It has been an amazing experience to see our DreamBox Math Classroom product go from being tested in small after-school program pilots in a few local schools to full district-wide implementations in multiple states — in less than a year!

46 states and counting

And we are now just four states away from an important milestone. Since last April, DreamBox Learning has been used in classrooms in 46 US states and the District of Columbia. I have a personal goal to help schools in all 50 States using DreamBox before our 3rd grade math games are launched this spring. So I’m calling all kindergarten, first and second grade teachers in Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota or West Virginia! Go to www.dreambox.com/teachers, check out our program, play sample lessons, download our free teacher resources, and sign up your class to try the award-winning DreamBox program in your classroom…and help bring DreamBox to all 50 US States!

You’ll join the other 46 in seeing how much for your students will have learning math.

]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/pumpkin-math-art/feed 0 http://www.dreambox.com/blog/we-just-won-the-oscars-of-education-publishing http://www.dreambox.com/blog/we-just-won-the-oscars-of-education-publishing#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:40:22 +0000 Lou http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=2679 That’s what I heard an advisor/investor of ours exclaim the other day. And he’s not far off. In addition to the Distinguished Achievement Award for Educational Toys and Games, DreamBox Learning was awarded the 2009 Association of Education Publishers highest honor: the Golden Lamp  for Technology Innovation (Association of Educational Publishers). Since I’m quoting folks, I think I’ll quote Nigel: ”Whoo Hoo!!  (Hey, it’s better than me quoting Sally Fields)

Well deserved gang, well deserved . . . as we continue to build more products, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you all pulled off a Katharine Hepburn.

The genesis of how DreamBox does assessment, and one of the reasons I am with the company, occurred over 30 years ago when one of my relatives was diagnosed with a learning disability.

This surprised us and shocked his teachers, who considered him to be in the upper middle to top third of the class for math. His test scores consistently supported this. In many areas he was significantly ahead of his peers. Yet a detailed examination with an expert showed that for him division just didn’t compute. Put another way, his brain simply wasn’t “wired for division”.

What does this mean? Well, you could ask him something like “If there are four children and each one has three oranges, how many oranges are there in total?” and you’d get the correct answer every time. If you instead asked “If I have twelve oranges and am going to give an equal number to each of four children, how many does each child get?” you might just as easily get an answer like “seven?” or “six” as “three”.

How had all the very good teachers at a very good school missed this through most of primary school? As it turns out, for a lot of years you can do pretty well at math tests if you get close to 100% of all the questions correct that don’t involve division. Or if the teacher only removes a few points for the “one little mistake” you made in the division part of a problem. Or if you have developed strategies to compensate that often approximate the correct answer, without understanding what you were doing.

The simple fact was that no-one over the years tracked the specific type of problems that caused difficulties for this student. And – this being a traditional “English” school – most teachers were more interested with how many answers were correct than how those answers were obtained.

DreamBox Learning Personalizes Online Math Education

So when we started working on what became DreamBox math I wanted to develop a system that would analyze each action the student took as they made it and respond accordingly, adapting automatically to provide the structured support each student needs as they need it. I also wanted a system that could provide specific feedback to parents and teachers identifying not only areas of strength but also weakness. It didn’t take long to realize that a system that adapts like this would work for all ages and skill levels.

DreamBox Learning K-2 Math is our first small step towards this goal and by all accounts is helping children across the spectrum learn math. Though specifically designed for home use, this version is already in use in over 800 schools and is proving particularly valuable for teachers of remedial math.

No child should struggle with math because a learning problem goes undiagnosed and unaddressed. However, recent studies (such as that by the Education Trust that detail how some teachers “are just one chapter ahead of their students”) show that in some communities this is unfortunately not only possible, but likely.

So I am personally looking forward to working on a more school-oriented version of DreamBox, and to the day when DreamBox math is a valuable tool in every teacher’s toolbox for ensuring each of their students is successful at math, no matter what difficulties they may face.

Oh, and how did things turn out for my relative? Things were tough for him for a while. Eventually he became a spreadsheet guru and has created inventory and financial management systems for corporations in the U.S. and overseas.

As you can imagine, this variance made a big difference in user satisfaction with our lessons and games. We searched for an existing tool to help young students develop these skills. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any high-quality, free mouse tutorials that were geared toward this age group. (This was 1-½ years ago.) Most were for grown-ups. What to do?

DreamBox Learning Confronts Mouse Coordination for Kindergarten to Second Grade Kids:

We approached this as we would any other set of curricula. We thought about the steps needed to build the skill and set about designing activities that matched this. The result: our Mouse Midway games. Kids first encounter the balloon popping game. This simply requires moving the mouse over the balloon to pop it. Second they play the bowling pin game, where users must click on each bowling pin. Third is the turtle drag and drop game. Users must click and hold the turtle, then drag it to the water and release it. Each game requires a slightly more difficult skill than the one before it. And each has a timer so kids can see how many balloons they can pop, or how many turtles they can drop, before the time’s up. The more they play, the more their skills improve.

Because it’s important that users have adequate mouse abilities, these games can be played as part of DreamBox at anytime by going to the Carnival and then to the Arcade. They’re a lot of fun for kids and adults. Go ahead, challenge your child! See who earns the highest score. If appropriate, give yourself a handicap by using your inferior hand.

Life With the DreamBox Learning Team

Along the way, I was given more than I ever imagined. When I read an academic book that spoke to the type of teaching we wanted to apply to DreamBox, I met the author. I brought her into our fold and picked her brain, learning straight from the source. I was handed an assessment guru who was always there with the right advice and background knowledge. I was surrounded by and worked elbow-to-elbow with world-class developers. They’d ask questions and dig deep into how my mind worked as an educator. They’d come back with technology language that my team transformed into high quality learning games. As artists, developers and teachers we created our own virtual manipulatives. Building K-2 Math was an organic, get-your-hands-dirty process. We worked very hard and forged our own processes along the way. Our CEO was always there, clearing the path and providing inspiration. DreamBox is remarkable because of the people, the talent, and the empowerment.

Almost three years later, joined by 3 more teachers on the Academic team, as well as Development, Creative and Marketing teams, we got there. 2 months ago we launched DreamBox Learning K-2 Math. Now it’s time for my own launch.

The timing on all this is poetic. I’ve just given birth to my second child. My responsibilities leading the Academic team have come to an end. When and how I return to DreamBox are tbd. If this were any other job, there wouldn’t be a question of my returning to work. I’d stay home and be with my kids. But this isn’t any other job. This is DreamBox. Challenging, empowering, giving – Remarkable.

A Vote For DreamBox Math Learning Games Is:

A vote for DreamBox is a vote for kids. We’re more than a business. We sincerely care about kids and math education. Our online math game doesn’t just entertain, it really teaches.  If DreamBox had only one goal, it would be to improve every child’s access to a great math education. Other startups strive to make money; we also strive to enrich minds.

A vote for DreamBox is a vote for change. To receive the award a company has to “…make a difference in the lives of the people involved…” No other company in the “Best Startup” category is as likely to make such a positive impact in the lives of children.

A vote for DreamBox is a vote for dreams. Anyone who has ever dreamed of starting a business should vote for DreamBox Learning. We’ve come along way! Even if we don’t win, it’s an honor to be nominated. We thank everyone who has been here from the very beginning. (And thank you Seattle for those drizzly days that kept us inside and working!)

Please vote for DreamBox as Seattle’s Best Startup in the Seattle 2.0 Awards, 2009. One final reason you should vote for DreamBox: we’re really looking forward to those award ceremony cocktails.

Happy Earth Day and Wordless Wednesday

Making A DreamBox Math Game That Kids Can Really Use

I’ll never forget the day we realized our users didn’t “see” the differences in their game maps. How could they? We’d show them a map with some circular icons glowing, and they would choose one to play. The next time they saw their map, some of the icons were the same and some were different. A check mark indicating a game was successfully played was ignored. We needed to do a better job of telling the student, “Yay! You passed this game. Here are some new games to play.” The next time your child plays DreamBox, watch the map in the Adventure Park closely. When you return to a map, changes take place in front of the user. Lesson icons appear and disappear. Check marks appear. Reward backpacks fall onto the screen. When kids see their progress, it’s more meaningful and engaging. Whew! A minor tweak with huge results.

Did we learn our lesson the first time? No! Unfortunately, we repeated this mistake in the Carnival. But rest assured we are currently working to correct this behavior!

We’re proud to announce this is our 100th blog post. Let’s hear it for us! DreamBox Learning started with … dreams. We envisioned a world where every student enjoys an individually-tailored, world class learning experience. Then created an online math learning game that’s both highly effective at teaching math, and it’s fun. We strive to reach kids, enrich minds, and inspire a life-long love of mathematics. It has been a wonderful coaster ride as a Seattle startup and we couldn’t be more proud of our achievements.

Get the Word Out and Vote For DreamBox Online Math Learning Games

As we reach our 100th blog post, we’re asking fans to help us reach another milestone. Please vote for DreamBox in the “Best of Seattle Startups” category in the Seattle 2.0 awards. Why should you take a minute to vote for DreamBox? Here’s the best reason: the criteria for this award is “…make a difference on the lives of the people involved…” And no other company in this category is as likely to make such a positive difference in the lives of so many children.

We’re honored just to be nominated as one of Seattle’s best startups.  Please vote and pass it along. A vote for DreamBox is a vote for dreams and equations!

What the Cool Site of the Day said about DreamBox Learning:

“DreamBox Learning is the only math learning game that guides kindergarten, first grade and second grade children to succeed by giving them individually-tailored instruction. It is solid math wrapped in fun web-based adventures that kids love! And they’ll be learning the math that’s vital to their future.”

Thank you, Cool Site of the Day and congratulations to everyone at DreamBox Learning!

Yesterday we introduced the DreamBox Math Classroom program, which allows pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first and second grade teachers to use DreamBox in their classrooms. As part of our commitment to supporting teachers and making excellent math education accessible to all children, DreamBox is offering any pre-K to 2nd grade teacher at a public, private, or independent school free use of DreamBox K-2 Math in school through the end of this school year (June 30, 2009).

In the past two days we have had over 150 new teachers sign up on DreamBox and create classroom subscriptions adding over 1000 students! Teachers are finding that DreamBox is an incredibly effective way to teach 4-8 year olds math in a fun way.

Why DreamBox is the Online Math Learning Game for Your Child!

Our amazing team worked hard to create a classroom version of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math, because the game allows every kindergarten, first, and second grade student to progress through hundreds of online math lesson games at their own pace! When they begin to play, each child is assessed and started at just the right place in the curriculum, and gets different lessons, hints, level of difficulty, and much more. Teachers have an online Teacher Dashboard where he or she can view individual student progress and completed lessons in the DreamBox math curriculum.

Every teacher is given a personal internet address for their classroom that they can pull up on school computers and have up to 32 students in their class playing DreamBox math games at the same time. Teachers are also able to play sample kindergarten, first grade and second grade math lessons with their classrooms by bringing them up on any interactive white board.

And teachers can invite parents to try DreamBox at home so students can play DreamBox and learn serious math after school, on weekends and over the summer, in addition to the time spent at school, and have one record of their academic progress and game play.

If you know a teacher who would like to use DreamBox in their classroom, please tell them about the free DreamBox Math Classroom subscription! Teachers can sign up for a DreamBox teacher account, preview and evaluate our curriculum, and apply for a free classroom subscription, good through June 30, 2009, at www.dreambox.com/teachers.

While I put out bird seed in my backyard feeder like many of you, I also have helped keep hummingbirds alive through five Seattle winters, traveled to Antarctica and the Canadian tundra to take photographs of birds, and help care for shorebirds and seabirds at a local aquarium.

The Christmas Bird Count is one of the big yearly bird events in North America. Counting birds in their winter territories establishes expected norms which helps private and public conservation groups develop appropriate species conservation plans.

When you see a large flock of birds, how do you count them? Usually, one estimates how much of the flock is occupied by 10 or 100 or 50 birds (a friendly number), then estimate how many of those chunks the flock occupies. Multiply the two numbers together and you have a reasonable estimate of the flock size.

How a Child’s Counting Explains The Ways In Which They Learn Math Skills

How would a small child count the birds in the flock? From watching preschoolers and kindergartner use our product during our school beta testing program — children use a variety of strategies.

The early learners try to count individual birds — 1, 2, 3, and so on. This is hard because the birds are moving around and it’s easy to lose track of which birds were counted, and which birds weren’t.

More advanced students use the subitizing skill; the ability to know at a glance how many objects are in a group. Developmental theory says that subitization is not quite the same as estimating large numbers on the order of 100, but large number estimation does build on this critical skill.

Our teachers strongly emphasize subitization in the K-level lessons. They started by using the standard-based curriculum underpinning all of our academic content. They then employed their own knowledge and experience working with children in the classroom.

Finally, they tested and refined their lessons during a year long beta program including in-school observation of children playing the lessons. After each school session the teachers would dive into an office and discuss in detail their observations of the kids and how lessons should be revised.

It’s this kind of passion for education, attention to detail, and refinement based on field observations that make me believe our teachers are great educators and experienced at turning dry academic standards into fun math games which really help children develop!

Who is your Favorite DreamBox Math Learning Game Character?

P.S. Let us know which DreamBox characters are your favorites. And if you have suggestions for which DreamBox Adventure Friends you’d like to see turned into wallpaper, let us know that too!

Classic Navy with Stella and friends.

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Classic Navy.

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Sky High Blue.

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]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/dreambox-learning-desktop-images/feed 0 http://www.dreambox.com/blog/pirates-and-pixies-and-dinosaurs-and-pets-oh-my http://www.dreambox.com/blog/pirates-and-pixies-and-dinosaurs-and-pets-oh-my#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:53:47 +0000 Cris http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=1361 The DreamBox Adventure park is a magical place where kids can choose which adventures they would like to explore. Four themes are available to DreamBox players: Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs, and Pet Friends!

These themes as well as the stories and adventures that kids explore were inspired by and suggested by kids we’ve talked to and some of our school beta testers! The DreamBox creative team thanks them all for inspiring us and helping us make a great product.

To commemorate our launch we’ve created four fun posters (one for each theme) for kids and parents to download and print at home.

Check out our Online Learning Game Theme of the Day: Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs poster PDF

The Dinosaurs theme is a time traveling adventure where students join silly professor Pickles, Dr. Kim, Hasan, and Misha as they explore a museum and travel to the time of dinosaurs and back!

The Dinosaurs theme was one of the DreamBox kids’ favorite ideas from the beginning and we’ve enjoyed creating a fun world of dino time travel for kids to explore.

Download a JPEG or PDF version of this fun poster to print at home!

Dinosaurs poster PDF