Instead of traditional exploding volcanoes or foam-painted solar systems that are sometimes completed at the last minute at home by frazzled parents, today’s projects focus on using the scientific method���from testing a hypothesis to presenting the findings���even for young learners.

Projects are often completed at school and shared with families during event nights, opening up the current iteration of science fairs to opportunities for creativity, inclusivity and community engagement.

���Young people are working on solving the world’s most intractable problems,��� says Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the . Those problems include cancer, climate change and social justice.

Here’s what several districts have done to reinvigorate science fairs.

Inquiry Fair (Arlington Heights, Illinois)

At Westgate Elementary in Arlington Heights School District 25, Paul Solarz has hosted a science fair in his fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms for more than a decade. The inquiry process for projects allows students to wonder, explore and experiment in ways that teacher-directed science lessons don’t, Solarz says.

By identifying a problem, researching the topic, planning and performing an experiment, creating a presentation to share findings, and then evaluating and reflecting on the project, students become more deeply engaged in the process.

Students conduct the experiments in class during a one- to two-month period, so Solarz can provide feedback and discover what each student is interested in and capable of doing. Students also create graphs, presentation boards, one-minute oral presentations with a hook to attract fellow students and parents who attend the fair, and a video to assess their presentations. During this process, students improve skills such as creative thinking, goal management, project management, media creation and media analysis.

Watch 91心頭TV: How inquiry drives next-gen science fairs

���Kids remember the science fair now and ask me to continue the trend each year,��� Solarz says. ���This is not just a fad. We do classroom investigations once a week using the scientific method, and that is the most engaged I’ve ever see them.���

STEAM Expo & Science and Engineering Fair (Palm Springs, California)

As early adopters of , Palm Springs USD administrators wanted to put the ���fun and fearlessness��� back into learning about science and engineering. The traditional district-level science fair was combined with a community event that celebrated STEM happenings and included art. The intent was to make science more approachable for families.

���Equity and access kept coming to my mind,��� says Debbie Gordon, the district’s elementary science coordinator.

The event is now a family science night that encourages everyone to engage with experimentation���not just those who completed a project. The schools award medals instead of ribbons to increase the event’s excitement.

Each school now only sends five winners rather than 20 to the districtwide fair, which makes the event feel special and creates more room for families to play with robots, recycled art, coding, electrical circuits and digital storytelling.

���People expected to sit down and watch an awards ceremony, but instead we encouraged them to walk around, touch projects and do the activities,��� Gordon says. ���That is fun, even if you don’t like science.���

STEMposium (Issaquah, Washington)

As a classroom teacher, Liza Rickey used to require her fourth- and fifth-grade students to complete formal science fair projects and compete against one another. As a science and STEM curriculum specialist at Issaquah School District, she also organized schoolwide science fairs with elaborate themes and events.

When her own children started participating in science fairs, however, she realized the projects were less engaging than she had hoped and more of a family burden. Consequently, she shifted from a strict adherence to the scientific process and broadened her view to include different kinds of intellectual work.

Read more: Next generation science project ideas

���Traditional science fairs are an unrealistic, singular way to look at science and don’t reflect what scientists do,��� Rickey says.

The district now highlights STEM work that is happening in classrooms and clubs by hosting a communitywide STEMposium, where students and teachers showcase their knowledge and representatives from STEM-related industries share their recent work.

More than 500 people���including kindergartners through high schoolers���attended the inaugural event, which included projects involving computer science, environmental advocacy, robotics and engineering.

Family Engagement STEM Nights (Renton, Washington)

Rickey brought this mindset with her when she joined the new Sartori Elementary School nearby in Renton, Washington, as an assistant principal.

Instead of an annual event that rewards science projects, the school hosts family engagement nights that focus on different aspects of STEM, such as engineering or coding. The events emphasize real-world problems, student voice and advocacy in a celebration of learning rather than competitive experimentation.

For instance, an upcoming night will focus on health and well-being. The school’s physical education teachers and community partners, such as local hospital staffers, will talk about heart rate, exercise and calories, and how using math and science can help keep the body healthy.

Nutritionists will teach students and parents how to read Nutrition Facts labels, and counselors will offer training on how to manage stress by recognizing fight-or-flight signals, knowing brain science, and using certain breathing or cognitive behavioral techniques to move through tense moments.

���This year, opening in a new location, we did ���found investigations’ at school,��� Rickey says. ���How quietly do we need to walk in the hallway to not disrupt classes? Where do puddles form on our field? It’s about applying science to their lives.���

National and international fairs

Traditional national and international science competitions have also broadened project categories. Organizers report a growing involvement of girls and students of color, in addition to a focus on project-based learning.

The Society for Science & the Public hosts the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair and the Regeneron Science Talent Search each year.

While students still use the scientific method, they are finding new ways to apply it to the world around them���from embedded systems and robotics to systems software.

Read more: Virtual science fairs for the future

���Projects have gotten more sophisticated as technology has become a bigger part of our lives,��� says Michele Glidden, the organization’s chief program officer.

More young students are doing projects around a problem that affects their lives or community, particularly when it comes to the life sciences and social justice, adds Ajmera, the society’s leader.

They also participate in multidisciplinary work that uses biometrics, smartwatches and apps, for instance.

To foster this, administrators and teachers increasingly attend conferences around building a STEM program and creating related projects, Ajmera says.

���It’s quite mind-blowing to later see these students start major companies, build the global economy, and become researchers and academics,��� Ajmera says. ���I don’t know any other way that allows young people to do this.���

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1. Instead of creating an erupting volcano, design a safety plan for a city that is threatened by an active volcano.
2. Instead of growing plants under different lights, focus on how some plants live in areas with little water and design an investigation around that.
3. Instead of comparing breads for mold growth, redesign packaging to keep bread fresh longer.
4. Instead of testing the speed of a toy car on various ramps, investigate how different wheels affect movement.

Read the main story: Schools re-energize next-generation science fairs

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Esports, or competitive video gaming, continues to surge in popularity in K-12 and higher education, sparking massive in-person and online tournaments. Esports is also providing new opportunities for students to get involved at school, and in some cases is helping participating high school students land college scholarships.

Here, K-12 esports pioneers share recommendations for hardware, software, bandwidth and digital security. Whether your school offers gaming as an official sport or as an after-school club, consider this guidance when creating and scaling a competitive and engaging program.

Students build hardware for��esports in schools

Most schools purchase computers, graphics cards and power supplies based on the most resource-intensive game their students will play.

For schools starting from scratch, a Nintendo Switch hand-held console and a copy of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game is a relatively inexpensive way to get a middle or high school esports program off the ground, says Steve Isaacs, a game design teacher at William Annin Middle School in New Jersey’s Bernards Township School District.

On the other hand, Overwatch���a multiplayer, first-person shooter developed by Blizzard Entertainment���is often one of the most demanding (and popular) games. IT teams will follow the company’s suggested specifications���a minimum of 4GB RAM per unit for gameplay and 6GB for the highest performance.

91心頭TV video: Watch tech-ready esports teams in action

91心頭istrators at Carey Exempted Village School District in Ohio opted for 5GB. ���That ensured we have wiggle room for actual play��� above the minimum, says Nick Rider, Carey’s technology director and founder of Esports Ohio, an educational nonprofit that connects video gamers at schools across the state.

District leaders gave Rider and his students $5,000 to build six esports computers from scratch. Rider also created lessons around computer memory, ventilation and monitor frame rates for students to follow as they installed solid-state drives and 8GB graphics cards. ���If you have a CAD lab, you’re more than likely ready to go,��� he says.

Schools can future-proof their computers by buying video cards that may exceed even a demanding game’s visual requirements, adds Isaacs, who presented at the 2019 Future of Education Technology Conference速 and addressed embedding social-emotional learning in Minecraft.

���And there are so many other parts for students to play in esports; kids can livestream and ���shoutcast,’��� says Isaacs, using the esports slang for play-by-play commentary. For each of those roles, a student would need a webcam and a microphone, which Isaacs purchased together for about $150.

has created a specifications guide for schools that join the statewide league. The guide includes suggestions about what gear���such as core processors and motherboards���to buy and which factory-built computers meet requirements.

On a national level, the (HSEL) provides a starter guide with infrastructure suggestions for schools’ IT departments. The group also offers a textbook, Gaming Concepts, that covers lesson plans for esports directors to incorporate into competitions.

Stay in the loop on software

Most esports programs compete in a handful of widely played games, including League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. School district leaders select games based on student preferences and on the titles played in college competitions.

Some games are free, such as League of Legends, and others cost from $20 to $60 for a per-person or per-computer license. All are typically stored on one computer.

School leaders also need to know how many players can join a game so teams have enough computers (e.g., six-player Overwatch teams need six computers). IT teams also must track how often the games need to be updated with patches so computers remain ready for gameplay.

Sidebar: Do you know the system requirements for esports in schools?

���This is a big reason to make sure you keep your IT department in the loop because installing software on the computers is a hands-on process that you have to do manually as compared with automatically deploying updates to Chrome or Office,��� says Sean Foster, district systems administrator for Bryant Public Schools in Arkansas.

At the league level, organizations such as HSEL and (used by Bryant Public Schools) operate online platforms that manage competitions and allow players to create profiles, which are updated as students move through the season toward tournaments. Coaches can post rosters for their teams, suspend players with GPAs that fall below required minimums, schedule tournaments and report scores.

Don’t overload your network

Depending on the program’s size, technology directors must determine whether new wireless ports should be installed or opened to allow for gameplay. At the Carey Exempted Village School District, gaming start times are often staggered to allow the varsity, junior varsity and club teams to take turns playing on the six machines���which are hard-wired to the internet to reduce lag and to allow for the best latency.

At Carey schools, tech staffers installed a dedicated wireless port for students who play Smash and must bring their portable Switch consoles to school. The port creates a smooth, secure connection that is separated from potentially sensitive information on other school networks. ���The key is to make sure the students have a level playing ground and can stay competitive,��� says Rider, the tech director.

At North High School in Bakersfield, California, students only play against other schools in the Kern High School District, which has 16 esports programs. The high school hosts an in-person tournament each semester that draws more than 250 students, so the IT team equips 100 computers across campus with the proper hardware and software, and brings in extra district laptops for students to play at wireless hubs.

At the last tournament in April, the esports coaches staggered the logins so students could join without overloading the servers. ���This way, it doesn’t look like a large hack is attacking the school with everyone logging on within the same five minutes,��� says Justin Smith, North High’s esports coach.

Some pointers on privacy

Careful attention at several levels can ensure student privacy, as mandated by the . Since students are playing online, parents and administrators should know what personal information is collected, stored and used by third-party distributors.

First, technology directors should check whether their vendors’ policies protect students. Many of the most popular games have strong security measures that restrict the types of information collected. Many games store the data behind two-factor authentication and industry-standard secure socket layer encryption technology, as stated in the PlayVS privacy policy.

Read more: E-sports in schools primed to grow ���bigger than the NFL’

Each student can control what information is included in their profile, including name, age, graduation year, jersey number and esports position, as well as data stored on the back end of the site, such as email address, mailing address or school name.

Some school districts use their standard privacy release forms to get students’ and parents’ permission to publish students’ names and faces on public rosters (similar to the requirements for athletic programs). This often includes permission to record and broadcast regularly scheduled events.

Leaders of esports programs that compete in statewide and national leagues should also investigate the privacy policies adopted by those leagues. Since the most popular leagues, such as HSEL and PlayVS, were built for high school teams, the terms tend to be strict regarding what student information is shared.

Overall, if the games and distribution services have their own privacy policies and line up with other sports and activities regulated at the district and state levels, a school’s esports program should be covered.

Carolyn Crist is a writer in Athens, Georgia.

Interested in esports? Keep up with LRP’s .

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Check the details below to ensure that students can match the nationwide competition.

If you’re buying a prebuilt computer (as recommended by Esports Ohio):

• AMD Ryzen 5 processor with 2400G quad core processor
• Memory (RAM): 16GB DDR4 2666 MHz
• Hard drive: 512GB solid-state drive
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home x64
• $600

If you’re building a computer from scratch:

• Memory: 2GB of RAM (4GB of RAM for Windows Vista and higher)
• Storage: 12GB available hard drive space
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8800/AMD Radeon HD 5670 or equivalent video card (dedicated GPU with 512MB or higher video memory)
• Support: For DirectX v9.0c or better
• Operating system: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 with the latest service pack installed
• Latest update: To .NET Framework from Microsoft
• Processor: Intel速 Core i5 or AMD Phenom II X3 or better processor

If you want to step it up, add these suggested requirements:

• Video: NVIDIA速 GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 or better
• Memory: 6GB RAM
• Storage: 30GB available hard drive space
• Internet: Broadband internet connection
• Resolution: 1024 x 768 minimum display

Specs in esports in schools

These links lead to system requirements, user guides, lesson plans and other useful esports information:

• specs.
• ESports Michigan
• High School Esports League
• High School Esports League
• specs
• PlayVS :
• ��University of California, Irvine

Read the full feature: How to supply tech essentials for esports in schools

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In some schools, teachers have created makerspace carts that include crafts, tools, small circuits and robots. Teachers can share these mobile carts with multiple colleagues at various grade levels.

Another trend, the ���breakerspace,��� encourages students to bring in old or broken toys and electronics to fix or dismantle for another project. Janet Sweat, a science teacher in Florida’s Columbia County School District, had middle school students deconstruct motors and wires from old toys to create electric cars.

Because the students provided the resources and Sweat provided screwdrivers and drills, the class saved on costs and worked in her classroom. ���When I previously worked at the district level, I saw one school try to create a makerspace classroom with nice equipment, but the teachers didn’t take students there,��� Sweat says. ���Listen to the students, and let them give guidance in what they need.���

The New York-based Columbia University program recommends thinking of an entire school or district as a makerspace. The group, which has more than 20 international partners across six continents, disseminates best practices on integrating makerspaces into K-12 education.

Main story: A school makerspace inspires STEM invention everywhere

Interested in edtech? Keep up with the .

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Creatives’ corner

Starter makerspace, recommended for elementary school students: Ask parents and community members to donate old electronics, popsicle sticks, balloons, old car toys, old electronic toys, wire cutters, old wires and old tennis balls.

Engineer’s toolkit

Midlevel space, recommended for middle school students: Snap Circuits, littleBits, K’nex, Legos, Makey Makey kits, Sphero and Scratch

Tech-driven haven

Advanced production space with equipment for middle and high school students: Laser cutters, robot kits, 3D printers, virtual reality headsets and drones

Main story: A school makerspace inspires STEM invention everywhere

Interested in edtech? Keep up with the .

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Building these creative spaces can seem daunting to district leaders who face traditional curricular objectives and a list of must-have equipment. But by answering some key questions, leaders can avoid costly mistakes as they design high- and low-tech makerspaces that energize teachers and students.

���Every classroom should have access to creativity tools, including modern ways to make things,��� says Sylvia Martinez, an advisor with Columbia University’s , which guides schools in building makerspaces. ���We do students a disservice if we send the message that creativity and innovation are only found in one room somewhere down the hall.���

What do we want to create in our makerspace?

Ultimately, a district-level CIO or IT team must bridge the gap between meeting curricular demands and creating a space that will engage learners. A new makerspace, despite its trendiness, can fail if planners don’t find out what motivates students, teachers and staff.

Before buying an expensive 3D printer, for example, IT teams should survey students and teachers about what they want to create and how they want to interact in a flexible classroom.

For instance, technology leaders in Tennessee’s Putnam County School System discovered that students wanted more one-on-one time with teachers, rather than more time on computers.

The district created ���station rotations��� in classrooms to provide different types of activities. A teacher guides small groups of students through hands-on, immersive experiences, such as conducting virtual heart surgery with augmented reality headsets or building robots that navigate mazes.

���We thought students would name technology as their favorite aspect of school, but it was more about personalized learning and relationships, so we adapted to that,��� says Lance Key, a district IT specialist who trains teachers to integrate apps into instruction and a presenter at 91心頭’s .

What supplies should we buy?

To determine what type of creative environment will best serve students, IT specialists should work with educators to choose the best hardware, software and supplies. Makerspaces fall across a broad spectrum:

• High-tech: 3D printers, laser cutters, robots and virtual reality headsets
• Basic: Duct tape and repurposed or recycled materials such as popsicle sticks, old electronics and books
• In-between: Hands-on maker kits, including Snap Circuits, Legos, littleBits and Makey Makey

Faculty and staff can help IT teams better gauge who will run the space, how often it will be used and what expertise is needed.

A media specialist with less technology experience could start a low-budget, low-tech creative space in a corner of the library. Students can tinker when they come in to check out books.

A teacher with electrical engineering expertise, however, could show students how to connect circuits and build robots.

Makerspaces are typically run by one person who oversees the equipment, manages the weekly schedule, and promotes creative projects that align with curriculum objectives, says Matt Pearson, director of the Marin Country Day School in Northern California. Educators opened the makers lab for an after-school club. Students now visit the space during the school day to experiment with woodworking, electronics and metal sculpture.

���You need a growth-mindset person who can zig and zag with the students and who can make the space flexible, adaptable and inclusive,��� Pearson says.

Where should we put our STEM makerspace?

Makerspaces tend to be dynamic, messy and loud, so it’s important to think about location and storage. School libraries often present perfect places to start a low-tech makerspace. Teachers can also store basic supplies on carts to share among classrooms. This can be especially effective in elementary and middle schools.

More ambitious, tech-driven environments require separate classrooms to accommodate larger equipment and bigger classes. Students want space to spread out, and educators need room to store clay, electrical components, wood materials and other resources.

Fifth-grade science teacher Janet Sweat created a STEM lab classroom at Fort White Elementary School in north Florida’s Columbia County School District. Using grant funds, she flipped a traditional science lab into a space that incorporates technology, engineering and math. On Fridays, students visit to examine rocks and minerals under a microscope, investigate the human skeleton, and use Snap Circuits to learn about electricity.

Sweat needed enough space so students could easily see all the kits and activities on the shelves. She also needed areas where learners could sit on the floor or in wobble chairs. ���We installed shelving units higher on the walls, added more storage to the closet, and got low-tech rolling carts to store glue, dowels, foam, tape and more,��� Sweat says.

What infrastructure do we need?

At a minimum, makerspace classrooms will likely need more electrical outlets and bandwidth. Wi-Fi networks may have to accommodate virtual reality headsets, tablets and voice-controlled electronics. In Putnam County School System, the district technology team plans to install an access point in every classroom in the coming years, rather than placing a few hubs in each hallway to serve multiple classrooms.

IT teams may also have to comparison shop for the 3D printers and robot sets educators want to purchase. Then, the IT team must master the new technology to provide troubleshooting support.

Related story:油Makerspace shopping lists for schools

In addition, classrooms with interactive panels need a seamless connection that allows certain devices���such as virtual reality headsets���to cast to the front of the room without a disruption to service or video quality.

���The worst thing to happen is for 25 10-year-olds to want to use technology that doesn’t work, which is why we suggest doing rotations with four or five students to put less strain on the network,��� says Key, the district IT specialist. ���When you use video-heavy virtual reality, you have to take that into account.���

Spaces where students will conduct biology and chemistry experiments will require traditional science lab infrastructure, such as filtration systems, fume hoods and plumbing.

Where do we find funding?

Funding regulations prevent some districts from designating budget dollars for creative spaces. IT teams, media specialists and teachers have therefore turned to parents and community partners for donations���especially of old items and recyclables���to stock makerspaces. Educators also seek innovation grants or use DonorsChoose.org to solicit funds for

3D printers, virtual reality headsets, and other high-tech, large-ticket items.

Related story:油Makerspace alternatives: Maker-carts and ����breakerspaces’

Diana Rendina, a media specialist at Tampa Preparatory School in Florida, has seen both sides of the funding equation. At the private school where she now works, she has a budget for makerspace purchases, but when she was a media specialist at Stewart Middle Magnet School, also in Florida, she secured more than $15,000 in grants and other funds to build out the library and furnish the makerspace. She often relied on DonorsChoose.org and prioritized activities with reusable resources, such as Legos and Makey Makey kits.

Rendina’s website, , lists grant opportunities and crowdsourcing ideas for funding makerspaces. ���Even if your district is supportive of a makerspace, your hands can be tied in terms of how much funding can be directed toward it,��� she says. ���You have to be resourceful. Makerspaces can be done in a budget-friendly way.���

Carolyn Crist is a writer in Athens, Georgia.

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How to use voice-activated technology:

1. Allow students to ask the device (not the teacher) basic factual questions.
2. Practice math problems, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
3. Set up the weekly spelling list and practice it.
4. Set timers for completing tests or attending appointments outside of class.
5. Record a morning announcement with plans for the day.
6. Schedule a daily or weekly journal writing prompt.
7. Allow Alexa to read passages for reading comprehension lessons.
8. Start a daily, two-minute mindfulness activity for student self-regulation.
9. Try a brain break to transition students from one subject to another while keeping them engaged and focused.
10. Use the language function for students to practice foreign language conversations.

Main story: Voice-activated technology sounds better in education

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DO:

• Restrict device use to educational purposes.
• Train teachers on the best practices for using devices and reviewing audio history.
• Evaluate the pilot program at your school to determine its use and academic value.
• Research the device you’re purchasing, the available apps or ���skills,��� and the technology company’s latest statements about education and privacy. (These statements change quickly as Amazon and Google realize the size of the education market.)
• Create a classroom use policy and discuss it with students.
• Alert parents about the devices.

DON’T:

• Connect a device to a teacher’s or administrator’s personal account.
• Allow just any app or ���skill��� to be added. Vet each one for educational purposes.
• Leave devices plugged in all day.

Main story: Voice-activated technology sounds better in education

Did you know? About a quarter of U.S. households own smart speakers, according to a Nielsen poll released in September 2018. Most owners report using the speakers to listen to music, search for historical facts,��or get real-time updates on weather and traffic, for instance.

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Fifth-graders in Rayna Freedman’s classroom at Jordan/Jackson Elementary School in Massachusetts ask Google Home to describe the five states of matter���because their old science textbooks only listed three. They also play a geography game called ���Where am I?��� that gives clues about a location.

���In our outdated social studies books, the map of Russia is wrong,��� says Freedman. ���The world has changed and so have the standards. Students need to learn these online skills.���

���Googler of the Day’

Freedman, whose elementary is part of , first realized the potential of voice-enabled devices when she noticed students speaking to their Chromebooks. They’d lean down and whisper, ���OK, Google,��� while searching a term, she says.

���I tell parents to imagine their 10-year-olds working in a law office in 20 years, where they’ll be at a desk with a computer and no keyboard,��� she says. ���If we don’t teach them how to talk to these communication devices to get the information they need, how are they going to do it when it becomes part of their professional lives?���

At the same time, Freedman acknowledges the privacy concerns that come with these devices. She runs her smart speaker from a ���clean��� Google account that is blank���other than the connection to the device���and is not linked to her identity, billing information or any student data.

Sidebar: 10 ways to use voice-activated devices in the classroom

She and her students also crafted a responsible use policy. The class leaves the Google Home unplugged when it’s not being used, and they turn it on only for educational activities���not for music or ���connected home��� operations such as turning off the lights.

At home, Freedman adds, most users leave voice-enabled devices on during the day, which allows the devices to record continuously.

By unplugging their device, Freedman and her students make a conscious decision to restrict potential recordings to the moments when they use the device to ask a question.

Freedman also appoints a ���Googler of the Day��� who is in charge of plugging in the device when someone has a question, asking that question, and then unplugging and storing the device when the activity is over.

���We say we’re secret agents training for the FBI,��� says Freedman, who’s also president of , the state chapter of the national edtech training organization. ���If they leave the device plugged in, they lose their status as Googler of the Day and learn the healthy consequences.���

English language learners, who often use Google Home to ask the meaning of words, have shown a particular affinity for the device. They’d rather ask it for help than ask the teacher, Freedman says. Since the device is set up in a corner of the room, it feels more private and less embarrassing than asking a ���dumb��� question in front of the entire class.

���We shouldn’t be afraid of this technology, and students need to have these conversations,��� she says.

Voice-activated devices capture attention

Many teachers also use voice-enabled devices to increase engagement and build listening and speaking skills. Erin Ermis, a fifth-grade teacher at Spring Road Elementary in Wisconsin’s Neenah Joint School District, uses Amazon’s Echo Dot to deliver her prerecorded morning announcements, assign writing prompts suggested by the device, and launch the math portion of the day with a number warm-up game.

Sidebar: Safety and privacy do’s and don’ts with voice-activated technology

���Simply put, I don’t hold the students’ attention the way the device does,��� Ermis says. ���If Alexa gives a math word problem, they’re going to be quiet and write it down.���

Amazon’s devices, in particular, use third-party apps, known as ���skills,��� that focus on education. Two popular skills���ClassAlexa and Ask My Class���feature critical thinking prompts, spelling and math games, and brain breaks that teachers can use to lead students through refreshing movements between lessons.

From kindergarten to high school, educators want to balance privacy with student enthusiasm for the devices’ capabilities, says Patrick Hales, an assistant professor of education at South Dakota State University who has been studying voice-enabled technology in education.

His graduate students tested Amazon Echoes in classrooms at Brookings School District, using the devices for spelling, word and math games, and classroom management tasks such as setting reminders and timers. In a high school German class, students conversed with the device, which served as a native speaker. However, younger children with speech difficulties found the device more frustrating because it couldn’t understand their questions.

���To me, this is like the move from overhead projectors to LCD projectors,��� Hales says. ���It’s another piece added to the classroom that could be valuable, but it doesn’t take the place of the facilitator in the classroom.���

Uncharted territory in artificial intelligence

Depending on the district, teachers bring in devices or schools provide them. Similarly, teachers in some districts connect devices to mobile hot spots, while others must use secure school networks.

Teachers who use their own devices have a better understanding of the technology. And while schools can monitor more closely devices they provide, connecting them to district networks risks data breaches.

The IT team at the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indianapolis prioritizes security as students in one classroom ask Alexa fact-based questions.

Amazon and Google are becoming more aware of education-related uses and may soon better cater to the market, but in the meantime, the district is being vigilant about user policies, filters, and state-funding requirements for secure networks.

Wayne Township’s device connects to a separate internet-of-things Wi-Fi network that doesn’t cross data with servers that contain sensitive information. Other district devices, such as credit card readers that require an open connection to the internet, are also on this separate network.

���This is uncharted territory,��� says Robbie Grimes, the e-learning specialist in the district’s IT Services Department. ���When the user is a minor, that raises some major questions about data and user access.���

Eujon Anderson, the technology coordinator for Troy City Schools in Alabama, says his district initially shied away from the devices, due to privacy and logistical concerns. This year, however, about 30 teachers are piloting devices for spelling drills and math problems in lower grade levels and for research in the upper grades.

Anderson trains teachers how to use the devices, including checking the voice recordings regularly to monitor how they are being used.

���Two years ago, we were never going to put Alexa in the classroom, and now I’m getting into conversations with my peers on the security side asking how it’s working,��� he says. ���As long as we have policies in place and conversations with parents, I think we’re going to see schools use these devices in the same way as Chromebooks.���

Carolyn Crist is a writer in Athens, Georgia.

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