|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enter the Fortress of Solid Learning
|
March 2009, Vol 8, Issue 7
|
Count on Castle Learning 'Every Step of the Way'
First Lady Michelle Obama visited the US Department of Education early last month and told the gathering, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the public schools that nurtured me and helped me along." She went on to say that "I am committed, as well as my husband, to ensuring that more kids like us and kids around this country, regardless of their race, their income, their status ...get access to an outstanding education."
She added that "it is our own hard work and our own belief in self, our commitment to pushing ourselves along, building great communities and families, and reinvesting that energy once we have some successes," that has made a difference in people's lives. Ms. Obama closed by reminding all involved in education that "we're counting on you every step of the way."
Our Castle Learning team will continue to be there for you, too! The words Michelle Obama spoke are already ingrained from my own 33-year teaching experience, and I'm very sure after meeting many of you in the classroom or at conferences that you also share the same commitment to children.
We are now beginning to post some of the anecdotal experiences you've reported about how Castle Learning makes a difference. Your commitment to children is exciting to learn about, and I'm inviting you to tell me your own classroom stories. To read what others are saying and to share your own experiences, go to www.CastleSoftware.com and click TEACHERS ARE TALKING.
This dialogue will help us make sure Castle Learning continues to be responsive to your needs because we know that you are "counting on us every step of the way."
- Professor Bill
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Feature
|
New Literature Unit: The Outsiders
A new unit has been added to the English course, called "Literature: The Outsiders." This is the eighth set in a series of literature short answer questions. The unit contains 13 sections, corresponding to the 12 chapters of the book plus a section for end of novel questions. Questions focus on plot points, character development, vocabulary using context clues, literary elements and techniques, and themes.
To add these questions into an assignment, go to the Add Question page, select the unit named "Literature: The Outsiders", choose a section for the desired chap ter, and then use the Browse and Select option to select the questions that you would like to include in your assignment. The order of the literature questions for a particular chapter parallels the sequence of events in the novel. Thus, the use of randomization is not recommended in assignments with literature questions.
S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton was still a high school student living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when she began her first novel, The Outsiders. This publicity photo was taken at age 18 at the time her "coming of age" novel became widely acknowledged. Among her subsequent novels are: That Was Then, This is Now and Rumble Fish.
Back to Top |
|
|
IN THIS ISSUE
New Feature
The literature series continues to grow!
New Course
A new elementary course introduces basic concepts
of social studies
March Mail Bag
How to set up new
students.
|
TEACHERS
ARE TALKING
Read what others are saying about Castle Learning and share your own experiences!
www.castlesoftware.com
|
|
New Course
|
Elementary World and Communities
Castle Learning Online is pleased to announce the release of a new course, Elementary World and Communities. This course is targeted to a third-grade reading level and is the first in a series of three social studies planned for elementary students.
Elementary World and Communities introduces basic social studies concepts as students learn about people and places around the world:
- Geography reviews map skills, directions, latitude and longitude, and how geography affects the development of communities.
- History touches on cultures ranging from ancient times to modern civilizations, how historical perspectives differ, and how people around the world celebrate history through artistic expression, holidays and festivals.
- Economics introduces students to the basic concepts of resources, consumer and producer, supply and demand, free enterprise and planned economies.
- Government covers concepts such as the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, separation of powers and the system of checks and balances, federal, state and local governments, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, as well as forms of governments found in other parts of the world.
Many questions are beautifully illustrated with artwork, photos and maps. Questions are supplemented with a comprehensive vocabulary for flash card activities or review.
Back to Top
|
March Mail Bag
|
FOR TEACHERS
Question:
A new student has just transferred into my class. How do I get a Castle Learning Online account for her, and how do I assign work to her that everyone else in the class already has?
Answer:
The first thing to determine is whether the student already has a Castle Learning Online student account. Try to add the student to one of your CLO classes; if the name does not appear on the account list, the student does not yet have an account. Contact an administrator account holder at your school and ask him/her to create the student account. If you do not know who to ask at your school, contact Castle Learning Online Technical Support and we will refer you to the appropriate person at your school.
Once the account is created, go back and add the student to your class(es). Here's how:
- From the Teacher Home page, click Classes.
- Locate the class and click its name.
- On the Class Management page, look below the list of students currently in the class and click Add Students.
- Use the navigation links near the top of the Add Students page to locate the name of the student.
- Click to place a checkmark in the small box next to the student's name.
- Click Add Checked Students.
- The student's name should now appear on the Class Management page.
The second part of your question is also very important. Simply adding a student to a class DOES NOT automatically assign to that student assignments that you have made to other class members. Think about this for a moment; while it may seem handy to do so at the beginning of the school year, midway through the school year you probably don't want to assign all the work that you've given to your other students since the first day of school!
Go back to the Teacher Home page and click Assignments. Determine which assignments that you want the new student to have and assign to the new student. The directions below show how to do this for Short Answer assignments, but they apply equally as well to Flash Card or Constructed Response assignments.
- On the Assignments page, locate the name of the assignment and click its Assign/Monitor Students icon (looks like a piece of paper with a magnifying glass).
- At the top of the Short Answer Assignment page, select the appropriate class from the Class drop-down menu.
- Click the Assign to Students tab. You should see the name of the new student here.
- Click to put a checkmark in the small box next to the student's name.
- Adjust the randomize and assignment mode options, if desired.
- Click Assign.
- Click on the Assignment Results tab. The name of the new student should now appear on this list with today's date as the date assigned.
Follow these steps for each assignment that you want the new student to have.
Back to Top
FOR ADMINISTRATORS
Question:
A new student has just transferred into my school. How do I create a Castle Learning Online student account for her?
Answer:
All schools experience a certain amount of transience. Students come and go throughout the course of the school year - teachers, too! For this reason, Castle Learning Online supplies administrator account holder with a complete set of account management tools.
The first thing to do is to check the accounts list and note the login pattern for your students. In many cases, the login ID consists of prefix plus 3 letters of the student's first name and 6 letters of the last name. Another common pattern is a prefix plus a school or state issued student identification number. Some schools use their network logins and passwords. Most schools allow students to choose their own passwords the first time that they sign in. Check the Accounts list to see what pattern is used, and make sure that you have all the information that you need to create the account.
- From the Administrator Home page, click Accounts. (District administrators should first check to see that the appropriate school name has been selected from the drop-down list at the top of the page.)
- Just above and to the right of the list of accounts, click Add New User.
- A small Add Account window pops up.
- At the prompts, enter the student first name, last name, login ID, identification number (if you have it), and grade.
- Make sure the User type is set to Student.
- You may enter a password for the student. If you do not enter a password, the student can choose one the first time she signs in.
- Click Save to create the account.
- You may continue to add new accounts, or click Cancel or close the window when you are done.
By the way, you can use the Add New User feature to create additional teacher and administrator accounts whenever you need them! Just be sure to set the User type to the correct kind of account. Teacher accounts created without a password must use the default teacher password at the time of first sign-in. This password is located on the Administrator Preferences page. New administrator accounts always require that you set a password.
Question:
What is a district administrator account?
Answer:
District administrator accounts are useful in large school districts with multiple campuses enrolled separately in Castle Learning Online. Certain district personnel such as technology directors need administrative access to all campuses. An administrator account with district rights allows such staff members to access the data for all enrolled schools using a single account. All account management and report features are available for all the campuses; simply select the school name from the drop-down menu at the top of the Administrator Home page. One distinct advantage is that the district administrator account holder can move accounts from one school to another, making it easier to accommodate student and teacher transfers within a district.
In large districts, it may also be convenient to delegate certain staff members to act as "local" administrators, that is, with ordinary administrator accounts restricted to individual schools. This allows them to perform routine tasks such as looking up login IDs, clearing passwords, creating accounts for new users, and generating reports at a single school.
Administrator accounts with full district rights are usually created by Castle Learning Online Technical Support when the district schools are first enrolled. However, a district administrator account holder can edit an existing "local" administrator account to give it full district rights. Just check the box that says District Admin and save the changes. Note that this option is not available when first creating an administrator account, but is available when editing an existing administrator account.
One other modification to an administrator account is possible. Administrator account holders can be restricted to Supervisory Rights Only. Administrator account holders with this restriction can view all administrative reports, but they cannot perform any maintenance functions. This option allows your district or school to separate reporting functions (generally used by Principals and Superintendents) from maintenance functions (generally performed by Technical Administrators). Note that Supervisory Administrators still have full access to the Student Home and Teacher Home pages.
Back to Top
|
|
|
See you
Soon |
The Castle Learning Online team will be at these conferences. Hope to see you there.
MARCH
NYSCATE Regional - Hudson Valley
Association of Suffolk Educators of Technology (ASSET)
SAANYS Regional Meeting - Syracuse
APRIL
WSWHE BOCES Conference
SAANYS Regional Meeting - Plattsburgh
Drop by our conference booth. We look foward to meeting you!
|
back to top
|
|
Contact Information
|
Castle Software, Inc., 626 Layport Dr., Ste. 100, Sebastian, FL 32958
|
|
|
