EdTech 10: 3rd Annual Smart List Series

It’s official. The 3rd Annual Smart List series is off and running. Over the past couple weeks we’ve acknowledged people and organizations making a difference. During October and November you’ll see around 20 ‘Best of’ lists. So far we’ve highlighted 50 people shaping the future of K-12, coding & computer science, assessment & data resources, and 34 STEM networks & maker resources.

In the spirit of the Smart List series, here are this week’s top 10 news stories.

Digital Developments

Empowering principals. A new infographic from our friends at Data Quality Campaign illustrates the benefits for school leaders in terms of how student data can act as a powerful touchstone for setting goals and informing key decisions. View and download the graphic here.

Cast your vote. The Alliance for Excellent Education is on the lookout for innovative high schools and districts serving low-income communities to honor for Digital Learning Day in February. Nominate by October 19! Learn more and submit here. Looking to nominate but don’t know who? Our vote is going to AdvancePath Academics.  

Si! Acknowledging that english isn’t the primary language for 1 in 4 families is ClassDojo. They quietly launched Translate that enables families to translate all classroom announcements into their preferred language. Read what parents are saying about ClassDojo.

Dollars & Deals

Watch this. The Fred Rogers Company landed $3 million from the National Science Foundation to support the production of Emmy-winning PBS KIDS program Peg + Cat, a new teacher engagement initiative, and supporting research.

Stem Gems

Game on. Guided by the goal to design a series of embodied and simulated geoscience games and to explore the extent to which embodied experiences can promote learning in historically challenging geoscience concepts is GameDesk who released two new games — GeoMoto and Pangean. How does gaming impact learning? The researchers suggest 3 mechanisms that has shown can have a significant effect.

Safe and sound. As part of Safe Schools Week, SchoolMessenger is releasing new PD materials for K-12 educators. Check out Becoming CIPA Compliant with Google Apps and Office 365 and Critical Issues in School Safety: Lessons from the Front Lines.

Higher, Deeper, Further, Faster Learning

Testing it out. University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and the Jefferson Education Accelerator have teamed up to help product designers evaluate their work before introducing them into the market. Yale and Yogome have recently partnered in a similar effort to develop and test efficacy in developing games.

Guns up. Texas Tech University’s College of Ed is partnering with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching to build a competency-based training model for school principals. The $7.2 million federal grant will impact leadership training in Texas, Louisiana and Indiana. Principals deserve the same personalized, competency-based learning opportunities that we advocate for students — check out Preparing Leaders for Deeper Learning for more.  

Smart Parents

imaginED. Our favorite Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning review to date has been published by Jonathan Oglesby — Parents smarten up about education. You’ll never guess what happens next…

Movers, Shakers & Groundbreakers

Disruption Leaders. Julia Freeland Fisher is taking over the reins at the Christensen Institute as the new Executive Director. Michael Horn, co-author of BLENDED and founder of the institute is stepping down to “work with a portfolio of education companies in a variety of board and advisory roles” according to a LinkedIn article by from Michael.

For more EdTech 10s, check out:

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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