Ontario News from ExploreLearning : For Parents

This award honors the best overall education technology solution for curriculum and content for students in K-12 learning environments.

Gizmos won the same award in 2009, and this year's award marks ExploreLearnng's 5th CODiE win. The CODiE Awards recognize leaders and innovators across the software, digital content and education technology industries. We are honored to be included among these leaders.

The SIIA CODiE Awards website has a list of all the 2012 Award Winners.

 

 

Attention, Games, and Acquiring Mastery

I am almost thru a great book on the the role of attention and distraction in learning and work. Maggie Jackson's video summary is a great one that gives you the bullet points of the book. 

 

Now that I have posted the summary, I will encourage you to go the next step and actually focus long enough to read the whole book. 

"The costs of attention deficiency are so great ... we need to step back and re-examine our priorities" 

This got me thinking about my own behaviours and those of students in school. I need to be more self disciplined so I can be a better role model for those I can influence. What are we teaching others when we frantically go from one activity to another? ( Article: 15 big ways the Internet is changing our brain )

I was in a classroom the other day and saw a teacher insist on students focusing on the task assigned, but once they got started, she went rushing about to complete the multitude of things that had to get done all at once. No wonder the students focus on the task was so short - the example we are giving them is to juggle many things, as fast as possible. 

But then there are video games...video games are, by their nature, designed to draw in the learners focus. When I watch my children play Reflex math, they are single focused on answering the math facts. Sometimes I wonder if the house crashed down around them, would they even notice.  This is what worries my wife when she watches them play any sort of video game. She is unsure if this is healthy.

I think that it depends on the context. If video games can provide the vehicle to get students keenly focused, and then we use that focus to build mastery of a skill (like math facts), then I think we are doing what we need to do to reach the learner in the social context we all find ourselves juggling.

What strategies are you using to teach the discipline of focus?

Cambium Learning Technologies Crowding the CODiE Finalist List

Cambium Learning Technologies Receive Finalist Honors in Seven Categories for Prestigious Software & Information Industry CODiE Awards

Cambium Learning Group, Inc. [Nasdaq: ABCD], the leading educational company focused primarily on serving the needs of at-risk and special student populations, announced today that three companies within its Cambium Learning Technologies division, ExploreLearning, Learning A-Z and Kurzweil Educational Systems, received finalist honors in seven education categories for the prestigious CODiE^™ Awards.

Established by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the CODiEs recognize excellence and achievement in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries.

“The finalist honors bestowed by SIIA on the Cambium Learning Technologies business unit are a testament to Cambium Learning Group’s commitment to leverage technology to serve schools, teachers and students so that every child can reach their potential.” 

           Ron Klausner, CEO, Cambium Learning Group, Inc.

The following Cambium Learning Technologies products are 2012 finalists:

Best K-12 Instructional Solution & Best Education Game or Simulation		Best Mathematics Instructional Solution
Best Science/Health Instructional Solution		Best Reading/English Instructional Solution & Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution
Best Instructional Solution for Special Needs Students

 

 

We Stopped Dreaming

When was the last time you heard a child say,"I want to be an astronaut when I grow up?" When was the last time that you heard a anyone express a lofty goal? 

 

I just love this video...oftentimes, we take for granted the things that really matter and easily dismiss just how valuable they are. NASA's budget is so small ("4/10ths of a percent of a tax dollar") in comparision to the other things that our governments fund in the interest of perserving the economy. And yet, it is an easy target to slash. Why is that?

"The 850 million dollar US bank bailout was equivelent to the entire 50 year running budget of NASA"

How much is dreaming worth? A long term vision - an unwavering belief in possibility. How much is it worth for our students to develop big dreams?

Sometimes I feel that I have a giant dream connected with my work with Ontario math teachers. I truly believe there are solutions to the challenges in getting students to believe math is relavant and, in fact, fun. I believe that if we all took a stand and convicted to - NO ONE will be an discouraged math learner - it could become a reality.

Instead, we look to the reasons why it is impossible and accept mediocrity. It is so much easier to look at the possibility of something delivering immeasurable, but somewhat intangible good, and dismiss it as something we cannot afford. Much more difficult to strive to maintain an unwavering belief in possibility.

The dream of success is always worth what it costs and, sadly, it never goes on sale.

Why is it your job to teach your kid math?

On the cover of Maclean’s magazine this week appeared the headline…

Why is it your job to teach your kid math?

Quite a provocative and alarming headline for a math teacher and parent! Certainly the fact this is the cover story highlights the prevalent concern that is out there about math education and the general lack of success students are feeling. In the last 3 years I have examined many of the Ministry of Education initiatives and resources to support math teachers in creating effective classroom learning experiences. I strongly agree that instructional strategies that build conceptual understanding are far more effective than drill, but I often wonder at what point do we expect mastery of foundational math skills?

In my Physics classroom, I was often shocked at the lack of mental math skills my students had. It was rare to see a student judge an answer using estimation or split a total into thirds without the aid of a calculator. How does this happen? Ultimately I feel we must judge the effectiveness of the teaching strategies on learning outcomes. Do we feel that the learning outcomes have delivered on the promises? Sometimes I am not sure… and clearly the journalist in Maclean’s in also skeptical.

At ExploreLearning we are trying to fix this. For more than a decade we have invested heavily in constructing interactive teaching tools that allow teachers to differentiate and represent concepts non-linguistically. However, we realized that in many cases if the foundational skills in math were missing it becomes very difficult for students to feel successful when doing more complex mathematics.

This is the premise of Reflex. Gizmos are the conceptual tools for differentiated instruction and Reflex addresses the fundamental skill of math fact fluency. These two resources work together to build student success in math.

When I hear that parents are spending hundreds of dollars on math tutoring I get rather upset, especially when I hear that many tutoring companies are simply “flash carding” students with math facts to help build their confidence. Reflex is far more effective at doing this and at a fraction of the price. 

 

Reflex is now in Spanish!

If you would like your students to experience Reflex in Spanish follow these instructions change the default language:

 1. Log in to your teacher account for Reflex.

2. Click on the 'Classes' tab.

3. Choose the student's class from the drop down menu and highlight his or her name on the roster.

4. Click 'Edit' under Student Details and change the 'Language' option from English to Spanish.

5. Click SAVE.

 

                

 

Meditate On This!

I LOVE hearing about schools trying something radically new and getting radically GREAT results.

 

Maybe meditation would be opposed in your school, but then again, maybe not.  (more info)

It is so easy to dismiss new thinking and new technology with excuses like, we don't have the money, the time, the energy, or the buy-in before even making the attempt at something that could radically change what we have always done. The question really is...are you happy with the student learning outcomes now? And if not, can you imagine the possibilitiy of a radical change?

It is my job to help monitor and document the success that we are trying to create with Reflex. It is SO exciting to be a part of something that is working to transform student attitudes toward math. How telling is this comment from an Ontario student to you?

“In September I thought math was a nightmare. I do not get good grades in math but I can try to like math more but I am always warming up to it. I like now there are Gizmo's and other tools to help with math especially Reflex. I am now 30 % math fact fluent and I love it. Thank you!”

Convinced?

Would the hard data help: http://news.reflexmath.com/results/

I would love to hear of the new things are you trying that are producing radically different student learning experiences and achievement? Comments welcome!

 

Learning Thru Games

As educators truly interested in modeling meaningful learning and skill development, it is sometimes difficult to determine the balance fun and engagement with instructional content and learning. I like how K. Ash puts it,

 "...how to avoid the criticism that many engaging activities are "chocolate-covered broccoli"—something students quickly sniff out and reject."

This idea was at the heart of the design work that went into Reflex. We are searching for the balance where the fun students are having playing the games translates into not only math fact fluency but also a positive attitude toward their math ability.

If you want a game experience to also be a learning experience you have to take engagement and how kids learn into account. That means finding an approach that interweaves instruction and entertainment.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term "flow" to describe the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. The conditions needed to create that state are clear tasks, feedback, attainable goals, and concentration and focus. 

Check out these videos and you be the judge. Are these kids in "flow" while practicing math facts?

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generation G

Check out this TED Talk on Generation "G"amification: 

 

Now, if you are at all intrigued, sign up for a free trial to Reflex and experience exactly what Gabe Zichermann is talking about..."Games produce intrinsic reinforcement thru dopamine responses in the brain." You can actually see this in my son's body language in this video. 

I also challenge you to get in the game!

 

Having said that, I do not agree that the days of curling up with a book are over and that "Generation G" will no longer choose this learning tool. In fact, I think the opposite. I believe collectively on the brink of a change in how we value learning (long time in coming, I know). A book is still fantasitc technology becasue the paper is right there for you to begin interacting with the ideas the author is trying to convey. I love my Kobo e-reader but it is not as effective a medium for me to be actively learning. In my opinion, E-readers are fantastic technology for consuming books but mediocre technology for digesting them.

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and spectulation at a stand still.     - Henry David Thoreau

I feel the same way about math. Reflex is fantastic at building math fact fluency for learners of all ages. The important thing is the transfer of the skill to other contexts and situations. The age old technology of paper and pencil is still perfectly suited for situations like having to calculate how much material you need to purchase from the hardware store for the project you are working on.  

 

Send Gizmos Home with Your Students

Gizmos aren't just for classrooms and computer labs. They can be used by students anywhere with an internet-connected computer.

To help parents understand more about using Gizmos, we've prepared a simple letter that teachers can send home with students. The letter explains what Gizmos are and how to access them from a home computer. The Word version even has space to include the students' login information.

Download the PDF version.
Download the Word version.