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Teaching civics has never been more important. Our republic depends on it.
The exploration of American Principles is not just a theoretical exercise but a practical tool for students to navigate the complex terrain of American governance
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Poptential™ Revolutionizes Social Studies Education with Integration of American Principles and Launch of Engauge™ Teacher Dashboard
Poptential course packages have been updated to incorporate “American Principles” designed to foster a greater understanding of American civic life and sharpen critical thinking skills among students. Additionally, Certell introduced a powerful new dashboard for teachers called Engauge™, which helps instructors understand student engagement with Poptential e-books in real time.
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Poptential™ High School Economics Curriculum by Certell Offers Free Stock Market Investment Lessons
October historically has been a month of notable volatility in the stock market, with historic crashes like the 1929 Great Depression and Black Monday in 1987. These events have given rise to a sense of “Octoberphobia” among some investors. Lessons on these events and others are included in Common Sense Economics from Poptential™, a comprehensive…
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Poptential™ by Certell Brings the Global Space Race to Life with Media-Rich Content
This October marks 66 years since the international space race began between the United States and Russia, and much has changed since then. In 2023, history was made when India successfully touched down on the moon’s southern polar region, signifying a milestone in the world of space exploration, and private space travel rocketed towards reality…
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Certell’s Poptential™ Economics Curriculum Includes Valuable Personal Finance Lessons
Certell, has infused personal finance lessons as part of its free Economics course to help students begin developing strong financial habits. Poptential’s Economics Module 12 features bell ringers, mini-lessons, and multimedia content to engage and teach students strategies for managing money, such as how to open a bank account, create and maintain a budget and…
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Certell’s Poptential™ Provides Teachers Free Lessons on Slavery to Commemorate Juneteenth
Poptential™, a family of free social studies course packages from Certell, provides rich content to teach the history leading up to Juneteenth, a national holiday on June 19, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.
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A new task for teachers: Developing curriculum
With availability of free teaching materials online and the speed at which physical textbooks become outdated, it’s not a surprise that schools are questioning if physical books are even essential. Students expect to learn using digital tools, so embrace the technology, and let it guide how you teach.
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Certell’s Poptential™ Addresses 21st-Century Wars With Free Memorial Day Teaching Resources
“While today’s high school students weren’t yet born when the United States was attacked on 9/11, the War on Terror resulting from that day has been in the news for most of their lives,” said Julie Smitherman, a former social studies teacher and director of content at Certell, Inc. Potential™, a family of free social…
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Poptential™ Free Government Curriculum from Certell Addresses Supreme Court Duties and History
While the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing final cases in April before recessing until the fall, Poptential’s free digital curriculum provides teachers a rich curriculum about the role the Supreme Court plays in the U.S. government, including landmark cases and the court’s lifetime appointments.
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Poptential™ From Certell Offers Content on Tax Day for High School Teachers
As Tax Day approaches, Poptential™, a family of free social studies course packages, offers instructors media-rich content to teach key concepts about taxation in the United States.
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Poptential™ From Certell Provides High School Teachers Lessons on Bank Failures
As bank failures continue to make headlines in the United States and around the world, free digital content from Poptential™ offers teachers multimedia-rich content to help students learn why banks fail and what happens to the global economy when financial institutions collapse.
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High school students are suffering financial illiteracy. Here’s how to fix it.
If students don’t improve their understanding of economics and personal finance at the high school level, they may never be exposed to it.
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Free U.S. Government Curriculum Teaches Students About U.S. Debt
Poptential™, an award-winning family of free social studies course packages, offers instructors a variety of content to help students learn about the national debt using pop culture media to engage students.
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Digital Tools Key to Financial Literacy
The vast majority of high school students are not financially literate but respond well to economics and personal finance courses that include digital tools in their curriculum, according to a new study by Project Tomorrow and Certell, creator of the Poptential™ family of free, award-winning social studies course packages.
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Engaging Students in Learning Economics with Digital Content
Findings from a National Study with History & Social Studies Teachers
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Certell Surpasses 100,000 Poptential™ Users As Teachers Embrace E-Learning
Certell, Inc., announced that the number of teachers and students registered to use its free Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages exceeded 100,000 in 2022 as teachers forgo printed textbooks for more current and interactive online tools. Nearly 1 million interactions were recorded on the Poptential platform in the fall 2022 semester.
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Certell’s Poptential™ Free American History Curriculum Highlights Legacy of African Americans for Black History Month
Poptential™, a family of free, award-winning social studies course packages that infuse lessons with digital storytelling, offers an array of engaging content about the Civil Rights Movement for instruction during Black History Month.
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Easy Edtech Podcast: How to Understand if Students Are Prepared for Class with Poptential™
In this episode, we discuss how to support teachers with classroom management, engagement, and actionable data collection. You’ll also hear how the Poptential curriculum has formative assessment seamlessly integrated and allows students to self-assess in real time!
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3 Ways to Make Inflation Interesting for Students
Storytelling can be an effective way for teachers to make topics like inflation relevant to students.
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Poptential™ Offers Free Content for National American Indian Heritage Month
Poptential™ offers an array of engaging content to illustrate the culture, traditions, and history of Native Americans for National American Indian Heritage Month.
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Poptential™ Free U.S. Government Curriculum Teaches the Importance of Midterm Elections
“Poptential is full of ways teachers can demonstrate the importance of the upcoming midterms.”
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Poptential™ Expands Bell Ringer Content in Free Social Studies Curriculum
Poptential™, an award-winning family of free social studies course packages, has expanded and enhanced its Bell Ringer content with the goal of providing a bell ringer for every day of the school year.
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Poptential™ Free World History Content Tackles Latin American Independence
Poptential™, a family of award-winning social studies course packages that infuse lessons with digital storytelling using pop culture references, offers an array of engaging content to help World History instructors address National Hispanic Heritage Month and Latin American Independence.
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3 Ways an Honest History Education Can Heal a Fractured Country
When done right, American history instruction creates independent thinkers and respectful debaters.
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Blending Socratic discussion with modern tech
One of the most effective teaching methods for the past 2,500 years has been the Socratic method, which encourages learning and critical thinking through fruitful dialogue and debate. When digital learning tools and curricula came on the scene, it appeared that classrooms fueled by Socratic discussions would go the way of dinosaurs — or Socrates.…
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Certell Named a Finalist for Two 2022 Civvys Awards
The Civvys is the only national awards program dedicated to celebrating projects that emphasize working together across divides to strengthen communities and empower citizens. By leveraging collaboration as a core strength, these initiatives put community and nation before party, ideology, and narrow interests, embodying a civic spirit that inspires other Americans to take action.
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Poptential™ Free Personal Finance Curriculum Makes Financial Literacy Engaging and Fun
Rising gas prices, soaring inflation, and the sky-high cost of attending college are three economic challenges impacting high schoolers, and a recent survey conducted by Junior Achievement and Citizens Financial Group shows that majority of them feel unprepared to deal with these financial issues. Poptential™ offers a free curriculum designed to make learning about personal…
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Poptential™ Digital Storytelling Makes Summer School Fun
Courses like Poptential, which infuse course content with pop culture media, really appeal to digital-native students and make learning fun and effective…
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Engaging Students in Learning History through Pop Culture
Findings from a National Study with History & Social Studies Teachers
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Poptential™ Wins Two Awards
Certell wins two awards for Poptential™, a family of free social studies courses.
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Poptential™ Free Curriculum Brings History Alive for Independence Day
Poptential courses, used by more than 30,000 teachers in 50 states, include everything instructors need to teach a subject, digitally accessible in one place, including lessons, ebooks, bell ringers, quizzes, and tests, as well as pop culture media to make lessons interesting and relatable to students. Curriculum packages are standards-based and developed by social studies…
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How to flip the classroom and create avid learners
Instructors in a flipped classroom can spend class time answering student questions, guiding students, and implementing course concepts.
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Finalist for Two EdTech 2022 Awards
Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced it was named a Finalist for two EdTech 2022 Awards sponsored by EdTech Digest. Certell’s Poptential™ social studies curriculum was recognized as a Finalist for Curriculum and Instruction Solution, and Certell CEO Fred Fransen was named a Finalist for the EdTech Leadership Award.
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Digital storytelling: Lessen student anxiety, aid SEL
As the pandemic enters year three, more schools are returning to in-person teaching and making masks optional. However, teachers are finding that getting back to normal is anything but normal. Student anxiety, behavior issues, and learning problems are swelling. That’s why we’re hearing so much about social and emotional learning.
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Poptential™ Teacher-Base Sees Growth of 70% in 2021
Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced that the number of teachers using its Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages grew by 70% in 2021, a sign that teachers are looking for ways to infuse lessons with popular culture and digital storytelling to reach digital native students.
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EdTech Awards 2022 Finalists
A very big congratulations to all The EdTech Awards 2022 finalists! Poptential™ was a Finalist for Best Curriculum and Instruction Solution.
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2021 NAEE Curriculum Bronze Award
Certell wins 2021 NAEE Curriculum Bronze Award for Economart from the National Association of Economic Educators
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Poptential™ Teacher-Base Sees 70% Growth in 2021
Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced that the number of teachers using its Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages grew by 70% in 2021, a sign that teachers are looking for ways to infuse lessons with popular culture and digital storytelling to reach digital native students.
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Best Primary & Secondary Tools for Back to School
T&L’s judges recognized Poptential™ as one of the best tools for back to school.