sam peterson

observer, communicator, educator

Gaming the System: The Many Educational Benefits of Game-Based Learning - Guides

Game-based learning may take various forms—purposeful play in the classroom, game-like approaches to curriculum design, even school-sponsored esports competitions. Whatever it looks like on the surface, introducing games to the educational arena has the power to create deep connections to the classroom and forge learning habits that endure throughout one's life. In the stories featured below—with more to come in the weeks ahead—we explore how game-based pedagogy has taken shape in schools . . .

How Learning Sciences Inform Edtech Procurement: A Tale of 3 Districts

The learning process is as varied and complex as the many minds that make up a K-12 classroom. Unpacking the science behind how learners acquire knowledge can go a long way toward helping educators refine their instructional strategies to motivate the best possible learning outcomes. ISTE's Course of Mind initiative shares key principles of the learning sciences with educators, aiming to improve the ways in which they find, select and implement learning technologies in their schools and modify

How Introducing AI Across the Curriculum May Address Key Equity Concerns

“It should be fun to work with artificial intelligence tools,” says Nancye Blair Black, Project Lead for AI Explorations and Their Practical Use in School Environments. It’s a simple credo but one that belies both a deep passion for computational thinking and an urgent desire to see this project succeed in its primary objective: to cultivate a broad and diverse group of future AI users and developers. Black sees endless opportunities to introduce AI across the curriculum to students of all ages...

Why Teachers Need Interoperability — Whether They Know It or Not

Imagine a world in which a teacher begins the school year with a comprehensive personal profile of each student in her class—a report that incorporates insights on academic performance, social-emotional development, behavior, attendance and a host of related data. Without having to conduct numerous assessments and informal interviews throughout the opening weeks, she can actually “know” her students before they arrive in her classroom and meet them where they are on day one. This is the promise of interoperability...

How to Win Jobs and Influence Recruiters: Preparing for a Networking Event

They say first impressions are the most lasting. But don’t underestimate the sticking power of your second or third impression either; follow-through and follow-up are just as important as that introductory handshake. And of course, there’s plenty of work that goes into preparing for the one big moment that sets everything else in motion. So, let’s take it step by step to make sure you’re ready to shine at your next edtech networking event.