5 digital tools to enhance your social studies instruction

Social studies is critical to students’ lives beyond the classroom--educators should use every possible tool to engage students in this critical discipline

Over the span of my 22-year career as South Carolina public school educator, I’ve taught in self-contained classrooms and I’ve been in departmentalized settings.  Although I love teaching all subjects, I always choose English/language arts and social studies, in part because I love the challenge of engaging young leaners in … Read More

Defining digital curriculum in a new era of learning

How do we best support teachers and school leaders in implementing digital curriculum for the long haul?

Even after the events of the past two years, the definition of what constitutes digital curriculum is still a source of disagreement for some. Misalignment among educator roles regarding curriculum has far from disappeared, and in some cases, the gap has grown even wider, according to new research. While the … Read More

How 3D printing is changing education

3D printing helps boost interactive learning, accommodates different learning styles, and ensures equal access in the classroom

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we must invest in educational technology. When schools use technology to improve the quality and quantity of educational content, learners will thrive. Amid this technology-driven educational environment, 3D printing offers students the following: helping to facilitate differentiated instruction, increasing student engagement, … Read More

Why “offline” digital learning is critical to impact children worldwide

Michael B. Horn, Co-Founder & Distinguished Fellow, The Clayton Christensen Institute

As thousands of educators, entrepreneurs, and investors gathered at the recent ASU+GSV Summit, a growing number recognized both the need and opportunity for educational innovation in developing countries, particularly for the over 250 million children who lack access to schools. But many of the solutions proffered still focus on internet-based … Read More

Reaching the 4Cs with 3D and virtual reality

Instead of using VR to gamify the classroom, students can use VR to develop higher-order thinking skills that are critical for thriving in today’s digitally connected society

I thought I was ahead of the times when I acquired virtual reality headsets and othermixed reality technology via a grant award in late 2019. The pandemic shutdowns halted my plans to use the acquired virtual reality headsets for virtual field trips and other STEM investigations. Returning to in-person learning … Read More

3 collaborative strategies to bolster cybersecurity

Curriculum and IT leaders can work together to ensure strong cybersecurity practices as they strive to protect sensitive data and information

In the fall of 2021, the Center for Internet Security’s Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) reported an expected 86 percent increase in cybersecurity incidents targeting K-12 school systems over the course of one year. Public and private schools provide a broad surface area for exploitation and are often … Read More

How to evolve your K-12 cybersecurity approach

Educational institutions must urgently take action to improve their protections when it comes to K-12 cybersecurity measures

We’re now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to see massive digital transformation and innovation shaping the way we live, work, and learn. Technology supports the transformation of every industry imaginable–especially education. New models of learning, such as hybrid, blended, and remote, have led to more accessible … Read More

Don’t wait to secure your endpoints from cyberattacks

Understanding risks that your endpoints face is key to knowing how to mitigate these risks and keep information and systems safe

As we enter a new school year, among the myriad things that instructors and administrators need to be concerned about, ransomware remains high on the list. According to the K-12 Security Information Exchange, there were 166 publicly disclosed cyber incidents affecting 162 school districts across 38 states during the 2021 … Read More

4 ways to avoid cybersecurity snake oil

Take these steps to carefully evaluate cybersecurity vendors--and if something seems too good to be true, it likely is

When it comes to cybersecurity, you want to do right by your students, your schools, and your district–but it’s not that simple. The cybersecurity industry is massive, representing literally thousands of vendors in the United States alone, with the global cybersecurity market staged to grow to over $350B by 2026. … Read More

Rethinking your K-12 cloud strategy

K-12 IT teams need to rethink their approach to cloud storage costs and security

The new school year is upon us, and IT teams are ramping up strategic tech investments and systems to help ensure a smooth year ahead. For many of these IT teams, challenges around cybersecurity are top of mind, with recent research revealing over half of lower education organizations were hit … Read More