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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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DreamBox Learning has created a 2021 Grants Guide to support you in the grant-writing process and provide you with a list of available grants. Here, you will find everything you need to know about how you can fund the important education priorities on your list, such as DreamBox Math, through both federal and corporate grants.

Grant Funding Help For DreamBox Math

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

<h2>The role of math over centuries of sailing the seas</h2>&nbsp;Beneath the August sun, lakes and saltwater bays fill with recreational sailboats. Even summer sailors rely on basic geometry to “tack” toward a destination by changing their sail angles in relation to the wind. And this just skims the surface of how math has intersected with sailing since antiquity.Ocean-going vessels today navigate by GPS, which is global positioning by use of satellites. The concept arose in 1973 and was first applied to navigation in 1978.But how did sailors find their way before GPS? Let’s take a look at nautical tools and techniques devised by math ingenuity starting far back in time.BEARING TRIANGULATION The first GPS satellite designs were based on an idea called triangulation. This has ancient origins. In the 6th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Pythagoras discovered a math theorem that became the basis of trigonometry––which enabled substantial advancement in ship navigation. Sailors have long used triangulation to find their location at sea by taking measurements from three remote points, and determining where they are within that triangle.MAGNETIC COMPASS This navigation instrument invented in China around 100 B.C. enabled ships to sail over the horizon without risk of being lost at sea. It has a “travel arrow” that points in the direction you intend to go. A floating metal needle always aligns to the magnetic north pole of the Earth. This type of compass finally found its way to the Mediterranean region of Europe in the late 1200s.CELESTIAL NAVIGATION Polynesians sailing as early as 1200 B.C. were the first to navigate the open ocean––and the first to use celestial navigation. These sailors developed a precise scientific system related to the positions of stars. They navigated as well by observation of ocean currents and swells, wind and cloud patterns, the rise and fall of the sun, daylight colors of the sea and sky, and flight patterns of birds.STAR COMPASS Ancient Polynesians also created a star compass by subdividing the sky into corresponding quadrants. A star rises at a specific point on the horizon. It will then set in the opposite quadrant from where it arose. The early seafarers of the South Pacific were able to measure stellar elevations. They used these measurements to determine their position in relation to distant specific islands.SUN COMPASS The Vikings were medieval master shipbuilders who sailed across the North Atlantic between 900 and 1200 A.D. to oversee their colonies in Iceland and Greenland. They used a highly accurate sundial-like instrument called a sun compass to guide their voyages.DEAD RECKONING When Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain in 1492 he used this process of calculating a ship’s position at sea. Dead reckoning navigation is based on time, direction, distance traveled, and velocity––rather than on celestial bodies.LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE To pinpoint an ocean location, sailors need to know both its latitude and longitude. Latitudes are parallel lines that circle the Earth east/west. Longitude meridians run north/south. Together, they form an invisible grid over the Earth that navigators use as a nautical map.THE SEXTANT In 1730, a British mathematician named Jesse Ramsden invented the sextant, a handheld telescopic instrument that changed the face of European celestial navigation. Mariners used this device to measure the angles of the sun, moon, and horizon. They could then determine latitude. But calculating longitude was more difficult. That required being able to accurately tell time at sea.TIME TELLING AND LONGITUDE In the 17th century, a Dutch mathematician named Christiaan Huygens tried to make a clock navigators could use to find longitude at sea. Toward this end, he invented, amazingly, the first pendulum clock in 1656. Pendulum clocks could indeed keep accurate time on land––but not on a heaving ship’s deck. It would take another hundred years for great math thinkers to finally solve this problem.MARINE CHRONOMETERS In 1761, an English watchmaker named John Harrison invented the marine chronometer. This precision clock kept accurate time on a boat, and sailors could at last determine longitude. They could do this by calculating the difference between the time on their ship and the time at a fixed land position. Navigators today apply spherical trigonometry to measure time and determine longitude.Enjoy this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DlNhbkPiYY">short animation video</a> that summarizes the history of sailing navigation:<a href="https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-does-math-guide-our-ships-at-sea-george-christoph">And here’s one that illustrates logarithms</a>, a calculation method invented in the 1600s that figured powerfully in explorations on the high seas.

Beneath the August sun, lakes and saltwater bays fill with recreational sailboats. Even summer sailors rely on basic geometry to “tack” toward a destination by changing their sail angles in relation to the wind. And this just skims the surface of how math has intersected with sailing since antiquity.

Use Math for Ocean Navigation!

<h2>Seven change-makers and innovators to celebrate today ... and every day!</h2>

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From the invention of the first 3D&nbsp;TV to the first moon-based observatory, African American mathematicians, scientists, and inventors have contributed to our nation&rsquo;s greatness since the time of President George Washington.&nbsp; In honor of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month">Black History Month</a>, we&rsquo;re highlighting the contributions of &nbsp;many African Americans who have changed our world. Check out our&nbsp;&nbsp;timeline of change-makers and innovators who have and are dedicating their lives to math, education, and science.

Want to print this?&nbsp;<a href="http://www-static.dreambox.com/wp-content/uploads/infographics/world-changing-african-americans-infographic.pdf">Click here to download a high-resolution PDF of the infographic.</a>

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From the invention of the first 3D TV to the first moon-based observatory, African American mathematicians, scientists, and inventors have contributed to our nation’s greatness since the time of President George Washington.

African American STEM Leaders You Need to Know (If You Don’t Already)

Getting more women and girls interested in STEM fields is the unfinished business of the 20th century, according to Hillary Clinton. “We must focus on how we can help women and girls break through ceilings that hold them back,” she said in a recent speech at San Jose University. The good news for girl scientists, engineers and mathematicians: they now have female role models and advocates everywhere from Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to the White House. These 10 women are rocking careers in STEM and proving that STEM isn’t just a man’s world after all:<h3>1. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation</h3>

Like mother, like daughter! The former First Daughter has a mission: make STEM careers cool for girls. Clinton frequently travels around the country to host events aimed at getting girls psyched about closing the STEM gender gap. “We’re going to have more than a million jobs created in STEM fields over the next decade,” Clinton said in a recent interview in Teen Vogue, “and the only way we’re going to fill those jobs with the best and brightest is to not leave a gender behind.”<h3>2. Brittany Wenger, Teen Computer Whiz</h3>

When Brittany Wenger was fifteen, her cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years later, the girl computer whiz designed an artificial brain to detect signs of this devastating disease that took home first prize in the 2012 <a href="https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/">Google Science Fair</a>! Today, she is a computer science major at Duke University. Her breast cancer test, which has its own app, is now in beta tests with two cancer research centers.<h3>3. Dr. Jenna Carpenter, Advocate &nbsp;</h3>

Dr. Jenna Carpenter, the&nbsp;Dean for the School of Engineering at <a href="http://www.campbell.edu/engineering/">Campbell University</a> in North Carolina,&nbsp;blows people away with how she&nbsp;encourages&nbsp;girls to study engineering in college! She regularly advises and speaks to schools and businesses about diversity, mentoring, and professional development for women in engineering. Check out Carpenter’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw_9t82qD60">TEDX Talk</a> about how to encourage girls to study math and engineering in college.&nbsp;Girl scientists, engineers and mathematicians now have female role models and advocates everywhere from Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to the White House.&nbsp;<h3>4. Debbie Sterling, Engineer and Toy Inventor</h3>

<a href="http://www.goldieblox.com/">GoldieBlox</a>, the brainchild of Debbie Sterling, has been called “the lady engineer who hopes to unseat the princesses from their toy-store thrones.” This interactive book series and construction set uses an awesome girl inventor who solves everyday problems—like how to help her dog chase his tail—through building simple machines. The idea came to Sterling as an engineering major at Stanford, where she was struck by the lack of women in her program.<h3>5. Mayim Bialik, Neuroscientist and Actress</h3>

<a href="http://www.mayimbialik.net/">Mayim Bialik</a> doesn’t just play a neuroscientist on “The Big Bang Theory.” She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA, taught for several years, wrote a book&nbsp;for parents about the science of hormones, and has given public&nbsp;lectures about the importance of investing in STEM careers and research.&nbsp; “I arrived late to science, actually,” Bialik recently told CNBC. “It wasn’t something I had a natural affinity for, and growing up, I always thought it was for boys.”<h3>6. Dr. Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist at NASA</h3>

According to this renowned <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/offices/ocs/stofan_bio.html">NASA astrobiologist</a>, we may settling other planets in as little as 10 to 20 years! First stop: Mars. More awesome women in STEM at NASA: Deborah Diaz is NASA’s chief technology officer for IT, and Teresa Vanhooser runs one of NASA’s largest facilities in the U.S. responsible for building rockets. ‘”We are here, we are doing amazing science, and we are the role models for the next generation of STEM girls,” says Stofan.<h3>7. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!</h3>

She had 14 job offers after graduating in 1999 with a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University and chose to originally work at Google during a spring break period in which, she told CNN, she made all the decisions she is most proud of. “Those decisions all had two things in common: I always surrounded myself with the smartest people I could find, because they make you think about things harder… And I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow.”<h3>8. Dr. Karen Panetta, Founder of Nerd Girls</h3>

The Tufts University professor of Engineering is known as the “Princess Warrior” of Engineering and Science education. She’s the founder of <a href="http://nerdgirls.com/">Nerd Girls</a>: the global movement which celebrates “smart-girl” individuality in science, technology, engineering and math.<h3>9: Danica McKellar, Mathematician, Actress, Education Advocate</h3>

Who says that math isn’t cool? <a href="http://www.danicamckellar.com/">Danica McKellar</a>, who you may remember from “The Wonder Years” or “The West Wing,” is all about saying loud and proud that she loves math. She’s the author of Kiss my Math, Math Doesn’t Suck, and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape, all math-focused books for girls. “I would love to inspire the next generation of mathematicians and scientists,” McKellar said in a recent interview with NPR. “But my main goal is to give girls the confidence that comes from feeling smart… knowing that they can handle challenges. So whether it be a difficult math problem or something else, they can say, wow, I’m not sure if I can do that, and then they work at it, they persevere and they overcome it.”<h3>10. NASA’s Datanauts: STEM Women on a Mission</h3>

Molecular biologist Jennifer Lopez is leading<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3047618/strong-female-lead/how-nasa-broke-the-gender-barrier-in-stem"> NASA</a> in boldly going where no one at the space agency has gone before: to make sense of the vast amount of data it collects through satellites, telescopes, robots, spacecraft and laboratories, among other means. Lopez spearheaded the founding class of “datanauts,” data scientists who will pioneer new insights from the exponentially growing repository of data that includes technical and scientific datasets, records, reports, simulations, videos, images and other information. The best part: all datanauts are women!

<h2>PLUS! 8 Websites to Inspire Girls to Study STEM</h2>1.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stemwomen.net/">STEM Women</a> Girl Power Factor: This site is chockfull of articles, opinion pieces, and video interviews aimed at “fixing the leaky pipeline” of getting young women into STEM careers. The site and content managers are all women in STEM—and awesome role models. Just one example: Dr. Buddhini Samarasinghe is a molecular biologist working on cancer research, a community moderator for&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101996609942925099701">Science on Google+</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101996609942925099701">Advances in Medicine and Biology</a>, and she is a&nbsp;co-curator for&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+sciencesunday/posts">Science Sunday</a>.

2.<a href="http://www.engineergirl.org/">Engineer Girl</a> Girl Power Factor: This eye-popping collection of interviews, articles and contests was designed, in part, by girls into engineering for girls into engineering. There’s currently an advisory board of 135 girls in 28 states that give input to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Engineer Girl is part of an NAE project to bring national attention to the opportunity that engineering represents to all people at any age, but particularly to women and girls.

3.&nbsp;<a href="http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/">Society of Women Engineers</a> Girl Power Factor: This is the place for young women considering careers in STEM to make their dreams come true. Society of Women Engineers&nbsp;magazine keeps women of all ages interested in engineering fields connected. There are opportunities for scholarships, mentoring, and plenty of inspiration for girls studying engineering.

4.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dreambox.com/blog/stemenist.com">Steminist</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;Where else could you find an interview an astrophysics student, career advice from the CEO and Founder of Pink Petro, and the latest tweets from Girls Who Code and Latinas in STEM—all on the same page? Created in 2010 by software developer Ann Hoang, STEMinist has a goal of increasing the visibility of women in Science, Tech, Engineering and Math.

5.<a href="http://www.mathdoesntsuck.com/">Math Doesn’t Suck</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;Actress and math whiz Danica McKeller proves that math is cool! You may know Danica from “The Wonder Years.” She’s also the author of Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math or Hot X: Algebra Exposed, or Girls Get Curves.

6.&nbsp;<a href="http://girlswhocode.com/">Girls Who Code</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;This site is all about building a sisterhood of girls in grades 6-12 who are all about STEM in general, computer science in specific. Girls Who Code offers a 7-week intensive computer science course at technology companies and universities nationwide, school clubs, and networking opportunities galore.

7.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.millionwomenmentors.org/">Million Women Mentors</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;This inspiring site is all about matching young women in STEM to mentors. MWM has assembled more than 58 partners, 30 sponsors, and 30 state leadership teams that reach more than 30 million girls and women. Over 200,000 pledges to mentor girls and women in STEM have been entered to date!

8.&nbsp;<a href="http://nerdgirls.com/">Nerd Girls</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;We give this website two huge thumbs-up! The mission of Nerd Girl Clubs is “to encourage other girls to change their world through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, while embracing their feminine power.” The first club was the brain-child of Dr. Karen Panetta, a professor at Tufts University, to empower her female engineering students and challenge the stereotypes and myths about women in engineering. Nerd Girl Clubs nationwide have have conducted outreach events to over 85,000 youth, parents, educators and communities!

Getting more women and girls interested in STEM fields is the unfinished business of the 20th century, according to Hillary Clinton.

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

<div>Before joining DreamBox Learning, Wooley-Wilson was President of Blackboard’s K–12 Group where she led the company’s growth for the virtual and blended online learning market. Prior to Blackboard, she was President of LeapFrog SchoolHouse where she established SchoolHouse as a leader in ed-tech and one of the fastest growing educational software producers in the U.S.; Woolley-Wilson also held leadership positions at <a href="http://collegeboard.com/">collegeboard.com</a>, the interactive division of the College Board, and at Kaplan, the leading test preparation company in the U.S.</div><div>As an ed-tech industry leader, she serves on the boards of several educational organizations including the International Association for K–12 Online Learning (iNACOL), Camelot Education, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Locally, she serves on the boards of IslandWood, an environmental learning center that connects children to the outdoors, and Seattle Venture Partners International. Wooley-Wilson has also served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Technology and Education, and has presented at TEDx Rainier, SXSWedu, and DENT. She was awarded the 2015 Executive Excellence Award in the CEO of the Year category by Seattle Business magazine; she was also on the Forbes “Impact 15” list for being a disruptor of education, and was honored as a “Woman of Influence” by Puget Sound Business Journal for making an impact in the ed-tech industry.</div>

One of the biggest challenges facing K-12 educators today is how to engage young women in subjects that will lead to high-paying careers in science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM). According to a recent study, 74 percent of high school girls are interested in STEM subjects, however more than half say that girls their age do not typically consider a career in these fields. Currently, only 25 percent of STEM jobs are filled by females. Meanwhile, jobs in these fields are expected to keep growing into the next decade, with more than 1 million unfilled STEM positions by 2018.

This special report by Jessie Woolley-Wilson addresses how teachers can create a strong foundation for girls to pursue their interest in STEM and overcome barriers, both self-imposed and cultural. You’ll become more aware of the tools for closing the gender gap, including:<h3>Provide Equal Access to STEM Education</h3>There’s no question that providing access to high-quality, engaging STEM education for all students, regardless of gender, race, or economic background, is critical. In fact, President Obama has said that increasing the number of women engaged in STEM fields is critical to our Nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. A recent statement from the White House put it this way: “Jump-starting girls’ interest in STEM subjects, boosting the percentage of scientists and engineers who are women…is not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.”<h3>Inspire Girls with Role Models</h3>Research suggests that the presence of female peers and faculty members increases female retention in STEM majors in college. But a new study at the University of Warwick in England shows that early educational experiences have a quantifiable effect on the math and science classes that students choose in college, and eventually the careers they choose and the wages they earn. &nbsp;The good news is that there are a burgeoning number of organizations actively providing STEM role models and mentors for girls.<h3>Integrate the Arts into STEM Education</h3>Girls are typically more interested in the arts and humanities, partially because of societal gender bias. Weaving the arts into STEM education can be a key to sparking all students’ imagination and involvement, and can demonstrate how they can use STEM skills in the areas of design, performing arts, and creative planning in school and in their professional lives. An integrative approach may also help revive the interest that girls already have, but often fail to pursue.<h3>Eliminate Unconscious Teacher Bias and Change the Status Quo</h3>Research points to the influence of teachers’ unconscious bias toward girls and highlights how very important even a small amount of encouragement can be. The Warwick University study suggests that teachers’ biases favoring boys bolster boys’ confidence and achievements in STEM courses and hold girls back from advanced level math and science classes. The solution lies in surfacing these attitudes and providing anti-gender bias training for preservice and in-service teachers.

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One of the biggest challenges facing K-12 educators today is how to engage young women in subjects that will lead to high-paying careers in science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Learning Resources

Grant Funding Help For DreamBox Math

Grant Funding Help For DreamBox Math

Use Math for Ocean Navigation!

African American STEM Leaders You Need to Know (If You Don’t Already)

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

Closing the STEM Gap for Girls

Use Math for Ocean Navigation!

African American STEM Leaders You Need to Know (If You Don’t Already)

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

Closing the STEM Gap for Girls

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