Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) in Texas is moving management of its special populations to the Web. The district last week signed on with Spectrum K12 School Solutions' Encore system for the move, which will cut roughly in half the number of data entry assistants required to assist with paperwork, moving those assistants into positions where they will be working directly with students, according to RRISD Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Toni Garcia.
North Carolina's Anson County School District has deployed Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord To Reading Series reading intervention software as part of its program to increase literacy among students who are at risk readers.
Practicing writing is typically a slow process. It's time-consuming, and student feedback is often delayed owing to the time it takes teachers to grade each essay for grammar, content, and writing style. In a world of 24/7 advertising, Game Boys and instant messaging, how can teachers motivate middle and high school students to invest their time and energy and actually enjoy practicing writing?
Three large school districts in the United States this semester have deployed Apangea Learning's SmartHelp as a part of their math intervention and remediation programs: District of Columbia Public Schools (Washington, DC), Atlanta Public Schools, and Chicago Public Schools.
Read Naturally has released a new version of its reading software, Read Naturally Software Edition (SE) Network Plus. The new 2.1 version incorporates support for ELL curricula and also adds new licensing options.
San Diego Unified School District in California is hoping to bump student performance in math with the help of a research-based multimedia math curriculum called Cognitive Tutor Bridge to Algebra. The district spent $177,000 on licenses to bring the algebra readiness curriculum to students in 11 of its middle schools.
Don Johnston Inc. (DJI) has expanded its lineup of Solo literacy tools with the release of Solo Writing Coach, an instructional framework targeting struggling learners in grades 3 through 12. Writing Coach is a component of the Solo Literacy Suite, a technology-based reading and writing scaffolding system.
The MIND Research Institute has released supplemental courseware aimed at improving success rates in Algebra I classes. Dubbed ST Math: Algebra Readiness Supplemental, the new title expands MIND's math offerings into the middle school level, building upon the elementary school-focused, foundational math skills-oriented Algebra Readiness.
The Idaho State Board of Education will use Reading Prep and Fast ForWord to Reading 1-5 from Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord to Learning Series, a software package designed for reading intervention. The state had already given the software a road test. In a study conducted during the 2005-2006 school year, 282 students from Idaho's Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 used Fast ForWord software.
AbleNet and SoftTouch have formed a partnership to deliver computer and literacy tools to students with moderate to severe cognitive and physical disabilities. The partnership is designed to build on two of AbleNet's special ed curricula: Star Reporter and MEville to WEville.