Online Education
PRnewswire | July 28, 2023
Instructure and Khan Academy announced a partnership that brings together Instructure's market-leading learning management system, Canvas, the anchor of the Instructure Learning Platform, and Khan Academy's AI-powered student tutor and teaching assistant, Khanmigo. This integrated solution will put the transformative power of generative AI into the hands of students and educators using the Canvas learning environment.
Generative AI represents an opportunity to enhance the role of technology in supporting educators and creating efficiencies in their day-to-day instruction. This new solution will harness this transformative moment by enabling educators with an integrated Khanmigo experience that supports human-driven, technology-enhanced essay feedback and grading, lesson planning and rubric creation. This solution is a large step forward in delivering personalization for each student while allowing busy educators to scale their excellence and impact in ways unimaginable a few short months ago.
For students, the use of generative AI presents significant opportunities and challenges. In a world filled with intelligent agents and easily-accessed answers, the need for tools that guide, enhance and support active learning is critical. Initially focusing on student writing, Instructure and Khan Academy aim to support students and their learning through Khanmigo's tutoring capabilities. By helping students use generative AI ethically, equitably, and with integrity, demonstrating an authentic work product becomes easy and clear.
"Generative AI, and tools like ChatGPT, have been a part of every conversation I have had this year with leaders, learners and instructors across our global education community," said Instructure CEO Steve Daly. "This partnership with Khan Academy and its deep expertise in generative AI will deliver a powerful solution for one of the world's largest education communities – delivering an intentional, secure and equitable experience that promotes impactful learning experiences for all."
Instructure's Learn Platform independent research team, along with Khan Academy's educational research team, will jointly design research for early adopters, to measure the impact of these tools on student outcomes - delivering insight into the efficacy of the tools and the utilization of AI to assist teachers and students in achieving their learning outcomes.
"Every educator we talk to is seeking ways to address students using ChatGPT to write school essays and do homework," said Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy. "How can classrooms use AI tools, while ensuring students develop critical thinking skills? We're teaming up with Instructure to solve this. We're using AI to show teachers not just the final essay, but how the student got there. So students will be supported in developing critical writing and thinking skills, while getting the benefit of AI designed for education. Khanmigo can also help with rubric creation and grading, saving teachers time. Students won't get answers, but they will get appropriate levels of support."
Instructure and Khan Academy will bring Canvas and Khanmigo together for a cohort of K-12 and Higher Ed design partners and early adopters during the 2024-2025 school year. Institutions interested in piloting this solution can sign up in the Emerging AI Marketplace.
ABOUT INSTRUCTURE
Instructure is an education technology company dedicated to elevating student success, amplifying the power of teaching, and inspiring everyone to learn together. Today the Instructure Learning Platform, comprised of its flagship product Canvas LMS and several products serving K-12 and higher education, supports tens of millions of educators and learners in over 100 countries worldwide. Learn more at www.instructure.com.
ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Our platforms include more than 70,000 practice problems, videos and articles that cover a range of preK-14 subjects. Khan Academy's mastery-based learning system allows students to learn key concepts at a pace that's right for them before moving on to more challenging content. Our award-winning free app for young children ages two to eight is Khan Academy Kids. We partner with more than 500 schools and districts across the country that serve students who are historically under-resourced. Districts use Khan Academy Districts and MAP Accelerator to help teachers differentiate instruction. Worldwide, more than 140 million registered learners have used Khan Academy in 190 countries and 51 languages.
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Talent Development
Businesswire | July 17, 2023
PowerSchool , the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the release of My PowerSchool, a cohesive user experience that consolidates all relevant information and applications into a single, streamlined platform. My PowerSchool simplifies how families interact with their children’s school and how school technology leaders manage their PowerSchool solutions by providing a central point of access based on if the user is an educator, student, or family member. My PowerSchool Family, the first release of the My PowerSchool experiences, will be available in the fall, allowing families and educators to share one source of information, including grades, attendance, assignments, calendar, completed and in-progress forms, behavior, and fees, in a seamless experience.
"My PowerSchool marks a significant milestone in empowering the education community," said Marcy Daniel, Chief Product Officer, PowerSchool. "This new release will provide an upgraded experience to families using the current family portal in PowerSchool SIS and showcases our commitment to providing user-centric solutions that streamline processes, enhance communication, and foster collaboration among families, staff, and administrators."
My PowerSchool Family will provide users with multiple benefits including: • An enhanced family experience: Families will now have a comprehensive view of their child's educational journey, eliminating the need to switch between different systems. From assignments and grades to attendance and fee payments, all information will be consolidated into a single, intuitive interface. My PowerSchool is designed to help foster increased family engagement and accountability, and support student success through collaborative efforts between families and teachers. • Streamlined administrative account management: Administrators will save valuable time by eliminating the hassle of managing multiple accounts for separate systems. System administrators will have a unified user management system, reducing the complexity of managing individual users and providing staff with a modern authentication system. • Empowering students: My PowerSchool puts students at the center of their educational journey. By logging in with a single account, students gain easy access to all relevant school information. They can stay organized, prioritize tasks, and plan their studies effectively. With visibility into assignments, grades, test dates, and project deadlines, students can take charge of their learning, supported by engaged families and teachers. Additional My PowerSchool experiences, including the educator and administrator experiences, will be available in the coming months.
About PowerSchool
PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 50 million students globally and more than 15,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries.
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Talent Development
Businesswire | July 21, 2023
Age of Learning, leading education technology innovator and creator of the widely popular ABCmouse® Early Learning Academy, and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, today announced a strategic partnership to support district superintendents in identifying and implementing evidence-based solutions that early childhood educators can use to effectively personalize learning in the classroom.
The partnership reflects the commitment of both organizations to prioritize early childhood education initiatives and promote change within districts by facilitating access to best practices and emerging research.
AASA’s Leadership Network, the largest and most diverse network of school district leaders in America, is committed to supporting a pipeline of diverse superintendents and educational leaders as they refine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for highly effective leadership. To forward this purpose, AASA has established several cohorts, each comprised of current and aspiring superintendents, as platforms for leaders to engage in collaborative professional learning.
Through this new partnership, Age of Learning will work with multiple cohort leaders to recommend research and case studies for possible use in professional learning activities. The company is partnering on AASA’s Early Learning Cohort, Aspiring Superintendents Academy®, and Aspiring Superintendents Academy® for Female Leaders.
“The need for evidence-based solutions for early learners has never been greater,” said Sunil Gunderia, Chief Innovation Officer at Age of Learning. “Through our partnership with AASA, we will work with district leaders to advance evidence-based solutions that support educators with actionable data, and together we will help school leaders and teachers deliver transformative results.”
“Early childhood education is a key driver in ensuring students have long term academic success,” said David R. Schuler, Executive Director, AASA. “Age of Learning’s investment in effective early learning solutions makes it great partner for AASA as we work with district leaders to develop the most effective experiences for young learners.”
This partnership builds on Age of Learning’s ongoing support for schools via its personalized and adaptive programs, My Math Academy® and My Reading Academy™, solutions that are based on well-established principles of learning science research and are supported by a body of ESSA-aligned research demonstrating their effectiveness. To date, the company has received 10 ESSA-aligned validations for My Math Academy and My Reading Academy.
About Age of Learning
Age of Learning® is the leading education technology innovator, creating engaging and effective learning resources to help children build a strong foundation for academic success and a lifelong love of learning. The company’s research-based digital education programs have been developed by an experienced team of education experts and have proven efficacy in increasing children’s learning gains. Age of Learning’s flagship product, ABCmouse.com® Early Learning Academy, is an award-winning comprehensive curriculum for children. The company’s school solutions programs include My Math Academy®, an adaptive, personalized program proven to significantly accelerate math learning outcomes, and My Reading Academy™, an adaptive program designed to help young learners build a foundation for reading comprehension and literacy and become fluent readers. With over 10 billion learning activities completed by more than 50 million children worldwide, Age of Learning is a global leader in efforts to advance equity, access, and opportunity for all children.
About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education.
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