Volume 38

A little random fact about me: I’ve always been drawn to war stories, and I’ve re-read Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried over and over again since high school. There’s something so raw and powerful about how he captured the weight soldiers carried in Vietnam—both physically and emotionally. It makes me think about the complexity of the burdens we all carry in education today.

While we may not be fighting a war, the challenges in K-12 are very real. Every time I read about another school shooting, I want to scream and cry at the same time. No student should have to hide in fear, and no educator should have to risk their life. It’s hard to even put into words how heavy that weight is for all of the school communities affected by gun violence.

On top of keeping our students and educators safe, school leaders are carrying many other things this year. ESSER funds are running out at the end of the month, and 92% of districts used those funds to purchase EdTech tools. Although a majority of states and districts have plans in place to combat this fiscal cliff, the challenge to determine what stays and goes and where to find additional funding is significant. On top of funding uncertainties, AI has fundamentally changed the EdTech landscape and has already redefined how students learn and how teachers teach. Despite AI’s effect on K-12 education, only 14% of states have AI initiatives in place , and an overwhelming majority (60%) of educators expressed a desire to receive guidance on using GenAI effectively. The gap between what’s needed and what’s available has created a new divide entirely.

And that’s just one piece of it. Student mental health, retaining teachers, and student academic performance are more challenges our state, district, and school leaders carry every day. But even in the midst of these challenges, I continue to be inspired by the resilience of our educators and school and district leaders. They carry so much and yet keep pushing forward for the sake of their students.

As we approach School Administrator Week (October 8-14) and Principal Appreciation Month (October), let’s take a moment to recognize the incredible weight our leaders carry. Send a note of thanks to the administrators you work with, or share your appreciation on social media or through an email campaign. These leaders are holding it all together, and a little recognition can go a long way.

Looking ahead, our last quarter of the year includes many disruptions to the school schedule, including the election, two three-day holiday weekends, Thanksgiving and winter break, and unexpected snow/weather days. That’s why I always tell EdTech companies to treat Q4 as two months, not three. October is your window to really connect and offer valuable support. The rest of the year will fly by, so now’s the time to make an impact.

As for what lies ahead for this school year, we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m hopeful. In the meantime, we carry these challenges together, and that makes all the difference.

[Infographic] Social Media ROI: Key Metrics at Each Stage of the Marketing Funnel

Want to learn about all of the benefits of organic social media? Our free infographic provides all the metrics you can to track aligned with each stage of the marketing funnel.

Marketing/Community

Instagram 'photo dumps' are becoming a popular way to share more candid, less curated moments, reflecting a shift away from the platform's polished aesthetic.
Short-form video is the fastest-growing type of content on LinkedIn, with video uploads up 34% year-on-year.
Memes continue to dominate social media, offering brands a fun, relatable way to engage audiences and boost organic reach.
Instagram Reels are a powerful tool for driving engagement, and these four tips can help you create more effective, attention-grabbing videos.
Building vibrant online communities requires new strategies, and FeverBee’s playbook offers actionable insights to foster deeper member engagement.

Education

The CoSN 2024 Blaschke Executive Summary highlights emerging trends in education technology, offering strategic insights for school leaders navigating the digital shift.
Encouraging students to envision their future selves can be a powerful motivator, helping teens make more intentional choices in their academic and personal lives.
Research shows that students relying on ChatGPT for answers may perform worse on tests, highlighting the importance of developing critical thinking skills alongside AI tools.
Four emerging trends are reshaping the classroom, from personalized learning to the integration of AI, offering new opportunities for innovation in teaching.
With federal funding dwindling, school districts are reevaluating which EdTech tools offer the most value and aligning spending with long-term instructional goals.

Bonus Grant: Llama's Impact Grants support global educational initiatives that are building education products with AI (opportunity for up to $500k grant!).

Bonus Resource: ISTE's Generation AI initiative equips educators with resources to integrate artificial intelligence into the classroom, fostering critical AI literacy in students.

Community and Customer Success Manager - Splice
Learning Products & Programs - The Learning Accelerator
Director of Strategic Partnerships - Learner-Centered Collaborative
Marketing Associate - National Summer School Institute
Head of Growth - Hopps
Program Director - Springboard Collaborative
Director of Marketing - Crescendo Education Group
Community Manager - Girls Who Code
UIA Fellow - Purdue University - University Innovation Alliance
Content and Social Media Producer - Fusion Academy
Director of Communications - Perigee Fund
Director, Digital Marketing - Discovery Education
Academic Designer, Math Assessment, Grades K-5 - McGraw Hill
Marketing Director - TCI
Senior Director of Marketing - Everyday Speech
Vice President of Sales - Zaner-Bloser

Google.org has committed to investing over $25 million to support education nonprofits in equipping educators and students with essential skills for using AI. They expect to reach over half a million K-12 and college students, along with educators, by providing AI literacy training and supporting the development of culturally relevant AI curricula.

ISTE+ASCD will receive $10 million of the funds over three years, impacting approximately 200,000 educators. The organization will collaborate on AI-related projects with six additional groups focusing on teacher and leadership development: the National Education Association, Computer Science Teachers Association, Center for Black Educator Development, Latinos for Education, Indigitize, and PlayLab. Other grantees include 4-H, aiEDU, STEM From Dance, and CodePath.

Read all about it here.

LinkedIn's reputation for cringe-worthy content has spawned entire social media accounts dedicated to documenting these moments:

LinkedIn Flex on Twitter captures some of the most boastful, awkward, and downright bizarre posts on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Lunatics on Reddit is a treasure trove of cringe-worthy LinkedIn moments shared by a growing community of users.

[Infographic] ​Social Media ROI: Key Metrics at Each Stage of the Marketing Funnel​

[Infographic] Social Media ROI: Key Metrics at Each Stage of the Marketing Funnel