The Latest Education News, Picked for You
Do a quick Google search for school news. Reopening plans for the fall! Remote education apps! Distance learning do’s! And distance learning don'ts! There’s so much to keep up with in education news alone, it can feel exhausting to follow along.
We’ve got your back!
Once a week, your friends at Yup will read and listen to the latest education stories and give you a quick rundown on our blog. Breathe a sigh of relief and close all those tabs, and say hello to your Weekly Education News Roundup!
Volume 1: The latest on school reopenings, new virtual tutoring tech, and the importance of SEL (8-minute read)
Remote Education Technology: How AI is Helping Students Learn
Intelligent reading tool Amira is racking up accolades, such as the 2020 Award of Excellence from Tech & Learning. Amira prompts students with stories at grade level and asks them to read them out loud. The app “tutors” students as they speak, offering guidance on pronunciation.
Amira plugs in with classroom learning, too. Here’s a cool snippet from the article explaining how. “Amira will be able to notice patterns in a student's articulation of a particular sound, and flag those sounds for the teacher to focus on in small-group instruction.” There’s tremendous value in a learning app that students can use solo as well as during classroom instruction!
Read the piece here: How an award-winning AI-powered software is helping students with remote learning (7-minute read)
School Reopenings: Senator Murray Talks Funding for a Safe Back to School
Senator Murray shares what it will take to reopen schools and why we must overcome partisanship for our students and educators. The Washington Senator is spearheading the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act.
Listen to the conversation here: Patty Murray’s fight to reopen schools safely (40-minute listen)
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Why We Need Recess Now More Than Ever
Researchers make the case for why we must give students “play-based break times” when schools finally reopen. When it’s safe to engage in these activities, of course! Recess is a time when students get to take a mental pause from classwork, exercise a different part of the brain, and blow off steam.
Why is it so important to integrate a form of recess into reopening plans? Learning at home has been isolating for many students, and isolation can worsen existing trauma. A chance to socialize with classmates can be beneficial for psychological health and attention.
Thankfully, there are ways to make recess safer. These include keeping play outside and spread out, and having students use their own sports equipment.
Read the piece here: When children return to school, don’t skip recess (8-minute read)
Education Equity: Targeting the Achievement Gap with an App
Falls Church, VA high schooler Andrew Tran spent some of his extra time at home to build up his education nonprofit inGenius X.
Tran partnered with his friend Rayan Yu to create a mobile app to help students learn during the pandemic. Their AI-based tutoring app Amelia X offers a free “chatbot able to autonomously assist students in digital learning.” Kudos to these inventors and their mission to help close the “digital divide” worsened by COVID-19!
Read the piece here: Student-Created Learning App Shoots to Close Achievement Gap (10-minute read)
Remote Learning: A Conversation on Impact and What to Expect in Fall
Slate’s Mary Harris and Washington Post education reporter Laura Meckler spoke last week about the state of remote learning. In the discussion they cover what’s been working, what hasn’t, and what could be next as we look towards back to school.
Key takeaways from their conversation:
If we’re back in physical classrooms come fall, social distancing is going to remain important (at least six feet between students’ desks). This means students will likely remain in the same classroom all day vs switching rooms at the bell.
Decisions to reopen schools are happening on a district by district basis. For example, LA is sticking with virtual while neighboring Orange County may invite students back for in-person.
Many schools and districts are considering hybrid model approaches. This means half of students may learn in-person for two weeks while the other half of their class does distance learning during that time. At the end of the two weeks, they alternate!
Read the piece here: Remote Learning Isn’t Working (20-minute read)
Listen to the conversation here: What Next podcast (22-minute listen)
Check back with the Yup blog for more education news every week!
