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Enter the Fortress of Solid Learning
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Jan. 2010, Vol. 9, Issue 5
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Castle Learning Study Tips
January brings mid-year blahs,
winter winds and those mid-year exams, but don't desp  air! Your students have Castle Learning Online and these awesome
tips that your colleagues have shared with me. I hope they're effective for your students, too! -
Work toward a mind-set
that says "I believe in myself" and trust that your participation in class and your
Castle Learning review sessions will result in a deeper knowledge of the subject.
- The primary focus of
course content is often built around vocabulary. Use the CLO vocabulary flash cards and read
those definitions in each question.
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Wrap yourself around homework!
Those Castle Learning assignments are a great tool to review
and study. They are practice for showing what you've learned on your test.
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Challenge your
knowledge with Castle Learning 10-question
mini assignments on specific unit/sections to find weaknesses and review hints and reasons to improve. Don't put
off until tomorrow what you should have done yesterday!
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Study with a friend who knows the
value of Castle Learning. Share ideas
before answering a question. Become each other's tutor.
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REMOVE distractions and give yourself a focused time for study. Take strict control and save all email, games and cell phones for another time.
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Appreciate the
importance of a good teacher in your life. Trust his/her suggestions and ask
for help to work through the material that's difficult for you.
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Unit Added to English Course: Huckleberry Finn
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Literature: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A new unit has been added to the English course, called "Literature: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn," based Mark Twain's comedic satire of
pre-Civil War America first published in 1884. This is the fourteenth set in a
series of literature short answer questions. The unit contains 12 sections
covering the 43 chapters of the book. Questions focus on the plot, vocabulary,
analysis, themes, and literary el ements.
To add these questions into an assignment, go to the Add Question page, select
the unit named "Literature: The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn," choose a section for the desired chapter, 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 narrative sequence of the novel. Thus,
the use of randomization is not recommended in assignments with literature
questions.
Author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) is recognized for bringing colloquial American speech to the pages of literature. Best known as Mark Twain, the humorist left a body of work that still entertains and evokes critical thought a century after his death.
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New Unit Added to English Course: Speak
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Literature: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A new unit, Literature: Speak, has been added
to Castle Lea rning Online English.
This unit is based on Laurie Halse Anderson's story of teenage trauma and alienation,
first published in 1999. This is the fifteenth set in a series of literature
short answer questions. The unit contains four sections covering the four
"marking periods" of the book. Questions focus on the plot, vocabulary, conflicts,
and literary elements of the novel.
A native of New York state, Laurie Halse Anderson (born 1961) has won national awards for her best selling children and young adult books.
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MEET US AT THESE
CONFERENCES
JAN 9
Nassau County (NY) Mathematics
Teachers
Association
JAN 9, 10, 11
NYS Council of
School
Superintendents
FEB 9 & 10
Pennsylvania
Educational
Technology
HOPE TO SEE YOU!
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New Unit for Intermediate English Course
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Literature: Call of the Wild
A new
unit, Literature: Call of the Wild, has
been added to Intermediate English. This
unit is based on Jack
London's short adventure novel set in the Yukon Gold Rush of the
1890s. This is the fourth in a series of
literature short-answer questions for Intermediate
English. The unit contains seven sections, covering the seven chapters of
the novel. The questions focus on plot points, analysis, literary elements and
vocabulary in the context of the novel.
The fictional stories of Jack London (1876-1916) were based on his real life experiences as a hobo, sailor and gold prospector. Call of the Wild, London's most popular work, was first published in The Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1903.
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Two New Features Add Flexibility
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Entering Student Answers for Offline Assignments
At times, teachers may want students to work on certain assignments offline using scanner bubble sheets. Most scanning systems provide a way to export a CSV spreadsheet file containing the students' answers that can then be uploaded via the current Upload Offline Answers feature to take advantage of Castle Learning's report features.
However, there may be times when the students have to write their answers on paper. For example, the school may not have scanning equipment available, or some students might be unable to use bubble sheets effectively. A new procedure utilizes the existing Upload Offline Answers feature to allow teachers to enter students' answers directly into Castle Learning.
Note that the Upload Offline Answers feature requires that Student Identification numbers be part of the students' account information. Also, the assignments must contain only multiple-choice questions. If these conditions are met, then the following procedure can be used: - Create an assignment and assign it to the students who will work on paper with the Assignment Mode set to Offline.
- Use the new "Export file template for creating your own Offline Upload File" link on the Assignment Results tab to download from Castle Learning a CSV spreadsheet file. This file contains one row for each student in the class for which the assignment mode is set to Offline. Generate a separate file for each class with students using Offline Mode. Note that the link is only displayed if there are students in the class with Assignment Mode set to Offline.
- Instruct the students do the assignment on paper.
- When students have completed their assignments, open the CSV file. It will contain a row for each student in the class. Column 1 contains the student's full name; column 2 contains the student's Identification numbers. Type in the student's responses starting in column 3 in the appropriate row.
- Select the Upload Offline Answers tab and follow the instructions for uploading the CSV file to Castle Learning. Be sure to select File Format 2.
- If the upload is successful, your students' answers will be included in all the assignment reports just as if they answered the questions on-line.
If the upload does not work, check the following: - Make sure that the assignment only contains multiple-choice questions.
- Make sure each student in the CSV file has the proper Identification number in column 2. You can view the student's Identification numbers from the Class page.
- Verify that each row in the CSV file has the proper number of student answers per row
If you have entered and uploaded inaccurate responses for a student, use the following procedure to make corrections: Unassign the assignment and reassign it to the student in Offline Mode. On the Assignment Results page, click the link to download the CSV spreadsheet file. - Adjust the CSV file so that it only contains rows for the student(s) that need corrections.
Enter ALL of the responses for the student. Re-upload the file using Upload Offline Answers with File Format 2.
Personal Content Sets-External Links
The Personal Content Set Editor used by teachers to create their own questions and vocabulary now includes a toolbar "Link" button for inserting a link to a web page or file on another web site. To use it:
- In the text, type in the name of the link you want the students to click to view the web page
- Highlight the name
- Click the new "Link" tool on the toolbar
- Enter a URL (web address) for the web page or file
There is also an "Unlink" toolbar button to remove the link from the highlighted text.
When the students view the content item, they can click the link and the web page or file will display in another browser window.
The URL can be a web page, an audio file, an image file, a video file, etc. However, because these web pages and files are not under Castle's control, there is no guarantee that the owners of the web site will maintain the pages or files forever. An alternative is to store these external pages and files on your school's web server. Check with your network administrator for instructions on how to post files to your school's web server that can be accessed via a URL.
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The Mail Bag
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FOR TEACHERS
QUESTION: I would like to score student assignments based on work completed and count unanswered questions as "wrong." Is there a
report that will allow me to do this?
ANSWER:
The Teacher's Assignment Results Report, accessed from the
Results Report link on the Assignment Results page, has a checkbox labeled
"Score Unanswered Questions as Incorrect." When checked, any
unanswered questions are scored as incorrect in the report. Here is how to access
that report: -
From your Teacher Homepage, click the ASSIGNMENTS link.
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Chose the appropriate course in the COURSE dropdown menu.
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Locate the appropriate assignment in your list of assignments.
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Click the ASSIGN/MONITOR STUDENT ICON (looks like a piece of paper with a magnifying
glass floating over it).
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Choose the appropriate class from the CLASS dropdown box.
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Select the ASSIGNMENT RESULTS tab. (Appear white, not yellow)
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Click the
RESULTS REPORT link near the bottom of the page. Report will pop up.
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Just below the REPORT DATE is a CHECKBOX labeled "SCORE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
AS INCORRECT." When checked, any unanswered questions are scored as incorrect
in the report.
FOR ADMINISTRATORS
QUESTION:
How can I obtain a report that will allow me to compare last year's
student activity with this year's student activity?
ANSWER:
Archived reports of previous
year's usage can be found by clicking the STUDENT USAGE link on the Administrator REPORTS page. The STUDENT USAGE
report page provides two types of reports: -
The
ARCHIVED REPORTS provide Course Usage reports that break down usage into
various activities in each Castle
Learning Online course.
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The STUDENT USAGE REPORT details
each student's activity in each course k The
activities include short answer sessions,constructed
response, essays, math skills and DBQ questions as appropriate to the course.
The Student Usage report also
includes the student
identification number (if you provided it at the time thef account was created)
which allows you to coordinate CastleLearning Online with other student
statistical data.
To access the ARCHIVED REPORTS:
From the Administrator Home page, select the school name if you monitor more than one
school. Then click the REPORTS link.
On the Reports page, click the STUDENT USAGE link.
On the Usage Reports page
under Archived Reports, note
the dates and click the desired COURSE
USAGE link.
The data will be exported into
an Excel file for your review.
Please be patient! Archived reports contain large amounts of data and
may take a few minutes to create.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? Email your own questions to Castle Learning Online Technical Support at support@CastleLearning.com or call 800-345-7606.
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Castle Learning Online White Paper
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Teaching for Understanding & Castle Learning Online
Prepared by Bill Ingui
President and Retired Educator
If students "understand" a topic, they cannot only reproduce knowledge, but also use it in unscripted ways. (Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education) The classroom is the most obvious platform where teachers engage students in understanding. Good teachers seek the best methods for learning and are excited about their profession. They convey this to their students every day. The project at Harvard emphasizes a performance view of a student's content knowledge base. This view is the result of teaching for understanding.
Teaching for understanding can produce a wonderful experience for the student who demonstrates his/her understanding through performances of understanding. They are closely knit ways of thinking about student learning. As a result, teaching for understanding focuses on the process of understanding as the goal of learning rather than simply the development of specific skills. Students progress to demonstrating how they understand information, how they can take that knowledge and apply it in new ways. It focuses on forming connections and seeing relationships among facts, procedures, concepts, and principles, and between prior and new knowledge. Performances of understanding can be seen in these examples:
- When students in U.S. History can extemporaneously explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence.
- When students can act out a scene from a novel being studied in their English class.
- When students can apply mathematics concepts to designing a house in an Owner-Builder class.
Castle Learning Online's database of questions helps teachers in that first step of teaching for understanding before students exhibit performance understanding. Teachers can monitor their teaching by assessing what students are learning and adapting their lessons to address any weaknesses. Teachers can focus their time and energy on helping students understand and then use innovative ways to demonstrate that understanding.
Experience in the field with educators has shown me that teachers know how Castle Learning Online can benefit teaching for understanding. Here's what they had to say:
- The Castle Learning Online questions "reinforce the content" that is being taught, and serve as a "good analysis of students' strengths and weaknesses." "
- Another educator stated that "learning is reinforced by Castle Learning Online because it addresses the different learning styles of students and parallels the instructional content of the course."
- Castle Learning Online provides "topic review at the click of a button and it allows the students to get hints and vocabulary related to the topic. I gained an insight into individual and class misconceptions" about what was being taught.
- With Castle Learning Online "I can compare classes by class and by individual analysis," and it is a "good way of finding out what topics I need to review in class before state tests."
- Improving the delivery of content is made easier when "I can assess the areas that need to be re-taught or reviewed and I can tell quickly and easily which students are having troubles with a topic. I can learn what is working and what isn't with regards to how I present materia
Castle Learning Online has become the teacher's friend, giving immediate feedback when they are teaching for understanding and is an excellent springboard to performance understanding. Schools are built upon extra curricular programs that are defined by student performance (ex. Student Government, a statewide Science Fair, LEGO Robotics® or Math contests). With a strong baseline of knowledge, students are ready to apply this in any performance forum.
Note: This white paper is one in a series that we hope you'll find valuable.
Visit the our website for MORE 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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