Category: Education

BY: Amy Loyd, ED.L.D., Assistant Secretary, OCTAE

The American postsecondary education system has seen many transformations, but none so democratic and revolutionary as the founding of the first community college in Joliet, Illinois in 1901. Then-president of the University of Chicago William Harper Rainey, and several other influential university presidents, were convinced that for America to grow and prosper, an accessible pathway was needed to open postsecondary education to all. As a result, community colleges were born.

In the 123 years since the founding of Joliet Junior College, the community college moment spread to encompass nearly every community in the nation, now numbering 1,022 colleges. Initially focused on creating education and training opportunities beyond high school, today’s community colleges span the gamut from high school dual enrollment to non-credit workforce training, industry certificates, registered apprenticeships, associate degrees—and in 24 states, now also baccalaureate degrees. During the 2020-21 school year, 8,871,746 students attended community colleges, representing about 43.7 percent of undergraduate student enrollment. Community college students also are among the more diverse in postsecondary education.

The Biden-Harris Administration knows that community colleges are critical partners in building the middle class, and through Investing in America, our Administration is seeking to further enable community colleges to be the engine that will transform our economy and future workforce in sustainable and renewable energy, semiconductor manufacturing, EVs and next-generation batteries, and a host of other industries. In short, community colleges are building pathways to the future.

I am proud to lead on behalf of community colleges here at the Department of Education, and to celebrate April as National Community College Month. Together with my colleagues in the Department, we have rededicated our efforts to serve the sector and to elevate the critical role our community colleges play. Since the Biden-Harris Administration took office in January 2021, the President, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Cabinet Secretaries, and other senior leaders have visited dozens and dozens of community colleges to see and experience firsthand the transformative power these institutions are unleashing for people of all ages throughout thousands of communities.

I have visited many community colleges during my tenure with the Department. One of the first was to Macomb Community College’s impressive M-TEC (Michigan Technical Education Center) in Warren, MI; with over forty thousand square feet of cutting-edge workforce development in integrated manufacturing, robotics, automated systems, and CAD—all leading to great jobs in in-demand fields. I also had the honor of attending Salish Kootenai College’s graduation in Pablo, MT; where we saw the power of a Tribal college to empower the future and advance Tribal sovereignty and self-determination through education, graduating students from certificate programs through associate’s, bachelor’s, and graduate degrees. And I was thrilled to visit Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ, to learn about their excellent Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (IBEST) programs leading to rewarding careers for adult learners, and I participated in their NC3 signing day with hundreds of students, their family members, and business and industry leaders committing to and celebrating the rewarding career pathways that students are pursuing. From coast to coast, from rural to urban, I have seen countless examples of how our nation’s community colleges are transforming lives, building our workforce, and strengthening our communities. 

Because of such visits and through meetings with community college leaders here at the Department, we are working diligently to elevate community colleges and facilitate their access to critical resources throughout the federal family. For instance, we are enhancing our information about Department of Education and other agency funding opportunities for community colleges. We will be curating and adding research and reports that capture the breadth, reach, and impact of community colleges to inform the public about the sector.

The Administration also continues its efforts around college affordability. We are working to spread tuition-free community college. We have called on Congress once again to approve our federal-state partnership plan for creating, expanding, and/or sustaining free community college tuition as part of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget released on March 11^th. Thirty-three states now offer free tuition programs, while local Promise programs have grown to over 425. We will showcase examples of statewide programs to help inform policymakers and educational leaders about the scope and variety of approaches to advance college affordability and access to career and technical education pathways for high school graduates.

We also are working to address student needs – mental health, access to SNAP, Medicaid, and other supports – and to advance Secretary Cardona’s Raise the Bar: Lead the World strategy and vision.  OCTAE launched its Unlocking Career Success initiative last year, with four national convenings held in community colleges across the country. In support of Unlocking Career Success, we announced the first 19 grantees for our new Career-Connected High Schools, which center community colleges as core partners and leaders for transforming education. This grant program is seeking to blur the lines and integrate pathways between high schools, community colleges, and high-growth, high-wage careers.

In observance of National Community College Month, we will post additional blogs from a community college leader and a student whose career has been transformed through their college. We invite you to celebrate with us by uplifting your experiences and connections to community colleges. Together, we can elevate the work of these institutions as they continue to transform our nation and provide powerful pathways to the future.

Surpluses of high school social studies teachers were next door to severe shortages

Elementary school teacher shortages were problems in Memphis and Nashville, but not in Knoxville

Economists have long argued that solutions should be targeted at specific shortages. Pay raises for all teachers, or subsidies to train future teachers, may be good ideas. But broad policies to promote the whole teaching profession may not alleviate shortages if teachers continue to gravitate toward popular specialties and geographic areas.

Some school systems have been experimenting with targeted financial incentives. Separate groups of researchers studied what happened in two places – Hawaii and Dallas, Texas – when teachers were offered significant pay hikes, ranging from $6,000 to $18,000 a year, to take hard-to-fill jobs. In Hawaii, special education vacancies continued to grow, while the financial incentives to work with children with disabilities unintentionally aggravated shortages in general education classrooms. In Dallas, the incentives lured excellent teachers to high-poverty schools. Student performance subsequently skyrocketed so much that the schools no longer qualified for the bump in teacher pay. Teachers left and student test scores fell back down again. 

This doesn’t mean that targeted financial incentives are a bad or a failed idea. But the two studies show how the details of these pay hikes matter because there can be unintended consequences or obstacles. Some teaching specialities – such as special education – may have challenges that teacher pay hikes alone cannot solve. But these studies could help point policy makers toward better solutions.

I learned about the Hawaii study in March 2024 when Roddy Theobald, a statistician at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), presented a working paper, “The Impact of a $10,000 Bonus on Special Education Teacher Shortages in Hawai’i,” at the annual conference of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. (The paper has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal and could still be revised.)

In the fall of 2020, Hawaii began offering all of its special education teachers an extra $10,000 a year. If teachers took a job in an historically hard-to-staff school, they also received a bonus of up to $8,000, for a potential total pay raise of $18,000. Either way, it was a huge bump atop a $50,000 base salary.

Theobald and his five co-authors at AIR and Boston University calculated that the pay hikes reduced the proportion of special education vacancies by a third. On the surface, that sounds like a success, and other news outlets reported it that way. But special ed vacancies actually rose over the study period, which coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, and ultimately ended up higher than before the pay hike. 

What was reduced by a third was the gap between special ed and general ed vacancies. Vacancies among both groups of teachers initially plummeted during 2020-21, even though only special ed teachers were offered the $10,000. (Perhaps the urgency of the pandemic inspired all teachers to stay in their jobs.) Afterwards, vacancies began to rise again, but special ed vacancies didn’t increase as fast as general ed vacancies. That’s a sign that special ed vacancies might have been even worse had there been no $10,000 bonus. 

As the researchers dug into the data, they discovered that this relative difference in vacancies was almost entirely driven by job switches at hard-to-staff schools. General education teachers were crossing the hallway and taking special education openings to make an extra $10,000. Theobald described it as “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

These job switches were possible because, as it turns out, many general education teachers initially trained to teach special education and held the necessary credentials. Some never even tried special ed teaching and decided to go into general education classrooms instead. But the pay bump was enough for some to reconsider special ed. 

Hawaii’s special education teacher vacancies initially fell after $10,000 pay hikes in 2020, but subsequently rose again

This study doesn’t explain why so many special education teachers left their jobs in 2021 and 2022 despite the pay incentives or why more new teachers didn’t want these higher paying jobs. In a December 2023 story in Mother Jones, special education teachers in Hawaii described difficult working conditions and how there were too few teaching assistants to help with all of their students’ special needs. Working with students with disabilities is a challenging job, and perhaps no amount of money can offset the emotional drain and burnout that so many special education teachers experience. 

Dallas’s experience with pay hikes, by contrast, began as a textbook example of how targeted incentives ought to work. In 2016, the city’s school system designated four low-performing, high-poverty schools for a new Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) initiative. Teachers with high ratings could earn an extra $6,000 to $10,000 (depending upon their individual ratings) to work at these struggling elementary and middle schools. Existing teachers were screened to keep their jobs and only 20% of the staff passed the threshold and remained. (There were other reforms too, such as uniforms and a small increase in instructional time, but the teacher stipends were the main thrust and made up 85% of the ACE budget.)

Five researchers, including economists Eric Hanushek at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and Steven Rivkin at the University of Illinois Chicago, calculated that test scores jumped immediately after the pay incentives kicked in while scores at other low-performing elementary and middle schools in Dallas barely budged. Student achievement at these previously lowest-performing schools came close to the district average for all of Dallas. The district launched a second wave of ACE schools in 2018 and again, the researchers saw similar improvements in student achievement. Results are in a working paper, “Attracting and Retaining Highly Effective Educators in Hard-to-Staff Schools.” I read a January 2024 version. 

The program turned out to be so successful at boosting student achievement that three of the four initial ACE schools no longer qualified for the stipends by 2019. Over 40% of the high-performing teachers left their ACE schools. Student achievement fell sharply, reversing most of the gains that had been made.

For students, it was a roller coaster ride. Amber Northern, head of research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, blamed adults for failing to “prepare for the accomplishment they’d hoped for.”

Still, it’s unclear what should have been done. Allowing these schools to continue the stipends would have eaten up millions of dollars that could have been used to help other low-performing schools. 

And even if there were enough money to give teacher stipends at every low-performing school, there’s not an infinite supply of highly effective teachers. Not all of them want to work at challenging, high poverty schools. Some prefer the easier conditions of a high-income magnet school. 

These were two good faith efforts that showed the limits of throwing money at specific types of teacher shortages. At best, they are a cautionary tale for policymakers as they move forward. 

It’s 5 a.m. and Tiffany Gale is up, as she is every morning, and the first thing she does is check to see if any of her child care staff have called out sick.

“They each have kids of their own, and someone is always sick,” she explains.

If indeed someone is out, Gale will be the one to step in and take over that classroom at the child care center she owns and runs. Until recently, she’d had enough money to hire a floating staff person to fill in the gaps or offer extra support, thanks to federal funds for child care providers under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Across the country, ARPA stabilization dollars went to more than 220,000 child care programs, affecting 9.6 million children, with many child care providers claiming such funds kept their doors open at a time when financially they could not break even.

But the funds ran out in September 2023. Since then, Gale — and thousands more child care providers just like her — have had to change the way they operate.

The historic investment the ARPA funds provided revealed just how much child care could improve in this country with sustained federal support. Now policymakers will have to decide whether to make that vision a long-lasting reality — or accept the old status quo.

Gale (no relation to the author) has known she wanted to work with young kids ever since she can remember.

“I grew up going through many adverse childhood experiences, and I always had teachers who made a positive impact on my life, and wanted the same,” she says.

In August 2019, she opened Miss Tiffany’s Early Childhood Education House, a child care center run in her home in Weirton, West Virginia. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit early the following year, Gale stayed open by accepting children whose parents were considered “essential workers”: teachers, nurses, mill workers. She got up early and stayed open late to accommodate people who worked 12-hour shifts and needed to drop kids off as early as 5 a.m.

By serving these families, Gale got access to federal child care subsidies. Child care, Gale explains, was essential to allowing these workers to do their jobs, and during the emergency phase of the pandemic, the federal government seemed to agree, sending between $30 and $34 per day per child of each essential worker directly to the providers who cared for them. Leaders in Washington routed additional money through state agencies to child care centers like Miss Tiffany’s, too, which meant that these small businesses accustomed to slim margins finally had some financial breathing room.

Before the pandemic, many child care centers were already in precarious positions because of the low staff-to-child ratios legally required to run them and because so few providers and families received federal and state support. The health crisis pushed many centers over the edge, and they closed. But for the ones that could stay open and take advantage of federal investment, there was an opportunity to make substantial improvements, which Gale recognized. She immediately set to work to improve the overall child care experience at her center.

Renovations, Meals and Activities

Before the pandemic, Gale had a waitlist “a mile long” for families who wanted a spot. More than 40 percent of children in West Virginia under age 6 who need child care can’t access it, she explains, pointing to data from Child Care Aware and TEAM for West Virginia Children. But she was constrained by the limited space in her home and couldn’t accommodate any additional kids.

Then Gale received money through the ARPA stabilization grants that she could use to expand. She put a down payment on a commercial space in downtown Weirton, and then began the necessary renovations to open a second location, which she named Miss Tiffany’s School for Young Children. She oversaw the renovation herself, which was primarily carried out by her husband and father-in-law, working on weekends and evenings.

“Everyone spent all of our ‘free time’ renovating the space,” she says.

There was enough space — three units and one house — for four classrooms, and as soon as renovation was completed on the first room, she enrolled 12 more kids. But then the permitting and construction process grew complicated. Gale discovered she would have to move two HVAC systems, which could cost $12,000 apiece. The timeline for renovation grew longer.

“The plan was to have all four [rooms] opened by the time funding ran out, but I only have one open right now,” she says.

Without the extension of the ARPA funds, she faces having to sell the unfinished units.

“It’s a shame, because there is such a demand for child care,” Gale says.

In Weirton, Form Energy is building a high-volume battery manufacturing facility at the site of the former Weirton Steel plant. The job fairs are already at capacity — the company has an attractive offer of benefits, a 401(k), and paid time off — and expects more than 750 new jobs to come to the area, including in manufacturing, operations, human resources and administrative roles.

“But we don’t have the child care infrastructure to support this,” Gale says. “If I have to sell the other two units, that’s going in the opposite direction of where we need to be.”

Each day, Miss Tiffany’s offers two meals and two snacks for each child. It’s food Gale shops for and her staff prepares on site. Her child care facilities qualify for meal subsidies through the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which is administered by the West Virginia Department of Education. Because of the high poverty levels in the area, all children receive a subsidy for their meals: $1.65 for breakfast, $3.12 for lunch, and 93 cents for a snack.

Extra pandemic funding meant Gale could serve fresh foods, including fruit, vegetables and meat. Breakfasts started to include sliced peaches, apples, tomatoes and scrambled eggs. Lunches included chicken stir fry, chicken enchiladas, roast beef, or broccoli quiche, among other options. For an afternoon snack, children had sliced apples with peanut butter.

But when that money dried up, Gale switched back to the more affordable food options for children that still fall well within the state nutrition guidelines: peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and breakfast cereal. Instead of fresh versions, teachers now serve canned beans, meats, fruits and vegetables. Snacks are graham or saltine crackers instead of apples.

Gale laments the switch away from fresh food, and knows that her kids do too. But the cost of groceries continues to rise, along with the price of nearly everything else, and Gale is certain she can’t raise her rates higher than her families can afford to cover better food for the kids.

“Quality food access supports a child’s brain growth and development during one of the most critical points in their life,” Gale says.

ARPA funds allowed Gale to try new teaching activities. She used grant money to purchase raised garden beds and sunflower kits so that her kids could take on gardening projects. She purchased notebooks for the kids so they could document the growth of the sunflowers, soil, seeds and water.

She also received a Regional Outdoor Play Improvement grant through the West Virginia Early Childhood Training Connections and Resources program, which she used to purchase additional jungle-gym climbers for the children to improve their gross motor skills. She also purchased sensory tables, which can be filled with items like beans or sand for kids to play in.

The ARPA funds allowed her to bring in outside teachers to lead dance and music classes, and to teach social-emotional learning lessons, but those programs stopped when the funding was cut off.

“No more outside experts, unless they can do it for free,” Gale says.

Instead of new notebooks and arts and crafts supplies, Gale now offers the kids more worksheets and crayons. “It’s stripping children of learning in a meaningful way,” she says.

Naptime also changed. With the new downtown location, Gale had sufficient funds to purchase cots for each kid with sheets, blankets and pillows, instead of the vinyl Heavy-Duty KinderMats she uses at her home location. Those mats had previously been the best option she could afford that complied with state regulations. They have since worn down, and rips are visible. “We are duct taping them to keep them around as long as possible,” Gale says.

At the home location of her center, it’s still up to families to bring in bedding for each kid, but not all of them can. “We see a lot of kids who are sleeping on a bare mat,” Gale says.

Revenue and Subsidies

Gale’s primary source of revenue is what she collects from the families who use her center, with some additional funding from the state for families who qualify for a subsidy. She has 12 kids at each location, between the ages of 6 weeks and 12 years, though she estimates that most kids are between the ages of 2 and 5 years old. She charges $45 per day or $165 per week, and though demand for spots remains high, Gale feels the need to cap her rates.

“Parents can’t afford to pay any more,” she says. “I have to keep my rates at a certain level or I am not going to be able to keep my doors open.”

Gale estimates that 50 to 75 percent of children who are in her care on a regular basis receive a state subsidy. The process of collecting reimbursement is complicated and cumbersome: Families are required to sign in and out with a black pen (blue pen doesn’t count, she explains, adding, “I don’t know why.”). Hard copies of the papers must be mailed to a central office in Charleston, West Virginia. But with so many parents signing kids in and out each day, there are inevitable errors and snags in the process, and the papers will be sent back (again by regular mail, not electronically) for corrections before Gale can receive payment.

One of the major shifts under ARPA — and one that child care advocates have long called for — was a change in the way providers are reimbursed for children who receive state subsidies for child care. Previously, providers like Gale were given a subsidy reimbursement based on child’s attendance — if a child was out sick or opted to spend the day with a grandparent instead of coming to child care, Gale wouldn’t receive payment — or she’d receive a partial day rate if the child left early. Her child care facility is considered Tier II on the quality rating, just below the Tier III level that requires national accreditation, so she is reimbursed $34 a day for an infant, $33 per day for a toddler, and $30 a day for children over 3 years old (25 to 30 percent below market rate). Though in every instance, Gale was still required to have staff on hand for the children who were enrolled, and she had to cap her waitlist based on those enrollment numbers.

“Kids get sick all the time,” Gale says. “If we are forced to reserve that space, then we should get paid for that day.” This is one of the ways that early childhood education is penalized compared to K-12 education, which receives broad federal and state support, she explains. “If a child in K-12 is out one day, the teacher doesn’t get paid less. For some reason we don’t see child care as education,” Gale says.

With the ARPA funds, instead of relying on attendance, Gale and other child care providers received reimbursement from the state for any child enrolled in their program, regardless of any days they missed. This allowed for a more consistent revenue stream and to more effectively plan staff schedules.

This change in subsidy reimbursement policy was made permanent in several states, including California, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont and Montana. West Virginia is also continuing to pay providers based on enrollment rather than attendance, and though this policy has been extended several times, it has not yet been made permanent through legislation.

In addition to the more comprehensive reimbursement plan, the state raised the income eligibility limit (to families making 85 percent of state median income) so that more families would qualify for child care subsidies. But with the end of the ARPA funding, families who had received funds for child care also lost their spots.

Rick Poling is a 59-year-old metal worker in Weirton, with custody of two of his grandchildren, Leona and Tyler, ages 5 and 6. They had relied on Miss Tiffany’s for child care during the pandemic when Poling was working. Since he was considered an essential worker, the state used ARPA funding to provide him with free child care, regardless of income eligibility. Poling was among those who worked 12-hour shifts and appreciated that Gale kept her center open early and late for him.

“The kids loved going there,” he says. “Miss Tiffany was really great with them.”

Poling’s case of raising grandchildren is not unusual in this country. More than 2.5 million kids in the U.S. are being raised by a relative who is not a parent — approximately 3 percent of all kids — and the prevalence of opioids makes the caregiving arrangement more likely for children in West Virginia, which has one of the highest rates of kinship care.

But the child care subsidies for essential workers ended in October 2022. Poling received a letter from West Virginia’s family services agency explaining that his child care benefit would be cut off. Poling had also switched jobs, and at his new income level, he no longer qualified for any additional state subsidy. Paying $300 per week for child care for his two grandchildren at Miss Tiffany’s was too much for him.

“They liked being at Miss Tiffany’s with the other kids,” Poling says. “But it’s not something I can afford right now.”

Poling’s new job is just across the state border in Ohio. He works with titanium metal (“You see any airplane in the sky, and we’re the place that put the metal on there,” he says). His shift schedules change by week, and can be either 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., or 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Such hours that accompany shift work are unpredictable and complicated for securing child care arrangements, even with a provider like Gale who had been willing to extend hours and open early to accommodate.

But without the child care option at Miss Tiffany’s, Poling relies on a friend, a retired teacher, and his girlfriend to help with the kids. For his overnight shift, he drops the grandkids off at the friend’s house, who he pays $250 “every few weeks” for helping him out. Tyler is now in a pre-K program that ends at 1 p.m. and Leona is in kindergarten until 3 p.m. “It’s much easier for them now that they’re in school,” Poling says. But this patchwork arrangement comes with its own challenges, and requires mental energy to manage all of it.

Child Care Staff

Years of low wages and no benefits for child care workers has created a drastic staffing shortage in the industry, one that Gale, too, has felt with her team. But the influx of ARPA funds allowed providers like Gale to provide bonuses for staff, which were preferential to raises since the future funding was uncertain. This also helped Gale to pay for a floating staff member, without whom Gale has to step in, bringing paperwork into the classroom to try and finish while the kids are playing or taking a rest. On some short-staffed days, Gale doesn’t get home until 10 p.m. after starting at 5 a.m.

In exchange for these round-the-clock hours, Gale estimates her take-home pay is $40,000 per year. That’s better than the average child care worker in the state, who makes $10.66 an hour — but the precarity of the business arrangement means that she is constantly concerned about money. And it’s less than the median household income in West Virginia: about $55,000.

Low wages lead to other problems for her staff, like securing access to reliable transportation. Gale says many of her employees cannot afford a car. “Or if they can, it’s an extremely unreliable car,” she says, which she nicknamed “a beater car.” She has one or two staff members without access to any car, so they find ways to get rides from friends and relatives. Public transit options in Weirton are extremely limited.

Many of her staff are already working 9- to12-hour shifts per day, and being short-staffed means that Gale offers overtime when someone calls out sick. But even with time-and-a-half overtime pay, it’s just $15 an hour. “It’s still not a ton of money,” she says.

One of Gale’s own staff made so little money that she also qualified for child care subsidies. This worker recently had to leave her job to care for a new baby with complications, which meant she no longer qualified for a subsidy for her elder child. West Virginia’s state legislature has another bill pending, House Bill 4002, which would provide child care assistance to child care staff regardless of their income. This could also have the effect of providing some relief to child care providers who give the staff steep discounts for their own children; instead of Gale’s business taking the financial hit, the state would cover the cost of her own staff’s child care, enabling her staff to come to work.

What Comes Next

ARPA funds brought about historic investment in child care. A number of states have seen the changes ARPA made possible as a positive shift that should be continued, and their governments have poured in historic investment to build better child care infrastructure. But, as experts have advocated, a state-by-state solution isn’t enough for a national child care crisis. Particularly for states like West Virginia, a state with one of the highest poverty ratings and lowest economic opportunity rating.

Manufacturers in West Virginia have expressed concerns that the lack of child care hurts the state’s competitive edge, contributing to its low ranking in child well-being. Gale’s own example of Form Energy coming to town speaks directly to this crisis: Good jobs are arriving in the region, and yet there still aren’t enough child care spots for the families who need them.

Gale has now become a vocal supporter for passing the child care legislation in her state and speaking out on how more investment is needed for child care. The ARPA funds shifted Gale’s mindset about what’s possible, and how and why she believes the government should play a role in child care — as it does in nearly every other industrialized country.

“I dumped every last penny I had into my business before COVID hit,” she says. “I did a Google search about who makes decisions in West Virginia, and started reaching out to the state legislators and bringing [other child care providers] together.”

She began volunteering with the West Virginia Association for Young Children and later joined the board as secretary, going to Charleston and advocating for more child care funding. Her advocacy has started to take on a larger role in her life: She recently accepted a position as the executive director for the West Virginia Women’s Alliance.

With these new responsibilities, Gale will retain ownership of her two child care centers but not manage the day-to-day work.

“I have to be prepared for the next funding cliff,” she explains. “In case we have to close our doors.”

How Can Video On Demand Fit Into The Modern Classroom?

With children being introduced into a technologically advanced world from the earliest stages of their lives, incorporating technology into education seems like a one-way street. Specifically, children seem to be particularly drawn to videos, learning how to utilize platforms like YouTube from a very early age. Therefore, it’s crucial for educators to learn how to best utilize videos to promote knowledge acquisition and increase learner engagement. This article explores the most common ways in which schools use video on demand to optimize learning results.

Benefits Of Videos In Educational Settings

It’s easy to say that schools should use video on demand because it’s beneficial, but how exactly does this media form improve learner engagement while instilling knowledge? For starters, videos are more appealing than lectures and help learners comprehend simple and complex matters more quickly, increasing knowledge retention rates. Moreover, different learning preferences are supported, and people with disabilities are equal participants. Additionally, videos are cost-effective for institutions since they can repurpose existing material multiple times. Many schools spend thousands or millions on paper and toner, costs that can be severely diminished when curricula, learning material, and exams are processed online. Lastly, it gives learners access to learning material from educational institutions around the world.

Types Of Content Schools Can Share On Video On Demand

Flipped Classroom

This approach isn’t very new, but not many institutions have implemented it. Teachers record their lectures and share them with their students days before class. Participants can watch the content at home, on their preferred device, and at their own pace. They don’t have to rush to take notes, and they can go back and rewatch clips that seem confusing. During class, they can ask questions, communicate and bond with their teachers and peers, and benefit from group learning. Teachers who wish to adopt this approach must ensure their videos are interactive. They may add audiovisual material, slides, highlighted texts, and space for students to form questions.

School Events

Many busy parents can’t attend their children’s school plays, sports games, contests, or performances. Schools can use live streaming and video on demand to broadcast and film these events so others can watch them afterward. Imagine how excited a school athlete might be after a big win and how much they would enjoy showing their top plays to friends and relatives who didn’t attend the game. You may even add clips of these videos to your social media to show how active your school is and how participation is encouraged. Additionally, some students may be willing to film recaps of school events and share them with fellow learners, parents, and the world.

How-To Video Tutorials

Many high schools and colleges offer practical training to learners in various topics. Instead of depending solely on a tutor to show them the methodology, an institution may create how-to videos, widely known as tutorials. For example, if the school purchases new technology, they can show students how to use it ahead of time. Also, medical students can watch recorded or animated videos of real-life procedures from every angle. They can study the techniques used and take notes for future use. The same training can be applied to law students as well, organizing mock trials and creating different courtroom scenarios.

Feedback Sessions

In traditional education, instructors would leave short notes on students’ essays and exams, not going into depth. However, with schools turning to video on demand, teachers can film their feedback and share more detailed insights. Also, they offer more personalized advice and ways someone can improve their performance. Therefore, students feel like their teachers truly care about them and their work. This method is particularly helpful in visual subjects, including art and fashion. An art teacher may find it a lot easier to discuss a learner’s sculpture by standing next to it and making comments.

Virtual Open Days

Most colleges in the U.S. have open days, where students from all around the country attend with their parents to check the facilities. Universities that are in remote locations or wish to attract international students may offer virtual open days. These digital tours can be live-streamed and recorded, so anyone interested can watch on demand. Remember that international students have different time zones and may not be able to attend a live stream and, therefore, miss out on the opportunity to join an institution.

Student Government Elections

During student elections, candidates typically print posters of their goals for their school and the reasons why their peers should vote for them. In the highly eco-friendly and interactive society we live in, this solution seems irrelevant. Institutions should allow candidates to film short campaign videos explaining why they would be great school representatives. Such an initiative allows students to showcase their agenda and their personalities. Institutions may upload these videos securely online and play them at a school assembly. This way, candidates have the opportunity to answer questions their peers may have and even engage in debates.

Goodbye Videos To Seniors

Most institutions create yearbooks for all seniors to take home and keep the memory of their education years alive. Schools can implement video on demand to create a visual yearbook, too. They may allow each student to talk in front of the camera for 20 seconds and share what they enjoyed the most in school and what they will miss dearly. Teachers can participate in these videos as well, mentioning what makes the graduating class unique. You may post this video online for anyone to access or send out virtual copies only to seniors and their teachers.

How Can Instructors Maximize Knowledge Retention With Video On Demand?

Students nowadays watch videos online all the time. However, applications like TikTok and Instagram have decreased people’s attention spans due to short and fast-paced concise videos. So, how can schools provide lectures, feedback, and other educational content without losing learners’ attention? The first step is signaling. While using on-screen text and graphics, tutors highlight the points that require students’ attention the most. Segmenting material into appropriately sized chunks is also necessary to direct knowledge and not overwhelm learners. To achieve that, video length must be suitable, and breakpoints and pauses may be added to allow students to take a breath.

Additionally, teachers must remove any unnecessary information that clutters the material and disengages students, a process known as weeding. As a result, their memory is enhanced since only crucial points are included in the videos. Lastly, matching modality refers to the effective and simultaneous use of video and audio, for example, adding narration to an animation. This way, working memory increases, while cognitive overload is avoided.

Conclusion

Schools that choose to use video on demand for educational and social purposes must know that creating content may sound easy and fun, but it is demanding. Educational content should be short and include a healthy and appropriate balance of text, narration, and visual material. It is also crucial to add captions and subtitles to assist learners with difficulties and international students who may not be proficient in English. All institutions need to start filming are a proper camera with an embedded microphone, decent lighting, and possibly an encoder and tripod for larger projects.

How Multimedia Elements Transform Learning Experiences And Outcomes

The digital age has revolutionized the way we approach education, with eLearning emerging as a powerful tool for disseminating knowledge across various disciplines. At the heart of this educational evolution is the strategic incorporation of multimedia elements—videos, interactive graphics, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR)—which has significantly enhanced the quality and accessibility of online learning experiences. This article provides a deep dive into integrating multimedia in eLearning courses, discussing its myriad benefits and effective strategies for its incorporation, and highlighting real-world examples that showcase the transformative potential of multimedia in education.

The Importance Of Multimedia In eLearning

Multimedia encompasses a variety of content formats, including text, images, audio, and video, integrated into a cohesive learning experience. This multimodal approach caters to different learning styles—visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing—ensuring that educational content is accessible and engaging for a diverse audience. The strategic use of multimedia in eLearning captivates learners’ attention and enhances their understanding of complex concepts, leading to improved retention and application of knowledge.

Advantages Of Leveraging Multimedia For Learning

1. Boosts learner engagement
   Multimedia transforms traditional, static learning materials into dynamic and interactive experiences, capturing learners’ interest and maintaining their engagement over time.
2. Facilitates complex learning
   Combining visual and auditory elements can simplify the presentation of complex data or processes, making them easier to comprehend and remember.
3. Supports diverse learning needs
   Multimedia content can be adapted to support different learning preferences, ensuring that education is inclusive and accessible to all learners.
4. Promotes practical application
   Through simulations and scenario-based learning, multimedia can provide learners with practical experiences in a controlled, risk-free environment, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
5. Enhances memory retention
   The diverse stimuli provided by multimedia content engage multiple cognitive processes, which can enhance memory retention and recall.

Strategic Integration Of Multimedia In Learning

Integrating multimedia into eLearning courses requires careful planning and execution to ensure that it enhances rather than detracts from the learning experience. The following strategies can guide the effective incorporation of multimedia elements:

1. Integrate with purpose
   Each multimedia element should be purposefully integrated to support specific learning objectives. Avoid unnecessary or decorative additions that do not contribute to the learning goals.
2. Optimize for engagement
   Use multimedia to create interactive and immersive experiences. For example, interactive timelines or infographics can engage learners more deeply than static text or images.
3. Apply storytelling techniques
   Storytelling can be a powerful tool in eLearning. Use narrative elements, such as characters and plots, within multimedia content to create compelling learning experiences that resonate with learners.
4. Ensure technological accessibility
   Multimedia content should be designed to be accessible on various devices and platforms, ensuring all learners have equal access to educational materials.
5. Prioritize learner interaction
   Encourage learner interaction with multimedia content through quizzes, drag-and-drop activities, and discussion forums. Interaction reinforces learning and facilitates deeper understanding.

Expanding On Real-World Examples

• Khan Academy
  Renowned for its extensive library of educational videos, Khan Academy utilizes multimedia to break down subjects into manageable, understandable pieces. Its interactive exercises reinforce the concepts presented in videos, providing a comprehensive learning experience.
• Google Earth Education
  Google Earth leverages VR to create immersive geographical and historical explorations, allowing learners to visit locations across the globe virtually. This hands-on approach brings abstract concepts to life and fosters a deeper understanding of world cultures and environments.
• TED-Ed
  TED-Ed’s educational videos, which cover a wide range of topics, are complemented by questions and discussions, making learning an interactive experience. The platform’s storytelling and high-quality animations engage learners and stimulate curiosity.

Additional Actionable Tips For Multimedia Integration

1. Leverage User-Generated Content

Encourage learners to create and share their own videos or presentations. This fosters a sense of community and allows for peer learning.

2. Utilize Feedback Loops

Implement mechanisms to gather ongoing feedback on multimedia content from learners. Use this feedback to refine and improve the learning experience continually.

3. Incorporate Gamification Elements

Gamified quizzes or challenges can add fun and competition, further engaging learners and encouraging participation.

4. Provide Support Materials

Accompany multimedia content with support materials, such as transcripts for videos, to cater to different learning needs and preferences.

5. Stay Current With Technology Trends

Keep abreast of the latest multimedia and eLearning developments to enhance and update course content continually. Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can provide personalized learning experiences, adapting content in real time based on learner performance and engagement.

6. Promote Collaborative Learning

Utilize multimedia tools that support collaboration among learners. Tools, like shared virtual whiteboards or group video projects, can foster community and enhance learning through peer interaction and feedback.

7. Balance Multimedia Elements

While multimedia can greatly enhance learning, finding the right balance is crucial. Overuse can overwhelm learners, detracting from the core learning objectives. Strive for a mix that supports and enhances the educational content without overshadowing it.

8. Adapt To Feedback And Evolve

Multimedia integration in eLearning is not a set-and-forget process. It requires ongoing adaptation and evolution based on learner feedback, technological advances, and pedagogical research. Regularly review and update multimedia content to remain effective, engaging, and up-to-date.

9. Incorporate Microlearning

Break down multimedia content into small, manageable segments. Microlearning modules can make learning more flexible and digestible, allowing learners to engage with content in short bursts that fit their schedules and attention spans.

10. Measure And Analyze Engagement

Use analytics tools to measure engagement with multimedia content. Analyze how different types of content affect learner outcomes, engagement metrics, and course completion rates. This data can guide future content development and instructional strategies.

Conclusion

The strategic integration of multimedia elements in eLearning courses represents a significant opportunity to enhance the educational experience, making learning more engaging, accessible, and effective. Educators and Instructional Designers can create dynamic learning environments that cater to a wide range of learning styles and preferences by carefully selecting and incorporating videos, interactive graphics, AR, VR, and other multimedia components.

However, successful multimedia integration requires more than just the addition of technology. It demands a thoughtful approach that aligns with learning objectives, considers learners’ needs and preferences, and is responsive to feedback and technological advancements. As the eLearning landscape continues to evolve, embracing the power of multimedia will be key to creating impactful, transformative learning experiences that engage learners and inspire them to achieve their full potential.

By Forest Hunt

Colleges must pay attention to subtle differences in students’ parental backgrounds and how that might affect their academic preparation, according to researchers at the Common App.

contributed by Edelyn Bontuyan

What makes traditional learning click? 

In-person learning. 

As a teacher, your students look up to you to impart knowledge in a format and manner they can absorb fast and easy. How do you achieve that? You conduct Q&A sessions, set up discussions, conduct practicals, lead peer teaching sessions, and more. 

But here comes a question you didn’t expect. How do you replicate these in-person connections when you are required to teach remotely? Numerous institutions are switching to online teaching, considering all the changes after the pandemic. Also, parents and students are now switching preferences to remote classes due to the convenience.

Well, lucky for you, we’ve got you covered! In this post, you’ll learn about eight tech tools for interactive learning. These tools allow you to replicate in-person connections to make learning relevant, meaningful, and exciting for your remote students.

Remember, these tools are web-based and hosted on servers in different countries. You need a stable internet connection to access them. Also, remember that access to some tools is limited to particular regions.

Despite the limitations, some teachers and students have found it possible to connect to most of the tools with the help of different proxy types. A proxy is a middleperson between your computer (the device) and the server you want access to. 

So, even when you are limited in accessing specific servers on which these tools live, you can connect to a proxy, which will connect to that server on your behalf. Moreover, a proxy stabilizes and optimizes the connection to the servers. 

Now that you understand how to access these tools let’s explore them. Keep exploring to the end to discover tips for selecting a suitable tool.

Flip 

With Flip, you empower your students’ voices. As their teacher, you use the tool to pose prompts or questions, and in response, the students record video clips to share their reflections, thoughts, or presentations. 

Flip humanizes remote learning because students can see and hear each other. In short, you replicate classroom discussions. Plus, you can review videos before they reach the students.  

Pear Deck  

Compared to Flip, Pear Deck is an interactive presentation tool that enhances teacher-student interactions. During presentations, the tool allows for real-time interactions, with your students responding to quizzes or prompts on the platform. This allows you to gather immediate insight into student comprehension and to find a way to adjust instructions accordingly. 

Kahoot!

Kahoot, on the other hand, offers teachers and students a chance to have fun while taking quizzes. Through Kahoot, you can turn your quizzes into timed questions with multiple-choice answers and have your students compete for points by answering the questions. 

With such a tool, you can efficiently prepare students for exams or monitor their learning progress during or after a lesson. 

Padlet 

Padlet takes the approach used during in-person learning a notch higher with students having the chance to post images, videos, documents, and ideas during discussions or brainstorming sessions. 

Compared to in-person learning where showcasing videos might take time, Padlet makes it much easier for students to explore the full extent of sharing knowledge, especially when you assign them group tasks. 

Prezi 

With Prezi, you can forget about static PowerPoint presentations. The tool allows you to create dynamic presentations with engaging visual narratives. 

It is like taking your students through a virtual tour, with the ability to zoom in and out of specific concepts and pan across visuals. Your students can do all these, too, while presenting their ideas. 

Edpuzzle 

Compared to most interactive tools more tailored towards remote learning, Edpuzzle can complement in-person learning too. It is a tool that allows you to create video lessons with a feature to embed quizzes and other elements of interactions within the videos.

Nearpod

Besides Prezi, you can try out Nearpod to transform traditional presentations into interactive slides or virtual field trips. Nearpod allows you to embed quizzes, open-ended questions, and polls within slides, making discussions more interactive. 

1. Quizizz

Quizizz, like Kahoot! It is tailored for quiz designing. However, it does not use a competitive approach to enhance your interaction with the students. 

Quizizz allows self-paced question answering, which can relieve your students’ stress. You can also use it to assign homework quizzes. 

As the eight tech tools for interactive learning show, each uses a unique approach to make remote learning effective. However, the more options, the greater the probability of not even trying one. 

To avoid getting into such a dilemma, here are tips to determine a suitable tool or even which one to try out first:

1. Choosing a tool that offers a wide range of interactions, including simulations, quizzes, presentations, and games, reduces the need to switch between tools. More interaction features under one roof sustain focus and enhance the interaction experience. 

2. Check for compatibility across browsers. Some tools are better suited for specific browsers than others. Also, consider whether the tool is mobile-friendly, as many web users prefer accessing websites on their phones. 

3. Consider whether the team behind the tool offers support in case of crushes. Opt for a tool with a helpful and supportive team in place.

4. Check if the tool supports multiple languages. This would be handy if you have a diverse group of learners. 

5. Prioritize tools with user-friendly and intuitive user interfaces. This will make it easier for your students to adapt to and interact with the tool efficiently.

6. Consider the short- and long-term cost of running the tool. Remember, the students might also be required to pay to use some features of the tool you select.

Conclusion

Teacher-student interaction is critical to delivering knowledge to students. The teacher and student collaborate on projects and discussions, actively participate in various activities, and provide each other with valuable feedback. However, the demand for solutions to sustain in-person interactions is ever-increasing, with so many students desiring to study remotely. 

Fortunately, there are tech tools for interactive learning. And from this article, you’ve had the chance to learn about eight of them. You are also equipped with knowledge on how to access them effectively and select one or more. Yes, there are more tools out there to try. But with the knowledge you’ve gathered, you are ready to explore just about any tool! 

Dive Brief:

• After warning in March of potential closure, Northland College will stay open for now but declared financial exigency, the board of trustees announced Thursday evening. The board said it would make “a final decision” about the college’s future in two weeks.
• In declaring exigency, Wisconsin-based Northland is formally recognizing a “serious financial crisis,” the board said. The process will focus on a new structure for the college, engagement with donors and the institution’s budget options, which would likely include cuts to staff and programs.
• Northland had set a $12 million fundraising goal with an April 3 deadline. Northland fell well short of the target but managed to raise $1.5 million, a record for the college, from 900-plus donations in less than a month.

Dive Insight:

Northland is set to stay open through the current academic year without changes to its programs, the board said. 

But it’s not out of the woods yet. 

“I also want to caution that Northland’s circumstances remain incredibly serious and significant progress will be needed in the next two weeks to avoid closure,” Ted Bristol, the college’s board chair, said in a statement. 

Northland President Chad Dayton also acknowledged in the announcement that the latest update creates uncertainty for students and others who are waiting for a final decision. 

The college set its April 3 deadline to help current and future students make enrollment decisions for the fall, given the disruption a college closure can cause. 

Dayton and the board have also pointed to feedback and ideas from stakeholders about the college’s future and potential closure. 

“We are listening and agree that additional time and a defined process are valuable next steps,” Dayton said. “Financial exigency provides that but also will require crucial conversations and difficult decisions.” 

The college will work with faculty as well as campus and community groups in the coming days to “refine a new structure, explore budget options and adjustments and determine additional funding possibilities,” the announcement said. 

Northland was founded in 1892 by members of the United Church of Christ. Today, the college touts its environmental and sustainability-focused programming. It’s accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. 

From fall 2017 to fall 2022, undergraduate enrollment at Northland fell 18.4% to 518 students, per federal data. According to Northland’s most recent tax forms, it ran a $3.2 million deficit in fiscal 2021. Revenues fell nearly $700,000 short of expenses in the year prior.

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Education will automatically reprocess between 15% and 20% of the applications for federal financial aid submitted thus far, following widespread tax data miscalculations. 
• The announcement reverses the department’s original plan to only reprocess the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms that contained errors decreasing the amount of aid students were entitled to. 
• Earlier this week, the department said it would reprocess the forms that approved students for too much aid if asked by colleges. The change in plan stemmed from college and stakeholder feedback, an agency spokesperson said Friday.

Dive Insight:

The new FAFSA is intended to simplify the financial aid process for students and their families, lowering the maximum number of questions from over 100 to several dozen. But the Education Department published the updated form three months later than usual, and its rollout has since been riddled with errors and glitches.

The shortened timeline and further delays have had ripple effects because colleges and states often rely on FAFSA data when disbursing aid. In turn, students have had less time to compare financial aid offers and decide where to attend. Many colleges have postponed their commitment and financial aid deadlines for the 2024-25 academic year to help address this issue.

More than 6.9 million FAFSA forms were submitted as of Friday, the Education Department said. It said less than 20% of “previously submitted” forms will need to be reprocessed, though it did not provide an exact figure.

The Education Department will begin automatically reprocessing the applications affected by the latest error in the first half of April. 

“We recognize how important it is for schools to have the information they need to make aid offers to students, which is why we are reprocessing all affected records at the request of schools,” a department spokesperson said Friday.

To expedite the financial aid process, colleges can make offers using either the original or reprocessed student records — known as Institutional Student Information Records, or ISIRs — according to Richard Cordray, chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid.

“We encourage schools that choose to move forward with the original ISIR to start packaging aid offers as quickly as possible,” Cordray said in a statement Thursday.

The department published an open-source tool to allow colleges to see which of their student financial aid records have been affected by the tax error.

In its Thursday announcement, the Education Department also said it had resolved the last issue preventing students whose parents do not have Social Security numbers from submitting the FAFSA online. The issue, which disproportionately hurt immigrant families, had forced those students to complete the FAFSA using the updated paper form.

Este podcast, Sold a Story, fue producido por by  APM Reports y republicado con permiso.

Half of U.S. Hispanic fourth graders cannot read at a basic level. These and other revelations were uncovered in “Sold a Story,” an original investigation by APM Reports, which you can listen to in Spanish on Noticias Univision on the Uforia app and all podcast platforms.

La mitad de los alumnos hispanos de cuarto grado en Estados Unidos no saben leer a un nivel básico. Esta y más revelaciones fueron expuestas en ‘Sold a Story’, una investigación original de APM Reports, que puedes escuchar en Noticias Univision en Uforia App y en todas las plataformas de podcasts.

1: Cómo enseñar a leer a los niños salió tan mal

Existe una idea sobre cómo enseñar a leer que han adoptado muchas escuelas estadounidenses: En lugar de limitarse a pronunciar las letras, los profesores piden a los alumnos que utilicen las imágenes y el contexto para adivinar lo que dicen las palabras. Sin embargo, muchos estudios demuestran que es un mal hábito que puede estorbar el proceso de aprendizaje. Esta adaptación al español del exitoso pódcast Sold a Story, de Emily Hanford, investiga a las personas que promovieron esa idea y se beneficiaron de ella.

Este podcast, Sold a Story, fue producido por by  APM Reports y republicado con permiso.

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