It has become obvious that the inclusion of STEM – science, technology, engineering, mathematics - in a well-balanced instructional plan is critical. With the growing need for STEM-educated individuals to fill STEM jobs, students in schools today need the skills necessary for these jobs. This includes critical thinking and reasoning skills, collaboration and communication skills, and developing creative solutions to problems. Students clearly need consistent and varied STEM learning experiences. 

The San Vicente de Paúl School (Limpias, Cantabria, Spain) provides Early Childhood, Primary, and Secondary education to the surrounding communities. The school has long been a proponent of using digital media to innovate learning experiences for its learners. Antonio Medina, Director of San Vicente de Paúl School, stated, “(We are) applying training and innovation in our educational work, emphasizing new technologies and languages.” 

Coblonal Interior Design (Barcelona, Spain) is an architecture, interior design, and construction studio which has for over 24 years providing project and construction services for both residential and commercial areas. In 2019, Coblonal moved to a new, larger, and centralized space in Plaza Tetuán. The office was designed as an open space with different areas for the team and a collaborative reception area for clients and visitors. Pyme Tech Adviser, an AV installation company, and Charmex Internacional, S.A., a distributor of AV technology, recommended they incorporate dynamic and interactive display technology to better support team and client meetings.

For this space, Coblonal chose to incorporate cutting-edge UX Pro interactive displays from Clevertouch Technologies. They were impressed by the way the UX Pro provides dynamic and multifunctional features that are well-suited to their needs, including collaboration with colleagues and clients. 

Cape Business Centre (Cape Town, South Africa) a premium business center,  wanted to stay ahead of the times and bring its conferencing capabilities into the 21^st century with technology innovations that would streamline meetings. They also wanted to save their clients’ time and provide an efficient and smooth experience from beginning to end. 

Stafford Public Schools (Stafford Springs, CT) is a nationally recognized school district and consistently strives to drive learning so that, according to their mission statement, their students are prepared “to assume productive, meaningful, and responsible roles in an increasingly competitive global society.” Made up of five schools with approximately 1500 students enrolled, Stafford is a 1:1 district, and this past school year, implemented a hybrid learning model – students learning from home and in-class.

Implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and strategies have shown to positively impact student learning. Especially with this past year, teachers and students have had to deal with challenges they may not have been prepared for including how COVID-19 our feelings towards learning. Addressing SEL skills is not a new concept and educators have referenced the SEL Framework to meet students’ emotional needs to clear a pathway to learning success.

Horsley Park Public School (Sydney, Australia) is a small primary school, situated in the semi-rural outskirts of Sydney. Made up of of eight classes - four mainstream and four providing support for children with autism and intellectual disabilities – a goal of Horsley Park is “positive behavior, cooperation, and a growth mindset are encouraged and supported through a positive environment.”

There is countless research that says an engaging learning environment supports student achievement and success. As a former classroom teacher, my favorite memories are of seeing my students totally into a project, hearing them talk with their classmates about what they were doing, and celebrating their successes when they understood a concept or completed a project they worked so hard on. A classroom should be a place for conversation and collaboration, combined with critical thinking and creativity.

Laurel School District (New Castle, PA) has the goal of “equipping students to become knowledgeable, responsible, and engaged contributors” to society, and since the early 2000s has worked to implement education technology like interactive whiteboards to meet this goal. Unfortunately, interactive whiteboards only had pockets of success and use was generally low for both teachers and students. Robert Lee, Director of Administrative Services at Laurel SD commented, “We wanted to infuse educational technology that allows our students to be active participants.”

Now more than ever, school and parent/family connection is integral when it comes to supporting students as everyone is working to maneuver learning in various environments and situations. In response to school closures and a move to remote learning, there were districts that provided training to help the adults at home understand how online learning platforms, software programs, and video conferencing tools would be used. Parents and caregivers needed to know the what, when, why, and how of educational technology and how to best support learning at home.