DreamBox Learning®» childrens education http://www.dreambox.com DreamBox Learning, a web-based math learning company Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:01:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The "Hole In The Wall" Project http://www.dreambox.com/blog/hole-in-the-wall-project http://www.dreambox.com/blog/hole-in-the-wall-project#comments Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:07:14 +0000 Neal M http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=6547 Hole in the Wall Project over the past nine years. In short, Hole in the Wall project began with a Learning Station consisting of a computer system setup with no instruction manual or teacher involvement. Mitra and his team found that the residents, especially the children, were able to teach themselves and one another how to use not only the computer hardware, but the basic software included as well. Mitra's team expanded this concept throughout India, with Learning Stations set up in impoverished neighborhoods as a minimally invasive academic tool. If you are interested in learning more about Sugata Mitra, I recommend these videos from TED on "How Kids Teach Themselves" and from PBS's show Frontline: World. How can we apply the findings of Hole in the Wall to our own classrooms and schools? Should we as teachers drop off learning materials, computer systems, and leave our students to handle the learning on their own? Of course not. However, there is a time and place for a teacher to know when we stop advancing learning, and are instead inhibiting academic growth. Sometimes it is appropriate and preferred to pose a question, provide materials, and take a step back to see what happens. You may be surprised at the ability of your students to self-organize and seize their learning.]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/hole-in-the-wall-project/feed 0 How Can I Possibly Differentiate In Math? http://www.dreambox.com/blog/differentiate-in-math http://www.dreambox.com/blog/differentiate-in-math#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:11:13 +0000 Neal M http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=6094 Differentiated Instruction. Used in many ways, differentiated instruction is a proactive teaching method that centers around each student as a unique learner. Simply put, every child arriving in my classroom shows up with differing skills and interests. It is paramount to use varying strategies and materials to meet these varying needs. However, as any teacher knows, it is a Herculean task to develop a unique curriculum for each student. We are left with finding ways to adjust our existing lessons to appeal to our kinesthetic students who learn by building, or our musical students who will thrive if we can set our material to a beat, or a tune. In mathematics, differentiating instruction is especially difficult. How do we teach multiplication when seven students mastered it last year and five students still need work in basic addition? We ask ourselves, how can we, as teachers, possibly differentiate math and reach all our students? It is here that DreamBox Learning fills a glaring need in today's classroom. DreamBox accurately places students in a fluid curriculum right at one's instructional level. When students use DreamBox, a student can work on a 1st grade counting lesson while sitting next to a classmate working on 3rd grade place value. If a first grade teacher has a group of students ahead of their classmates, DreamBox will accurately place them in more challenging and engaging material. It is this placement on a unique learning path for each student that makes DreamBox such an outstanding addition in today's classroom. So, as summer break winds down and we head back to set up classrooms and welcome a new group of students, take comfort in knowing DreamBox Learning can and will differentiate math instruction and provide your students with a truly individualized learning experience.]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/differentiate-in-math/feed 0 Did Daddy Text Me? http://www.dreambox.com/blog/did-daddy-text-me http://www.dreambox.com/blog/did-daddy-text-me#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 15:35:39 +0000 Mickelle http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=4825
  • Dear Elle, Please make sure there are 4 diapers in your brother’s diaper bag. Daddy sometimes forgets to refill it. Thank you for being my big helper. Love, Mommy
  • Princess, Don’t let Daddy forget to give your brother his medicine. Make sure Mommy only gives him 3 ml. Can you help her? Miss you, Daddy
  • Dear munchkin, Last night I had dinner with 9 people. Do you think we could fit 9 people around our table at home? See you tonight, Mommy
  • Hey Super Sport, Let’s both do 20 jumping jacks and 5 pushups today. I miss you. Daddy
  • Good Morning Elle, Do you think it’s better to drink 2 cups or 10 cups of milk a day? I can’t wait to hear what you think. Love, Mommy
    • It’s hard to be away from the family, and rewarding when we find ways to remind our children that we are always thinking about them. And it’s kinda cool when a 4-year old asks, “Did Daddy text me?”]]>     http://www.dreambox.com/blog/did-daddy-text-me/feed 0     An Inauguration of a Different Sort http://www.dreambox.com/blog/an-inauguration-of-a-different-sort http://www.dreambox.com/blog/an-inauguration-of-a-different-sort#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:23:01 +0000 Lou http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=1337 “That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood . . . our schools fail too many . . . [But] we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.” We at DreamBox Learning welcome your words. In fact, DreamBox Learning exists to be a key agent of transformative change in education, such that every student enjoys an individually-tailored, world class learning experience. We are doing our part by providing a web-based curriculum that is incredibly effective, fun, and highly individualized to a student’s particular learning needs. Our product will first be offered in the homes of some students, later in the schools for all students. In order to achieve that latter goal, we need your help. By ensuring that every student has access to a quality computer, thick broadband connectivity, a teacher that is trained to use technology, and a school system that embraces the power of software both in spirit and in budget, we are certain a difference can be made. In short Mr. President, if you provide the infrastructure and access, we will do our level best to bring innovation and entrepreneurship to meet the “demands of the new age.” Mr. President, you also stated: “In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom." Again, those words resonated for the DreamBox team. Today we celebrate the inaugural launch of our first product – DreamBox Learning K-2 Math. After three demanding and determined years, we stand ready to take our first step, not our last, in delivering on our promise so that children can take hold of theirs. We were humbled by the challenge but no less deterred. It was a simple recognition that someone had to; why not us? But as the hard charging and willful team here knows, any far-reaching goal needs to be grounded in bare-knuckled execution and a united ethos. We hope that these are the hallmarks of yours and our journey to success. Lou Gray CEO, DreamBox Learning, Inc.]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/an-inauguration-of-a-different-sort/feed 0 In Pursuit of the Right Kind of Homework http://www.dreambox.com/blog/in-pursuit-of-the-right-kind-of-homework http://www.dreambox.com/blog/in-pursuit-of-the-right-kind-of-homework#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:41:36 +0000 Lou http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=417 failings of homework. For those who want the CliffsNotes, the net is that rote, unimaginative, repetitive, grinding and brutally boring homework doesn’t help. To the contrary, it actually hurts students across several fronts.]]> failings of homework. For those who want the CliffsNotes, the net is that rote, unimaginative, repetitive, grinding and brutally boring homework doesn’t help. To the contrary, it actually hurts students across several fronts. This is not to say that all homework is bad. In fact, of the following varieties of homework, only the first presents the real problem:
    1. Traditional homework (aka busy work).
    2. Supplemental learning.
    3. Longer-term / self-directed projects.
    4. Direct test preparation (not to be confused with yearly WASL-like testing).

    Is Homework Simply a Tradition for Elementary School Kids?

    My oldest son goes to a school with some pretty incredible teachers. They make learning fun and it shows because he LOVES and works hard at school. As is the norm, however, a fair mixture of his homework is lengthy and of the traditional variety. Despite his natural desire to do well, he is already complaining about these homework assignments -- he views them as both a chore and infringement on his family / personal time. My wife and I completely appreciate his position (as does his ever-watchful younger brother). As a 2nd grader, is he already burning out? Will he lose his affinity for school, or worse, learning? Is it worth the household tension it creates? Does it come at the expense of other meaningful activities? Or is it all just an acclimating phase? We really can’t blame the teachers or the administration for providing traditional homework -- they are responding to well-meaning, but otherwise misguided, parents clamoring for more for the sake of more (and, of course, for the varietal of homework these parents received as children).  That said, my wife and I wish his school were able to educate (read: convince) other parents about the homework big picture and how it relates to their child’s education. Until then, school assignments of any variety must get done in our household . . . even though I can always feel the BTUs generating from my wife as she prepares to do battle with my son to get it done on time and with bona fide effort.]]>     http://www.dreambox.com/blog/in-pursuit-of-the-right-kind-of-homework/feed 0     My Husband Says I'm a "Start-up Junkie" http://www.dreambox.com/blog/my-husband-says-im-a-start-up-junkie http://www.dreambox.com/blog/my-husband-says-im-a-start-up-junkie#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:49:02 +0000 Teri http://www.dreambox.com/blog/?p=178 Finally, Kid's Math Concept Learning Technology Catches Up My boys are adults now and I sure wish that we had this technology available to us when they were little and struggling with math concepts. I feel honored to be able to work with a team that will ease that struggle for so many kids. And, I look forward to the days when we expand to other educational topics and my husband will no longer call me a "start-up junkie", because I work for a successful, well-established company that is changing the way kids are learning!]]> http://www.dreambox.com/blog/my-husband-says-im-a-start-up-junkie/feed 0