Swivl is proud to announce our partnership with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools and the California State University Chancellor’s Office in their groundbreaking initiative to enhance academic literacy and college readiness across California, New Mexico, Hawai’i, and Washington through the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC). Developed by California State University, the ERWC has received praise for its impact on student achievement and its use of rhetorical inquiry and is generously funded by a prestigious Education Innovation and Research Expansion grant by the U.S. Department of Education.

Through the grant, high schools will implement the ERWC and WestEd will evaluate the impact on student achievement. This opportunity also comes with the chance to try Swivl’s innovative technology in your classrooms to enhance literacy education for students in grades 9-10 and professional development for their teachers.

Transforming literacy with comprehensive curriculum

The ERWC stands out for its cutting-edge approach to developing critical thinking and literacy skills, integration of Universal Design for Learning principles, and the use of Integrated and Designated supports for ELD. The curriculum features yearlong thematic courses with multiple pathway options, emphasizing oral communication, collaborative discussion, and civic discourse. Aligned with Common Core State Standards for ELA, and combined with the power of Swivl tools for student communication and collaboration, the curriculum applies an advanced integrative approach to improving literacy outcomes. A recent report by WestEd highlights the impacts on students:

“My students were able to move from surface-level understanding to higher levels of thinking,” reports one participating teacher.

Another participant praised the curriculum for its usage of culturally relevant and engaging text throughout: “When you’re talking about texts that they actually have an interest in, they start asking better questions, they start writing more, they actually want to know about it.”

This transformation in student engagement is a common thread among ERWC classrooms, where teachers consistently observe enhanced critical reading and writing skills, particularly in students’ ability to analyze texts and question the author’s purpose more deeply.

Super-charge teaching with advanced technology

In addition to the curriculum provided, school participants will have access to Swivl’s innovative technology for instructional coaching and teacher reflection. Participating schools receive Swivl tools as part of their participation, enabling teachers to record, review, and reflect on their teaching practices. This technology integration also supports the implementation of Jim Knight’s High Impact Instruction Toolkit, providing teachers with concrete ways to enhance their instructional practices and questioning techniques.

Unlock substantial benefits

Schools who participate will receive:

• Comprehensive professional learning opportunities, including dedicated support for site-based communities of practice, summer workshops, and one-on-one coaching
• Access to the complete ERWC for grades 6-12
• Free materials, including student books
• Included Swivl technology for teacher reflection and student development
• Substantial stipends for participation:
  • Up to $8,000 for ERWC teachers
  • Up to $2,000 for traditional English teachers
  • $3,000 for school site leads
  • $20,000 for schools
  • $5,000 for districts

Do you qualify?

High schools in New Mexico, Hawai’i, and Washington state are encouraged participate and are eligible as long as the school’s overall enrollment requirement meets or exceeds 800 students.

Participating schools must:

• Have at least two teachers for ERWC and one for traditional English in grades 9 and 10
• Implement random student assignments between ERWC and traditional English classes
• Participate in data collection by WestEd throughout the study

The curriculum will roll out over three years, beginning with grade 9 pilot implementation in 2025/26 and concluding with grade 10 evaluation in 2027/28.

Take the next step toward literacy excellence

This partnership represents a unique opportunity to enhance student literacy while supporting teacher professional development through innovative technology. Schools interested in participating in this transformative curriculum are encouraged to complete the interest form to learn more.

This initiative promises to create lasting positive change in how we prepare students for college-level academic challenges by combining proven curriculum approaches with cutting-edge professional development tools.

Complete the interest form today to take the first step!

The post Transform high school literacy with the ERWC and Swivl appeared first on Swivl.

After five years at Swivl working with schools on video coaching programs (our company has been working with them for 13 years), I’ve seen a pattern emerge that we need to address: most schools are implementing video coaching programs in a way that undermines their chance of success. As someone who has watched hundreds of these programs struggle to get off the ground, I want to share what we’ve learned about building effective, sustainable video coaching initiatives.

Trust is the most challenging foundation to build, but it needs to come first

The bedrock of any successful video coaching program lies in trust, yet this is precisely where I see many schools stumble in their implementation. The relationship between teachers and those reviewing their videos—whether coaches or administrators—creates a complex dynamic that can make or break a program before it truly begins. This trust challenge manifests in several critical ways.

Teachers need to know this isn’t a “gotcha!” exercise

I’ve seen countless teachers view classroom recording with deep apprehension, seeing it as potential evidence against them rather than a tool for growth. This defensive mindset stems from years of traditional evaluation systems that I was apart of once too – where observation often feels more punitive than developmental. When teachers believe recordings might be used against them in performance reviews or disciplinary actions, they’re unlikely to engage authentically with the process.

Building trust takes time, but you have no time

In our experience, traditional video programs typically require a year or more just to establish the necessary trust foundation. This extended timeline isn’t merely about getting comfortable with technology—it’s about building genuine relationships between teachers and observers. We’ve watched thousands of schools eager to see quick results rush this crucial foundation-building phase, unknowingly sabotaging their program’s long-term success.

There will always be performance anxiety to overcome

Even when teachers intellectually understand the developmental purpose of recording, I’ve observed how the presence of a camera can trigger performance anxiety that undermines the entire observation process. I’ve even experienced this when my teaching was recorded! Teachers need to become comfortable with:

• Camera placement and technical logistics
• Their on-screen presence and voice
• The vulnerability of sharing their practice
• Watching themselves teach without harsh self-judgment

Teachers stage their performance rather than teach authentically

When trust isn’t firmly established, we consistently see recordings capture staged performances rather than authentic teaching moments. Teachers may:

• Over-prepare for recorded lessons
• Stick to “safe” teaching strategies
• Avoid taking risks or trying new approaches
• Focus more on appearance than student learning

When structure blocks success: The limits of fixed recording cycles

Another significant challenge I’ve observed in video coaching programs lies in the conflict between operational constraints and effective teacher development. Schools often implement standardized recording schedules—typically every six to eight weeks—with uniform guidelines about what, when, and where to record. While this approach may satisfy logistical needs and resource limitations, it creates a fundamental disconnect from how teachers actually grow and develop.

This standardized, periodic approach creates several critical problems:

Teachers need to see the good, the bad, and the ugly more often

We’ve learned that teachers need regular evidence of both success and failure to build confidence and resilience in their practice. When recordings happen infrequently, each session carries too much weight. A perceived failure during these rare recording sessions can feel devastating, while small daily victories go undocumented and unrecognized.

“I wish you could see what happened last week…”

I’ve seen how the predetermined recording schedule often fails to capture the most meaningful teaching moments. A teacher might have a breakthrough with a challenging student, successfully implement a new teaching strategy, or face an unexpected classroom challenge—all between scheduled recording sessions. These valuable learning opportunities slip through the cracks of rigid recording schedules.

A one-size-fits-all approach ensures you fit no one

Through our work with thousands of teachers, we know that every educator has a unique growth trajectory and specific areas they want to improve. However, when programs require all teachers to record standard 45-minute lessons at predetermined intervals, they ignore these individual development needs. A new teacher working on classroom management needs different observation opportunities than a veteran teacher refining advanced instructional strategies.

Recording more often can actually work against you

While more frequent recording sessions might better serve teacher development, I’ve seen firsthand how the time-intensive nature of video review makes this impractical. Administrators and coaches simply cannot sustain the three-to-one ratio of review time to recording time needed for proper analysis. This forces programs to choose between quantity and quality, ultimately sacrificing personalization for practicality.

MirrorTalk: Reimagining teacher development

The challenges I’ve described call for a fundamental reimagining of teacher development. That’s why we created MirrorTalk to transform this landscape by placing regular reflection at the heart of professional growth, addressing each challenge head-on:

Analyze the right things at the right time

We’ve ensured that time constraints no longer need to dictate development opportunities. MirrorTalk’s AI technology:

• Analyzes verbal reflections instantly
• Delivers actionable insights in seconds, not hours
• Enables frequent reflection cycles without overwhelming staff
• Identifies patterns across multiple reflections
• Surfaces insights that might be missed in traditional review

Gain student insights to compliment observations

Beyond teacher performance, we’ve built MirrorTalk to capture the crucial student perspective that traditional video often misses:

• Regular student feedback provides continuous insight into learning impact
• Multiple data points reveal patterns in student thinking
• Student mindset and engagement metrics inform teaching strategies
• Student development zones become clearer
• Teachers gain a more complete picture of their classroom dynamics

Meld the process to the teacher, not the teacher to the process

We’ve moved beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to deliver truly personalized professional development:

• Teachers reflect on moments most relevant to their growth
• AI-powered analysis identifies individual patterns and growth opportunities
• Reflection cycles align with personal development goals
• Recording sessions become more targeted and meaningful
• Professional development adapts to each teacher’s unique journey

For schools looking to implement or improve their video coaching programs, MirrorTalk offers the essential groundwork for success. By addressing the fundamental challenges that often derail traditional approaches, we create an environment where video coaching can truly fulfill its potential as a transformative professional development tool.

Put your trust in us, we know how to help

Ready to build a stronger foundation for your school’s video coaching program? Let’s talk about how MirrorTalk can help transform teacher development in your school. Your teachers deserve a professional development approach that builds trust, saves time, and delivers personalized growth opportunities. We’d love to show you how we make that possible.

Contact us today to learn how our solutions can help your school build a more effective, trust-based approach to video coaching.

The post Rethinking classroom recording: Build trust first, record later appeared first on Swivl.

M2 is an AI-powered device that helps teachers engage students better in class, deepen everyone’s thinking, and effortlessly enhance instruction with real-time feedback and automated insights. Its integrated MirrorTalk software automates reflection with customized prompts. Durable, mobile, and uniquely sized, M2 serves as an intelligent co-teacher in various educational spaces.

Your AI Teaching Companion

M2 is more than your average video tool. We leveraged our 12-year expertise in video observation by working with Swivl Robot users around the world to give teachers the best experience when recording themselves for observation and coaching. We built M2 to become your AI teaching companion and help you build skills while you teach by delivering on the spot feedback and strategies for keeping students engaged. For formal observation, M2 features a 180° camera with automated tracking, high-quality audio, and follows up each recording experience with a reflection to capture the teacher’s experience, while its still fresh on their minds.

Small group leader

M2 is also a multi-modal small group leader for classrooms, featuring built-in tools like Recharge, Whiteboard, Links, Timer, Recording, and step-by-step directions to keep students focused. Teachers simply set up M2 at a designated station and load an activity from the Library or create their own based on their lesson plan. After each activity, students reflect on their learning and receive instant feedback.

Reflection kiosk 

M2 prioritizes and measures metacognitive skill development. Its presence constantly offers immediate, personalized feedback for growth as learning happens. Educators gain key insights into participants’ thinking, including understanding, mindset, and challenge level, and actionable feedback to help their participants improve.

In this article, hear from real M2 users about the unique ways they are making the most of this intelligent co-teacher!

Student projects and presentations

M2 enhances projects and presentations by fostering peer collaboration without classroom chaos. Its built-in Workspace tools keep small groups focused, allowing teachers to assist students who need extra help. After completion, M2 prompts student reflection, provides instant feedback, and gives teachers automatic insights into the learning experience.

Hear from several different teachers on how they have transformed their classrooms into project-based learning centers with M2:

M2’s Workspaces are transforming our mathematics instruction. Students enthusiastically solve problems and reflect together, celebrating successes while thoughtfully addressing challenges. It’s remarkable to watch how this guided group work naturally cultivates growth mindsets and genuine excitement for learning.

Brittany Carpenter | Technology Instructor and RESA Coordinator

With M2 Workspaces, science teachers don’t have to keep repeating the same safety procedures and instructions for a lab, they are just built into every activity automatically. This kind of autonomous guidance truly helps teachers meet students where they are with minimal lift on their part.

Phyllis Balcerzak, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, University of Missouri – St. Louis, MO

We love how M2 offers the students many opportunities to practice. Even if a student doesn’t feel like their initial presentation went well or they didn’t master a concept, we can just structure a workspace to include a quick resource, like a video, to watch before they practice it again. And during the reflection, they still get a separate opportunity to explain what they really know about the concept.

Annette Lang | Instructional Coach, Bio-Med Science Academy Stem School, OH

Multi-modal learning for ELLs

M2 assists teachers in balancing ELL and native English speaker needs. It allows ELLs to access content in their native languages and reflect independently, while providing teachers feedback in English. Tools like whiteboard, timers, and group reflection foster digital collaboration, peer modeling, and language practice for all students.

M2 bridges crucial gaps for our newcomer students from El Salvador, recognizing their true academic capabilities while addressing language barriers. By enabling initial reflections in Spanish, then slowly transitioning to English, it builds confidence and creates pathways to their English acquisition, helping these students demonstrate their actual academic potential and integrating them into our classroom community.

Harley DeKeyzer | Librarian/Technology Coordinator, Albany Middle School, Livingston Parish, LA

PBIS that really supports

Transform tense moments into opportunities for growth with MirrorTalk on M2. Placing this powerful tool outside counselors’ or administrators’ offices works wonders for dysregulated students. It guides them through calming exercises and self-reflection, empowering them to process their emotions at their own pace and verbally reflect on their their experiences more productively. Watch as students shift from stressed to serene, ready to engage in constructive conversations. M2 isn’t just a device – it’s a game-changer for student well-being and conflict resolution.

M2 uniquely supports students from challenging home environments by providing a safe, structured space for conflict resolution. Through guided dialogue and calming exercises, it helps students who frequently experience behavioral issues develop essential communication skills and emotional regulation strategies before returning to class.

Rachel Tyson-Wiley | Teacher, City Of Chicago School District 299, IL

Amplify the power of instructional coaching

M2 is the ultimate ally for instructional coaches—because it’s every teacher’s ally too. This powerful tool streamlines teacher development, providing real-time feedback from pre-observation prep to post-lesson reflection. It captures every teachable moment, delivering instant insights and end-of-class summaries that help teachers understand and refine their practice.

With M2, teachers can reflect out loud, deepening their learning, while coaches gain invaluable insights into mindset, tone, and cognitive bias. Skip the recall—jump straight into meaningful, targeted discussions with every teacher that drive real growth.

M2 has completely changed how teachers engage with feedback. The moment they receive a meta-analysis with different strategies, they’re instantly thinking, ‘I can try that!’ The ‘Team Learning Summary’—our coaching strategy—has been a game-changer. Every time teachers see it, they get excited to implement new ideas. It’s not just improving their practice; it’s making them more receptive and fully bought into our coaching cycles.

Meagan Stass-Macdonald | Instructional Coach, Barrington School District 220, IL

Actually measure PD’s impact

Empower everyone with M2! Watch as it transforms post-PD moments into goldmines of insight. Teachers pour out their thoughts at the door, while facilitators instantly gauge their impact. It’s a win-win: educators feel valued, and PD becomes razor-sharp. With M2, every reflection sparks growth, turning feedback into fuel for educational excellence. Get ready to revolutionize professional development – one M2 at a time.

M2 has been an invaluable resource for our PD program: it’s a comprehensive coaching platform, facilitating anonymous PLC feedback, structured support cycles, and data-driven professional development planning.

Amarius Reed | Elementary Math Coordinator, Atlanta Public Schools, GA

Involve the whole community

Unleash M2’s magic at your next school event! From art shows to open houses, M2 captures honest feedback from parents and community members in a private, judgment-free zone and turns them into active participants. Watch as stakeholders dive deep into school initiatives, sharing thoughts that truly matter. Get ready for a avalanche of insights that’ll supercharge your community relationships. With M2, every event becomes a launchpad for meaningful connection and school improvement. Don’t just host events – ignite engagement!

The problem with feedback tools we’ve used in the past is that there is no accountability for the parent (usually a form we send digitally afterward) and then it takes a while for us to sift through the data and publish what we find. M2 is quick, painless, and enjoyable for parents and lets us instantly collect and disseminate the data we gather.

James Wilborn | Elementary Educational Technology Specialist, Atlanta Public Schools, GA

M2 is the intelligent co-teacher that helps teachers engage students better in class, deepen everyone’s thinking, and effortlessly enhance instruction with real-time feedback and automated insights. With all these ways (and more!) it could support your school, isn’t it time to let M2 do the heavy lifting? 

Watch me do even more tricks!

Schedule a live demo to learn more!

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Today, we’re excited to officially announce MirrorTalk.ai the mobile and web version of the Mirror, which we launched earlier this year. MirrorTalk has free and premium plans to cover everyone’s needs.

MirrorTalk is a tool for reflecting out loud that can be customized and focused for assessment, creative thinking, motivation, development, and more. Each reflection brings AI-powered insights on how you are thinking, and how to improve.

Modernity has made us less reflective than we’ve ever been. While engagement gets the overwhelming priority in education and life, we already know learning comes from reflection. Our aim is to restore the balance in our minds between engagement and reflection by leveraging AI to open up unique opportunities that aid how we reflect. 

Reflecting with MirrorTalk is as simple as talking about what you’re working on. Start by stating your learning objective, and you’ll immediately get a set of customized reflection prompts, which can be tailored to the language, length, or focus that fits your needs. From there, MirrorTalk helps you talk it out in the comfort of an objective and impartial listener. When you’re done, you get instant feedback, insights, and scores to help you understand and improve your thinking. You can use it yourself or assign reflections to students, teachers, leaders, and more. 

The reflective foundations

MirrorTalk automates reflection so you can talk it out with the frequency and personalization you’ve always wanted, but didn’t think you had the time for. And MirrorTalk’s Dashboard shows you insights about your thinking you may never have realized you needed, until now.

The lesson

Based on your reflection, we identify the Lesson – a learning gap or adaptive lesson that you may be struggling with. It’s like having developmental psychologists Jean Piaget or Robert Kegan consult you on any one of your reflections. 

Understanding

By reporting on how well you construct knowledge and derive meaning, Understanding identifies how you’re generating insights or coming to new realizations.

Zone

Based on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Zone identifies the optimal stress levels for your learning activities and helps you fine-tune the challenges you take on. 

Mindset

Expanding on Carol Dweck’s work, Mirror analyzes your thinking for evidence of a fixed or growth Mindset, then goes even deeper, analyzing the tone of your self-talk and the level of motivation represented in your thinking.

We even present data on developmental stages, cognitive and social skills, and cognitive biases. We also have more unique and powerful insights in the works.

MirrorTalk for everyone

MirrorTalk’s reflections can be customized for PK-12, higher education, and adults, and both the content and language of dashboard insights are developmentally appropriate for the participant.

• K12 classrooms: Set up reflections on any learning objective, for any grade, with the ability to focus on depth of knowledge, retrieval, creativity, problem solving, and more. Get feedback on how students are understanding what they need to learn and use our reflective foundations to guide curriculum, assessments, and PD.

• Professional Development: Most PD and coaching initiatives are slow and create dependence on institutions to make progress. MirrorTalk gets teachers thinking in motion automatically and prepares them to take on curriculum changes, formal coaching, certifications, and more. Also, we believe using MirrorTalk with students – to peer inside the minds of learners – is the next great leap forward beyond feedback from video coaching.

• Higher Ed: Help students across the whole university stay engaged in their academic growth, and help specific departments create better outcomes. Aid student teachers in their field work and even get them instant feedback on their lesson plans from reflection data of the students they are teaching.

New possibilities

We believe MirrorTalk opens up new possibilities in education and for humanity itself. Not only does it help restore balance in our minds with time spent over-engaging, it could help us reflect more. By helping people learn foundational life lessons with less difficulty and suffering, our vision is to help everyone learn and grow better than ever before. 

Get started

Ready to experience MirrorTalk? Sign up on the web or download the mobile app today and get a 60-day trial of our Pro plan, absolutely free. After that, you can continue using the free version, or invest in a plan that fits your needs. Plus, don’t miss the chance to demo the Mirror hardware device, and experience its power as a 3-in-1 reflection station, recording tool, and interactive small group guide. 

In a constantly accelerating world, the ability to adapt is more important than ever. Investing in building students’ and teachers’ reflective foundations will make it possible for everyone to thrive.

The post Introducing MirrorTalk.ai appeared first on Swivl.

Reflectivity is the catalyst for dialogue that makes good teaching contagious. Teachers take what they learn from their peers and put it into practice. Teachers are who teachers best learn from.

Danieli Parker | Hallsville Independent School District, TX

USE CASE

To provide a district-wide professional development resource

Danieli Parker

Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology

School/District:

Hallsville Independent School District, TX

A powerful tool for our district

Danieli Parker is the Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology for her school district in East Texas. Her role allows her to utilize technology to support teachers in becoming the most powerful educators they can be in the classroom. With experience as a former elementary teacher, assistant principal, and principal, Danieli understands the demands of the classroom through many lenses. These prior roles largely influence which technologies her district decides to invest in. 

In her mission to provide district-wide support, Danieli found the perfect ally in Reflectivity. No other solution could match its versatility and impact on optimizing peer learning and collaboration.

“Makes good teaching contagious”

In 2015, Hallsville ISD was recognized as a model PLC. Even with this recognition, they were still struggling to coordinate live observations.

“We truly believe in learning from each other and using the strengths of each teacher to build peer learning. But, the biggest challenge in scheduling live observations was making them relevant and meaningful to each teacher. We needed a 4th-grade teacher to observe another 4th-grade teacher, even if they were in different schools, instead of having a 4th-grade teacher observe a 2nd-grade teacher because of availability.”

 Everything changed in 2018 when they were introduced to Reflectivity + Robot. Instead of needing to coordinate live schedules for observations, or travel to different schools to learn from each other, these Swivl solutions enabled each teacher to record high-quality video and audio to be watched asynchronously.

“We would record short lesson segments and then watch the videos together during PLC meetings. The recordings were a catalyst to drive conversations. Teachers would pick up on things happening in the video that I didn’t even notice! This allowed us to have deeper discussions about instructional practices.”

Danieli firmly believes that peer-learning lessons are the gems that stick. “Reflectivity is the catalyst for dialogue that makes good teaching contagious. Teachers learn best from other teachers. They take what they learn from their peers and put it into practice.” The videos she has her teachers record are leveraged to empower her teachers which sustains their professional development throughout the entire year.

Built-in adaptability

Reflectivity’s versatile features offered the teachers at Hallsville multiple ways to collaborate. In addition to the deeper instructional practice discussions, and watching relevant recordings asynchronously, teachers have the option to share written reflections. They can join communities around specific skills, and share links to resources, to build a collaborative mindset, outside of watching lesson recordings.

“Reflectivity has been a game-changer for our new teachers. The educators coming out of teacher prep programs are lacking in their conversation skills,” she said. “They’re more comfortable messaging back-and-forth, which they can do in Reflectivity. They don’t experience any barriers to asking for help or finding resources. Reflectivity provides a comfortable space for both newer and veteran teachers to  converse about instruction.”

Creating your Reflectivity plan

Want to see what Reflectivity can do for your institution’s Instructional Coaching? Schedule a consultation with the Swivl team to learn more.

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