Blog Archives - The EdTech Roundup

3M and Discovery Education Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Young Scientist Challenge, Awards America's Top Scientist with $25,000 Prize

11/17/2017

Gitanjali Rao named America’s Top Young Scientist in Nation’s Premier Middle School Science Competition for inventing a device that aims to test for lead in water

Silver Spring, Md. and St. Paul, Minn. (October 18, 2017) – 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) have named 11-year-old Gitanjali Rao from Lone Tree, Colo., the winner of the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge (#YoungScientist). Gitanjali is working to develop Tethys, a sensor-based device that can detect lead in water faster than other current techniques.

Turnitin Encourages Writing Across Content Areas with Historical Analysis Resources in Revision Assistant

11/15/2017

Revision Assistant can help teachers assign more writing in other content
areas at a time when effective writing skills are more important than ever

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 — OAKLAND, Calif. - New historical analysis writing prompts for Turnitin Revision Assistant—a digital teaching tool giving students immediate, actionable feedback while they write—support writing instruction in content areas beyond English/Language Arts. Students, educators say, need direct writing instruction in all curriculum areas in order to write effectively and analyze domain-specific texts.

Revision Assistant is one way to give students more meaningful practice across disciplines without adding stacks of essays to a teacher’s grading pile.

6 Ideas for Fun Activities to Celebrate Thanksgiving with Your Class

11/15/2017

This post originally appeared on the Kahoot! Blog. Reposted with permission.

Don’t let the Thanksgiving break pass by without having some fun with your class! To help you prepare, we gathered a list of simple but creative activities to celebrate the holiday with your class.

Thanksgiving is just days away! Fun mood, celebration spirit and anticipation of awesome Thanksgiving dinners are already in the air, as we approach the holidays. Are you planning something special for your students?
We put together 6 ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving with your class – have fun and learn along the way!

From Obstacles to Opportunities - Making the Adoption of Digital Education Easy

11/15/2017

Snapplify’s Shaun Marshall urges schools to see how easy it can be to embrace digital learning

The development of digital technology has been of enormous importance to the education environment. It also continues to open up possibilities for teachers and students, transforming the classroom in a multitude of ways. And yet, despite its benefits, digital education is not always eagerly embraced by schools and educators. The reasons for this can present as real challenges, but I believe that they are not the insurmountable obstacles they are often perceived to be. Rather, these are opportunities to reframe the way we approach digital education.

Let’s Start Coding Introduces Hour of Code Activity to Complement Real-World Products

11/15/2017

As an official Hour of Code Activity Partner, millions of students
worldwide can use the Code Car Simulator to learn basic coding.

Louisville, KY -- November 2017 - With Computer Science Education Week1 approaching on December 4-10 of this year, Let’s Start Coding has announced that they are an official Hour of Code2 Activity Partner. Let’s Start Coding joins approximately 100 other organizations that have created free introductory coding activities that have been approved by the Hour of Code staff.

IXL Celebrates 10 Years of Motivating Students to Learn

11/15/2017

SAN MATEO, Calif. — November 14, 2017 -- Ten years ago, IXL Learning CEO Paul Mishkin and his team set out to create a learning product that was motivating enough that students would want to use it—without being pushed by parents and teachers to do so. Today, more than 6 million students use IXL’s math, English language arts, science, social studies and Spanish products.

CDI Launches a Chromebook Trade-In Program for Schools

11/15/2017

The Trade-In Program offers a free two-year warranty on new
Chromebooks and removal and recycling of the old devices

Chicago IL – Nov. 14, 2017 – CDI Computer Dealers has launched a Chromebook Trade-In Program that provides a hassle-free, environmentally-friendly way for schools to dispose of their aging Chromebooks and obtain a free two-year premium extended warranty on the new ones purchased from CDI (a value of $23 per device). To take advantage of this program, visit their trade-in program.

Minecraft: Education Edition reaches a milestone of two million users and releases new Hour of Code tutorial

11/15/2017

Author: Deirdre Quarnstrom, Minecraft Education

Three years ago, Minecraft became a part of the Microsoft family, and my team began our work to extend Minecraft’s potential in classrooms around the world. Flash forward to today – one year after the release of Minecraft: Education Edition – and I’m thrilled to share that we’re continuing to see tremendous momentum with more than 2 million licensed users in 115 countries around the world and more than 250 educator created lesson plans in our community.

Impero Software Named Finalist in 2018 Bett Awards

11/14/2017

Impero is shortlisted for “Company of the Year” and
“Classroom Aids for Learning, Teaching and Assessment” categories

Simi Valley, CA, Nov. 13, 2017 – Impero Software is a finalist in two categories for the 2018 Bett Awards: “Company of the Year” and “Classroom Aids for Learning, Teaching and Assessment.” The final judging takes place in December and the winners will be named at a prestigious ceremony in January, 2018 during the Bett Show in London.

Aperture Education Seeks Help to Standardize its High School Social-Emotional Learning Assessment

11/14/2017

Parents, teachers, staff and after-school providers will receive $5 for each student that they assess

Charlotte N.C. (Nov. 13, 2017) — Social and emotional learning (SEL) company Aperture Education is in the final stages of standardizing its high school SEL assessment – the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment-High School Edition (DESSA-HSE). It is asking for help from parents, teachers, school staff, and after-school organizations to help it complete the standardization process so it can start offering the assessment to schools and after school organizations nationwide. Participants complete a 10 to 15-minute online survey about the social and emotional strengths of a high-school aged student or child.