How classrooms use data and technology to support students

What does it take to create learning environments where all students’ unique needs are supported? For most teachers, it’s challenging enough to educate a classroom of 30-plus students, let alone students who are at different places in their development and learning. With data and technology, we have a unique opportunity to meet students where they are at, and support teachers in most effectively educating all students.

We have come a long way on this idea in the United States recently. The use of technology and data in the classroom is nothing new. Between tablets, laptops, education programs and apps, districts have spent billions on technology in its schools, and 63 percent of all K-12 teachers are using technology in the classroom daily. At the same time, teachers and administrators have the ability to collect and analyze more student data than ever before. And the Universal Design For Learning, an approach to curriculum design that can help teachers customize curriculum to serve all learners and is based in the science of learning, has started to become more widely adopted across the country and in the Department of Education.

So how can we apply evidence-based research to best support student learning in the classroom? And how can using technology and data support this? What kind of support do teachers need in order to understand how students learn and how to effectively use these tools in the classroom? And how can teachers use technology and data in the classroom effectively so that we are helping all students at all levels, abilities and cultural backgrounds? This discussion will weave in many debates around how our children learn through the lens of the role that data and technology can play in the classroom.

The panel discussion will be moderated by NBC News Chief Education Correspondent Rehema Ellis, and joined by panelists:

• Adeeb Barqawi - President & CEO ProUnitas, Inc
• Dr. Ron Beebe - Professor of Educational Research, University of Houston-Downtown
• Jennifer Jendrzey – Director of Strategic Learning and Evaluation, Raise Your Hand Texas
• Roneka Lee - Principal, Bondy Intermediate School, Pasadena Independent School District

This discussion will be featured in the “NBC News Learn Presents: Education Now” live event in Houston, TX on September 24. The full event will be livestreamed here -- stay tuned for updates.