Florida District Adopts Online Language Skills Programs

Alachua County Public Schools has adopted a pair of online tools to help improve students' English language skills.

The district is deploying Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant tools to 10 schools with plans to use it in all schools over the next five years.

Fast ForWord is designed "to remediate the underlying difficulties that keep struggling readers and English language learners from making progress," according to information released by Scientific Learning, by working from the bottom up beginning with "cognitive skills like memory, attention and processing speed."

Reading Assistant provides students with extra reading practice and real time feedback via speech recognition. Reading Assistant features automatic counts of words read per minute, comprehension and vocabulary reports and selections for a variety of reading levels and student interests.

"Students' development and mastery of language is critical to their success in school. One of the major factors contributing to underachievement is not having a mastery of language, which not only affects students' reading and writing performance but their performance in other areas as well," said Owen A. Roberts, superintendent of schools at Alachua, in a prepared statement. "What makes the Fast ForWord program different from other language and literacy interventions is that it focuses on cognitive capacity development, rather than content, to address one of the root causes of learning difficulties. These unique learning innovations help students develop their memory, attention, processing and sequencing skills so they can be better users of the language of instruction, allowing them to accelerate their learning."

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.