It's a new year, and this week, Education Dive hit the ground running with looks at the 5 trends poised to shake up higher education in 2018, as well as 5 K-12 administrators and 6 districts to watch.

In K-12, trends around makerspaces and nontraditional classroom furniture aren't likely to disappear anytime soon — the former is now being eyed as an opportunity to offer students microcredentials that demonstrate skills learned, while the latter still has plenty of proponents touting the physical and cognitive benefits of more flexible seating arrangements.

Be sure to check out our exploration of what the College Football Playoff would be like if it was based on graduation rates and more in this week's most-read posts from Education Dive!

• 5 trends poised to shake up higher education in 2018: Campuses will need to be more technology-enabled and globally focused in the coming year.

• 5 K-12 administrators to watch in 2018: These school and district leaders excel at tackling the issues facing education, from stabilizing entire districts to implementing classroom tech and improving community engagement.

• What if the College Football Playoff was based on graduation rates?: We analyzed the academic success of each of the Power 5 teams to come up with our top 25 ranking.

• Nontraditional classroom furniture offers physical, cognitive benefits: In addition to helping students burn more calories, flexible seating options also more closely mimic seating options in many modern office environments.

• Are microcredentials the answer to demonstrating skills learned in makerspaces?: Credentials, like badges, can help students demonstrate skills gained via nontraditional environments, such as makerspaces. 

• Districts to watch in 2018: Personalized learning, OER curriculum and new assessment models are among the reasons to follow their progress.

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