Mentorship programs help bridge STEM gender gap

educationdive | April 05, 2019

In the midst of male-dominated fields that can sometimes deter females from entering, mentorship programs are cultivating interest and opening up opportunities to girls in STEM, EdSurge reports. In fact, when it comes to the percentage of girls who understand the relevance of STEM and the possible jobs within it, there's a 20% difference between girls who know a woman in STEM (73%) and those who don't (53%).Women only make up only 29% of the science and engineering workforce, EdSurge notes, citing data from the National Science Board. And when it comes to computing, Girls Who Code thinks the gender gap is getting bigger — by 2027, they estimate that only 22% of computer scientists will be women, down from 37% in 1995 and 24% in 2017. It's similar to a need for more diverse teachers that minority students can look up to — even if girls don't get encouragement from a teacher, friend or family member, seeing a woman succeeding in STEM can show them that they can do the same. As David Shapiro, the CEO of Mentor, told EdSurge, "Research shows that life experience and human relationships give us a sense of what’s possible and help us navigate to those possibilities.”

Spotlight

Instancy is at the forefront of revolutionizing the eLearning landscape by harnessing the power of Generative AI. Our comprehensive solutions are designed to cater to diverse learning needs, transcending traditional barriers and empowering knowledge workers, trainers, and management alike. For Knowledge Workers, we provide instant access to performance-enhancing information right within their daily workflow. Our system ensures timely and efficient delivery of knowledge, enabling users to perform optimally, right at the moment. For Trainers, our no-code Generative AI-powered tools facilitate rapid and intelligent content creation. This reduces content development costs by over 50% and speeds up the content time by 70%. Our platform's unique blend of smart technology with human creativity offers trainers an unmatched experience in developing blended learning content.

Spotlight

Instancy is at the forefront of revolutionizing the eLearning landscape by harnessing the power of Generative AI. Our comprehensive solutions are designed to cater to diverse learning needs, transcending traditional barriers and empowering knowledge workers, trainers, and management alike. For Knowledge Workers, we provide instant access to performance-enhancing information right within their daily workflow. Our system ensures timely and efficient delivery of knowledge, enabling users to perform optimally, right at the moment. For Trainers, our no-code Generative AI-powered tools facilitate rapid and intelligent content creation. This reduces content development costs by over 50% and speeds up the content time by 70%. Our platform's unique blend of smart technology with human creativity offers trainers an unmatched experience in developing blended learning content.

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Corporate Education and Training, Online Education

Course Hero Launches "AI Academy" to Help Educators Navigate Role of AI in the Classroom

prnewswire | August 23, 2023

Course Hero, the learning platform used by over 150,000 educators, today announced the launch of AI Academy, a first-of-its-kind teacher training program empowering educators to respond to the various opportunities and challenges that AI presents. "Artificial intelligence has significantly disrupted the classroom in recent months, leaving educators with little guidance and even less training, while institutions work to catch up with the technological advancements," said Sean Michael Morris, Vice President of Academics at Course Hero. "We designed and built this course based on feedback from our community of educators, who are astute learners themselves and relentless in their pursuit of creating impactful learning for their students." The four-week program, AI Academy, will help faculty gain the critical tools and skills needed to teach in the age of AI and will prepare them to use the technology as an effective teaching and learning resource. Participants will learn new ways to create assessments and assignments, understand how AI impacts academic integrity, and use it to teach digital literacy to their students. Educators who complete the four-week-long program, will receive a Certification in Teaching with AI, along with 10 continuing education units. Those who are interested in the program can register here: https://education.coursehero.com/ai-academy/. In a recent survey from The Crimson, many faculty respondents revealed in open-ended responses that they did not know how to proceed in plans to adapt their teaching, research, and scholarship in the age of AI. In another recent survey of 1,000 faculty, commissioned by Course Hero, younger faculty (Gen Z and Millennials) respondents were more likely to say the pace of adoption is too fast, while half of all Baby Boomer respondents said they were not aware of their institutions' pace of change regarding the adoption of generative AI. "While used thoughtlessly, AI can shortchange learning, but there are also enormous opportunities to empower students if faculty members are intentional and thoughtful in introducing AI to the classroom," said Edward Tian, Founder of GPTZero and speaker at Course Hero's 2023 Education Summit, where some of the most well-attended sessions were focused on the role of AI in the classroom. "Every educator should take this opportunity to equip themselves with the tools they need to succeed as the classroom continues to evolve." About Course Hero Course Hero is on a mission to help students graduate confident and prepared. The online learning platform now offers more than 100 million course-specific study resources created by and for students and educators, as well as 24/7 tutor help. More than 150,000 faculty across the U.S. and Canada use Course Hero to share their resources with the community, collaborate with other faculty, and hone new strategies for instruction. Every day, students, educators and tutors on Course Hero help more than 30 million students make every study hour count.

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Online Education

eDynamic Learning Enhances Career Solutions via Learning Blade Acquisition

PR Newswire | September 26, 2023

eDynamic Learning, North America's largest provider of digital curriculum for electives and Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses for schools, announces they have acquired the company behind Learning Blade® and Ready for Industry®. This is eDynamic Learning's fourth industry acquisition and further expands access for students and teachers to industry-leading career exploration curriculum and a growing suite of college and career readiness tools. "Learning Blade and Ready for Industry offer an impactful expansion of the tools and resources from eDynamic Learning to further support our mission of guiding students' passion to purpose. By reaching learners at pivotal stages of their academic development, we can guide them to visualize and prepare for their futures and ultimately, enter the workforce ready for success with the necessary knowledge, skills, and certifications for a wide range of industries." Jerry Wooden, President and CEO of eDynamic Learning. Learning Blade introduces students in grades five through nine to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), CTE, and computer science careers through interactive and engaging online tools in "mission" based storylines. Students work together in teams as they accomplish goals and explore over 100 careers by completing more than 400 online lessons, project-based lessons, and presentations. Parent resources, 3D printing, and design thinking lesson plans are also provided. Learning Blade's newly released Introduction to Coding course is also widely used to introduce computer science to middle school students. The innovative Ready for Industry (RFI) platform creates a career bridge for learners by providing essential industry knowledge for the five highest-demand industries across the country: healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, construction, and logistics. Specifically designed to address career preparedness and awareness, RFI provides 20-hour courses suited for high schools, community and technical colleges, and adult education programs. The program has also worked in collaboration with National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) to create an industry-recognized credential program in all five industries. "By joining eDynamic Learning, more students and adults will have the ability to discover and better prepare for high-demand careers that align to their interests and meet the needs of the workforce. With this new relationship and our successful statewide strategy, we are excited to have more support allowing even more states and organizations to have access to these innovative tools." Sheila Boyington, Co-Founder of Learning Blade and Ready for Industry. About eDynamic Learning eDynamic Learning is the K-12 publishing industry's largest provider of college and career readiness solutions established with a mission of helping students find their passion and prepare them with the knowledge and skills to make life-shaping decisions. eDynamic Learning offers award-winning courseware for grades 5-12 with more than 250 career-focused elective and career technical education courses. eDynamic Learning is also the leading provider of simulation-based educational content with over one-third of all U.S. high schools using the Knowledge Matters- Virtual Business line of simulations. About SAI Interactive, Inc. d/b/a Thinking Media SAI Interactive, Inc. has made the past two years of Inc. 5000 and was named Small Business of the Year by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. The company was founded by Sheila and Dr. Dane Boyington who have developed some of the most respected and innovative tools in the education technology field. In addition to the current products Learning Blade® and Ready for Industry®, Thinking Media has been widely recognized by experts and innovators in the fields of education and workforce development.

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Talent Development

Introducing My PowerSchool: An Intuitive User Experience Empowering Families, Staff, and Administrators

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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