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How can ease of use make your technology solutions more effective and faster? 

As school principals navigate the ever-evolving landscape for technology solutions, learning software, and churning priorities, it is crucial to consider the ease of use of implementation. In this resource, you’ll discover five reasons education leaders should prioritize a seamless and effective solution that can support students and staff quickly.

Top 5 Reasons to Prioritize Ease of Use for Technology Learning

We’re excited to introduce Kerry, Manager of Curriculum Design, Reading Plus.  

DreamBox Learning is not only unique for its ability to support educators and drive student learning.  It’s also unique because our team includes diverse, passionate, and bright individuals who care about transforming the way the world learns.  

For us, it’s important to capture their stories and share what makes them special. We celebrate the people at DreamBox who bring ideas to life, make the impossible possible, and empower their teams to do well to do good.  

Please meet our colleague and friend, Kerry.

The DreamBox Difference: Our Team - Kerry

We are thrilled to introduce our special guest writer, Dr. Kristin Gehsmann. Dr. Gehsmann serves on the DreamBox advisory board, is the recent Director of the Virginia Tech School of Education, and is the author of Teaching Reading and Writing: The Developmental Approach (PreK-8). In this insightful article, Dr. Gehsmann discusses how educators can make the most informed decisions about new science of reading research and provides some wonderful tips and resources for finding peer-reviewed research.

Expert Science of Reading Advice from Dr. Kristin Gehsmann, Ed.D.

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<div>DreamBox Learning marketing team.</div>

The world has changed substantially in the last 100 years, and education needs to change as well to ensure our children are fully prepared for a world we could hardly imagine when we were growing up. “One-size-fits-all” education may have been sufficient years ago. It’s not now. &nbsp;Today, a &nbsp;<a href="http://www.dreambox.com/personalized-learning">personalized learning</a>&nbsp;approach that uses technology in the classroom to pace instruction&nbsp;to match&nbsp;students’ needs and tailor learning to their&nbsp;interests works—for both learners and teachers. &nbsp;Higher student engagementRather than passively receiving and reiterating information, students in <a href="http://www.dreambox.com/blog/category/21st-century-math-skills">21st century</a> personalized learning environments take an active role in their education and contribute to their own learning. They can work with teachers to set learning goals for themselves, and are able to work toward them through&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dreambox.com/blended-learning">blended learning</a>, combining face-to-face interaction with their teacher and the use of education technology.Technology also gives students the opportunity to independently seek out resources beyond those that are offered at school. Fifteen percent of students in Grades 6 through 12 said they have either informally tutored other students online or found an expert to help them with their own questions. While collaboration is nothing new in American schools, the expanded use of technology brings it to an entirely new levelBetter time allocation for teachersThe “sage on the stage” is being replaced by “the guide on the side”—and that’s a good thing. &nbsp;Education technology can take over the task of primary instruction, allowing teachers to act as guides and facilitators of learning rather than lecturers. The fusing of technology and education not only allows teachers to foster a more collaborative environment, but also cultivates student engagement. In fact, interest jumps 27 percent in student- and teacher-driven classrooms that utilize technology.The infographic, How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students, shows how the personalized learning model boosts engagement, achievement, and helps both students and teachers optimize their educational efforts for greater success.Share it!

The world has changed substantially in the last 100 years, and education needs to change as well to ensure our children are fully prepared for a world we could hardly imagine when we were growing up. “One-size-fits-all” education may have been sufficient years ago. It’s not now.

How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students

<div>DreamBox Learning marketing team.</div><div> </div>

In an age of constrained budgets and overworked teachers, <a href="http://www.dreambox.com/adaptive-learning-overview">adaptive learning</a> is bringing a spark back into the classroom and completely innovating the way education is approached.The difference is made when instructional content and methods are customized to individual students to guide/facilitate learning and mastering of new concepts. This new learning style is data-driven, and takes a non-linear approach to instruction. It’s able to track student progress as it teaches, adjusting its instruction accordingly and providing teachers with important data that will help them be more effective educators.The 6 Key Benefits of Adaptive Learning:

1. Faster and higher quality student progression For teachers dealing with ever-expanding class sizes, it may seem like there are never enough hours in the day to give all of their students the individualized attention that they need. Having more students in the classroom means instructing an even wider spectrum of academic knowledge and skills, and it can be difficult to find the time to write curricula that is broad enough to address the needs of each student, let alone check in with every pupil to make sure he or she is truly understanding the lesson. With adaptive learning, teachers can use the time students spend with the computer software to address their needs one-on-one or in a small group setting.

2. Adapts to different abilities One of the most important education innovations that has come from adaptive learning is the ability to immediately change instruction based upon a student’s knowledge. As each student works with the program, the technology will pick up on what he or she is mastering or still struggling with and adjust instruction in real-time. In this way, learning is optimized because the adaptive learning program can change its approach on an individual level to make sure students are mastering concepts before moving on to more difficult material.

3. Improves understanding When teachers are standing in front of a classroom, it can be difficult to know whether the students really ‘get it.’ With adaptive learning, the method and pace of instruction is customized for each individual student, which could improve their chances of truly understanding new academic concepts.

4. Engages students Many K-12 students today are ‘digital natives,’ meaning the technologies that are so commonplace today have always been a part of their lives. As a result, they are particularly tech savvy, and may become more engaged in their lessons if given the chance to spend part of class time on the computer using adaptive learning programs.

5. Allows students to work at different paces Think back to when you were in elementary school and most classrooms were constructed in the same way: The teacher stood up at the front, lecturing about new material, while students of varying academic abilities sat in rows of desks and attempted to digest everything all at once. When instruction is constructed in this way, all students are expected to learn at the same pace, even if they shine in different subject areas. This makes it difficult for teachers to give struggling learners the extra time they need while simultaneously challenging high-achievers and gifted students. With adaptive learning technology, students’ answers are analyzed in real time and the software adjusts instruction accordingly. In this way, kids are able to work at different paces and achieve the best possible academic outcomes.

6. Frees up time for one-on-one instruction Speaking of blended learning, when adaptive learning programs are implemented in this way they are able to free up time for teachers to give students one-on-one instruction. Not only does adaptive learning software customize the presentation and pace of new material, but it also constantly monitors and analyzes students responses, giving teachers access to invaluable data. This data gives teachers insight into whether or not students are truly grasping new concepts, and whether particular kids in their classrooms could benefit from one-on-one instruction. This individual attention can take place while other students are working with computers, or through the implementation of a rotational model of blended learning.

Was this article helpful to you? Check out our related white paper, <a href="http://www.dreambox.com/white-papers/dreambox_adaptive_learning_for_math_proficiency">How Adaptive Learning Technology Helps ALL Students Excel in Math</a>.

In an age of constrained budgets and overworked teachers, adaptive learning is bringing a spark back into the classroom and completely innovating the way education is approached.

Six key benefits of adaptive learning

While student success largely relies on factors like study habits, school attendance, test-taking abilities and more, research is showing that parental involvement also has a large impact on student achievement in the classroom. In fact, according to the Academic Development Institute, parents who get involved with their <a href="http://www.adi.org/journal/ss01/chapters/Chapter16-Hara&amp;Burke.pdf">child's education</a> tend to&nbsp;demonstrate good parenting skills, volunteer their time in the school, communicate with faculty and take an active role in school-related decision-making.The Harvard Family Research Project concluded that parental involvement is associated with <a href="http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-meta-analysis">higher student achievement</a>. They found that student success was higher in a variety of areas including standardized test scores, grades and teacher ratings. Students are also more likely to enroll in higher-level programs, pass their classes, attend school regularly, have better social skills and move onto post-secondary education. The types of parental involvement that had the greatest impact on student success were reading and communicating with one's child, as well as holding parental expectations.How to get parents involved in educationCommunicate regularly It's important to keep a clear line of communication with parents regarding their child's progress. If parents don't know how their child is doing, they may be less likely to get involved. According to IowaParents.org, teachers who regularly communicate with parents generally see a positive effect on <a href="http://www.iowaparents.org/files/involvingparentmshstch.pdf">students' test scores</a>. Send home weekly newsletters with the students that share&nbsp;information regarding classroom success, what the students are working on and&nbsp;contact information&nbsp;for teachers and the school.Provide volunteer opportunities This could range from offering parents the opportunity to come visit their child's school to finding ways to get them to help out, whether&nbsp;in the classroom or on a school field trip.Interactive homework assignments Create homework assignments that are going to bring parent and child together. This could involve a worksheet asking parents to describe their child's work&nbsp;or to share their&nbsp;understanding of educational&nbsp;concepts. According to the Center for Public Education, teachers who involve parents in school work saw a <a href="http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Parent-Involvement/Parent-Involvement.html">boost in student scores</a> in both writing and science.Teachers and parents alike are seeing success with blended learning approaches that can be incorporated both in and out of the classroom. Encourage parents to create a home environment that&nbsp;promotes learning and reinforces what is being taught at school. This may help students to foster the life skills they need to carry with them outside of the classroom.

...school, communicate with faculty and take an active role in school-related decision-making. The Harvard Family Research Project concluded that parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement. They found that...

How parental involvement affects student achievement

As we get closer to launching DreamBox Learning’s first product, an online adventure game that teaches serious math, and we see more and more kids in beta testing, we’re realizing how many advantages there are to online learning games. In the classroom children get the very real benefit of interacting with their teacher and with other students. Online learning has distinct advantages too. That’s because online teaching can be tailored to individual students in a number of important ways.&nbsp;<h2>The 8 Benefits of Online Learning</h2>&nbsp;<ol><li>Online learning is self-paced. Students can slow down when they’re learning a new concept or they want extra practice time, and they can speed up when they’re comfortable with a topic or have mastered it. &nbsp;</li><li>Sophisticated online education products can offer self-selected learning. The curricula in traditional or older web-based products are designed in a linear fashion and don’t allow students to make choices within the curriculum. A new generation of sophisticated online education games can enable children to skip topics they already know and focus on material they’re ready to learn. They deliver the right level of education for the user. &nbsp;</li><li>Self-directed learning games encourage engagement. When students can choose the content they’re interested in, they gain ownership of their experience. They can take their time and explore as much as they want. In a well-designed experience, they can choose which tools they’re most comfortable using, helping them learn and develop proficiency. Children are more actively engaged because they make their own choices. &nbsp;</li><li>Online education can support a range of learning styles. Online learning can accommodate a wide range of learning styles and use a variety of methods geared to different learners. Whether they learn in a more or less linear way, whether they learn visually or verbally, or whether they learn by doing, every student has a unique learning style. If you want to know more about this, <a href="http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/id/learningStyles.asp">here’s a good page about how online learning can meet the styles of different learners</a>. There’s even a link to find your own learning style! &nbsp;</li><li>Advanced online tools can provide real-time assessment. The most advanced online learning tools provide ongoing, real-time assessment of students’ progress. They can tailor the learning experience (e.g. vary the number or nature of lessons based on the user’s accuracy), and provide progress feedback. Regular assessment is critical to keeping a student challenged at just the right level – not overwhelmed by material that’s too advanced or bored by topics that the child already knows. &nbsp;</li><li>With an internet connection, there are no geographical barriers. The educational resources are available anywhere, so children can study at home or even while away from home. &nbsp;</li><li>Learning happens when it’s most convenient. Some kids like to jump online for 15 minutes before school. For other families it makes sense for children to do online activities during dinner preparation. Children can learn at a time that best fits their own needs and their family’s schedule, any day of the week. &nbsp;</li><li>Online learning enhances computer and Internet proficiency. Online skills like accessing information, communication, and collaboration are necessary for learning and succeeding, not just in school but in life.</li></ol>&nbsp;<h2>How DreamBox Math Lesson Games Do the Most to Help Kids with Different Learning Needs</h2>&nbsp;At DreamBox, we put student-centered teaching principles at the core of our online math learning games. More than any other product, DreamBox Learning K-2 Math offers differentiated learning. All aspects of the lessons are adapted to the needs of each individual child, including the:

This user-centered experience, combined with the convenience of online learning, offers an effective supplement to classroom education.&nbsp;Every day at DreamBox we are reminded how difficult it is to provide the right educational balance for young children. How do we make online math games for kids that are truly educational but also fun? How much choice should a child have within the learning framework? By digging deeper for the answers to questions like these we are revolutionizing online learning, creating a completely individualized, engaging, and effective learning experience.

In the classroom children get the very real benefit of interacting with their teacher and with other students. Online learning has distinct advantages too. That’s because online teaching can be tailored to individual students in a number of important ways.

Learning Resources

How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students

How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students

Six key benefits of adaptive learning

How parental involvement affects student achievement

8 Ways Online Learning Really Benefits Kids (and Parents)

Six key benefits of adaptive learning

How parental involvement affects student achievement

8 Ways Online Learning Really Benefits Kids (and Parents)

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