Yuma District Plans Massive Personalized Learning Campaign
Following the successful passage of a $4.8-million
bond issue
in November, the Yuma
Elementary School District 1 in Yuma, AZ, is planning a
personalized learning program that the district hopes will enhance
educational
opportunities for all of its 9,000 K-8 students.
Working with
Education Elements, a company that is helping the
Yuma district plan how to spend the money it now has available for
technology,
the district has a number of programs it is beginning to implement:
- Straight
Curve
Math focuses on math concepts for K-6 students;
- Education
City
is
a Web-based intervention tool aligned with state
and Common Core standards in pre-K through sixth-grade language arts,
math,
science and ESL;
- Reading
Eggs
provides online
reading
games and activities tied to the five pillars of reading instruction:
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension;
- Reading
Eggspress is intended to
improve spelling skills and build reading comprehension;
- LearnZillion
is an individualized set of lessons all aligned
with the Common Core State Standards;
- Learning
A-Z
is
a set of downloadable reading, writing,
science and vocabulary resources;
- RAZ
Kids
delivers
interactive, leveled e-books and quizzes
spanning 27 levels of difficulty, covering a wide range of subjects;
- LiveBinders
allows
teachers and students to organize digital
content and provides new opportunities for collaborating and sharing; and
- Edmodo
is an educational Web site that takes the ideas of
a social network and filters them and makes it appropriate for the
educational
setting.
"Our
initiative for personalized learning will be the catalyst that catapults
our
student learning to a whole new level," said District Superintendent
Darwin
Stiffler. "Personalized learning will marshal increased student
engagement,
bolster differentiated instruction and foster an environment of
increased
communication between students, educators and parents."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.