Dressed for Spring!

Welcome! We're dressed for spring with a new look and a new name. In this newsletter, learn more about our new name and how it impacts our "family". Also in this newsletter, find out about new features and updates as well as about how computer use is tied to education reform.

Featured Article

School Island is now Castle Learning Online

  to

School Island is now Castle Learning Online. Other than our name, nothing else changes. We're still the best study experience around! Current School Island users continue to use their School Island Login IDs and Passwords to sign in. Castle Learning Online's web address (URL) is: castlelearning.com. Although, schoolisland.com will still get you to the correct page for awhile, be sure to adjust your bookmarks to use the new web address.

Attention, School Technology Administrators! Please be sure to address the following:

1. In the near future, our e-mail domain name will be changing "xxx@castlelearning.com". Be sure to add the "castlelearning.com" domain name to your mail server's white list.
    
2. Update your school's web site using the following HTML code if it has a link to the School Island's web-site. This is the correct coding to direct your users to the newly named site:
   
   <!-- ====== start of Castle Learning Online link code ===========
   *****************************************************************
   The following code can be used on your school's web site to
   provide access to the Castle Learning Online web site. Feel free
   to modify the text to fit your requirements. Included is a link
   to the Castle Learning Online logo and a link to the sign-in page
   of the Castle Learning Online web site.
   **************************************************************-->
   <table border="1">
   <tr>
   <td>
   <a href="http://castlelearning.com"><img src="http://castlelearning.com/review/images/logo.gif" title="" alt="Castle Learning Online Web Site" border="0"></a><br><br>
   The Castle Learning Online review web site is available to all students and teachers. <a href="http://castlelearning.com">Click here</a> if you have a Castle Learning Online ID and password. If not, please see your teacher or Castle Learning Online administrator.<br>
   </td>
   </tr>
   </table>
   <!-- ======= end of Castle Learning Online link code ======= -->

If you have any questions or concerns, please call our Sales Department at 1-800-345-7606.

Trends

Computer Use Tied to Education Reform?

In this article, the author outlines some of the major issues in school reform with the hope of creating a better understanding of the connection between technology and educational change. The first major milestone in the current generation of education reform appeared in 1983 with the publication of the report, A Nation at Risk. From low basic comprehension rates to high dropout rates, this report outlined the poor state of affairs within the K-12 environment and became the call to arms for administrators and policy makers. It also ushered in “the first wave of education reform”. The greatest changes from this wave resulted in standardization and legislation of merit pay programs for educators. Despite of vast developments, research now suggests the focus on standardization did little to affect student learning and comprehension (Fuhrman et al, 1988; Fuhrman and Elmore, 1990; Clune, 1989, Schwille et al, 1988, McCarthy, 1990). Further, changes in professionalism and administration did not always trickle down to effective implementation of education strategy. With teaching guidelines more complex and less coherent, the next wave of reform meant tackling bureaucracy; not only in the administrative structure, but also in curricular planning, assessment, and teacher empowerment.

Early in the reform movement, many educators became interested in new education theories, which offered new insights into the way students learn and retain knowledge. In fact, some of these theories (such as constructivism and multiple intelligence) continue to grow in popularity even today. Application of these new theories, however, did not always go smoothly. One of the biggest complaints about the American education system has been its top-down approach, with policymakers at the federal level attempting to dictate education policy at the state and local levels. These complaints gave rise to a broad grass-roots coalition of concerned parents and politicians who pushed for more local control. This bottom-up approach to learning solidified a family of policy concepts such as Site-Based Management (SBM) and teacher professionalization, which allowed schools and teachers to assert more control over education management decisions. Breaking away from the traditional state-run system, non-profit charter schools and for-profit education management organizations offered students an alternative to public school learning environments. Through school choice, parents have the option of taking their students out of poorly run schools and placing them into other institutions. In addition, an increasing number of families are choosing to reject classrooms altogether and adopting homeschooling. With each attempt at taking charge of school reform, there has been an increase in calls for accountability. Determining how to assess accountability and identifying who is accountable for failing students are far from cut and dry.

How does technology fit into the scheme of revolutionizing education? Computers provide assistance in accomplishing numerous reform goals. Structurally, computer networking creates an unprecedented professional bond between teachers and administrators. While traditional classrooms have teachers instructing, assessing, and remediating children with limited contact with other teachers, networking allows teachers to exchange lesson plans and advice as well as debate instructional methodologies all school year, rather than just at annual conferences. In many respects, the Internet has created an electronic fraternity among educators.

In terms of instruction, computers have become an invaluable collaboration tool for learning and assessment. In addition, word-processing programs allow students to become independent publishers of ideas and opinions while e-mail provides opportunities for "peer review" and group editing. Use of interactive multimedia packages offer true inquiry-based learning, requiring students to construct and demonstrate solutions to a variety of in-class projects. Technology in the classroom aids education reform by enhancing, not replacing, the teacher’s role. More specifically, computers are an effective teaching tool assisting the educator. Further, use of educational software provides students with individualized learning and allows them to progress on a subject at their own paces. Students who begin to fall behind then receive proper interpersonal attention from their teacher. Most of all, computer use allows teachers to focus their attention on interacting with their students and individualized assistance. Since computers have proven to be a successful tool of reform-minded schools and educators, they are now inextricably linked to the education reform movement itself.

Source: Trends in Education Reform (http://www.edwebproject.org/edref.html).

Statistics & Surveys

Computer Use in the Classroom

 With its increased availability in the classroom, connection to the Internet, and ability to provide instruction in alternate formats, computers in addition to other technologies are now prime classroom tools.

Computer Availability and Use

• The ratio of students to computers is 5 to 1; up from 6 to 1 in 1999
• 99% of schools have computers
• 66% of teachers use computers for classroom instruction

School Internet Access

• The ratio of students to computers with Internet access is 7 to 1; up from 9 to 1 in 1999
• 98% of schools now have access to the Internet in their building

Teacher Use of the Internet

• 59% have Internet access at home
• 39% of teachers with access to computers + Internet use them to create instructional materials and administrative record keeping
• 68% of teachers use the Internet to find information resources for use in their lessons (equal home + school use)
  • 28% do this on a weekly basis
  • 30% expect students to use the Internet for information gathering ("web searches")
• 66% use it for class time instruction

Source: Statistics: Classroom Computer Us (http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Populations/UDesign/stats.php).

From the Mailbag

Question

If one of my students should happen to forget his or her password, what can I do to help them?

Answer

Teachers can clear the passwords for students enrolled in one of their classes. Here's how:

1. Sign into your Teacher account.
2. Click the Classes link on the Teacher Home page.
3. Locate the class in which the student is enrolled and click its name.
4. Locate the student's name in the list of students on the Class Management tab (the first tab) of the Class Details page.
5. Click the red X in the row for that student to clear the password and confirm this action. When the student next logs in, they will be prompted to set a new password by doing the following:

1. Go to www.CastleLearning.com.
2. Type in the ID at the prompt in the sign-in area.
3. Skip the password field.
4. Click the Sign-In button.
5. Follow the steps to choose a password.

Note: Remind students to sign in and set a new password immediately to protect their accounts. Also, from the Student Home page under Other Options, students may click the Profile link to enter an e-mail address. The next time the student forgets his/her ID or password, s/he can make use of the Forget link on the Sign-In page to have this information e-mailed.

Question

I give my assignments with Open From...To dates. Is there a way for a student to check her grades on these assignments after she is done with them?

Answer

When using Open From...To, students can only work on an assignment during the date range. Once the assignment is complete, the student no longer receives an alert for the assignment. However, even after the To date, the student can still see the assignment score and view their report. Let's say that the assignment is in Chemistry. Have the student:

1. Look below the Classes area to the Courses area on the Student Home page.
2. Choose Chemistry from the drop-down list for Science.
3. Click Short Answer Review link on the Activities for Chemistry page.
4. Click Assignments from your Teacher link on the Short Answer Review for Chemistry page.
5. Locate the assignment in the table and note the score on the Assignments for Chemistry page.
6. Click the Report icon to view a full student report on this assignment or print out a vocabulary study sheet.

 Note: If the student clicks the assignment date, s/he will not be able to see the actual assignment after the To date is past. However, as a Teacher, you can alter the assignment mode at any time for an individual student. You might consider changing the mode to Review a Quiz for any student who has completed the assignment. S/he won't be able to alter her choices, but she will be able to review the work.

Question

How can I include graphics in my personal content sets?

Answer

The editor in Castle Learning Online's Personal Content Sets allows you to insert graphics into the Question, Hint, or Reason areas of Short Answer content, or into the definition area of Vocabulary content. Remember, you are essentially building a web page, so you cannot simply copy and paste a graphic into the editing areas. First create and save the graphic, then upload it. Here's how:

1. Create the graphic and save it as a .gif or .jpg file locally on your hard drive with an appropriate file name.
2. Click Personal Content Sets from the Teacher Home page.
3. Open an existing short-answer or vocabulary set, or create a new set.
4. Click Add a Question/Vocabulary Item or Edit Question/Vocabulary link
5. Click to set the cursor into the exact location of the editing area where you want to insert the graphic.
6. Click the Insert/Edit Image () icon located in the middle of the second row of editing controls.
7. Click Browse Server in the Image Properties pop-up window.
8. Click Your Images in the Image Gallery window.
9. Click Upload Image Files.
10. Use Browse Server to locate the saved graphic on your hard drive.
11. Click Upload.
12. Close the window after the file has been uploaded. The Image Gallery page refreshes and now shows your newly uploaded equation graphic.
13. Click on its name. Castle Learning returns to the Image Properties window.
14. Adjust any other properties such as borders or alignment.
15. Click OK when you're done. You will now see the graphic at the cursor in the editing area.

This may sound complicated, but after walking through the steps a few times, you should become more comfortable with the process. Online Help is also available for assistance.

Testing

End of the year testing is around the corner for most students.  Castle Learning Online (formerly School Island) provides a perfect tool for students to prepare for upcoming exams through review sessions assigned by their teachers or independent generated by themselves.  Make students aware of their access to Castle Learning Online and encourage use for state testing review.

Summer School

Castle Learning Online is a superb tool for districts and/or schools offering school summer programs. Teachers and students will have full access for use in the classroom or at-home activities over the summer.

We Value Your Feedback!

As a member of the Castle Learning Online family, this is your newsletter. If you have any comments, ideas for future newsletter articles, or suggestions for a Castle Learning Online product feature or enhancement, please send them to support@castlelearning.com. We would love to hear from you!