentication. This approach offers seamless access while significantly reducing the potential for security breaches.

Today’s threats to network security require Higher Ed to respond with a more adaptable, efficient, and secure security approach. A cloud-forward and flexible approach eliminates the burdens of aging, credential-heavy systems, and on-premise hardware. Instead, it positions institutions with the agility to meet today’s needs while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.

— 

Tom Rixom is the CTO of SecureW2 and a US-Eduroam committee subject matter expert. Connect with Tom on LinkedIn. 

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A music education game with fish to teach note names, ChimeCandy was made by Richard Hurley of Hurley Piano for kids with special needs at the Williams Community School, a dedicated special needs school in Austin, Texas. A music puzzle game set in the ocean where fish swim to unlock the sound of notes in the current, players drag the fish diagonally down the screen to the right and drop the fish into its note slot. They’ll hear the note sound when they do so.  

Interns from Austin Community College wrote the code; the development team includes: Angel Barbosa Olivares, Lenny Muldoon, Clinton Nyagaka, Wayne Stovey, and Richard Hurley.

“The game does for note learning what ABC does for alphabet learning,” says Richard. “It is an early introduction to pre music lessons learning in music.”

The game, for now, can only be played on destop and laptop. iOS and Android are in the works. ChimeCandy earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Arts, Music or Creativity Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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An expert shares insight and guidance into an area of growing concern. 

GUEST COLUMN | by Jordan Adair

Artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education continues to expand into more aspects of student learning. Initially, some administrators and faculty pointed to possible data privacy or ethical concerns with AI, but the larger focus now is how generative AI, such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, makes it easier for students to submit work or assessments that lack original content. 

As AI adoption and academic concerns grow, educators may need to rethink how students learn, how student demonstrate understanding of a topic, and how assessments are designed and administered to measure learning and practical application. This may require institutions to throw out the “business-as-usual” approach, especially when it comes to anything involving writing, whether it’s essays or online exams. 

‘As AI adoption and academic concerns grow, educators may need to rethink how students learn, how student demonstrate understanding of a topic, and how assessments are designed and administered to measure learning and practical application.’

As higher education institutions look to maintain academic integrity, staying ahead of how students use AI is critical. Some tools exist to detect and monitor AI use, but are these tools fixing a problem or leaving a void? 

Getting Ahead of the Game

Institutions should familiarize themselves with the potential of large language models in education and open transparent communication channels to discuss AI with stakeholders, including researchers and IT support. This can help set a baseline for potential policies or actions.

Developing a dedicated committee may be beneficial as institutions create and implement new policies and guidelines for using AI tools, develop training and resources for students, faculty, and staff on academic integrity, and encourage the responsible use of AI in education.

Unlike contract cheating, using AI tools isn’t automatically unethical. On the contrary, as AI will permeate society and professions in the near future, there’s a need to discuss the right and wrong ways to leverage AI as part of the academic experience.

Some AI tools, especially chatbots like ChatGPT, present specific academic integrity challenges. While institutions strive to equip students for an AI-driven future, they also need to ensure that AI doesn’t compromise the integrity of the educational experience. 

Study Results Paint a Grim Picture

As AI evolves and is adopted more broadly, colleges and universities are exploring how to implement better detection methods effectively. While some existing detection tools show promise, they all struggle to identify AI-generated writing accurately.

AI and plagiarism detection are similar but different. Both aim to detect unoriginal content, but their focus is different. AI detection looks for writing patterns, like word choice and sentence structure, to identify AI-generated text. Plagiarism detection compares text against huge databases to identify copied or paraphrased content from other sources.

Looking at a growing level of research, there are strong concerns about these tools’ inabilities to detect AI. One study tested the largest commercial plagiarism and AI detection tool against ChatGPT-generated text. It was found that when text is unaltered, the detection tool effectively detects it as AI-generated. However, when Quillbot paraphrased it, the score dropped to 31% and 0% after two rephrases. Another 2024 experiment of the same AI detection software showed the same results: it can accurately detect unaltered AI content but struggles when tools like Quillbot make changes. Unfortunately, this experiment also highlighted how AI detection is completely unable—with 0% success—to detect AI content that has been altered by AI designed to humanize AI-generated text. 

In another instance, a recent International Journal for Educational Integrity study tested 14 AI detection tools—12 publicly available and two commercial—against ChatGPT:

• AI detection tools are inaccurate: they often mistakenly identify AI-generated text as human-written and struggle to detect AI content translated from other languages.

• Manually editing responses reduces the accuracy of detection tools: swapping words, reordering sentences, and paraphrasing decreased the accuracy of the detection tools.

Finally, a 2023 study titled “Will ChatGPT Get You Caught? Rethinking of Plagiarism Detection” fed 50 ChatGPT-generated essays into two text-matching software systems from the largest and most well-known plagiarism tool. The results of the submitted essays “demonstrated a remarkable level of originality stirring up alarms of the reliability of plagiarism check software used by academia.”

AI chatbots are improving at writing, and more effective prompts help them generate more human-like content. In the examples above, AI detection tools from the biggest companies to the free options were tested against various content types, including long-form essays and short-form assignments across different subjects and domains. No matter the size or content type, they all struggled to detect AI. While AI detection tools can help as a high-level gut check, they’re still mostly ineffective, as shown by the many studies.

Up the Ante Against Cheating

Given the ineffectiveness of AI detection tools, academic institutions must consider alternative methods to curb AI usage and protect integrity.

One option is to consider a modified approach to written assignments and essays. Instead of traditional written assessments, try scaffolded assignments that require input on one subject over a series of tests. You can also ask students to share their opinions on specific class discussions or request that they cite examples from class. 

Another option is instructing students to review an article or a case study. Then, ask them to reply to specific questions that require them to think critically and integrate their opinions and reasoning. Doing this makes it challenging to use AI content tools because they do not have enough context to formulate a usable response.

Institutions can also proctor written assignments like an online exam. This helps to block
AI usage and removes access or help from phones. Proctoring can be very flexible, allowing access to specific approved sites, such as case studies, research articles, etc., while blocking everything else.

Protecting Academic Integrity

If proctoring is being used, consider a hybrid proctoring solution that combines AI, human review, and a secure browser rather than just one of those methods. Hybrid proctoring uses
AI to monitor each test taker and alert a live proctor if potential misconduct is detected. Once alerted, the proctor reviews the situation and only intervenes if misconduct is suspected. Otherwise, the test taker isn’t interrupted. This smarter proctoring approach delivers a much less intimidating and noninvasive testing experience than human-only platforms.

Preserving the integrity of exams and protecting the reputation of faculty and institutions is incredibly important to continue attracting high-potential students. AI tools are here to stay; schools don’t need to stay ahead of them. Instead, understand how students use AI, modify how learning is delivered, use AI to your benefit when possible, and create clear and consistent policies so students understand how and where they can ethically leverage the latest in AI.  

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Jordan Adair is VP of Product at Honorlock. Jordan began his career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher. After transitioning into educational technology, he became focused on delivering products designed to empower instructors and improve the student experience. Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn. 

The post Beyond AI Detection: Rethinking Our Approach to Preserving Academic Integrity appeared first on EdTech Digest.

Writable scaffolds student learning and builds lifelong writing and reading skills for students in grades 3-12, while saving teachers time on daily instruction and feedback.

Writable is research-backed and an award-winning solution used by over 16,000 schools and districts. It’s proven to save teachers time, increase assessment scores, and grow proficient student writers.

Writable has long been a leader in AI support for teachers and students with popular features like GrammarAid, Originality Check, and RevisionAid. Writable’s new generative AI-powered tools for teachers help to increase teacher confidence and agency, scale the impact of teaching by reaching every student in the moment with targeted, skill-aligned feedback, and save a ton of time without any setup needed. These tools help to:

• Unlock creativity and save time on prep with AI-powered prompt suggestions and AI assisted assignments (including AI-generagted multiple choice questions and answer keys).
• Increase the impact of your feedback with AI-suggested comments that drive revision.
• Save time and build grading confidence with GradeAssist (AI-generated scores).
• Protect authentic learning with the AI-writing indicator from TII and Authorship Alerts from Writable.
• AI scoring and commenting are configurable at the district level.

Writable also offers student safe AI features. As students write and review they can access (teacher-selected) on-demand feedback tools. These AI-powered tools guide students to improve their writing in the moment. These include GrammarAid, which provides suggestions for grammar, mechanics, and styfle, RevisionAid, which provides students with on-demand feedback on structure and organization, and Originality Check from Turnitin to help students cite sources and check authenticity.

For these reasons and more, Writable earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best AI Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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To counter misconceptions, ease fears, and encourage positive attitudes and constructive uses of the tools it provides, schools need to start educating young children about AI. 

GUEST COLUMN | by Mitch Rosenberg and Jason Innes

PYGMALION AND GALATEA, FRANKENSTEIN, JOHN HENRY, ROSSUM’S ROBOTS

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a fundamental part of modern society, but misconceptions about its role and capabilities are widespread. Much of the talk about AI focuses on it as an existential threat, a super-intelligent replacement of humanity, or simply a way to cheat. A much healthier view of AI is as a powerful new tool created by human engineers for the purpose of advancing human agency. To counter misconceptions and help develop positive, constructive attitudes about AI tools and their uses, schools must start teaching about AI early.  For early childhood educators, introducing AI concepts to young learners isn’t just about technology skills—it’s about shaping how the next generation interacts with the world.

‘For early childhood educators, introducing AI concepts to young learners isn’t just about technology skills—it’s about shaping how the next generation interacts with the world.’

Deep-Rooted Misconceptions about AI

Like the rest of us, young students are surrounded by false narratives about AI replacing human workers, writers, and thinkers. These narratives can frighten and confuse children, and ultimately lead to misuse of the promising tools that AI provides. But schools have an opportunity to counter misconceptions about AI, by teaching students how AI works and what it can actually do. 

Where do these misconceptions come from? The roots of our AI-related fears trace back to cultural myths and literature about human beings breathing life into their creations—only to see them turn on us. From the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, humans have long wrestled with the idea of creating something that rivals or surpasses our capabilities. In American folklore, the hard-working John Henry staked his life on his determination that he could lay railroad tracks faster than the new-fangled steam engine—and he lost. And in the early 20th century, Karel Čapek’s play Rossum’s Universal Robots introduced the word “robot” and stoked fears of mass-produced beings that could take over labor, and perhaps eventually, rule over humanity. 

While these stories offer compelling narratives, they distort people’s thinking about AI, leading them to fear that this artificial intelligence will replace, and perhaps destroy, human intelligence. If schools and families wait until later in their development to address these misconceptions, students may have already internalized the idea that machines are autonomous entities, capable of independent thought and possibly with threatening intent. In fact, the term “artificial intelligence” itself is misleading. AI does not think, feel, or possess any form of consciousness. It simulates intelligence by following probabilistic patterns and responses. You might say AI “plays intelligence on TV.” Just as you wouldn’t trust a TV surgeon to operate on you, you wouldn’t want a simulation of intelligence to think for you.

Presenting AI as a Human-Powered Tool

Even the youngest children encounter AI—and the narratives about it—in their daily lives, so education about AI must start young. Offering a more accurate and realistic vision of AI in kindergarten or even pre-K teaches children that AI is a tool that operates without its own motivations or desires. This fosters an understanding that technology is here to serve human needs, not the other way around. Importantly, this also means teaching kids that they have a responsibility to use these tools in positive ways.

As a tool, AI can help humans think in novel ways; but AI itself cannot pursue goals or generate truly new ideas. Teaching young children that they are the creators, and that AI can be their tool, inspires them to see positive applications of AI in their daily life. Schools have the opportunity to help shape the attitudes of a future workforce that is not only comfortable with AI but also capable of using it responsibly and ethically.

Fitting AI into the Current Curriculum

For educators and administrators concerned about adding a new topic to an already complex curriculum, it’s important to emphasize that teaching AI in early childhood can be part of K-5 computer science. Teaching about AI can help meet computer science teaching goals even as it supports students’ development of computational thinking skills and provides experience with robotics tools such as developmentally appropriate robot kits. Young children need to understand first that machines don’t magically become alive or sentient like they do in movies and myths; they are tools controlled by human designers and makers. Introducing AI in an age-appropriate way encourages children to see technology as something they control—something that enhances, rather than limits, their potential.

History shows that every new tool, from the printing press to the computer, has initially raised concerns about replacing human jobs and functions. Yet each technological advancement has ultimately expanded human agency, allowing people to accomplish more, not less. The arrival of the printing press did threaten the jobs of scribes; but centuries on, it’s clear that the printing press led to a flourishing of literacy and knowledge. Early childhood education must embrace the opportunity to frame AI as another tool in this progression, one that assists rather than threatens. AI, like the steam engine and the printing press, will expand the scope of the challenges that human beings can take on and what we can achieve. 

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Mitch Rosenberg is the CEO at KinderLab Robotics. He brings over 30 years of experience in the technology industry in engineering, marketing, product management and sales. He has executive experience at several successful technology firms, including robotics firms such as Automatix Inc., Kiva Systems (sold to Amazon in 2012) and Rethink Robotics. Connect with Mitch via email.  

Jason Innes is Director of Curriculum, Training, and Product Management at KinderLab Robotics. Jason is an entrepreneurial and innovative product leader with a broad background in education, publishing, and technology environments. Connect with Jason via email.

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An AI-based English learning app, ELSA leverages machine learning and advanced speech recognition technology to improve users’ English pronunciation and fluency. Their suite of products includes Speech Analyzer, which provides detailed feedback on overall speaking proficiency, and ELSA AI, offering personalized conversations with AI to enhance communication skills. The ELSA Speech API allows their technology to integrate with other platforms and applications.

Millions of users have improved their skills using the app, and now there’s ELSA AI—a tool to help people teach and practice natural conversational English using Generative (Voice) AI, available right at their fingertips through a mobile device.

The platform not only offers roleplay scenarios for learners to listen and reply, it is able to provide in-depth and accurate English fluency analysis and feedback to ensure progress. Using voice, not just text-based learning, ELSA AI helps learners master English language fluency, building their confidence.

For these reasons and more, ELSA Speak earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best AI Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more. 

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A product leader for a major edtech shares her unique perspective—and a significant opportunity for schools today. 

GUEST COLUMN | by Shivani Stumpf

Supporting students in navigating the complex landscape of career options and the various pathways to turn their dreams to reality remains a significant opportunity for schools today. According to a recent survey from the ECMC Group, only 13% of students feel fully prepared to choose their path after high school.

‘…only 13% of students feel fully prepared to choose their path after high school. …How can we help students understand the spectrum of relevant postsecondary choices and empower every learner to choose their best path?‘

This is particularly crucial now, as school counselors are managing an average caseload of over 400 students. Burdened by administrative duties and critical responsibilities like behavioral and mental health interventions, today’s counselors have less time to provide one-on-one college and career guidance. 

How can we help students understand the spectrum of relevant postsecondary choices and empower every learner to choose their best path? Moreover, how can we equip school counselors with the resources to enhance their efforts?

A new wave of generative AI assistants is emerging to tackle these challenges. Natural language AI tools, built responsibly, can significantly empower students to make informed decisions about their futures in a way that is personalized to their individual circumstances and actionable—while allowing counselors to concentrate on providing high-impact support.

Starting young helps to break down barriers while students explore

Studies have shown that exposing young people to a broader range of career options can help students overcome self-limiting beliefs and solidify the connection between academic achievement and future endeavors. By introducing career literacy early in a student’s education, we can maintain and even boost student engagement.

Today’s AI tools, when developed using Responsible AI guidelines, can significantly enhance this process. For elementary school students, engaging in play-based interactions allows them to explore careers while accessing age-appropriate assessments that help identify their interests. Additionally, when teachers incorporate career information into classroom activities, it not only increases students’ awareness of how their learning connects to future careers but also boosts the effectiveness of this exposure, ultimately enhancing academic achievement. Understanding the relevance of what they learn is key to helping students see how it will benefit them in their careers. 

High School students need more comprehensive support

As students advance through middle and high school, ongoing exploration of career pathways and participation in work-based learning opportunities, such as internships and career fairs, can help keep them on track. With an on-demand, personalized AI assistant, whenever they encounter a new career of interest, they can interact with the tool to gain a better understanding of the role, including its responsibilities, salary, demand, and advice on how to pursue that career path. 

These tools not only assist students in discovering potential careers and colleges, but also empower them to apply for financial aid and identify scholarships that align with their achievements and aspirations.

For instance, PowerBuddy for College and Career, the responsibly-built generative AI assistant integrated within college, career, and life readiness solution, Naviance — one of the most widely used CCLR solutions in the country— provides students with personalized guidance based on a multitude of factors. These factors include GPA, assessments, career interests, location preferences, aptitudes, personal goals, military interests, and scholarship qualifications. With PowerBuddy, students can craft a personalized postsecondary plan that highlights their ideal careers, the necessary skills, certifications, trainings, and education, and specific pathways to achieve their goals. This comprehensive support not only enhances decision-making but also paves the way for their future success. 

Improving access to school resources can also boost engagement 

AI is redefining how districts interact with their communities and stakeholders. Today’s AI tools can easily integrate into a district or school website, including parent portals, communication platforms, student information systems, e-learning platforms, analytics tools, and community engagement sites. AI assistants can help students and caregivers find information about policies, athletic schedules, after-school programs, student handbooks, school calendars, lunch menus, job postings and more. 

These tools represent a significant leap in empowering people with efficient, secure, and personalized access to critical information. Through natural language interactions, they can eliminate what has traditionally been a cumbersome barrier for students and families — time-consuming searches sifting through information online, or phone calls that tie up school staff.

AI also offers accommodations such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and speech-to-speech functionality — and the ability to operate in dozens of languages — which can help schools provide equitable access for all users. 

One of our recent survey findings revealed that families, particularly mothers, play a significant role in their children’s post-secondary decisions. AI tools can increase access to the information available to parents, aiding them as they guide their children through various options. Furthermore, the capability of AI to provide this information in the languages spoken at home is crucial for increasing access and support.

AI can help students maximize their full potential

Achieving any goal is rarely a straightforward journey. When students are informed about a variety of career opportunities, they can pivot and explore different paths to discover the best fit for themselves. With an AI assistant that comprehends their specific educational and career journeys, students will receive enhanced, personalized support in evaluating their options and making informed decisions about their futures. 

The power of AI is already making its way into schools as leaders realize its potential. According to our own 2024 Education Focus Report, 70% of district leaders now believe AI can enhance teaching and learning — up from 53% in 2023 — and 60% of school leaders and educators believe AI can enhance teacher practice and development.

These tools, when developed and used responsibly, hold remarkable potential to help young learners reach their goals—and often inspire them to aim even higher. In this sense, AI is not merely an accessory for a progressive school district; it is a fundamental element in improving educational outcomes and fostering meaningful engagement for everyone.

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Shivani Stumpf is Chief Product and Innovation Officer at PowerSchool. Connect with Shivani on LinkedIn. 

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COSN (2024 STATE OF EDTECH DISTRICT LEADERSHIP SURVEY)

EdTech Leaders are … challenged by persistent problems such as hurdles to hiring qualified IT talent, issues of student home internet and device access, funding cliffs as pandemic funds expire, and enormous threats of cybersecurity attacks,” according to the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) 2024 State of Edtech District Leadership survey and accompanying report on the survey. “This survey—now in its 11th year—provides an opportunity for EdTech Leaders, who are often siloed within their own district, to benchmark their efforts or simply see what others are doing. It also is valuable to superintendents, school boards, and business officers as they determine priorities and budgets to address these challenges.”

Key Findings:

Artificial Intelligence (AI). EdTech Leaders recognize that AI has potential risks and benefits. The overwhelming majority (97%) see benefits in how AI can positively impact education and over a third (35%) of districts report having a generative AI initiative.

Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity remains the top concern for EdTech Leaders, with 99% of districts taking measures to improve protections. While this is a bleak situation given the challenge, increasingly districts are on a path to implementing many cybersecurity best practices. 

Student Well-Being. An overwhelming majority (93%) of districts are using technology solutions designed to address or improve student well-being. Tools for monitoring and reporting bullying and self-harm, as well as tracking student behavior, are common and widely implemented.

Digital Equity. A growing number of districts no longer provide any services to address student home broadband access—31% this year, compared to 19% just two years ago. One clear example is the decline in the number of districts providing hotspots to unconnected students, which from 69% in 2022 to 49% this year.

Interoperability. Most districts are involved in Interoperability initiatives, with the majority partially implemented or in the planning stage. Single Sign-On (SSO) is the most fully implemented interoperability initiative at 43%.

Learn more.

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