DreamBox Learning to Share Insights on Using Virtual Manipulatives to Integrate Math Technology into the Classroom at FETC Show

Panel Session to Spark Discussion on Use of Virtual Manipulatives to Support the Development of Number Sense for Elementary Students; Survey Points to Math Taking a Back Seat to Literacy

BELLEVUE, WA, January 12, 2010 — DreamBox Learning, an award-winning educational software company, today announced that Mickelle Weary, a member of its Academic Team and a National Board Certified Teacher, will lead a panel session titled “Using Virtual Manipulatives to Support the Development of Number Sense,” this week at FETC, an educational technology conference, being held in Orlando, Florida on January 12 -15, 2010.

Tying into one of the conference’s main themes of integrating technology into the classroom, participants in Ms. Weary’s session will share views and ideas about the value of using virtual manipulatives for teaching number sense concepts and skills as well as how to use and evaluate virtual math manipulatives in a classroom setting. In addition, a variety of Web-based tools that DreamBox Learning has developed for teachers and their young math students will be showcased. The session will be held on Thursday, January 14 at 3:10 p.m. in room W304D.

DreamBox Learning also invites attendees to visit its FETC Exhibition Hall Booth, #1305, throughout the show for more information and a demo of its award-winning product, DreamBox Learning K-2 Math. Conference goers who stop by will be eligible to enter a random drawing to win a free six-month classroom subscription, enabling each student in the class to engage in an individualized, fun and effective learning experience, using virtual manipulatives to develop conceptual understanding and computational fluency.

“DreamBox Learning has made enormous strides in its first year, with students in schools and at home learning math concepts with our online products,” said Sarah Daniels, Vice President of Marketing for DreamBox Learning. “Our innovative approach — using virtual manipulatives and a highly adaptive technology to individualize the instruction based on each student’s interaction with the manipulatives — ensures that students are successfully grasping critically important math skills, and we are very excited to share and build upon our knowledge and experience with other educators and technologists at the FETC show.”

DreamBox Learning Survey on Parents’ Attitudes Toward Math Education

Further supporting the need for increased math-based technology in the classroom, DreamBox Learning released results from a survey it conducted in November/December 2009 of more than 500 parents of DreamBox Learning users regarding their attitude toward math education. Findings showed that while parents place high value on a quality math education for their kids, they actually don’t spend enough time on supplemental math activities in the home. Further, at least 50 percent of the respondents felt that schools don’t provide differentiated math instruction in the classroom, whereas 72 percent felt that their children benefitted from differentiated literacy instruction. This data underscores the importance and value of DreamBox Learning and its online math products, which can play a crucial role in getting students engaged in the subject at an early age. To that end, initial effectiveness studies of second graders using DreamBox Learning K-2 Math showed that after only eight hours of use, students’ paper and pencil math test scores increased by an average of 19 percent. Survey results can be found at www.dreambox.com/parentsurvey.

About DreamBox Learning K-2 Math Products

The award-winning, home-based DreamBox Learning K-2 Math product is based on national math curriculum standards and presented through fun, adventure-based stories designed to keep kids in kindergarten through second grade engaged and excited about learning math. The DreamBox Math Classroom is a version of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math designed specifically for teachers to use in a classroom setting. Additionally, the company offers DreamBox Teacher Tools, a set of four groups of virtual manipulatives and a broad series of math lessons that teachers can access free of charge.

The DreamBox Learning math programs have secured widespread appeal, with over 30,000 users in homes and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Further recognition of DreamBox Learning’s efforts are evidenced by its 18 top technology, education and parenting awards including: AEP 2009 Golden Lamp; AEP 2009 Distinguished Achievement award; Parents’ Choice Gold; Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice; Tech & Learning Award of Excellence; National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; NAPPA Gold; and Dr. Toy Best Products Award.

For more information about DreamBox Learning K-2 Math and to sign up for a free 30 day classroom trial, go to http://www.dreambox.com/teachers. Additionally, to keep up on what‘s happening at FETC as well as what is on the horizon for DreamBox Learning, follow the company and its team on Twitter @DreamBox_Learn.

About DreamBox Learning (http://www.dreambox.com)

DreamBox Learning was founded in 2006 in Bellevue, Washington by world-class technologists, educators, interactive entertainment experts, and entrepreneurs who share a collective vision that every student should have access to an individually tailored, learning experience that is engaging, motivating, and effective. Backed by $7.1 million in angel funding, the company developed a web-based platform for creating effective and individualized online learning products and launched its first adventure-themed product for the home market called DreamBox Learning K-2 Math in early 2009. Both the home-based product and the school-based version, DreamBox Math Classroom, target young students in kindergarten through second grade and are designed to reinforce and teach real math through effective, individualized instruction in an engaging and fun manner. DreamBox Learning K-2 Math is based on NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) recommended math curriculum. Pearson Canada is the exclusive distributor of DreamBox Learning Math Classroom throughout Canada. More information can be found at http://www.dreambox.com.

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