K–12

I’m Amrapali Sharma and, as a special educator, I follow an IEP (individualized education program) that is drawn up for each student, keeping in mind their current abilities, and including some reasonable goals we want them to work towards. Given what we’re now facing, a lot of that has gotten more challenging.

In my case, my classroom is the largest one in the school. It has anchor charts, word walls, posters—you name it! However, instead of doing a writing assignment, my students practice essential skills necessary to lifelong health. And, just because learning has largely moved online, it does not mean their physical education can stop.

You’ve probably had resources for remote learning all but thrown at you over the last couple of weeks with the reality that’s hit much of K-12 education. While there’s no specific formula for creating successful distance learning, there are at least strategies for educators who have found themselves thrust into this new role without much time to prepare.

The title of our presentation is “Combining SEL, STEAM, and MakerEd tools to increase students’ learning capacity.” If selected, we’ll be discussing the commonalities that STEAM and SEL have as well as how MakerEd tools help create these experiences. Specifically, maker tools help teachers connect the heads, hearts, and hands of students.

Since tech experts believe that artificial intelligence will continue evolving and come to play an even larger role in the lives of today’s children, it’s important for them to understand as much as possible about it—without overwhelming them or making things too complicated. And, that’s one of the ways in which Microsoft’s Seeing AI can help.

In the final installment of a short video series, two of our co-founders, Irina and Rick, are back to discuss one of the most important ways in which we help teachers. Since educators often don’t have the time to research and vet every interesting educational technology tool themselves, we’ve made it our mission to do that for them.

The buzz around the implementation of personalized learning in education isn’t simply a trendy way to weave some new approach into the classroom. Personalized learning, though sometimes challenging to fully implement, has been shown to work and offer each child a tailor-made learning experience.

There are lots of applications and web systems educators can use to make their time in the classroom and planning periods more efficient. Google Classroom might be tops among them all. If you’re an educator in the 21st century, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Google Classroom and likely have even used it yourself.

We’re very excited to share their stories and their work with you and hope it will give more educators encouragement to try something new in the classroom. This month, we spoke to Meghan Kestner, an Education Specialist from California, who isn’t afraid to try new tools in her classroom! Keep reading to learn more about her!

As long as kids remain curious and are given the opportunity to explore all areas of innovation, they’re going to be more capable of thriving in the future. Keep reading to discover how educators can leverage technology, PBL, and the promise of future success to provide their students with skills that will be useful to them for years to come.