Our weekly roundup of education technology, workforce technology, and venture capital news.
Higher Ed Institutions Are Enhancing Accessibility with a Variety of Tech Tools – Creating inclusive learning environments, especially in the move to remote learning, is essential in higher education. Tech tools like text-to-speech apps and audio-enhancing receivers are being used more in schools to aid students with hearing and vision loss in accessing content. Despite federal laws requiring online services to be accessible to people with disabilities, many schools face challenges meeting these standards. Training on accessibility is available at most institutions but is often optional even with tools like Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft products which offer built-in accessibility checkers. Automated captioning tools and real-time transcription capabilities can enhance accessibility for all students, so there needs to be more collaboration between disability resource centers, instructional designers, and faculty to promote awareness and utilization of accessibility measures on campus. Above all, leadership buy-in is crucial for the successful institutional implementation of digital accessibility best practices.
The stress of recess: Here’s how schools are improving playtime – The pandemic, school closures, and increased screen time have led to a decline in natural play and recess opportunities. But educators are now recognizing the importance of play in schools for children’s academic, physical, social, and emotional development. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics is updating its recommendations on play, emphasizing the importance of adults getting involved and modeling positive play behaviors for students. Schools, like Marcy Arts Elementary in Minneapolis, are partnering with organizations to improve play experiences and provide professional development for educators. Focusing on play has resulted in academic and social benefits and a more inclusive and welcoming environment for students of all backgrounds.
Our portfolio company, BAM, seeks to unlock the potential of students year-round through summer camp, after-school, and structured recess programs. Learn more about the work they do.
AI tutors are quietly changing how kids in the US study, and the leading apps are from China – AI tutors are becoming increasingly popular in the US, with apps like Answer AI changing how students study by providing instant answers to homework problems. This technological revolution is posing a threat to traditional tutoring franchises like Kumon. There are advantages to AI tutoring, including making after-school assistance more affordable and personalized. However, there are limitations to AI tutors, such as inaccuracies in answers. At the moment, Chinese-owned AI tutoring apps are dominating the US market, leveraging similar foundational AI technologies. This merely highlights the importance of enhancing user personalization features to stand out in the competitive edtech space, creating an opportunity for edtech investors to focus on AI tutoring apps with strong personalization capabilities as they could be a lucrative investment opportunity.
The Role Of Edtech In Addressing Equity Gaps In Higher Education – The growth of the edtech sector in India means there is plenty of potential to bridge equity gaps in higher education. EdTech platforms offer innovative solutions to address disparities in educational outcomes by focusing on acc accessibility, affordability, personalized learning, and closing the achievement gap. By cultivating inclusive learning environments and implementing effective edtech strategies, institutions can advance equity in higher education and create opportunities for all students to succeed. Continuing the evaluation and gathering feedback from those using the technology remains important so edtech innovations and interventions address the diverse needs of students. It’s never been clearer how EdTech has the power to democratize education and create a more equitable and inclusive learning environment for all.
What’s More Important to Students and Employers: Skills or Credentials? – At the recent Reagan Institute Summit on Education, education leaders, government officials, and stakeholders gathered to discuss the blurring line between work and education. The focus of talks was on the value of traditional college degrees versus career-applicable skills for younger students and employers. Panelists highlighted the need to integrate the two paths — respond to the demand for skilled workers, and adapt education to changing student needs. Efforts at the K-12 level were highlighted and panelists agreed that students need to be preparing for both careers and higher education. Panelists expressed hope for a future where education leads to economic and social mobility, and where businesses and educational institutions collaborate to provide relevant work experience and career preparation services.
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Black and Latino access to certain STEM courses still inequitable – The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights revealed in a report that public schools with high Black and Latino student enrollments offer fewer math, science, and computer science courses compared to schools with low enrollments of those groups. The data, part of the 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection, highlights ongoing racial inequities in STEM access for students of color. The Education Trust suggests that early exposure to rigorous STEM courses is crucial for students of color to prepare for future success and avoid negative experiences in STEM classes. Addressing exposure and representation gaps in these fields is essential to ensuring all students have access to high-paying career opportunities.
The Great Misalignment: Addressing the Mismatch between the Supply of Certificates and Associate’s Degrees and the Future Demand for Workers in 565 US Labor Markets – A good summary of the full, downloadable report, which examines the extent to which middle-skills providers are awarding credentials in fields that align with local workforce needs. The overview provides graphs, maps, and data to demonstrate that in half of the nation’s labor markets, at least 50 percent of all middle-skills credentials would need to be granted in different fields of study to meet projected labor demand through 2031. For more information about the disparities, read the summary or check out the full report.