DreamBox Learning®» Online Learning

The Power of Technology to Reach All Students

Tim Hudson — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:34:59 +0000

The most challenging aspect of teaching involves reaching all learners. In a given classroom of 20, 30, 40 or more students, I want and need to know what each student is thinking at every moment in order to be the best teacher possible. Yet with all that teachers are expected to do on a given day, true differentiated instruction is - and always has been - essentially impossible. Technology tools are often held up as the solution to this dilemma, but too often these tools merely simplify the presentation of material or collect small bits of student data during class. These technology uses enhance current teaching practices, but fall short of continually capturing information about a child's understanding at critical points of thinking and transfer. At DreamBox, we provide classroom teachers not only with data on student understanding and performance, but also with learning software that engages students, intelligently adapts to provide a differentiated experience for each child, and teaches rigorous mathematics. We know achievement gaps still exist. We believe our technology is a partner with teachers working to close those gaps. To fix the education crisis, we have to think differently about reaching all students. And we have to think differently about how new technologies can be a key factor in accomplishing this goal.

As a classroom teacher, I realize that more data would be useful for instructional planning, communicating with parents, and helping students set their own goals. But too often, assessments simply confirm what I already know - for example, that a fourth grade student doesn't understand second grade math content. I don't have time or opportunity to go back to those foundational number concepts; and with education funding cuts, my school may not have enough resource teachers to work with this student outside of class. Similarly, many data reports may confirm that another fourth grader is really doing math at a sixth grade level. The schedule and resources available in the school are rarely adequate to meet this student's needs on a daily basis either. The power of an intelligent, adaptive learning technology is the ability to differentiate learning support for every fourth grader: those working at grade levels above or below as well as every child in-between. Our technology represents a radical transformation in how students learn. By weaving an adaptive learning environment into the curriculum and classroom structure, we can drastically improve student learning, close achievement gaps, and adapt uniquely to individual students, each of whom will at some point encounter a learning challenge.

In the end, what every classroom teacher really needs is a tool that is proven to actively and directly foster learning for every single student. If more accessible textbooks and lectures were the key to closing achievement gaps, the education crisis would have been solved long ago. I need software that adapts to each student just as I would - moment by moment - observing what the child is thinking, how she is approaching the problem and analyzing the strategies she uses in order to make a pedagogical decision about where to go next. I want software that doesn't replace me entirely - I know that's impossible - but it should meet students where they are when I'm not able to get to them.

At DreamBox, we provide teachers and students with technology that makes this learning support a reality. We don’t expect to replace teachers; our technology enhances what teachers are trying to accomplish with each student. When teachers can't be there individually for a student at the point of learning, they can trust that DreamBox will be a trustworthy partner for ensuring that student will experience success.

Seriously Interesting at Serious Play

Tiffany Y — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:51:30 +0000

Hello! This is Tiffany, the Creative Director at DreamBox Learning. Last week, myself and two other DreamBox employees attended a local conference called "Serious Play." The conference included a 3-day track of presentations and speakers devoted entirely to games for learning, so that was our focus.

At DreamBox, we don't think of ourselves as making games. We deliver effective, "just in time" curriculum: The right lessons at the right moments, constantly adapting to keep kids in their optimal learning zone. But we pay close attention to gaming because we realize there is much to learn about keeping kids engaged and focused.

Did you know the average kid will spend 10,000 hours playing games by the age of 21? This is the same number of hours kids will spend in school from 5th grade through high school graduation if they have PERFECT ATTENDANCE. 10,000 hours is also the magic number of hours of practice required to reach mastery, as detailed in Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" and Daniel Levitin's "This is Your Brain on Music." All told, gamers spend 3 billion hours a week on collaborative problem solving. Imagine if kids spent just a fraction of that time learning math! Here at DreamBox Learning, as we work to expand our product to include math for older grades, we are incorporating some of the best practices from the gaming world to help make our product relevant and engaging for older kids. A 4th grader is very different from a kindergartener, and we want to make a product that feels right for a wide age range. Good games give us great examples of intuitive usability, task-based goal progression, high engagement, good reward systems and more. Plus, they're fun to play. We believe that math is inherently fun, and that giving kids the chance to interact with math in new ways will help them become thoughtful, successful young mathematicians. Serious Play gave us some great new ideas on how to apply good gaming standards to rigorous math curriculum to deliver highly effective, highly engaging math to kids through DreamBox Learning.

Lessons Too Hard? Let's Put A "Stop" To It!

David G — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:00:45 +0000

A teacher recently contacted me with the following issue:

"What my students enjoyed about Dreambox initially was the fact that they're given a variety of activities to choose from, the activities adjust to their skill level, and they don't have to work on only one activity for long periods of time. However, one of my students was complaining that her activities were too hard for her. That was two weeks ago - now, she only has one activity available on her Lesson Map! This student says she's been given the same activity over and over again, for the past two days, with no other options. Is this a bug?"

The short answer to this is "no, it's not a bug", and I will be more than happy to explain the problem. As you know, DreamBox Learning's GuideRight technology is designed to adjust the difficulty and variety of lessons offered, based on a student's demonstrated instructional level and unique input. If a student finds that DreamBox is not making these adjustments, then you might want to check the way they are using DreamBox - chances are, they are using the "Stop" button to exit out of their lessons. DreamBox analyzes a student's input on a click-by-click basis, and uses this input to assign the most appropriate follow-up lessons. However, if a student does not complete a lesson, DreamBox does not make this assessment, as it assumes the student must leave for a non-academic reason (e.g. eating lunch, using the bathroom, etc). It's hardly fair to give a student a bad grade every time they stop a lesson, so DreamBox chooses instead to ignore the results of the lesson entirely. For this reason, if a student makes a habit of exiting lessons with the "Stop" button, instead of completing the lessons, then they won't be assigned new, easier to understand lessons in a timely fashion. In worst case scenarios, where the student keeps exiting the same lesson repeatedly, and doesn't try doing any other lessons, this can actually cause DreamBox to stop offering other lessons entirely! In many cases, students who exit lessons do so because they are apprehensive about getting answers wrong. However, DreamBox analyzes a student's incorrect answers, and uses this analysis to offer the most appropriate follow-up lessons. Therefore, it is very important that students do not shy away from incorrect answers - wrong answers are part of the educational experience, and this is doubly true in DreamBox Learning. If your student is saying that their lessons are too hard, then watch them use DreamBox for a while, to see if they are using the "Stop" button when they get frustrated. If they are, coach them on when it is and is not appropriate to use "Stop" mid-lesson. Then, encourage the student to push through every lesson, even if it is a little difficult or they have to guess or make mistakes, and you should see more appropriate lessons being offered. Remember, too, that the "Help" button is always available - one click will repeat the lesson instructions, while a second click will give more detailed instructions. This can also be very helpful for a student that is stuck on a difficult activity, and using "Help" will not have a negative impact on a student's score for the lesson. And, of course, you can always contact us here in Customer Support! We're always more than happy to study your student's progress file and make recommendations. You can call us at 877-451-7845 Monday through Friday between 8AM and 5PM PST, or e-mail us at support@dreambox.com. We're here to help!

Give The Gift Of DreamBox!

David G — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:05:11 +0000

Well, it's that time of the year again! The Christmas season is upon us, and if you're like most people, you're trying to find the perfect gift for your loved ones. 'Tis the season of door-buster sales, crowded shopping malls, snow-filled streets full of congested traffic, and miles upon miles of gift wrap and ribbons - all of this, to make sure you get the best possible gift for the special people in your lives. But... what if you could give a great gift, without all the hassle? Consider this: fluency in math is a gift that a child will keep for their entire life. It doesn’t need batteries, they’ll never outgrow it, and its value will only increase over time. And these aren't just metaphors - research shows that proficiency in math can lead to more education opportunities, higher salaries and greater job satisfaction down the road. DreamBox Learning can help you give this valuable gift - and you won’t even have to wait in any long lines, or drive around in the snow, to give it. You can purchase a six-month gift certificate for DreamBox Learning, and give the gift of serious fun and serious learning to the special child in your life. You’ll be able to choose whether you receive the gift certificate (so that you can give it to the child yourself - perfect for gift cards or as a stocking stuffer), or you can have us send it to any e-mail address you like, along with a personalized message from you. You can purchase a six-month gift certificate by clicking here. It takes just moments to sign up, and your gift certificate is delivered in seconds. Happy holidays from DreamBox Learning!

Free Trial: Understanding the ‘Fine Print’

David G — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:01:32 +0000

I recently received this e-mail from a person who is not yet a customer. She writes:

I'm searching around your site for the "terms of use" on the free trial - specifically, information about how long it is, can you opt out before the free trial ends, the billing process, etc. Can you clarify this for me?

This is a very important question in my opinion, because I'm sure we all know someone (or have been that someone) who got stuck in an endless loop of unwanted communications, unacceptable charges, and general frustration, all because they clicked a button on the internet marked "free". Well, we here at DreamBox want to be part of the solution, and the best way to solve this problem is with some good ol' fashioned honesty!

So here it is, the "fine print"

The DreamBox Learning free trial (14 days for parents, 30 days for teachers), starts from the day you register, and is absolutely risk-free, no obligations, no run-arounds, no kidding. We only take the information we need to set up your account, establish your student's curriculum placement, and keep you in the loop about your child's progress. Yes, you will receive e-mails, but only from us, and you even get to choose what kinds of e-mail you receive (more on that later). DreamBox Learning does NOT share your information with other companies, especially not spammers and solicitors - we don't like communicating with them any more than you do! While it is possible to cancel your free trial before it ends, keep in mind that there is no obligation to buy, and we do not bill you at the end of your trial period. Actually, we can't bill you unless you subscribe; we won't ask for payment or billing information unless you're buying a subscription. So don't worry if you "forget" to cancel at the end of your trial, because we've already done it for you.

At the end of your free trial

At the conclusion of your trial, your student's account expires and their progress is saved for at least six months, just in case you wish to subscribe at a later date. You will still have access to your Dashboard, even if your first trial has expired, and can use this access to start additional trials for other children under the same account.

When you’re ready to purchase

If you do decide to purchase a home subscription, signing up is quick and easy. Just go to the "Account/Settings" tab in your Dashboard and select "My Subscription". Click on the "Buy a subscription" link, and follow the instructions. Any children that have started free trials, will already be featured on the sign-up page, and all you need to do is select the children you're subscribing, fill out your payment or billing information, and submit. Keep in mind that DreamBox uses the VeriSign service to protect your security and prevent malware infection, and DreamBox will not permanently store your payment or billing information after purchase (although we do save the last 4 digits for those who use a credit card, so you can tell which card was charged for later reference). Teachers: consult your DreamBox sales representative for pricing, and to determine the best payment option for you and your school. The easiest way to do this is by visiting http://www.dreambox.com/teachers/order_now and request a quote.

Subscription Auto-Renewal

DreamBox auto-renews all home subscriptions at the end of the subscription period. If you're concerned that you'll forget, then perish the thought - we'll send you an e-mail notification at least 5 days before this happens. Nobody likes surprises when it comes to their credit card! Classroom accounts expire on a set date, so you’ll want to speak with your sales representative to determine your best course of action for renewal.

Control the emails you receive

Finally, remember what I said about controlling the types of e-mail you receive from us? You can do this any time, even if you've never purchased a subscription. Go to the "Account/Settings" tab in the Parent Dashboard and select "Notification Preferences". From this page, you can either disable your Notifications entirely, or filter the specific types of e-mails you want to receive. I definitely recommend the second option, since you'll definitely want the notifications relating to your student's progress and your account's auto-renewal. For Teachers, notifications work differently due to student reporting. If you'd like to opt out of communications, email support@dreambox.com and we'll take care of it for you. Do you have a question about DreamBox? Well, what are you waiting for? Use the “Send Feedback” button in the lower right hand corner of the DreamBox Learning game window, and let us know what’s going on. We can also be contacted about this, or about any other DreamBox questions you may have, at support@dreambox.com. We’re always more than happy to help you!

School Plus Home: Successfully Logging In

David G — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:11:38 +0000

Every week, I like to address a common question that you, our valued DreamBox customers, have been asking. Sometimes, it's hard to pick a "most common" issue - but not this week! From one of our parents:

My girls just started using DreamBox at their school. Their teacher sent them home with a letter that has a login and a password on it, but I can't seem to get it to work. How can I log in?

If your child brings home this letter, then good news: their school has subscribed to DreamBox Learning's School Plus Home program! This version of DreamBox gives your student round-the-clock access to all the serious fun & learning, at no cost to you, and sends all progress reports directly to their teacher. And setting it up is just as simple as logging in for the first time. However, there are a couple of things about logging in, that can be a little confusing.

Accessing the log in screen

One of the common problems, is accessing the log-in screen itself. The letter provided by the school should contain a website URL, as well as a user name and password. Make sure you are typing the URL exactly as it appears in the letter - do not add "www" or "http" to the URL. Also, make sure you are typing the URL directly into your browser's Address Bar, and not into a search bar or search engine. The correct page, when loaded, should ask for a "Login" and a "Password". Enter the log in information provided on the Parent Invite sheet from the teacher. If you are logged in successfully, you will be asked for your e-mail address, and given the opportunity to change your password.

Invalid email notification

This leads me to the second common problem. After entering your e-mail address, you receive an error message saying that the email is invalid, or is already in use. This is usually because, at some point in the past, your email address was used to start a free trial. Additionally, your email may show as invalid if you're already a DreamBox Learning subscriber, or requested information about DreamBox in the past. If you'd prefer not to use a different e-mail address, then you will definitely need to get a hold of the Customer Support department here at DreamBox. There are three basic ways we can address this issue:

We can remove the account currently using your e-mail address, thus allowing you to give your email address to the new account. This is a quick solution for when you only want to use your child's School Plus Home access, as it does limit your own access.
We can transfer your child's school progress to your existing account. This gives you full access to your Parent Dashboard, and preserves the work they've already done at school. This is the best option for parents who signed up for a free trial, but never fully subscribed.
We can replace the child's school progress with the progress they've made at home. This also gives you full access to your Parent Dashboard, and allows your child to take advantage of their previous progress in school. This is definitely the best option of you're already a subscriber.

All you need to do to make this happen is send an e-mail to Customer Support. Be sure to include the name of the child attempting to access DreamBox at home, the school that they attend, the name of their teacher, and which of the above three options you'd prefer as a solution. Our expert team of Customer Support specialists will get your child playing at home right away! Do you have a question about DreamBox? Well, what are you waiting for? Use the “Send Feedback” button in the lower right hand corner of the DreamBox Learning game window, and let us know what’s going on. We can also be contacted about this, or about any other DreamBox questions you may have, at support@dreambox.com. We’re always more than happy to help you!

Virtual Manipulatives: Our First Fractions Manipulative, Rational Rods

Neal M — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:12:41 +0000

One of my favorite things about working at DreamBox is collaboration. Currently, our Academic Team is four National Board Certified Teachers including myself. We plan the curriculum, and work with experts in the field to develop lessons that are academically rigorous, follow an appropriate developmental sequence and that take advantage of a rich digital environment. Just last month, we traveled to Connecticut to work with our Leading Academic Advisor Dr. Cathy Fosnot, Founding Director of Math in the City and author of the Young Mathematicians at Work series. During our trip, the five of us hammered out a solid curriculum for teaching Fractions in Grades 3-5. Throughout this process, we design unique, likely-to-be patent pending virtual manipulatives that help students develop a strong conceptual foundation. One such virtual manipulative which we have developed is called Rational Rods. It is loosely based on measurement models, such as fraction strips, or bars, but takes that concept much further. This tool does what no classroom manipulative can do; it allows a student to take rational numbers, such as fractions, and apply a familiar context. How many of us use fraction terms when talking about money, or time? Instead of “I’ll be there in 30 minutes” we say “I’ll be there in a 1/2 hour”, or instead of “I only have 75 cents” we say “I only have 3/4″. Through Rational Rods, we have found a way to leverage our desire to reference context when tackling new math concepts, like fractions, and allow students to build a solid foundation before moving on to more abstract work. The Rational Rods virtual manipulative is just one of many tools we are developing for Fractions in Grades 3-5. Look for more blog posts as we give you sneak peeks of our current development!

Schools Can Still Take Us Up on Our Free Summer School Offer!

Sue — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:46:13 +0000

Crisscrossing the continent from Washington to Florida and California to Prince Edward Island, what do hundreds of schools have in common? Their summer school program will include DreamBox Learning K-3 Math—for free! Since DreamBox announced earlier this month that any accredited school with a summer school program can sign up to use DreamBox free, we’ve had a terrific response. It’s fun for us to see the geographic range of schools ordering—all with a little help from our loyal fans! DreamBox is perfect for a summer curriculum. Summer school teachers may not have the luxury of time to test students, pinpoint their levels, and then find a curriculum to meet those needs. With DreamBox, kids can start their first day of class and immediately be placed at the appropriate place in our robust math curriculum. Then they will be motivated to learn with our fun math games! DreamBox Learning provides:

Web-based differentiated instruction, with continuous, embedded assessments that place each student
Rigorous academic content based on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points for Number Sense and Operations, and Algebra
Development of conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and problem-solving ability
Detailed tracking of student progress on your Teacher Dashboard

Here’s how to get started using DreamBox Learning in your summer school program today. Not involved your school's summer program? We'd appreciate it if you'd share this link with those who are! Just tell them to visit: www.dreambox.com/summerschool

Use DreamBox Learning K-3 Math Free in Summer School Classes!

Sue — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:15:52 +0000

DreamBox Learning K-3 Math is perfect for summer school! Students will learn an in-depth math curriculum that’s highly individualized to their needs, and they’ll love playing the fun adventure games. So we’ve made it easy to integrate DreamBox into your summer school math program – we made it free! Any school with a summer program can sign up to use DreamBox for the duration of your program (it’s set up for 30 days, but we can extend it for you). When your students play DreamBox in summer school, they get:

Web-based differentiated instruction and assessment
Rigorous academic content based on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points
DreamBox develops conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and problem-solving ability
Teachers can track detailed student progress on a Teacher Dashboard

Best of all, students can’t wait to play DreamBox. We hear from teachers and students all the time, telling us how excited they are to play and learn math! Want to hear what kids think first hand? Here are verbatim student comments that were shared with us just this week: “It is so fun that I can berelee keep myself off of it.” “I like it because I can learn what I want to when I want to.” “I like the adventures that I go on when I am doing math.” “It makes me think and it has lots of math problems.” “It has big challgis” “Because I can learn more math and go as high as I want to go and I don’t hafe to wiat for the slow kids.” “You can learn and do math with your character” “It helps me subitize” “It has lots of math and I am in charj!” How are schools using DreamBox?

It’s easy to use and there is no software to download
Students can use DreamBox in very flexible ways. Typical use varies from 30 – 60 minutes, 2 – 5 times a week
It’s great for intervention students, full classrooms, and enrichment activities

Here’s how you can sign up to use DreamBox in your summer school program now. And if you’re not the teacher or administrator who will run your summer program, we’d appreciate it if you’d share this blog with the person in charge!

Sarah Daniels on Why DreamBox is Used in so Many Classrooms

Sue — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:56:49 +0000

Sarah Daniels, DreamBox Learning’s VP of Marketing, spoke at this week’s NewSchools Summit 2010. This annual event is sponsored by the NewSchools Venture Fund, the highly respected education-focused venture philanthropy firm of the same name. Here’s a brief video from a hallway conversation at the conference, with Sarah talking about why DreamBox is being used to help provide differentiated instruction in classrooms all around the country.