In the United States, the K-12 education sector too often exists in silos, separated from meaningful connections with community and innovation. But in Tucson, Pittsburgh, and other regions around the country, communities are working to break down those walls. They are building ecosystems that bring together educators, researchers, funders, edtech…

One of the most pressing social problems of the century concerns forcibly displaced populations. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the world is currently experiencing the highest level of population displacements on record. In 2018, the number of refugees worldwide reached 25.9 million, half of whom are under…

Combining the sophistication of modern communication technology with the simplicity of an unadorned mobile room, Portals are making it possible for people around the world to connect and recognize their shared humanity.

Makerspace are collaborative work spaces inside a school, library, or separate facility for making, learning, exploring, and sharing. They provide opportunities for children to practice critical thinking and creative expression.

STEM education is an easily identified area of innovation in the education field. The most significant innovation for our students' lives, however, is ensuring that these technology-based programs are providing opportunities for students to engage with the world in meaningful ways and to recognize how they can contribute to positive…

It is not difficult to imagine a world where internet-connected mobile devices are accessible to everyone. Can these technologies be used to help solve the challenges of global education? This was the challenge posed by the Global Learning XPRIZE--a $15 million grand challenge competition aimed at addressing this global teaching shortfall. In…

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to revolutionize education, as it immerses students in their learning more than any other available medium. By blocking out visual and auditory distractions in the classroom, it has the potential to help students deeply connect with the material they are learning in a way that has never been possible before.…

Technology can provide engaging, efficient ways to support content learning across all areas. As our societies become more globalized and we seek to prepare students to work and live with people from diverse backgrounds, innovating--through technology and other means--to promote empathy and positive social skills becomes increasingly important.

New classroom practices can be brought into the classroom that engage students through their enjoyment of games, while building their confidence and bolstering their understanding that mistakes are valuable stops along the journey to understanding.

Africa has more people younger than 20 years old than anywhere in the world, and the continent's population is set to double to two billion by 2050. Asking whether that is a challenge or an opportunity isn't really the right question because it is both. For Mwabu, an education technology company born and bred in Zambia, the more important question…

Although mobile applications and games often seem isolating and somewhat stationary, last year's augmented reality (AR) gaming craze Pokémon Go demonstrated how technology has the potential to promote socialization, collaboration, and physical activity while still engaging users. Pokémon Go's use of AR technology, which superimposes…

For the past six years, All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD; https://allchildrenreading.org) a partnership of the United States Agency for International Development, World Vision, and the Australian Government, has fostered the development of innovations that can increase reading outcomes for children in developing…

For many people, the use of technology in education constitutes a de facto "innovation." Whether or not this belief is actually accurate, or useful, is a legitimate question for discussion. That said, there is no denying that many of the educational innovations celebrated (or at least touted) today are enabled by the use of such…

The growth of Twitter and similar sites has influenced many institutions. Many employers, for example, currently value digital literacy and look to hire employees who are skilled in social media. Since corporations increasingly value this type of literacy, researchers such as Greenhow and Gleason (2012) argue that educators need to respond by…

Assigning students projects involving video production can lead to many positive academic outcomes, and today more opportunities exist for educators to incorporate such video-oriented projects into their classroom practice. Video-making technology is more affordable, more user-friendly, and more powerful than ever before. This article discusses…