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Enter the Fortress of Solid Learning
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June 2009, Vol 8, Issue 10
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White Paper Series Introduced by 'Bill the Bard'
Greetings,
We had some fun with "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" on April 23rd. It might be a little tease to the great author, but behind our fun, we are a serious team bringing the best to help you achieve your education goals for children.
So let the word go forth ... announcing the publication of the Castle Learning Online "White Papers." We educators deal with fundamental educational principles that guide our teaching every day. As a retired educator who has met you in the field and shared experiences with you, I have introduced a series of "White Papers," each designed to focus on a key issue engaging the educator and the education community we, at Castle Learning, serve. It is our goal to partner with our readers as they meet the challenges they face.
Please visit http://castlesoftware.com/home/white_papers.html and click to any White Paper topic that interests you.
Professor Bill or 'Bill the Bard'
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New Features
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The Glass Menagerie
A new unit has been added to the English course, called "Literature: The Glass Menagerie," based on the critically acclaimed one-act play by Tennessee Williams, first staged in 1944. This is the tenth set in a series of literature short answer questions. The unit contains seven sections, corresponding to the seven scenes of the play. Questions focus on plot points, character development, imagery, symbolism, and vocabulary.
The Glass Menagerie was the first successful play by Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) who went on to become one of America's best regarded playwrights. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times-for A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
23 New Reading Sets Update Intermediate English
The Intermediate English course has been updated with 23 new reading sets in a variety of genres. The new offerings include two Poetry sets; two Informational Prose sets; five Prose & Short Stories; three Information & Chart; five Biographies; and eight Myths, Legends & Folktales. Story lines and topics are appealing to middle school and junior high students. Questions cover a variety of reading skills, with particular emphasis on vocabulary in context and literary terms.
Link Personal Content to State Standard
Personal Content Set short answer questions can be linked to a specific state standard. These are reflected in the Assignment Cumulative Report, which shows a breakdown by state standard for the uncategorized PCS questions.
To specify a standard:
- Open a Short Answer Personal Content Set
- Add or edit a question
- At the bottom of the edit window, check the Select Related Standard checkbox and specify a state course and a related standard from the dropdown selection items.
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IN THIS ISSUE
New Features
The Glass Menagerie, Intermediate Reading Sets, and Linking Your
Personal Content Sets
to State Standards
'End of Year' Notes
Special Notes for End of School, Summer School, and Enrollment for
the New Year
White Paper No. 1
Sample the new White Paper series with
Formative Assessment
and
Castle Learning Online
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Thank You For Reading Our Newsletter
Next Issue
September ISSUE
Coming Sept. 1, 2009
Email Your Monthly Mailbag Questions to support@castlelearning.com
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End of Year Notes
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Important Information for Castle Learning Online Administrators from Castle Learning Online Technical Support
End of School Year Account Management Procedures
As the 2008-2009 school year draws to a close, the Castle Learning Online team would like to thank you for being part of the Castle Learning Online family! If you have not already renewed your Castle Learning Online subscriptions for 2009-2010, please contact your Sales Representative about your order, or call 1-800-345-7606 ext 1.
During the summer, we will be performing standard account management procedures, which are necessary to prepare for the new school year. Session and account data for the "old" school year must make way for the "new." If you feel that this procedure does not meet the needs of your school, please contact Castle Learning Online Technical Support at support@CastleLearning.com or 1-800-345-7606 ext 2 to make other arrangements.
Special Note to Summer School Users
For most customers, the terms of the licensing agreement allow you to use Castle Learning Online for summer school. Please contact Castle Learning Online Technical Support at support@CastleLearning.com or 1-800-345-7606 ext 2 if you need to transfer student or teacher accounts, or to accommodate other special summer school situations.
Note: Students will have access to their summer assignments until August 25, 2009, before the new school year begins. Teachers, however, will be able to view assignment reports for the summer assignments.
Managing End of Year Reports
At the end of June, Castle Learning Online will generate end of year reports, which summarize the course usage for the 2008-2009 school year. These reports will be archived and posted on the Student Usage Report page, which is accessible to Administrator account holders.
Deactivating "Old" Student Accounts
On August 25, 2009, all student accounts will expire. Students attempting to sign into Castle Learning Online will receive a message that their accounts have expired.
Teacher and Administrator accounts will remain active. Teachers will be able to create new assignments. However, teachers will not be able to add students to classes or make assignments to classes or students until new student accounts have been enrolled.
Enrollment of Student Accounts for the New School Year
As soon as you have student data available, we can begin the enrollment process in which new student accounts are created for the 2009-2010 school year. Castle Learning Online generates student account IDs based on a pre-assigned prefix for your school and the student name. Create a Microsoft Excel file with labeled with the following columns and send it to Castle Learning Online Technical Support (support@CastleLearning.com):
- Column 1: Last name
- Column 2: First name
- Column 3: Preferred Castle Learning Online ID (optional).
- Note: Some schools prefer to base their Castle Learning Online IDs on their network IDs or other unique identification information. If this data is omitted, then Castle Learning Online will automatically generate IDs based on a prefix for your school and the students' names.
- Column 4: Grade or year of graduation.
- Note: Many schools find this field convenient for sorting downloaded report data.
- Column 5: Unique school-issued identification number to provide account management flexibility and interfacing with your school's information system.
For districts with multiple schools, please use a separate file for students and teachers (see below) at each school. Castle Learning Online Technical Support will create the accounts and notify you by e-mail when it has been completed. You will be responsible for distributing the Castle Learning Online IDs to your students.
Note: Once the student accounts for 2009-2010 are enrolled, all student accounts will then be active. Students will be able to sign into Castle Learning Online and access their assignments. Teachers will be able to delete old classes, organize new classes and make assignments to students/classes.
Updating Teacher Accounts
Returning teachers will most likely want to keep the same account IDs and carry over assignments that they created during the previous school year. However, retirements, departures, transfers, and new hires also necessitate some teacher account maintenance. At the beginning of the new school year, sign into your Castle Learning Online Administrator account; go to the Accounts page; and manually deactivate each teacher account no longer needed. Create any new teacher accounts as needed from the Accounts page.
If the number of new teachers is large, send us a Microsoft Excel file with teacher first and last names in separate columns. For districts with multiple schools, please use a separate file for students and teachers at each school. Castle Learning Online Technical Support will create the accounts and notify you by e-mail when it has been completed. You will be responsible for distributing the Castle Learning Online IDs to your teachers.
Note: Clearly mark this file as being teacher names rather than student names so that we will create the correct type of accounts.
If you have any questions or concerns about the end of year procedures, please contact Castle Learning Online Technical Support at support@CastleLearning.com or 1-800-345-7606 Ext 2.
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White Paper No. 1
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Formative Assessment & Castle Learning Online
Prepared by Bill Ingui
President and Retired Educator
The efforts of state education agencies and local school districts to ensure that all students meet academic proficiency goals and all schools make adequate yearly progress in closing the achievement gap have led to an increased focus on "formative assessment." Formative assessment has recently emerged as one of the more promising strategies for improving student learning. (NYSDOE, 2008)
In the effort to demystify formative assessment, researchers have explained how the term should and should not be used. First, it is not simply testing at periodic intervals, such as twice each year or even once each week. Instead, researchers define formative assessment as a shift in classroom teaching and student learning, using research-based instructional procedures to increase student academic performance.
In order to improve this instruction, the teacher uses any tool that can provide feedback that will direct his/her lessons or adjust daily teaching methods in order to improve student achievement. Formative assessment is therefore not an "event," but a "process" that is embedded in instruction to redirect teaching and learning in ways that help students master learning goals. (Attributes of Effective Formative Assessment, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, DC, 2008) States including Pennsylvania and New York have adopted the CCSSO definition of formative assessment.
Castle Learning Online directly addresses the formative assessment model. As a Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM), Castle Learning Online provides a web-based review, testing, and assessment tool for teachers, students and their parents. By using Castle Learning, with its extensive database of questions, hints, defined vocabulary and reasons, teachers can provide assignments that are current and can gain week-by-week information on the progress students are making toward learning the content for the academic year. As a result, teachers can monitor the success of the instruction students receive. If a child's performance is not meeting expectations, the teacher can adopt new or different ways of teaching or provide remedial assignments to contribute to that student's ultimate success in meeting academic goals.
Educators shared these first-hand experiences about their use of Castle Learning.
- One educator wrote, "It allows me to view student weaknesses, as well as trends of weakness for an entire class, allowing me to self-check my own effectiveness."
- Another educator wrote that "it allows me to instantly (in less than 24 hours) see if students understand the lesson."
- Finally, a Chemistry teacher described the fact that "This course is packed in and requires a constant change of content each day," but by using Castle Learning, the results were instantaneous as compared with a paper grading procedure he used to use, so that "by the next day, the instant feedback allows me to focus on a 20-minute review as compared with a five-minute 'Do Now.'"
Teachers now have an educationally sound tool in Castle Learning that improves instruction, addresses student academic improvement, and meets the formative assessment definition by being "embedded into the instruction process."
See the Full List of White Papers
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Contact Information
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Castle Software, Inc., 626 Layport Dr., Ste. 100, Sebastian, FL 32958
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