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April 2017 - In This Issue
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Greetings everyone,
With so many ex-teachers on staff at EdGate, it sometimes feels like we are bubbling over with opinions and ideas about new and innovative educational technology, teaching methods, and various ways to use educational standards. In this month's newsletter we hit on a variety of topics that have been relevant in the ed tech industry over the last few months, if not longer, and that have consumed conversations and meetings in the EdGate office, including Artificial Intelligence and how AI applies to educational standards, Custom Development (especially "gap-filling"), the power of Growth Mindset, and supporting Public Libraries with MARC records
As always, EdGate is your source for staying current with new developments in education and the impact of educational standards.
Regards,
Gina Faulk
EdGate General Manager
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 Hot Topic
Artificial Intelligence
The phrase artificial intelligence was coined in 1955 by computer scientist John McCarthy who used it to identify machines designed to mimic human behavior. Thanks to great advances over the last half century, the use of AI is growing in many industries.
While researchers and developers have spent years enhancing the capabilities of AI to replicate thought process of the brain, the one thing it lacks is the human factor. Human intelligence is not a single ability but rather a composition of abilities like learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, and understanding of language.
In the case of content alignment as it relates to educational standards and curriculum, EdGate has recognized that while AI may be efficient for carrying out the repetitive and time-consuming task of mapping content to standards, it does not take into account the context of what content and/or standards are actually teaching. For example, machines cannot tell the difference between words that are spelled the same, but have more than one meaning, like minute. Is the writer talking about a short period of time or something very small?
Engineered technology will never be able to take into account the entire intent of a standard and we recognize the extraneous results that can come with AI mapping. However, we continue to explore the benefits of AI and are paying attention to how AI could potentially build upon or improve our in-house technology. Today EdGate's team of subject matter experts uses the perfect mix of technology and human intelligence to ensure the highest level of accuracy in our work.
Please
contact us
to learn more about how the EdGate approach will provide meaningful alignment results for you and your end user.
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Client Solution
Custom Development
Along with being a leader in standards correlation, an additional service offered by EdGate Correlation Services is Custom Development. With a staff consisting of mostly former educators, adding up to over 200 years of teaching experience, EdGate's team of experts is poised to help with your custom projects.
For instance, with changes in standards, gaps in current curriculum and resources can sometimes occur. EdGate is ready to help you identify and fill in those gaps. We can draw from our vast OER repository of standards-aligned content or we can help create content from scratch. EdGate's offerings include the review and/or revision of current content as well as the creation of lesson plans, worksheets, activities, various types of assessments, and more all aligned to current K-12 standards.
Bring your specific curriculum needs to us, and you will be matched up with a Project Manager who will work closely with you to understand your vision. Our item writers will help to update or create the content. Finally, a quality control representative will check and recheck to ensure that your project is completed impeccably.
By entrusting your Custom Development to EdGate, you will receive only the highest quality resources with continued technical and customer support and of course, you can rest assured that your new content will be aligned to standards.
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Teaching Trends
The Hard Work of Growth Mindset in the Classroom
As the "new kid" at EdGate, I get to see a wider range of standards than what I was exposed to in my recent teaching experience. One concept that I used in my own classroom which can be used across the Common Core, modified Common Core or even different state or national standards, is Growth Mindset.
I always introduced Growth Mindset to my students at the beginning of each year. I began by sharing a video with my students called, "The Power of Belief." This Ted Talk shows the findings of Professor Carol S. Dweck. She defines Fixed Mindset as believing that someone was born with intelligence and talents or was born without. Growth Mindset is believing that these are "qualities that can be developed." Dweck has found that these mindsets drastically affect how students perform and how they react to challenges. Those with Growth Mindset surpass students who had Fixed Mindset simply because they believed they could improve over time.
After viewing this, my students shared what they learned from the viewing. Not all understood the theory, and still others weren't convinced. This is where I pointed out the musicians in the classroom. "How did you sound the first time your fingers touched a violin?" Most agreed that the first time was shockingly bad. I'd then follow up with, "Have you gotten better over time?" and "Do you think you'll get better from where you are now?" Then we'd talk about sports, and finally I'd bring it back around to Reading, Math and Test taking.
At this point, I had them, or at least most of them... at first. I wish I could say that one video and one discussion was all it took to create a Growth Mindset Classroom. We worked hard to ensure we were using "growth talk" instead of "fixed talk" while working through a challenge. One of my happiest memories was after a student feeling defeated said that he couldn't do something, another student responded with, "Yet!" After several months, we went through this again for students who forgot or new students who hadn't been introduced to this before. It was truly a continual practice.
It's not just the children that needed continual reminders of what this looked like. Education Week Research Center reports that, "Only 20 percent of teachers strongly believe they are good at fostering a growth mindset in their own students." As a teacher who was brought up with Fixed Mindset, I had to be very intentional about how I praised students. In an interview by Christine Gross-Loh, Dweck reminds us to, "Praise the effort that led to the outcome or learning progress; tie the praise to it. It's not just effort, but strategy ..." I encouraged my students to hold me accountable for this to help me grow as well. By making this a full classroom experience, we all continued to grow, take risks and encourage each other.
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EdGate Services
Understanding today's Libraries and MARC Records
Did you know there are more public libraries in the United States than McDonald's? Since the 1960s, libraries across the United States have been using MARC as a way to keep records traditionally shown on a catalog card. MARC stands for MA-chine Readable Cataloging record. A plethora of information is included in these records, the most basic being name, summary, subject, and call number. Publishers often provide MARC records to libraries, which aid in the search for eBooks and other digital material that helps librarians with their workload and decreases overall operating costs.
EdGate has been offering MARC services since early 2015, and can accurately and quickly review publications in order to produce records in MARC format. Our MARC records service can be added in conjunction with alignment services and adheres to the same high quality our staff experts are known for. Publishers simply supply bibliographic data and EdGate takes it from there!
Please contact us to learn more about how EdGate can help with MARC record services.
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Gina Faulk
General Manager
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Tracy Olstad,
Senior Account Executive
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Heather Hawthorne
Account Manager
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Standards Update
Updates to The EdGate Standards Repository include:
- Utah Social Studies (2016 Grades 7-12)
- Quebec Social Studies (2014 Grades 9-12)
- Australian Curriculum ACARA Standards Science (2016 Grades K-10)
- New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core (2012 Pre-K)
- Manitoba Curriculum Framework of Outcomes Mathematics (2014 Grades 9-12)
- Australian Curriculum ACARA Standards Health and Physical Education (2016 Grades K-10)
https://www.facebook.com/EdGateCorrelationServices/
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What is a Gen Z Librarian?
The role of the school librarian has adapted for Gen Z to include teaching new technology and information searching skills. School librarians of today offer students not only opportunities to learn and research new subjects, but also how to use technology to find valuable information needed for school projects.
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Research Suggests Kids are Better Readers than they were a Decade ago
An Ohio State University study found that students entering first grade in 2013 had significantly better reading skills than the same age twelve years earlier.
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About Us
EdGate Correlation Services works with over 200 content providers to increase the value of their products in a
rapidly expanding
digital world. EdGate uses its patented technology and highly skilled staff to assure client success. Employing its nearly two decades of innovation experience, EdGate has proven learning platforms, robust metadata tools and
comprehensive correlation services to serve every clients unique needs.
EdGate currently focuses on correlation consulting, content and metadata development and management, media segmentation and licensing of international educational standards. EdGate Correlation Services LLC is a division of EDmin, Inc., a learning management and instructional technology solutions company based in San Diego, California.
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