Todd: Over the years, Discovery Education has built an essential suite of digital services our flagship service, Discovery Education Experience, as well as our series of Techbooks, Mystery Writing and Mystery Science, DreamBox Math, DreamBox Reading, the Doodle Learning suite of apps, and the Pivot resources.
These resources all share four essential characteristics. Specifically, they all Save teachers time and effort; Help scale what we know is best practice; Ignite curiosity and engage students; and, Drive the development of the skills and knowledge that will support success beyond graduation. These resources serve more than 4.5 million educators and 45 million students around the globe through unique partnerships with schools, school systems, states, ministries of education, and others.
LF: How do you envision the role of technology evolving in the classroom in the future and what impact do you think it will have on traditional teaching methods?
Todd: I think that if you look back at all the technologies schools have brought into the classroom over the years going all the way back to the chalkboard, they all supported those four essential functions I mentioned earlier. I think as we move forward, the role of technology will remain the same—it will serve to save time for teachers, scale best practices, engage students, and drive the development of background knowledge and skills. What will change is our understanding of how to best utilize these technologies as they continue to change and evolve through innovation.
LF: What are some of the technologies you believe will help shape the next 25 years of education, and what are Discovery Education’s plans to bring those technologies to students?
Certainly, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is at the top of the list of technologies that are going to shape and transform education in the next 25 years. At Discovery Education, we believe that AI should enhance, not replace, the capabilities of educators, supporting them to focus on what they do best—teaching and inspiring students. Our AI-powered tools incorporate human involvement at every stage, directing output and reviewing AI-enhanced materials to ensure quality, accuracy, and alignment with educational standards. This human-centered approach to the application of AI into our products guarantees that educators can confidently rely on our AI-powered resources to inform and enhance their lesson plans and curriculum.
A great example of our AI philosophy can be seen in our new suite of AI Teacher Tools. Available in Discovery Education Experience, our AI Teacher Tools use the power of artificial intelligence to scale the reach and impact of the teachers using them. The first tool in this suite, Assess, helps teachers leverage Discovery Education’s rich library of trusted content and efficacy-backed lessons to quickly and efficiently generate customized assessments tailored to meet learning objectives and state standards. This is a tremendous time saver for teachers, because not only does Assess seamlessly empower teachers to quickly create high-quality assessments tailored to students’ reading level, Bloom’s Taxonomy, question type, and more, it does not require any knowledge of AI.
I think another technology you are going to hear a lot about in the future is immersive technology, such as virtual and augmented realities. Discovery Education has built out a powerful suite of award-winning immersive resources and I’m very bullish on the classroom applications of this technology. I’m especially excited about augmented reality, or AR, for three reasons. First, AR allows students to interact with virtual objects and information overlaid onto the real world. Easily accessed via any mobile device and an app, AR can transform the learning experience into something that nurtures the innate curiosity of all students in a truly magical way. Next, AR offers educators a powerful tool for deepening engagement and personalizing learning. AR makes this possible by giving teachers a tool that speaks to every child. Instead of hearing or reading about the topics that excite them, learners can see, touch and explore the worlds that fascinate them up close. Finally, AR harnesses the principles of brain science to supercharge learning. Students’ minds are incredibly powerful, and AR taps into this, creating the ideal conditions to bring learning to life. When planning lessons, teachers often look for the perfect ‘hook’ – an attention-grabbing opening to spark student interest. AR helps teachers find powerful hooks by creating moments where students are fully immersed in their learning. I encourage educators everywhere to begin to think about how to integrate these technologies into their classroom practice. They are part of the future of education.
LF: One of the new trends in education is a renewed focus on helping students explore possible future careers through experiential career explorations. Do you think this trend has staying power and if so, how is Discovery Education positioning itself to support this?
Todd: Oh, I think the renewed focus on career explorations is here to stay, for a couple of reasons. First, students see career explorations as valuable. The Education Insights Report by Discovery Education reveals a compelling narrative on this point. This report found that approximately 70% of students agree that career exploration resources are vital not only for long-term success, but also for enhancing day-to-day learning. It’s a statistic that underscores a significant demand for resources to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world applications.
In addition, education leaders at both the school district and state level are supportive of a greater emphasis on career exploration in the classroom. As part of my role, I travel the nation speaking to educators at all levels. In my conversations on this topic, school leaders unanimously see the importance of career explorations, even beginning in early grades. They say it brings economic benefits to the community by way of engaging students with local businesses, it engages students more deeply in learning because it tangibly shows them where their classroom learning can be applied, and it provides more opportunities for students to explore careers and industries they might not otherwise think to explore. To address the needs of educators and school leaders, Discovery Education created Career Connect, an award-winning tool that serves as a bridge between K-12 classrooms and real industry professionals. Career Connect builds students’ curiosity and career readiness. With this new feature, classrooms using Career Connect can directly connect to the professionals, innovations, and skills of today’s workforce. Earlier this year Discovery Education added Career Connect to Discovery Education Experience so that in addition to Career Connect, educators now have access to a complete set of new career pathway resources, virtual field trips, and career profiles they can use to build career awareness and helping students prepare for their future.
As a former school superintendent, you are uniquely suited to speak about the challenges facing educators today. In your mind, what is a challenge that educators face that Discovery Education is ready to help educators overcome now and in the future.
I think the biggest issue that persists in education today is the opportunity gap. Today’s students arrive at school with varying degrees of preparedness to learn. Some students’ lives are full of opportunities to develop the vocabulary, background knowledge, personal communication skills, and other key attributes that drive academic and personal success, while others are not. I believe that digital media can play a key role in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to gather the knowledge and skills they need for future success.
One of the great strengths of digital content is that it can actively support the acquisition of key background knowledge, such as science vocabulary and historical information, that students need for future success. Another of digital media’s strengths is its capacity for personalization. Digital media can be molded to fit a student’s preferred learning preference, their area of interest, or an area of intervention. Finally, digital media can be leveraged to support the growth of key communication, collaboration, and other soft skills needed in today’s modern economy. As we design and deploy digital resources around the world, we are keenly aware of our ability to deeply engage students in learning and seek to find new ways to close opportunity gaps for all students through the use of digital resources.
LF: One final question: How do you see the role of teachers changing with the increasing use of technology in education, and what support will they need to adapt to these changes?
Todd: Oh, you saved the most interesting question for last! I think this is one of those questions with a deceptively straightforward answer. Personally, I think the role of the educator in the classroom has been slowly shifting for the last 20 years. The shift from the “sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side” is very real, and I think that as more and more technologies come online that give students more agency in their learning, this shift will only accelerate. In addition, we also have the backing of cognitive science to drive instruction.
Now, with all instructional shifts, professional learning will be key. For districts to see good return both on their investment in human capital and in edtech resources, embedded professional learning is key.
