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Education Technology Insights Weekly Brief
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Two students can finish the same math assessment with identical scores and need entirely different lessons. One understands the procedure but struggles to apply it to unfamiliar problems. The other has yet to grasp the underlying concept. Their grades look alike, but their next steps should not. A percentage can show where learning has fallen short. Determining what to teach next requires a closer understanding of each student. PowerSchool builds its personalized learning solutions around that instructional decision. By connecting assessment information with curriculum planning, learning resources and classroom delivery, it helps educators translate student performance into appropriate teaching responses. The company brings personalization into the processes teachers already use to plan lessons and monitor progress. The approach places teachers at the center. Technology organizes the evidence and makes instructional options more accessible, while educators determine how to respond to the learner.
Metamorphix is an education technology company whose Cascades platform helps school districts and education leaders coordinate whole-child support by connecting student information, referrals and interventions, enabling teams to respond more effectively while identifying opportunities to strengthen their overall MTSS processes..
Artificial Intelligence
Schools today sit at the intersection of promise and overload. Never before have school districts had such unprecedented access to educational technology. Across the U.S., they invest millions in tools designed to raise achievement and empower teachers. The abundance of choices, however, raises a challenging question: whether more is always better. Many districts face confusion instead of clarity. Overlapping applications and competing platforms crowd the learning environment, leaving administrators to wonder which tools deliver real impact, which are redundant, and which expensive licenses remain untouched. The result is a paradox. Technology designed to simplify learning often introduces an additional layer of complexity. SWYE360 AI was created to bring order and clarity to that complexity. Its AI-powered EdTech analytics platform helps K–12 school districts identify which tools are most effective. By combining ROI analytics with usage intelligence, the platform highlights applications that drive outcomes, flags redundancies, and uncovers underused resources. With these insights, administrators can make more informed decisions and ensure that every dollar spent translates into stronger teaching and learning. “Our goal has never been to add another platform to the pile. It’s to give districts the clarity to see which investments matter and which don’t,” says Jacob Makuvire, founder and CEO. At the core of SWYE360 AI is a foundation designed to do the heavy lifting. Nearly 90 percent of the work is automated. The platform maps a district’s ecosystem, learning which tools are in place, who uses them, and how often, and then gathers that intelligence into a single, accessible source. This is beyond a click and a login into a software application.
Top 10 Directors of Teaching and Learning 2026
Higher education rarely follows a predictable path, and few careers illustrate that better than the journey of Sean Michael Cox, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Bay Atlantic University. Nearly three decades ago, his career began as a full-time professor before a department chair role led him toward university administration. Cox describes his transition as partly “happenstance.” A return to his alma mater, the University of Delaware, opened the door to international education, where he spent two decades leading international projects, institutional development, and extramural funding. Later, in Turkey, he was tasked with the build up of an international profile across academic centers in China, Germany, Canada, the U.S., and Italy. One of those centers ultimately became Bay Atlantic University. That history shaped his approach when he moved from Istanbul to Washington, D.C., during Bay Atlantic University's institutional accreditation process. He initially took on an interim dean role before a restructuring led him to the Center for Teaching and Learning. His experience in creating new academic and administrative units made him a natural fit for a role and The Center for Teaching and Learning became a significant part of the university's effort to formalize processes, establish common standards, and prepare faculty for a changing academic environment. Faculty members receive training on university policies, teaching expectations, syllabi, learning management systems, online education, attendance, and other academic practices. The Center provides a common source of guidance for full-time, half-time, and adjunct faculty, which reduces the burden on department chairs and creates greater alignment across departments. Students benefit because they encounter familiar academic expectations even when they move between different faculties and courses. That institutional foundation matters even more amid intense competition for internationa
Social and Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Support for Young Children
Dr. Lauren Starnes, Chief Academic Officer, The Goddard School
LMS
Foundations for Effective Digital Higher Education Leadership
Sandra Mohr, Dean of Digital Learning and Instruction, Angelo State University
Social and Emotional Learning
Turning Technology Investment into Organizational Capability
Dr. Christy Anthony, Director of Learning and Development, National University
Artificial Intelligence
Engineering Management Education in the Age of AI
Cecilia Martinez Leon, Professor of Teaching, University, Buffalo
School Management System
Rethinking the Role of the CIO
Milos Topic, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer, Grand Valley State University
IN MY OPINION
Student Engagement
Modeling Growth Mindset as a Professional Practice
Patricia Klug, Director of the Chaiken Center for Student Success, Penn State University
LAST WORD
STEM
A Computing Education for an Uncertain Future
Sarah Bassett Lee, Professor and Director, School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi
IN FOCUS
Personalized Learning: Tailoring Education to Individual Needs
Personalized learning solutions are reshaping education by adapting instruction, technology, content, and support to individual learner needs, abilities, and goals.
Empowering Educators: The Role of MTSS in Whole Child Development
MTSS platforms connect academic, behavioral, attendance and wellbeing data, enabling coordinated interventions, personalized support, progress monitoring and informed school decisions.
EDITORIAL
Personalizing Learning and Strengthening Student Support
Education technology is changing how schools understand student progress, respond to individual learning needs and prepare educators for new instructional demands. This edition of Education Technology Insights examines how companies and education leaders are addressing these priorities through personalized instruction, whole-child support and faculty development.
Our cover story features PowerSchool, recognized as the Top Personalized Learning Solutions 2026. Its platform connects assessment data with curriculum planning, classroom instruction and intervention, helping teachers determine what students need to learn next. Tools such as Performance Matters, Schoology Learning and PowerSchool MTSS support this process, while AI capabilities support lesson preparation, content creation and student learning.
Personalized learning also depends on understanding the circumstances that affect a student’s progress. Metamorphix, named the Top MTSS Whole Child Development Platform 2026, addresses this need through Cascades, which brings academic, attendance, behavioral and social-emotional information into a shared environment.
Sean Michael Cox of Bay Atlantic University (BAU) is recognized among the Top 10 Directors of Teaching and Learning 2026 for his work in establishing consistent teaching standards, supporting faculty development and connecting academic instruction with professional experience. BAU also incorporates AI literacy, industry certifications and flexible learning formats into its approach to student preparation.
The contributor articles examine the human factors that also shape learning and development. Dr. Lauren Starnes, Chief Academic Officer at The Goddard School, explores how listening to young children and acknowledging their emotions can build the trust and security needed for social-emotional and academic development. Dr. Christy Anthony, Director of Learning and Development at National University, examines the gap between implementing technology and using it effectively, discussing that people need the skills, judgment and adaptability to translate technological capabilities into practical results.
The insights in this edition examine how technology and educational leadership are influencing teaching, student support and faculty development. We invite readers to explore these perspectives and consider their implications for the future of learning.
