EdTech News March 30, 2023: Solving the Impossible Math Problem, Using AI for Student Success, and Students Lead at the World’s Biggest EdTech Conference.

by Angela Britcher
March 31, 2023
EdTech News March 30, 2023: Solving the Impossible Math Problem, Using AI for Student Success, and Students Lead at the World’s Biggest EdTech Conference.

Two New Orleans High School Math Students Prove The Impossible

We’ve all had that math problem we can’t solve. But this problem has gone unsolved for 2,000 years! Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson used trigonometry without circular logic to prove the Pythagorean Theorem. Mathematicians believed this was impossible, but the teens from St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans presented their findings at the American Mathematical Society’s Annual Southeastern Conference.

Johnson and Jackson credit their teachers for challenging them. The school’s slogan is “No Excellence Without Hard Labor.” These teens prove that putting in the work leads to excellence. They are pursuing STEM degrees.

AI and Chatbots Are Driving Student Success

Chatbots driven by a combination of student success teams and AI are helping students connect to their schools, improve academic outcomes, and improve retention.

CSUNny is the name of the California State University System’s chatbot. CSUNny has been working with students since 2018 as part of a program called Graduation Initiative 2025. Half of all first-time freshmen have had access to the tool since the fall of 2018. Three years later, CSUN found students with access to the chatbot were significantly more likely to still be enrolled and more likely to graduate.

Emily Russell, a professor at the California State University, Northridge, and one of the faculty liaisons for CSUNny, says the chatbot gives students a sense that help is available on campus. She says, “There is a whole host of research suggesting that that feeling of belonging is one of the biggest predictors of retention and graduation,” she says.

Georgia State University sees similar success with its Pounce chatbot, which reminds students about upcoming exams, assignments, and more. Students using Pounce had better grades and were more likely to pass than those who did not use Pounce.

bett Education Conference In London

bett, one of the world’s largest education conferences, is in London this week. Over 30 thousand people from more than 120 countries are attending, sharing the latest education technology innovations. This year’s themes include leadership, futures, inclusion, well-being, skills, and innovation.

The “unmissable” sessions include all things e-sports and how to incorporate e-sports in every kind of classroom. Students are joining education leaders to judge the best of the show this year, providing user feedback on new tools and innovations. Plus, students ages 9 – 14 from around the globe are pitching projects to offer solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Students showcase their critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills while sharing their ideas in three main areas: health and well-being, quality education, and climate action.

Disclosure notice: The EdTech News is created and distributed by the Edusity family of companies, an EdTech consortium dedicated to removing barriers to education and ensuring access to job skills. Together, the companies offer a full complement of educational development and consulting services. Companies in the consortium include Edusity, The Babb Group, Professor Services, and Cudoo. Compiled from recent press releases, this bi-weekly feature covers the latest news in EdTech, online education, teaching and learning, instructional design, and curriculum development.
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Angela Britcher

Angela Britcher is an instructional designer and content creator with The Babb Group. She is also an adjunct professor of business and communications.
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