EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
PRnewswire | March 23, 2023
Procare Solutions is pleased to offer a new way for child care centers to bolster their educational offerings by including integrated assessments within Procare's classroom management capability.
With the release of Vine Assessments™, Procare Solutions has become the only provider of child care management software to offer integrated proprietary early childhood assessments for children from birth to 5 years old at no additional cost.
Vine Assessments is an integrated framework that gives early childhood educators and staff a way to clearly articulate the growth and development of children in their care. It includes clear and easy childhood assessments that align with all 50 state standards and provides developmental continuums with 21 goals that apply to children from birth to age 5 as they prepare for kindergarten.
"When early childhood educators can provide a robust assessment to their children and families, it elevates the learning and development of the children in their care and helps transform their businesses into true early childhood education programs," said Jon Pollock, chief product officer of Procare Solutions.
With 91% agreement rate among child care professionals, Vine Assessments are easy to use and understand.
Child care centers are leading providers of early childhood education and are at the forefront of addressing delays to help young learners recover from setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Children born during the pandemic are scoring lower on average on tests of gross motor, fine motor, social and problem-solving skills compared with those born before COVID-19, studies have shown.
In addition to learning delays, many of these children are talking, walking and interacting later and less frequently.
"Children need age-appropriate assessments well before entering kindergarten, as well as assessments that teachers of all experience levels can conduct accurately and without additional stress during their already busy days," said JoAnn Kintzel, CEO of Procare Solutions. "We are continually looking for ways to help centers foster the growth of children in their care, which is something Vine Assessments can help achieve."
"The list of 21 goals is a solid list that providers will find familiar and useful. The numbering system is very intuitive and helpful for navigating the instrument," said Dr. Kristen Burmester, director of administration and operations of the early childhood education program at the University of California at Berkeley.
Teachers using Procare will be able to tie their lessons and observations directly to the appropriate Vine Assessment indicator from the web-based software and Procare child care mobile app.
The simplicity of the Vine Assessments for teachers is what won over Melissa L. Hood, director of early childhood education at the Calvert School in Baltimore.
Her center uses Vine Assessments for all 150 kids at their two centers.
"Assessments provided by the state were too cumbersome and more suited to elementary school-aged children," she said. "They sometimes were 15 pages long and too difficult for parents to decipher."
A childhood assessment conducted through Vine Assessments offered a better alternative.
"It's to the point, it's accurate, it relates to age-appropriateness," she said. "Our teachers like Vine Assessments much better than the state-provided assessments."
About Procare Solutions
For more than 30 years, Procare Solutions has been the leading provider of child care management software, family engagement, integrated payment processing, technology and services. Procare is used by two out of three child care businesses that use child care management software. The company supports more than 37,000 child care centers, preschools, daycares, after school programs, camps and related facilities with comprehensive software that has the power to manage every aspect of their business, enrich classroom and family interactions, and automate the payment process. Procare offers web-based, on-premises and cloud-hosting solutions and supports customers of all sizes from single-center operations to complex multinational enterprises.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
International Schools Services | February 20, 2023
ISS, International Schools Services, has recently announced that it will be hosting an additional 90-minutes virtual workshop for K12 educators on ChatGPT. This workshop will help educators understand the implications of generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT in academics.
ChatGPT is an AI tool having the capability to generate content which is quite like that of human creation. It gives direct implications for educational instructions, assessments, and assignments. Through the workshop, ISS would encourage educators to learn how this technology can transform learners' personalized learning experiences and explore its ethical use in the educational field.
ISS offered virtual professional development during the pandemic, supporting classroom educators with online learning. In addition, its single sessions and ISS EDUlearTM passport subscription connected educators, school leaders, and professional staff.
President of ISS, Liz Duffy, said, "The response to our events has been overwhelming. ISS is committed to helping K12 educators worldwide deliver the best education possible, especially when circumstances shift. ChatGPT and other AI tools aren't a fad. They have the potential to dramatically change what happens in the classroom—and that change is already beginning. Our session will help educators identify, use, and prepare for this disruption."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
"With Microsoft, Baidu, and Google now entering the Generative AI race, we're about to witness the rapid evolution of these technologies in real-time. We need to remain on the cutting edge of these innovative learning tools and their myriad of applications in education", said John Burns, Chief Innovation Officer of ISS.
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About ISS
Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, ISS, a non-profitable educational organization, has worked with international schools and educators since 1955. It offers more student-centric services, operating future-oriented schools, providing professional learning opportunities, sourcing school supplies and administrating school foundations, and promoting innovation. It has supported job-seeking educators and administrators, launched and managed international schools, provided school supplies, developed virtual and in-person learning programs for leaders and educators, and offered accounting and nonprofit board management. It currently operates around 20 international schools worldwide.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Coursera | January 18, 2023
On January 17, 2023, Goodwill Industries International and Coursera announced a collaboration to create the Goodwill Career Coach and Navigator Professional Certificate. The very first certificate of its kind will provide educational content developed from 120 years of Goodwill's history of industry expertise to those who are pursuing a career in workforce development and career navigation.
This self-paced course enables development and learning for Goodwill coaches and career navigators by leveraging the power of Coursera's cost-effective online platform. Workforce development resources and tools are also provided to the Goodwill navigators and coaches to enable them to better assist job seekers across the U.S. and Canada. The online training, based on the expertise and experience of local Goodwill career services teams, prepares professionals for employment in the emerging career coaching and navigation profession.
Career counselors and navigators help over one million people find jobs, education, and necessary support service, playing an essential role in Goodwill's mission. Accessible, career-focused learning courses that lead to professional certificates help job seekers find good jobs, earn a living wage, and boost local economies. Aspiring professionals who are looking to upscale their skills and enhance workforce development, including Goodwill's nonprofit and community partners, can benefit from the Goodwill Career Coach and Navigator Professional Certificate.
Chief Mission Officer of Goodwill Industries International, Martin Scaglione, said, "Goodwill provides career services to help individuals facing barriers reach their potential through the power of work. Employers in local communities find Goodwill to be a trusted source for talent," He further mentioned, "The Goodwill Career Coach and Navigator Professional Certificate not only benefits career services professionals and employers, but most importantly it is a game changer for the individual they both serve, by opening access to opportunity.
(Source – GlobeNewswire)
About Coursera
Launched in 2012 by Stanford Computer Science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, Coursera's mission is to offer universal access to top-notch learning. With 102 million registered learners as of March 31, 2022, it is one of the world's largest online learning platforms. Coursera collaborates with over 250 leading industry partners and universities to provide a diverse collection of professional certificates, courses, guided projects, specializations, and bachelor's and master's degrees. Coursera is employed by organizations worldwide to reskill and upskill their employees, students, and citizens in areas such as technology, data science, and business.
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