Common Sense

Educators are always under pressure to help students achieve. So when you've worked so hard to boost students' skills, you certainly don't want them to lose ground over summer break. We've come to know this knowledge and skill loss as "the summer slide": Though there are differing statistics about how it's measured—and even its existence—most teachers would attest that kids forget stuff over the summer. The other truth is that summer is meant to be a break.

As educators, we're always thinking ahead: next week's lesson plans, that upcoming standardized test, a unit's final assessment. And setting ourselves and our students up for success with frontloading and frameworks allows us to provide reminders about expectations instead of initial instruction.

Introduction Creativity has always been at the heart of teaching. We’re not talking just about art projects or creative writing (though those are equally important), but also about the creative work of instructional design. Every time you differentiate instruction, redesign a lesson, or brainstorm how to engage a reluctant learner, you’re being creative. You create the spaces that allow students to harness their own creativity, supporting their ideas, their iterations, and their refinement.

Practice active listening with these science, math, tech, and engineering podcasts Artificial Intelligence Classroom Media & Tools Math Science Computer Science In our screen-focused society, visual stimulation is often expected. But the art of active listening has never been more important. Happily aligned with that need, podcasts have never been more popular! And there are lots of great choices out there for kids, including podcasts that cover STEM topics.

Our learning reviews and philosophy Our expert reviews are unbiased, trustworthy, and free evaluations of educational technology tools. We connect educators with transformative learning experiences that develop students' and teachers' creative and critical skills, give them meaningful agency, and help learners build conceptual knowledge. We believe that properly resourced, well-prepared, passionate, and creative teachers make learning happen—not tech, tools, or resources.

Schools everywhere are grappling with AI. Students are using it, teachers are learning about it, and districts are beginning to create their own policies for it. Dive into our free resources to find practical ways to address AI in your classroom (or school). Take our free, foundational course for educators. Build a clear strategy for AI in your school or district with our comprehensive toolkit. Use quick, grab-and-go lessons to help your students think critically about AI and its impacts.

Two Truths & AI is an interactive digital literacy game for grades K–12 that teaches students to identify AI-generated content and develop critical media literacy skills. Through an engaging, 60-second challenge, students try to distinguish between real and AI-generated movie posters. It's a fun way for students to test their AI detective skills, while also building their critical thinking muscles.

As kids' screen use continues to increase, we're all concerned about the impact. And as students increasingly use screens at school, finding balance between devices in the classroom and at home is only getting more challenging. It's possible you've had parents and caregivers come to you with concerns or looking for advice about how to set limits and enforce them. Ideally, they'd love a solution that feels finite and definitive, like parental controls.

Introduction As educators, we’ve seen waves of technology come and go in our classrooms. Now artificial intelligence — particularly generative AI — is in our schools, and educators are approaching it with a mix of emotions, including excitement, curiosity, and caution. The reality is that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have already been part of your daily life for some time now.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere: Kids are using bots for homework, for fun, and even for advice or companionship. You may be exploring it yourself, either for your own projects or for use in your classroom. Some parents and caregivers may be using it as well, but there are plenty of families who don't yet have enough information (or access), aren't aware if their kids are using AI, or want to know more about your classroom's and/or school's AI policy.