Scholastic Reading Counts
The Reading Counts system has been loaded with teacher and student information, now I am in the process of asking for some volunteers from the staff to work through some of the implementation steps. I have some volunteers (the 3rd grade team) we are just trying to get coordinated with a time to meet to implement things.
1 to 1 Initiative
Board members and Admin team spent the day in Omaha yesterday at a “Think Ahead” workshop hosted by Apple computers. Board members as well as Jan and Mike spent time working with the technology, while I spent time learning about the capabilities of an Apple system. Some things that are part of the system that would be additional expense in our current setup:
• Podcasting software and podcast production
• Wiki and blog hosting and posting controlled by our environment
• Management system software – “Big Brother”
• Imaging software
and the list goes on from there.
I am currently working on a visit to Newell‐Fonda a week from this Friday. I have not gotten
confirmation back from them that this works, but anticipate we will be able to go up for the day.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Technology
Scholastic Reading Counts
The Reading Counts system has been loaded with teacher and student information, now I am in the process of asking for some volunteers from the staff to work through some of the implementation steps. We should be online shortly.
Mr. Driskell, Ms. LaFrenz and myselfattended a presentation February 9th for MAP, Promethian products (whiteboards and student response items) and CompasLearning. I’ll let them fill you in on what they observed.1 to 1 computer initiative. I will be presenting for you at the meeting about this. Mike and I have talked extensively about the possibility, how we might fund it, and what we are trying to accomplish with a 1 to 1 program.
Scholastic Reading Counts
The Reading Counts system has been loaded with teacher and student information, now I am in the process of asking for some volunteers from the staff to work through some of the implementation steps. We should be online shortly.
Mr. Driskell, Ms. LaFrenz and myselfattended a presentation February 9th for MAP, Promethian products (whiteboards and student response items) and CompasLearning. I’ll let them fill you in on what they observed.1 to 1 computer initiative. I will be presenting for you at the meeting about this. Mike and I have talked extensively about the possibility, how we might fund it, and what we are trying to accomplish with a 1 to 1 program.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Board Report 1/21/09
Technology
Scholastic Reading Counts
After our last meeting I spent some time installing and trying to run the program on one of our current servers. I found out it wasn’t up to specs, so we have purchased a “new to us” server at a reasonable price and I am in the process of getting this online. I see this server primarily as the “Reading Counts” server as well as filling other roles in our domain. It will take the place of one of our current servers that is 8 years old.
Building Improvements
During the Christmas Break I added 3 more wireless access points to our complex, enabling the Band and Vocal rooms, as well as the commons area. These APs are not tied in to our management software, but are more of an experiment, to see if wired, how much use that end of the building would receive.
Scholastic Reading Counts
After our last meeting I spent some time installing and trying to run the program on one of our current servers. I found out it wasn’t up to specs, so we have purchased a “new to us” server at a reasonable price and I am in the process of getting this online. I see this server primarily as the “Reading Counts” server as well as filling other roles in our domain. It will take the place of one of our current servers that is 8 years old.
Building Improvements
During the Christmas Break I added 3 more wireless access points to our complex, enabling the Band and Vocal rooms, as well as the commons area. These APs are not tied in to our management software, but are more of an experiment, to see if wired, how much use that end of the building would receive.
Monday, December 15, 2008
12-15-08 Report to Board
Technology
Scholastic Reading Counts
PIE committed during the 07-08 year to purchase a reading quiz program for the district. Due to administrator turnover and other various issues installation and implementation was pushed back to this year. New information about the program came out this fall, the system was on a per quiz purchase price and they switched to a per pupil cost, which changed the scope of the project and allowed us to be more comprehensive in our coverage of the library, but also cost us more to implement. PIE came through with additional funds and now the program has been installed. There are still some setup steps to take place, as well as identifying some teachers who would like to use the system, but we have made good progress over the past few weeks.
Thanks to the members of PIE for their commitment to this project. It has gone beyond the financial commitment to time spent in the library working with Ms. Burrows on the labeling of books and identification of Lexile levels in our library system.
An overview of the system can be found at: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/readingcounts/management.htm
A quick synopsis:
1. Students select an appropriate book from our library by connecting them with their interests and Lexile Level
2. After testing students take a computer generated quiz. Congratulatory screen at the end for a passing grade. If a student does not pass they can retake the quiz after reviewing the book – with a new set of questions.
3. Teachers can track the reading reports to help inform and differentiate instruction. They also provide feedback for struggling students needing help.
Look for more information to come.
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