EdTech by MarketScale

Teachers working with young students who are learning English as a second language already have to fight through several barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic added another. Whether educating in person or virtually, as so many are because of the coronavirus, Istation bilingual professional development specialists Julie Robinson and Michele Kimball see plenty of challenges ahead for teachers in the young school year. One question teachers have is how students are progressing. While, in person, a puzzled look may come across a student’s face or a child may ask a question to show they don’t comprehend the material, that’s less likely over an online platform. “I think some of the biggest struggles will be as an educator going, ‘OK, do they understand what I asked them to do? How can I really do those checks for understanding?’,” Robinson said. “When I’m in my classroom, I can see that look on their face that they’re lost or get a thumbs up or thumbs down or where are you at on this scale … It’s really hard to do that when you’ve given them an assignment or are expecting them to work offline.” Istation’s platform can help teachers gather and utilize data to help with something that may be lost in translation. “When we do trainings for teachers around Istation … we’re also building teachers’ structural capacity to support them, so when they get to looking at their data, they have a set of guiding questions that will help them make instructional decisions on where to start and where to go next with each child,” Kimball said. That would include, for example, looking at how each child is progressing through the five critical areas of English reading for which Istation screens. It’s a resource that can help during a time when all aid possible is necessary.

Back-to-school season this year is unlike any other. With the pandemic forcing schools across the country to rethink the way they educate students, the spotlight is on differentiation and how educators will reach students at an individual level through online or socially distanced class learning. Megan Axtman, Reading Specialist at Taft Elementary, Boise, ID, shared some of the best practices her school’s developed to meet students’ needs in this unprecedented time in education. “For the first three weeks of school, our school district will be entirely online,” Axtman said. And the school district will evaluate the situation and make in-class recommendations based on the coronavirus status after that point. The online program was not something the school district had in place before the pandemic, and it worked over the summer to develop a full-time online curriculum. “From the teacher’s side, we now have a little experience under our belts in how to handle online learning and a little more time to prepare,” Axtman said. “In the spring, we couldn’t guarantee that all kids had equitable access to what we wanted them to have in terms of online. For the fall, all kids in our school have internet access and can log in to get the online learning they need.” Assessing student progress and needs can be a challenge in an online environment. Axtman said Taft elementary employs various tools, such as Istation Reading, to help with these assessments. “Istation is our state’s main assessment tool for reading and all the categories within reading,” Axtman said. “We use it many times a week for self-paced instructional learning lessons the kids are working through based on their assessment results.” Be sure to subscribe to our industry publication for the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Education & Technology Industry.

The way the world learns is changing. The use of video and the internet have been part of this evolution. Now the urgency is even greater. Adams Smith, founder of Ally XR, has a long history of connecting technology with learning.This journey started with creating TeacherTube with his brother, an educator. “My brother came to me with the idea of having a platform to upload teacher videos as a professional development tool. I found some open source code and reengineered it,” Smith said.That small idea caught fire. Soon, it was the YouTube for teachers. “We started getting more and more users. Schools and educators were using technology to enhance experiences. Yet, as the need for digitalization has become urgent, it seems many were unprepared. Smith added, “Infrastructure is the issue and the lack of budget to improve it.”Taking what he learned from TeacherTube, Smith began a new enterprise, incorporating augmented reality.“Ally XR was something we started in 2012 when we were working with Staples at TeacherTube. I learned augmented reality through a game builder platform. Now, it’s part of the learning model,” Smith shared.Now the product is helping many different industries. Smith commented, “With education at heart, we came up with ways to train, collect data, and assess people. It makes sense when training is in hazardous roles. Fire, EMT, and police can use it for virtual, immersive training. It’s safer and less expensive,”Next up is a project with Major League Baseball. “This was a pre-pandemic issue, but it’s escalated quickly. We’re capturing angles in 360 to provide vantage points like no other. It’s not new. It’s how you implement it,” Smith remarked.

*Why parents need professional development too*The dangers of learning loss and how to deal with it*How all edTech companies are now customer service centers

Need another negative for this forced migration to remote learning? Students become even more vulnerable to the dangers of what Advait Shinde calls the “modern Internet”. On this episode, the co-founder and CEO of GoGuardian talks about how his company is adjusting its products and services to these new scenarios and offers some hopeful insights for moving forward.Advait co-founded GoGuardian to provide K-12 schools with new technologies that enable students to engage in a better learning experience. His dedication to help unlock student potential in education is made clear through his mission of using the internet in an open, but safe way. In his role as CEO of GoGuardian, Advait brings his passion for using data and technology to solve problems in education.Based on his accomplishments in education and technology, Advait was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Education in 2016, as a finalist for Los Angeles Business Journal’s CTO of the Year in 2017, as a finalist for Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Greater Los Angeles in 2018, and for Los Angeles Business Journal’s 20 in Their 20s in 2019.Before co-founding GoGuardian, Advait worked at Google as an engineer, combining innovation with the power of scale and helping to launch key products, such as Google Pay (formerly Google Wallet). Advait holds a B.S. in Computer Science from UCLA.GoGuardian believes that education is the highest point of leverage for improving society and that digital learning can meaningfully advance educational outcomes for every student, school, and district. GoGuardian helps thousands of K-12 schools and districts maximize the learning potential of every student by providing solutions that enable more productive and safer digital learning. Its products help educators identify learning patterns, protect students from harmful and distracting content, and support mental health. To compile data on how educators can use technology to improve learning outcomes, GoGuardian has invested in a Research and Insights team, composed of psychology, advocacy, and education research specialists. Read about their study on the factors that influence student engagement in the State of Engagement 2019 Report.

Brady Colby, founder and CEO of Thirty Two EDU, joined the show to talk about the growing importance of micro-credentialing and the potential downfall of many universities.Online learning has taken a front and center role in the world of education in light of the pandemic. While some universities and higher education institutions have met the challenge with scalable hybrid programs, others are scrambling to rise to the demand of remote learning. Brady talked about how some of the most successful schools have been smaller institutions that had already offered hybrid programs, while some of the bigger schools are the ones that are suffering. “These schools that you would never expect are really the ones that are able to scale because of the opportunities provided here,” he said.Host JW asked for Brady’s thoughts about the future of education and how micro-credentialing fits into it. Brady pointed out that most employers don’t feel that people are coming out of higher education with all the necessary skills for employment, which is where the opportunity for micro-credentialing really came from. “It’s really about understanding the local and national employment situation and what skills are necessary for employment and moving up the ladder,” said Brady. With micro-credentialing, workers can obtain hyper-focused skills at a much faster, and more affordable, rate than taking full courses at a university, and those skills can be more immediately relevant to their role.Brady talked about how the current curriculum lengths for degrees are possibly outdated. “There’s some underlying assumptions about how things have to work in higher education that we have to challenge and we have to talk through before we come out on the other side with a real clear idea of the mission. I think the hand has kind of been forced on that now,” he said, musing on the seemingly unspoken, and maybe unnecessary, agreement on a 120 credit-hour bachelor’s degree.One thing is for sure. With the rise of micro-credentialing, JW said it best: “Colleges aren’t the only game in town anymore.”

What is the difference between remote learning and online learning? Carol Ribeiro, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VHS Learning, can tell you. She has over 20 years of experience in online education management and systems development. In this episode, Carol addresses the big picture issues schools need to contemplate during this mass disruption.Prior to becoming President in 2015, Carol served as the Chief Operating Officer of VHS Learning and was responsible for overall management of operations, including school services, finance and accounting, technology services and support, and human resources. She has designed and delivered online courses and has been with VHS Learning since its inception. Prior to her work in online education, she managed systems development for UNUM. Carol holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Bentley University and an MBA from Clark University. She is also a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI) and a licensed MA educator.The Virtual High School is an online learning pioneer. Since 1995, the nonprofit organization has been setting the standard for quality online education. VHS provides courses taught in global online classrooms for secondary school students and online professional development in 21st century teaching for educators. The organization also meets the unique educational needs of schools through custom course development, individualized course offerings, and support for blended learning initiatives.VHS' design and delivery standards was the model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning. The organization has won numerous awards, including the Stockholm Challenge Award for Global Excellence in Information Technology and is a three-time winner of the United States Distance Learning Association's (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices.

Voices of eLearning host, JW Marshall, spoke with Harris Goodman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Achieve 3000, a 20 year old education software provider focused on K-12 literacy and other edTech products and services.Marshall kicked off the conversation with the topic of data interoperability. “There’s a lot of data being generated by teachers and students,” said Goodman. Connecting information from different sources and syncing them together is a significant challenge. Being able analyze data on the whole can help determine where the student is coming from and where the student is going. Goodman also spoke of his work to promote open API platforms to improve data collection and analysis.The discussion then moved into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has changed the mindset of eLearning companies and their willingness to work together to solve problems. Goodman spoke about companies being more open to interoperability as well as other challenges such as student authentication, authenticity, and creating a culture of anti-cheating in a home learning environment.When asked about other challenges that have arisen from the pandemic, Goodman noted, “One thing we all need to think about is the social and emotional welfare of our students.” The lack of regular play, interactions with friends, and other social activities can have adverse impacts on a child's learning and development as well.“What has been your experience as far as helping facilitate that parent involvement in a brand new way?” asked Marshall, as parents are now more involved with a child's learning from home. Harris describes the challenges for parents and the importance of reaching the parents in a meaningful way. “The research has shown this for years. The more involved the family is in the child’s education, the better off that child will be.”The pair also touched on a number of other topics such as adult learning, career opportunities from eLearning, value of higher education opportunities, roles of universities in preparing students for the workforce, advice for entrepreneurs in the eLearning and technology space, startup mentorship, and insights into leadership.

Dr. Christina Counts has her eyes on the prize—more flexible, collaborative learning spaces. In this episode VP of Strategy and Development for MiEN Environments shares her ideas on how to make that happen this fall while at the same time keeping both students and teachers safe. Plus: Rethinking learning spaces at home.Dr. Counts has worked in education for over 17 years with experience as a classroom teacher, district instructional leader, school administrator, and digital and innovative learning designer. In her most recent position, Christina leads a team of professionals that support schools making the transition to a flexible, collaborative, & student-centered learning space. She holds a doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership, National Board certified, and Google & Apple certified. Dr. Counts envisions a learning space in which educators are empowered to transform education through design, technology and innovative instructional pedagogy to create learners ready for any future.Topics include:The importance of surface materials in cleaning and disinfecting learning spaces in schools during COVID-19Designing for healthy and functional learning spaces - really the idea around the 6 foot classroom and tips for district and school leaders that must be adopted as they shift learning space design related to learning in the time of a global pandemic-And of course schools are opening - so what are some things districts can do to maximize learning in all areas of a school - from the cafeteria to makerspaces to media centers.

From the history of personalized learning, to the prospect of parental pods, to the role of teacher unions in this new world of hybrid learning, there is seemingly no topic that Jaime Candee is afraid to touch. In this wonderfully candid episode, the President and CEO of the online learning platform Edmentum shares some provocative insights on how schools can manage through this years’ back-to-school madness and how the edtech industry can support them.Jamie joined Edmentum in 2005 and began her career with the company in Human Resources, before working her way through nearly every department within the organization—serving as Director, Sales and Service Effectiveness; Vice President, Product Development; Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing; and Chief Revenue Officer during her initial tenure.Jamie rejoined the organization in 2017, to lead Edmentum’s strategic vision and long term growth plan as President, CEO, and Board Director, bringing her successful record of accomplishment as an executive with extensive experience in education technology, private equity, and policy.Jamie was selected by Minnesota Business magazine as one of the 2015 (Real) Power 50, by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a 2017 Titans of Technology honoree, and 2017 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Most recently, Jamie was selected as one of EdTech Digest’s Top 100 Influencers in EdTech and she was recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a 2018 Women in Business honoree. She sits on the board of directors for Project Success, a MN-based education non-profit and serves as an advisory board member for Bethel University’s Department of Business and Economics.Edmentum’s mission:“At Edmentum, a single mission guides and inspires us as it defines our core purpose and the contribution we make to society: Founded in innovation, we are committed to being educators' most trusted partner in creating successful student outcomes everywhere learning occurs. To help us work toward that mission while operating business, our key values guide our priorities and are evident in everything we do.”

The "Voices of eLearning" Podcast provides business leaders with insights into current and future trends in eLearning. The "voices" on this show will include business leaders from a wide range of industries, eLearning professionals, technology experts and business professors, and they'll all use front-line experience to deliver an unmatched look at the evolution of eLearning and its role in our collective future.Each episode will allow guests to share their unique insights derived from their experience and knowledge, but "Voices of eLearning" will always look to cover current transitions in the world of B2B eLearning and thought leadership around future trends. This show will provide a roadmap for keeping your business one step ahead of the competition through education.In the inaugural episode, Dr. Art Langer, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, discusses the scalability of digital technology management, his non-profit work with the Workforce Opportunity Service (WOS) and how COVID-19 is effecting our educational institutions, our workforce and our society.

If anyone can prognosticate the precarious state of testing and assessing students during COVID-19 and beyond, Jeffrey Elliott can. As Chief Operating Officer of UWorld, a company used by more than 2 million students from secondary through graduate and professional certification for high-stakes online learning tools, he can see clearly through the chaos. In this episode, Jeff talks about the barriers as well as the opportunities that this catastrophe presents.UWorld is the worldwide leader in online learning to prepare for high-stakes exams. Since 2003, UWorld has helped millions of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students prepare for their exams. At the core of UWorld's mission is an obsession with quality so that students receive only the best in learning resources. Whether students are preparing for the ACT, SAT, CFA, CPA, MBE, MCAT, NAPLEX/MPJE/CPJE, NCLEX, PANCE/PANRE, USMLE, ABIM, or ABFM, UWorld ensures success by using active learning methods. With challenging practice questions that mirror the real tests and unrivaled explanations, students can efficiently and effectively prepare for every topic on their exams.Prior to joining UWorld, Elliott was President of Voyager Sopris Learning where he led the company’s efforts to provide innovative, evidence-based instructional solutions to help schools surpass their achievement goals. As President/CEO of Massachusetts-based Virtual High School—an online learning provider—he led the company’s efforts to provide fully virtual and blended learning programs focused on career and college readiness, with a specific emphasis in STEM.Jeff served as President/CEO of Oklahoma City-based Advanced Academics from 2003 to 2012; under his leadership, the organization grew into one of the country’s leading providers of comprehensive, online learning models for public school students, and he led the company’s pioneering strategy to serve at-risk students. Prior to his time at Advanced Academics, he oversaw three divisions of Wright Group/McGraw-Hill Education as Vice President of Business Development and successfully integrated and managed international acquisitions in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Many schools realized they couldn’t safely return to the classroom after spring break or simply a weekend because of the coronavirus pandemic. Most had to turn to online options to educate students. But there were some frequent roadblocks to success, including getting devices to students and making sure they had access to the internet. In the rush to get up to speed, important factors to consider fell by the wayside. Now that administrators have had months to think about going back to school, however, there’s time to develop a plan that David Waugh, Chief Revenue Officer of ManagedMethods, said needs to center on security. “There were a lot of lessons learned about, ‘OK, there’s too much exposure, too much access.’ It wasn’t because of the schools doing or lack of doing, it was that many vendors that work in EdTech and suppliers were caught off guard, as well,” Waugh said. “Google, Microsoft, Zoom – there were a lot of deficiencies that were exposed, because they hadn’t been explored yet.” While Waugh applauds the efforts those companies have made to close loopholes and increase security, he noted that administrators still need to make sure they have a handle on everything that happens during the virtual school day, just like they would at a campus. “In everything you do, [think about if] there’s a way to monitor and audit and control it,” he said. “Because, if you’re trying to roll out something for the upcoming school year, but you can’t explicitly say, ‘Yes, I can monitor and tell you everything that’s happening. I can provide you audit reports and we can control it,’ as in we can stop it, shut it down, etc. – if you can’t answer those questions, you’ve really got to pause and think about it. “You’re then putting at risk the district, as well as the end users, which are the children.”

In what will most likely be the most remote interview for Remote Possibilities, CEO Henjie Wand checks in from edTech software Kami headquarters in Aukland, New Zealand to dissect the massive disruptions in education, the rise of education apps in a distance learning scenario, and the changing role of his 10 million teacher/users.Here’s the Kami pitch:More K-12 schools are shifting to Chromebooks and digital devices as part of the 1:1 initiative. Kami provide users with the essential tools to create an engaging and collaborative learning environment. With Kami as your digital pen and paper, teachers and students can achieve more together.LearnStudents enjoy annotating text and editing documents using Kami. With our kid-friendly app, students can annotate on ebooks, publisher-supplied PDFs, worksheets and more.CreateKami tools boost students’ creativity by allowing them to draw freely and annotate with a selection of colors, shapes and text sizes. Students can easily complete tasks and save files with Kami’s Google Classroom integration.CollaborateTeachers can markup, discuss and provide feedback using Kami’s text, audio, and video annotation tools. These collaborative tools encourage active, real-time participation in the classroom.

Berj Akian doesn’t want to hear about going back to normal. As the founder and CEO of Classlink, he has long advocated for the removal of barriers between students and impactful education content. The way he sees it, the pandemic has created new opportunities to improve this dynamic even more. In this episode he discusses how the education industry can take advantage. ClassLink solves the problem of too many passwords, and too many files scattered about. It’s a one click single sign-on solution that gives students access to everything they need to learn, anywhere, with just one password. With more than 6,000 single sign-on connectors and comprehensive use of open technology standards, ClassLink is the most inclusive single sign-on platform in education today. The technology is accessible from any computer, tablet or smartphone, making ClassLink the ideal solution for 1 to 1 and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives. ClassLink Roster Server easily and securely delivers class rosters to any publisher using open technology standards. ClassLink Analytics gives decision makers the usage data they need. ClassLink OneSync automates account provisioning and reconciles accounts in real time. ClassLink was recently chosen as the winner of the 2020 EdTech Digest Cool Tool Award for the Administrative Solution category. Administered by EdTech Digest and celebrating their 10th Anniversary, the EdTech Awards are the largest education technology recognition program. The awards recognize people in and around education for outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere. In addition to winning the Administrative Solution category, ClassLink was also chosen as a finalist in five additional award categories including:‍ Cool Tool Awards Classroom Management Solution District Data Solution E-learning, Blended, or Flipped Solution Higher Education Solution EdTech Digest Trendsetter Award Product or Service Setting a Trend

Zoom fatigue? It’s a thing. Frank Weishaupt, CEO of OwlLabs, thinks he has an answer. On this episode of Remote Possibilities, he talks about the state of video conferencing in this world of remote working and learning. The pandemic has thrust the technology of video meetings into our faces. Listen how we can escape these daily squint-inducing reenactments of the Hollywood Squares for a better distance learning experience.Each year, Owl Labs publishes the State of Video Conferencing report to share with business and IT leaders the collaboration challenges companies face most often, the preferred collaboration software and hardware tools to solve them, and how business and education can improve productivity overall.96% of respondents agree that video conferencing is effective for improving the connectedness of remote team members, with full-time remote employees nearly twice as likely to feel strongly about this than those who work on-location. Most notably, the report uncovered that setting up and starting meetings are taking up respondents' dedicated meeting time. More than 50% of video conferencing users are wasting nearly 10 minutes per meeting on meeting setup, with 83% reporting that it takes more than 3 minutes to set up and start meetings.OwlLabs’ Meeting Owl product line is designed to solve this issue. It is driven by its own proprietary intelligence system. While sitting in the center of the table, it uses vision and voice recognition to automatically shift the camera to focus on whoever is speaking. This creates a fully immersive and equalized experience for those who can't be on site. The device sports a high-quality, 1080p 360° camera that makes you feel like you're in the room – even if you're not.Both products are compatible with all popular video conferencing platforms (i.e. Zoom, Google Meet, Skype for Business, Bluejeans, etc.) and accessible to nearly all businesses at a sub $1,000/device price point. Owl Labs' products are used by 35,000+ companies globally across a wide array of categories; including the likes of Home Depot, SoulCycle, Ro, Ogilvy, Andela and RXBAR.Weishaupt previously served as SVP of Sales at CarGurus and played an instrumental role in the company's growth, leading to a successful IPO in October 2017. Prior to joining CarGurus, Weishaupt served as Chief Operating Officer at Jumptap, leading to an acquisition by Millennial Media. He also served in executive roles at Yahoo! and Criteo, which had a successful IPO in 2013.

Even before the pandemic struck, new learning methods through remote technologies were exploding worldwide. Andrew Urodov, product manager at Practicum by Yandex, has tracked this phenomenon and shares his thoughts on where it is headed next in this latest episode of Remote Possibilities. Practicum, which is a virtual training program to help people gain skills they need to jump start a career in tech, was born out of the NASDAQ-listed tech giant Yandex, operating across Russia and other countries in Europe, MENA and Central Asia. It is a new technology-based career advancement program which offers intensive 6 to 10-month training in three career tracks: Data Scientist, Data Analyst, and Web Developer.The service, recently launched in the U.S., is a one-of-a-kind online learning platform that focuses on upskilling individuals wishing to pursue careers in technology by combining interactive training modules with the help of seasoned online tutors who already work for leading tech companies.Practicum offers its students an opportunity to transition from careers that are becoming less relevant to those in tech where the average annual pay hit $94,000 last year in the U.S., according to the Dice Salary Report. In addition to accessible but rigorous tech training, Practicum also helps students develop relevant soft skills, such as effective communication and teamwork.Practicum leverages its experienced team of tutors, who are all practicing industry professionals, to help students find their place in tech. Practicum is confident in its methods – so much so that it offers a full refund to students, who don't get a new job or a promotion within six months of graduating. This is perhaps especially relevant now, as millions of Americans are forced to forge new career paths in the economic downturn.Priced at $1,000 per program, the service offers 24/7 access to learning support, a dedicated Slack channel for discussions, and real-life simulations incorporated into an interactive learning platform. The students have access to code-review sessions from Practicum’s network of tech professionals. As Practicum grows, it plans to introduce more tech focused career tracks, expand its network of tutors and attract more students across the US.

In a normal world, it would have been one of the biggest edtech stories of 2020. After 14 years, Chief Education Evangelist Jaime Casap has left Google Education. In this exclusive interview with host Kevin Hogan, Jaime discusses his past successes, education’s present priorities, and, most importantly, what’s next.Jaime evangelizes the power and potential of technology and the web as enabling and supporting tools in pursuit of promoting inquiry-driven learning models. He collaborates with school systems, educational organizations, and leaders focused on building innovation and iteration into our education policies and practices. He speaks on education, technology, innovation, and generation z, at events around the world, at least when there were events.In addition to his role at Google, Jaime is also an author and serves on a number of boards for organizations focused on education, innovation, and equity. He teaches a 10th-grade communication class at the Phoenix Coding Academy in Phoenix and is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University, where he teaches classes on policy, innovation, and leadership.Casap was responsible for launching Google Apps for Education (GSuite) into the university space in 2006. He signed Arizona State University, the first major university to switch from using their own email platform to putting it on the GSuite platform. He launched GSuite into the K12 market in 2010 by signing the state of Oregon to a statewide agreement for all their school districts and launched Chromebooks into education in 2011.Says Casap: “I never wanted to be a vendor in the education space. I wanted to use my experiences and expertise to be a thought partner with universities and K12 institutions on building the future of learning together. Working with education institutions across the world, I am helping education leaders use technology and the web to level the playing field for all students. I believe education disrupts poverty. I believe education changes a family's destiny. I believe technology can help us do these things faster than it was ever possible before.”Even before the pandemic, Casap has been an instrumental force in combating the issue of equity in education. To follow his next step subscribe to his Youtube channel.

If anyone can help divine what happens next for edtech, Mark Schneiderman can. As the industry’s chief policy advocate for 15 years, his analysis is important for both executives and educators. In this episode, Mark breaks down his recent provocative post, where he provides a 3-point framework for the future:Topics include:The COVID-19 DisruptorFirst, it is important to understand the evolving environmental impact. The K12 edtech sector has experienced quite a journey over several decades. In recent years, we made the fundamental shift from asking “if” technology to instead a focus on “how.” In these last few but very long three months, we have lived years’ worth of emotions as we moved through the stages of concern, excitement, fear, and opportunity about education and technology in the age of COVID-19. As a result, we are now at the cusp of what could be a generational leap for the sector.COVID-19 Impact on School (Technology) BudgetsI expect that increased demand for remote learning and edtech will be outweighed by the difficult equation of other increased COVID-related costs plus decreased revenues and tighter budgets. In this COVID-19 budget environment, schools will again be forced to achieve more with less. Technology budgets may grow marginally, but certainly not nearly in proportion to the shift to remote or hybrid learning might otherwise warrant or suggest.The Opportunity and Necessity of Industry MaturityAs a result, I expect many of the (too) many edtech products will ultimately lose customers and revenue and prematurely exit the market. I’m concerned for my many industry friends and colleagues who have dedicated their careers to the mission of student success. But it is my hope and expectation that those surviving companies will grow and, more importantly, grow their impact.

Another edtech monolith about to crumble due to the pandemic, along with standardized testing and taking attendance, is how education software gets bought and used. In this episode of Remote Possibilities, Drops Chief Customer Officer Drew Banks talks about the surge in downloads for the company’s learning language app as the lockdowns began and the quick pivot they took to provide extra curricular support for students using Droplets. These weren’t district buys but parents choosing the learning tools, a trend likely to expand as remote learning continues.Topics include:The ingredients needed for a valuable and successful e-learning tool What the future of edtech looks like and how the education sector will have to adapt and innovateWhat’s in store for Drops and how they’re supporting remote studentsDrops entered into the children’s education market with the launch of Droplets, an app designed specifically to teach kids aged 8-17 to learn foreign languages. Through the use of word games, swipe-based interaction and quirky illustrations, Droplets is a COPPA -compliant approach to language learning that is both parent-approved and kid-friendly. Droplets’ short 5-minute sessions are aimed at kids and teens with shorter attention spans and also for parents concerned with screen time limits.Since launching its flagship app in 2015, Drops has expanded its language learning scope with three companion apps: Scripts, which teaches learners how to read and write new alphabet and character-based writing systems; a visual online dictionary; and a Drops web app. D​roplets i​s the company’s first app to broaden the platform’s reach beyond adult language learners.Droplets​ will be available for free download on iOS and Android, with the premium subscription providing unlimited access to the Drops suite of apps.

With student screen time at all-time highs and social isolation increasingly affecting kids, the scourge of fake news is a bigger threat than ever. Nick Farrell, co-founder of Bites Media, has some ideas of how to combat it. On this episode of Remote Possibilities, Nick talks about the importance of media literacy and how schools can take direct action to empower their students to not take the bait.The idea is relatively straight forward, as described by in a recent Forbes post: “Bites takes contemporary issues in the news, sourced from reliable and reputable outlets, then shrinks the information down into smaller, faster, more consumable chucks – or, bites – for younger readers. They then take that content and build comprehension lessons around it, allowing teachers to build important issue literacy around these key topics. The content and the lessons are built and delivered online, in easy, turnkey modules for teachers or parents.”Hogan and Farrell discuss a variety of topics including the how and why they are launching this endeavour and how he sees the future developing in this pandemic era.What They Do *Bites crafts and publishes interactive, multimedia news stories that provide the facts with rich context from diverse viewpoints.We work with graduate and undergraduate journalism students to pull 10+ sources into one place*Bites utilizes an explanatory journalistic approach, but we also make explicit connections between what is happening and why it matters to democracy and citizenry. This approach is proven to increase student engagement by at least 3 times.Why They Do It*Bites believes in prioritizing a foundation of understanding and fostering deep engagement to cultivate informed citizens and civic action.*Bites believes it is our civic duty to be informed citizens that go beyond simply casting a vote.

Is it more fun to sit in front of a screen and watch a video or play an interactive game? The answer isn’t the same for everyone, but most would choose the latter. The gamification of learning is one element of eLearning that can help draw people in, as can the ability to choose their own path. Those features are just one reason Cypher Learning CEO Graham Glass feels the use of dynamic and adaptive branching in asynchronous learning is not only a perfect solution for educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ultimately the best way to think about education going forward. “If you’ve got a very advanced learner, there’s no point in guiding them through modules that might be boring and remedial,” he said. “Similarly, you might have a disadvantaged learner who’s getting left behind. In those cases, you can adapt to where they are and actually give them remedial materials, more examples and more careful assessments.” At times, that means feeling a bit isolated without the traditional classroom environment, but Cypher Learning has tools to combat that feeling, as well, with a tracker of who else is online and a tool that allows students to reach out to teachers in real-time. The shift to eLearning and utilizing those tools has been nearly mandatory during the pandemic, but Glass hopes that, once teachers and educators adapt to those tools, they’ll have them under their belts forever. “Asynchronous learning to begin with is not necessarily intuitive, but if you try it out, I think you’ll find very quick that it is a very fun, very efficient way to create learning,” he said. “One of my hopes is that, as a result of the world fast-forwarding 10 years into the future with this virus, people will actually start to embrace asynchronous learning as the primary way of learning.”

In the latest episode of Remote Learning, Dr. Liz Brooke, CCC-SLP, Chief Learning Officer at Lexia Learning, talks about the delicate strategies her company employed when interacting with current and new district customers, the new relationships needed with parents, the power of data to analyze the COVID slide, and ways to improve personalized learning techniques for the fall and beyond.Lexia Learning, A Rosetta Stone Company, is one of the best-known and most highly respected reading-technology companies in the world. Lexia’s instructional programs (Core5 and PowerUp) help to accelerate literacy skill development through explicit and systematic personalized learning paths, and Lexia’s assessment program (RAPID) uniquely screens key reading and language skills critical to comprehension for all students in grades K–12.Educators are expected to differentiate and adapt instruction for every student in their classroom but often lack the necessary time and resources to be successful. Incorporating a blended learning program with Lexia alleviates these problems by helping educators use technology to personalize learning for every student. Using the program, educators can access both periodic screening and diagnostic data, real-time progress monitoring data, as well as the resources needed to connect student performance data to classroom instruction.

While most of the focus is rightfully focused on students during this uncertain time, Adam Geller, CEO of Edthena, reminds us not to forget about the teachers. He talks with host Kevin Hogan about how his classroom observation platform for using videos as part of professional development is more important than ever. Edthena released a new webinar series last month to help instructional coaches provide newly-virtual teachers with timely and much-needed support. The four-part “Kitchen Table Coaching” series, launching this Thursday, will provide strategies and best practices for facilitating virtual coaching. The series is part of the #PLtogether project (PLtogether.org) which will provide a collection of free resources for instructional coaches, including tactical advice from notable thought leaders in the education industry.“Effective coaching will lead to the ultimate success of distanced teaching,” said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of Edthena. “The #PLtogether project will provide a hub for topical resources to support instructional coaching during this unprecedented time. The first resource – this new webinar series – offers coaches an opportunity to ask questions and get tips and best practices for supporting professional learning now.”The 30-minute Kitchen Table Coaching webinars, which will be led by former classroom teachers Heather Purzner and Rob McCreary of the Edthena Partner Success team, will take place every Thursday in May at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT. Educators can register for some or all of the following sessions:Week 1: Virtually coaching distanced teachersWeek 2: Facilitating distanced teacher collaborationWeek 3: Developing coaching logs for virtual coachingWeek 4: Creating virtual training and coaching cyclesEdthena will additionally be releasing “Lounge Talks” with Elena Aguilar, Deborah Ball, Joellen Killion, and other respected thought leaders on the #PLtogether portal. During these video interviews, the experts will discuss the challenges of teaching during COVID-19 and provide tactical “what now” advice for supporting teachers in this new reality.To register for the live webinars or get free access to the content, visit http://pltogether.org.

Contrary to popular belief, the golden rule is not that the person with the gold makes the rules. And, in terms of customer service, the golden rule isn’t "treat people the way you would like to be treated." At least Brandon Knight, Vice President of Business Development at Telarus, doesn’t think so. Knight has his ideas that make for excellent customer experience and satisfaction, and he shared his insights with host Tyler Kern. “The majority of businesses with customer-centric focus models base customer interactions on treating the customers on their treatment preferences,” Knight said. “A better customer service, a better customer experience, is treating a customer the way they want to be treated.” Knight’s primary concern with treating customers how someone on the business side prefers is that a customer may have different needs and wants from the person tasked with meeting their needs. “When it comes to the customer experience, it is important for companies to have myriad ways to interact,” Knight said. Today’s customers may not want to interact with a person; they may wish to communicate via a company’s website. Knight said companies need to consider how a customer wishes to communicate with them. Another secret to achieving customer satisfaction is employee satisfaction. “The person who comes into contact with the customer may be the only impression of the company that the customer has,” Knight said. A large percentage of the time, the people who have the majority of these customer-interactions may work in contact centers. The question Knight has is, what conditions do these frontline workers face? Are they comfortable, do they feel valued, do they feel empowered? If the answer is no to these questions, and Knight often believes that it is, then employees won’t be satisfied. That lack of satisfaction will spill over into customer interactions.

Finding a way to effectively and fairly educate all of society’s young people already was a daunting task. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and added another wrinkle for educators and administrators to deal with. Arlynne Roa Awayan, Director of Customer Success and Engagement at CYPHER Learning and former president of the Philippine eLearning Society, has been thinking about how to improve education and distance learning for years. She went into overdrive during the pandemic, trying to help districts and institutions that were scrambling to figure out a way to effectively teach kids when they couldn’t be in the classroom. “I think I’ve been advocating for the integration of technology in learning and teaching for many, many years now, but with the many organizations I’ve been talking to, schools, teachers even, they always thought of technology as an option. It’s something meant to be an enhancement of what they’re already doing in the classroom,” she said. “I think a big part of what’s happening now is a lot of the school administrators and school leaders are forced into the situation where they have no choice but to use technology.” It’s not as simple as implementing a learning management system or partnering with an E-Learning company, she said, but about picking the right solution for that institutionalization and making sure it works for everyone involved in the process. That even includes parents, who have had to take on extra responsibilities for the children’s schooling while often also trying to work from home or figure out a budget with a reduced or eliminated salary. Now that many schools are ramped up online, the education world may be fundamentally changed. “Some people are still thinking that this is just what we’re doing because of the pandemic, but I think this is really going to change the way things are for education moving forward, because it proves students don’t need to be in school for six hours every day or just listening to a lecture every time,” she said. “There are so many ways of teaching, and those are the things that will be very helpful moving forward.”

EdTech vendors have been good corporate citizens by offering free resources during this year’s school closures, but eventually they need revenue to keep the doors open. According to industry vendor Michael Spencer, CEO of Global Expansion Strategies, and former Senior Directorof International Business Development at K12, the opportunity is ripe to find new revenue streams around the world. In this episode of Remote Possibilities, Michael breaks down some of the ways to get started:1) Understand the market you’re looking to enter.In the United States, the decision-making on edTech purchases is fragmented. In the international space, by contrast, the decision-making is usually led by a very small team, which gives edTech providers a better chance to establish a relationship and offer a comprehensive vision of what you can offer.2) Engage schools, parents, and students.For companies that are new to a given territory, extolling the features of your product just won’t cut it. You’ve got to be ready and eager to explain how everybody that touches it will benefit. You not only have to get the buy-in from teachers and administrators at the school itself, but also from parents and students. All of these stakeholders must clearly understand how optimal student outcomes can be achieved upon implementation in the school. That requires you to not just sell, but to go the extra mile and explain how your solution or technology is supposed to be implemented and managed. You can share this information via professional development at the school, and the school can then pass it on to the parents.3) Be ready with multiple delivery methods.Because we still don’t know exactly what school will look like in the fall, I strongly suggest that companies develop multiple blended learning models in which their content can be delivered, either in class, online, or in some combination of the two.To read more of Spencer’s thoughts, click here.

Student safety and security have never been more important during these grim times. The move to remote learning has made life much more difficult for a much larger population of students. Jeff Patterson, Founder and CEO of Gaggle, watched demand for his company’s services surge this spring. On this episode of Remote Possibilities, He shares some daunting examples of how districts can deal with issues like suicide and cyber bullying with host Kevin Hogan.The Gaggle safety solution combines artificial intelligence and trained safety experts to provide real-time analysis and review of students’ use of online collaboration platforms, such as Google’s G Suite for Education, Microsoft Office 365, and Canvas. Gaggle assists districts in proactively identifying and supporting students who are struggling as well as creating a safer school environment by building a culture for improved digital citizenship.A greater number of students are using Hangouts for project collaboration, live class discussions, peer mentoring, virtual office hours, foreign language practice, and online study groups. This popular digital tool also provides a way for coaches and teachers to directly message their players and students, eliminating the need to share personal phone numbers. In all of these instances, Gaggle can evaluate suspicious content, alerting school officials of unsafe situations and even contacting local law enforcement when time is of the essence.

Virtual classrooms and digital collaboration technologies are known quantities these days in large part due to the pandemic. And thanks to companies such as X2O media, the bridge from the physical class and workplace to the virtual one may be a little easier. Monsour Brek, President of X2O Media, stopped by the podcast to give his thoughts and perspective in the significant changes taking place in the industry. “Higher education’s adoption of virtual classroom technology accelerated like crazy because they were forced to move everything online,” Brek said. Brek does not know the long-term outcome of online education after the pandemic, but he did have one prediction. “I think the one thing that’s clear for the future is hybrid type classrooms where some people will be physically in the room, and others that will attend remotely.” One key takeaway from the pandemic Brek noted was how students choose to consume online classroom content. If higher ed students are not interested enough in the class when they had to attend it physically, they may be less so when it is online, choosing instead to view it later as a recording. Brek said the class needs to be engaging and include participation and classroom activities regardless if it is in a virtual or physical setting. Engagement in the virtual setting is the cornerstone of X2O Media’s solutions for digital collaboration. “With our solutions, by giving the remote participant a presence in the physical classroom, it keeps both sides engaged,” Brek said. “We feel the difference is night and day between the typical e-learning session and a true interaction between teacher and student that is achievable with our technology.”

Out of every crisis comes change. Most of the time, we worry about the bad side of those changes. Will we able to high five a stranger in the stadium after a touchdown? Can we go back into our houses of worship like before, shaking the hands of guests or being blessed by a priest? But crisis also can bring forth opportunities to improve on systems that needed to grow. For Dither Balderas, Manager de Digital Network & Adoption Manager LATAM for Cypher Learning, the COVID-19 pandemic is an inflection point for the future of distance learning. “I think it’s a critical moment and really a good moment for universities and educational institutions to change and to take this big step toward innovation, taking the step of not always offering the same thing and not being happy to stay in the mode of ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to try,’” he said. But universities have to pick a Learning Management System that goes beyond simply being an LMS. Despite that, a lack of planning means he’s seen many institutions opt for platforms they know instead of seeking out the best option for their students and professors. “We’re staying with the first option that isn’t always the best choice, given that we might not know all the platforms,” he said. “That’s what is happening now, and, unfortunately, universities are listening to these (limited) recommendations and aren’t ending up with the best thing on the market. That’s what I’ve seen at this stage.”

Though the official school year has finally come to an end, schools and administrations are still working hard to prepare for a fall start. What schooling will look like in a few months' time is still a mystery, but academic leaders are preparing for multiple scenarios. Guests DeAn Jeffrey and Ginger Brawley, both Strategic PD Specialists for Istation, define what adversity schools, teachers and students will face upon their return and how to confront these new challenges head on. The academic upset caused by the coronavirus pandemic is widespread. Estimates have guessed that up to 25% of key standards may not have been taught at the crucial end-of-year period, usually reserved for teaching the most rigorous standards and executing key formative assessments. But Jeffery and Brawley provided counsel on how to bridge this gap. The key? Data. By collecting data, schools can assess where each individual student is academically. This data allows teachers to design and plan lessons that meet kids where they are, honing in specifically on essential standards. But beyond academics, schools must take the lead on student mental health like never before. The social and emotional reverberations of the pandemic have been traumatic for students, and not addressing the trauma would be ignoring a core issue. “If the kids aren’t in the right mindset to learn, then it all falls to the wayside,” said Jeffery. Social-emotional learning is no longer a “soft” skill. Schools will have to offer up mental health assistance and support. But perhaps the key takeaway form Jeffery and Brawley’s expertise is to be forgiving. Consider easing pressure off testing. Listen to student’s needs, and be a stable stanchion of support and strength in the community.

Elliott Levine is never one to mince words. As Distinguished Technologist and Director of Education of the Americas for HP, he influenced and advocated for innovative uses of tech in schools. Now as Chief Academic Officer for STS, he is confronting the issues of this new reality. In this conversation with host Kevin Hogan, Elliott expounds on a recent post he wrote regarding the harsh questions that need to be answered in education. These include:Value – If the college campus experience is removed from the equation, and all students are learning remotely, will students want to pay the premium of private, liberal arts schools vs. public schools? Will a student be willing to continue to spend 700%+ more in tuition annually when comparing tuition from in-state tuition rates vs. some private tuition rates?Competition – Are online universities better positioned to thrive in this market? Could institutions such as University of Phoenix, Liberty University, Southern New Hampshire, UMass Online – each with over 75,000 online students – have the infrastructure, pedagogy, and staff expertise to adapt quicker and faster than your institution?Pedagogy – How will colleges of education adapt to provide more remote teaching skills to students, particularly when so few of tenured faculty have experience in the medium?New Markets – As with any major economic downturn, enrollment in post-secondary schools sees a surge as individuals look to re-skilling for new career opportunities. I did so myself, returning to graduate school in 2002. With financial challenges at a lifetime peak, will traditional degree programs be what your potential customers truly seek? Are certificates and micro-credentials more palatable. Are the skills needed in the workforce today aligned with your current offerings?

Want to hear about an impossible situation that gets even more difficult? Listen to host Kevin Hogan talk to PresenceLearning CEO Kate Eberle Walker to discuss how districts are utilizing tele-therapy to deliver special education-related services. The company works with hundreds of school districts across the country and since COVID-19 related school closures, hundreds more have reached out to them for help to support students at home. Kate discusses what is happening in districts as they prepare for providing these essential services for students with extra needs.

In this episode of Remote Possibilities, Sean Slade, Senior Director of Global Outreach at ASCD, details the best education practices that will now become mainstream as a result of this madness. Topics include:Learning Communities“Our learning communities can be our classrooms, whether they are in person or, as we are now, online. They can be across our school, and they can be across and amongst our physical locations. Ultimately, we will be seeing these learning communities expand into and across all our communities– physical and online – and our schools and classrooms transform into pedagogical centers where learning is guided rather than delivered.Student Agency“Students needs to develop an understanding of their own role in the learning process and be expected and encouraged to see themselves more as agents, or ideally owners, of their own learning.”Learning to LearnWe have an opportunity here to move expeditiously into a future stage, of utilizing this crisis to upend an antiquated system, and to replace it with one that engages the learner in learning and teaches them to learn how to learn.

AI and machine learning have made a major impact in many industries—why not teaching? The frequent question is, will robots replace teachers? No, that’s unlikely ever to happen, but new technology can provide assistance to teachers. In this Online Learning Minute, host Brian Runo explains why these advanced technologies have the capability to reimagine learning. “In a large classroom with hundreds of students, the teacher can’t answer every question. A robot could help,” Brian said. Algorithms from machine learning can also assist in grading papers by computing thousands of pages of content to check for grammar. There are many additional applications where AI and machine learning can benefit the teaching profession. They are there to enhance the experience for all, not supplant teachers, who remain vital to the art of learning.

Not all the news coming out of this madness is bad. Sam Herring, Vice President and General Manager of Intrepid by VitalSource talks about how this current crisis can be a time of resourcefulness and innovation in the workplace learning space. He illustrated these thoughts with how one of largest not‐for‐profit, academic health systems in the United States built and deployed a remote learning system to train the army of nurses battling COVID-19 during those first weeks in March:“Within a day of selecting the Intrepid platform, the health system’s learning team created an initial course prototype, within four days learning pathways were created and audited by nursing leaders, and within eleven days the complete training solution was launched across the entire health system. The initial audience includes approximately 3000 nurses, LPNs, and hospital support staff, and may expand to additional groups.”Listen to this episode of Remote Possibilities for more insights related to the new realities of distance learning.

The first data are in regarding learning loss during the pandemic and the results don’t look good. In this episode of Remote Possibilities, Kevin Hogan talks with Stuart Udell, CEO of Achieve3000, and one of the authors of a new study by the Successful Practices Network and the Center for College & Career Readiness, the first published report of the current and predicted impact of school closures using actual performance measures. Stuart breaks down the grim particulars including:76% of schools showed decreased usage after schools closedSchools differed widely in how quickly and how well they made the transition to online learning. Overall, however, the number of students logging in has declined by 43% and the number of students completing at least one lesson has declined by 44%.Students are on track to lose up to 49% of gains over the summerBased on early data, it appears that school closures as a result of the coronavirus crisis will lead to a significant loss of potential learning gains, as 28%, for many students come June 2020.Worst case prediction for a widening of the achievement gap is 18%The achievement gap has already begun to grow in the six weeks since schools moved to online learning. The achievement gap between low- and high-income students is expected to increase by as much as 18% for students from low-income schools by the end of this school year.It’s not all bad news however. Stuart suggests some best practices industry can take to improving this ever-changing crisis.

This episode of the MarketScale Online Learning Minute featured Ray Schroeder, professor at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), senior fellow of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) and founder of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service. Ray has been a pioneer of the online learning field and launched the UIS’s first online course in 1997. Schroeder and host Brian Runo discussed the state of online learning for universities as the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic. With predictive models showing possible new surges of cases in the fall, some universities are going to continue online, while others will reopen for fall with safety precautions in place. “Universities had about a week to suddenly transition to online learning, which is an undertaking that would normally take years. This quick transition meant that many courses lacked engagement and interactivity, as they weren’t designed for online learning,” Schroeder said. Due to the fast shift in learning mediums, many of these courses lacked engagement, making it easy for students to drift away. While this happens in in-person classes, too, there are many possibilities when it comes to remote learning platforms. “People can pay attention to the small screen for about 15 minutes without interaction and engagement,” Schroeder said. “There is an opportunity to take advantage of the medium with visuals and audio, but that wasn’t feasible.” Schroeder encourages faculty and institutions to start with the objectives of building a course and using technology to help accomplish these learning outcomes. Universities can start by looking at their summer courses, most of which are online. It requires innovation, and all stakeholders collaborating to improve the online learning community. Schroeder and Runo also chatted about what to expect from online learning in the future and how universities can prepare for education in the future.

On this episode of the MarketScale Online Learning Minute, host Brian Runo dives into how quantum computing, the next revolutionary leap forward in computing, could apply to online education. In particular, it can be used to epitomize the connectivism theory and provide personalized learning for each individual, as its not restricted by the capacity of an individual instructor. In this way, each learner can be empowered to learn at their own pace and be presented with materials more tailored to them in real-time. In fact, quantum computing is so revolutionary that the education world likely can’t even currently dream up the innovations it will enable.

One crucial aspect of training employees is ensuring they retain the information in the courses. Companies should also seek out feedback from class takers to improve the content. Brian recommends several tactics to improve comprehension. Setting up a survey post-course for comments by participants can help a company improve their online learning. If those taking the class don’t return, it’s a good idea to send them an email reminder. “If someone stopped at the first module, give them a nudge to finish,” Brian said. Last, organizations should consider the assessment at the end of the program and how relevant it is to the topic. Workforce learning can be required for several reasons, such as practical applications or knowledge acquisition. Whatever the goal, companies should make sure that the evaluation at the end aligns with this.

Teachers are perceptive. They know which of their students need a little boost when doing equations or who will spend extra time with a book. That’s become a much taller task, however, with education forced out of the classroom and onto the web because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of individual instructional interventions, school-wide interventions may be needed with many students not getting the hands-on learning they need to master objectives taught in the final quarter of the school year. “We’re missing two and a half months of critical instruction time. End-of-the-year instruction is critical for kids. That’s when a lot of those more difficult standards are taught,” said DeAn Jeffrey, a Strategic PD Specialist with IStation. “Without intervention support systems, students who were struggling when we left school are only going to be further behind.” One of the most difficult challenges is figuring out how to start the new school year, namely whether it’s safe to bring students back to the physical building or if education is still going to take place remotely – especially with many students not undergoing end-of-year evaluations. “I really think that is the tough one, because how do you remotely get the data you need to determine where you need to start with them? I think that’s the struggle a lot of districts and schools are working on right now. How are they going to get the data they need?,” said Ginger Brawley, an IStation Strategic PD Specialist. It will take time to figure out how to get students up to speed, but there are resources – like those provided by IStation – that can help both students and their instructors limit regression and get as close to that irreplaceable in-classroom experience as possible.

As a company that serves 4.5 million educators and 45 million students in 140 countries and territories around the world, Discovery Education has been playing a pivotal role in the education industry’s response to the pandemic. In this conversation with Scott Kinney, Discovery’s President of K-12 Education, Remote Possibilities host Kevin Hogan discusses the immediate moves the curriculum company made to support their vast customer base, the longer term implications of the crisis, and the best practices other countries have been implementing.Hear more about :Discovery Education created a special channel within Discovery Education Experience—the Viruses and Outbreak Channel—featuring digital content that helps educators discuss the Coronavirus outbreak with students. This content includes timely updates on what the Coronavirus is, information on how infectious diseases spread, and essential guidelines for staying healthy. Discovery worked with content partners to make the Viruses and Outbreak Channel available to the communities our U.S. school systems serve so that parents, caregivers, and other adults have the same access to the materials children are being taught in schools. For U.S. schools or school systems that are not currently using Discovery Education resources, but are experiencing closures due to the Coronavirus, the company is offering free access to Discovery Education Experience through the remainder of the school year.

When Din Heiman, SVP of Strategy at Renaissance Learning, first posted his thoughts on the edtech industry’s responsibility to respond to the current education crisis, he expected to spark a conversation. 20,000 LinkedIn views later, his provocative thoughts, plus the contributions from others, have created a blueprint for future remote learning success.Marketscale contributor and Remote Possibilities podcast host Kevin Hogan discusses Heiman’s extraordinary message with him and breaks down some of the specific suggestions he offers directly to edtech leaders. These include:Survive. You probably don’t want to be surprised in the midst of a crisis to discover your solution doesn’t effectively scale after all. Or that your cash situation can’t bear the expenses created by spiking usage. At the extreme, the last thing you can afford is to see your company collapse — precisely when your customers (not to speak of your employees) rely on you the most. Think about that in the context of both your existing business model, and any immediate changes or campaigns you are considering.Parents aren’t stakeholders. No matter what your specific offering is or who you sell to, start considering parents (a.k.a. #AccidentalHomeschoolers) as customers. Just because they aren’t students doesn’t mean you can treat them as teachers. Consider factors like ease of use, lack of professional training, methods of communication, reality of working parent/s… Consider whether your offerings are tailored and curated enough, or just adding to an already daunting pile. Don’t assume it’s for the teacher alone, much less principal or administrator, to bridge between your offerings and parents. They themselves have plenty on their plate. If you can’t get your offerings to an appropriate level of simplicity, factor in extra capacity for layperson support.You’re in the equity business. Yes, you. This one may be the hardest for many of us to fathom. If you’re not actively planning for decreasing equity gaps, you’re liable to be inadvertently increasing them. Do your plans account for the needs of different populations of special learners? Do they factor in English learners (whether students or parents)? Do your offerings work across devices? Without devices? In different bandwidth situations? Do they inadvertently contribute to stress, or alleviate it? Can you identify in advance any other unintended consequences of your plan, and if so what can you do to prevent them?

On this episode of MarketScale’s Online Learning Minute, host Brian Runo explores how even free courses, particularly in the area of graphic design, can deliver tremendous value. “[Graphic design] is one of the fields where there’s always something new to learn, and it’s also one of the fields where the majority of work can be done fully remotely,” Runo said. In particular, Behance, an social media resource owned and operated by Adobe to connect graphic designers, offers a unique online learning experience and connection opportunity.

Staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many some extra time. Now is a great opportunity for anyone to participate in online learning. By taking online courses, individuals have the chance to upskill themselves, adding new skillsets to their repertoire. These new skills could be useful in a current or future position. When seeking out online learning, Brian recommends three platforms. First is Coursera, which offers free online courses from top universities like Yale and Stanford, as well as from brands like Google and IBM. Classes are free, but students can pay for them to earn college credits. Second is edX, a platform that boasts over 2,000 free online courses taught by instructors from Harvard, MIT, and more. This provider offers classes that can help students learn a new skill or gain a certification. Third is Khan Academy, which features short video tutorials, intended for K-12 and higher education students. Users can take courses at their own pace, completely free. Brian said, “Make sure you find the right platform and invest the time to do some learning.” For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Education Technology Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

In the premiere episode of Remote Possibilities, host Kevin Hogan talks with Scrum master and remote learning veteran David Prior about, what else, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the business of professional training. Prior discusses the inherent disadvantages and some surprising advantages this incredible disruption has caused and what it might mean for the future corporate training sessions. Added bonus: wistful remembrances of airport terminals.Conversation takeaways include:What does the lockdown mean for the future of in-person professional training in the near term and long term?How can companies adjust to the new professional learning needs of their employees?What are some of the new techniques that are emerging from this most unpleasant of beta tests?

On this episode of MarketScale’s Online Learning Minute, host Brian Runo was once again joined by Lenovo Director, Global Education Solutions Rich Henderson. This go-around, the duo dove into the big picture of providing education technology, how Lenovo, the No. 1 global technology provider for education devices, is setting itself apart in the space, and how new innovations and focuses on software and service might help shape the future of education. In particular, Henderson said that access to technology and devices is the first step, but that EdTech initiatives can’t succeed if they aren’t backed up by attention to security and the provision of software and services. To that end, Lenovo offers LanSchool, a comprehensive for technology management in K-12 and higher education. With LanSchool, school’s are empowered to meet IT challenges head on by minimizing distractions and improving control, increasing collaboration, and more. By providing an assessment mode to lock devices during tests, real-time thumbnail monitoring of all student screens, keystroke monitoring and more, LanSchool elevates the entire educational effort. “The reason why this classroom management is important is, even in a classroom setting – let’s say you’ve got up to 30 students in a classroom, each one with their own devices and working on things in the classroom,” Henderson said. “It’s not so much the vision that the teacher will sit behind their desk and monitor what students are looking at. “It’s more the ability for the teacher to push content out to the students to get those students on task and help drive the lesson forward.”

On this episode of the MarketScale Online Learning Minute, host Brian Runo was joined by the Remote Possibilities podcast’s Kevin Hogan, who will also begin a role as an education contributor at MarketScale. Hogan and Runo dove into Hogan’s two-decade career of exploring the intersection between business and technology, from the first days of email to the exciting and cutting-edge possibilities of today. For the past 15 years, Hogan has focused on education technology and remote learning, making him uniquely qualified to assess how the current unprecedented period of remote work has affected the world’s education and to look ahead at what our collective new normal could be. The duo also took a trip through many aspects of the online and remote learning space, including how universities were unprepared for the current period of forced remote learning, issues with Zoom regarding productivity and security, a lack of digital equity holding students back, and more.

On this episode of MarketScale’s Online Learning Minute with host Brian Runo, Runo highlights best practices for adapting and leveraging current content in a push toward online learning. Though building out robust and thorough courses with plenty of online-friendly and tailored content is ideal, these courses can integrate training materials, handouts, and more that have already been developed. Essentially, it boils down to this – having content in a course, of any kind, is better than nothing at all. To effectively utilize previously created content, Runo said breaking down that content into small, bite-sized pieces is critical.

The majority of students in the United States are learning from home through online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This change is an adjustment for kids and parents from both a technological and emotional standpoint. How can educators achieve success during such a transition? Dr. Jane Moore, Regional PD Lead and Coordinator for the Department of Social and Emotional Learning for Istation, and Crystal Smith, a third-grade teacher at Chapel Hill Preparatory Academy in the Dallas Independent School District, offered their insights on this extraordinary moment. With the need to quickly shut educational institutions down and move students to an online environment, Dr. Moore said most schools and students were unprepared to shift to online learning, and adjustments are ongoing. In many cases, students left school without essential online tools they’d need to begin their learn-at-home journeys. And the learn-at-home platforms are not standardized throughout systems, either. Smith’s own two children each learn on a different online education platform. “The first couple of weeks were the hardest. Kids’ emotions were all over the place,” Dr. Moore said. It took a bit to get a routine down where both kids and parents felt comfortable with their day. Smith pointed out that this is an adjustment for the parents as wells as the kids, and, depending on one’s technical expertise, it may be an equal challenge for the parent to navigate the online teaching platform technology as it is for the child. During this period of adjustment and stress, educators need to focus on five key competencies of social-emotional learning. “Those competencies are self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness,” Dr. Moore said.