An introduction to Classroom Suite by IntelliTools and IntelliKeys. A research-based software solution for K-5 and beyond. Engage students in curriculum aligned reading(focus on phonics and phonemic awareness), math (focus on automaticity), writing and early learning activities. Accessible for students with physical disabilties.
11. Direct, Explicit Instruction Show Me —The computer plays a video-like sequence to orient the student to the lesson. Practice —The student practices and learns as the software provides strategic and corrective feedback. Challenge —The educational objective is identical to Practice, but the corrective feedback is withdrawn and data is collected for reports. Model Practice Apply If mastery is displayed, student moves on. Otherwise, student receives more practice with strategic feedback.
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13. Easy Customization Choose options based upon areas of student weakness or aligning to your core curriculum. Click here to view sample scope and sequence
What to say: Talk about the many different ways to use CS4 in their schools.
What to say: Our templates can be used to support almost any reading or math curriculum in schools today. Few software products have tool capabilities AND curriculum activities. Few products have math, reading and writing available in the same package. This means fewer products for teachers to learn, higher ROI. Additional info for current customers (v 3.2): Lots of new features and improvements based on user feedback, but nothing was removed. Approximately 80 templates, with over 60 new ones Version 3.2 activities still work Current authoring (control + click) still works Creativity tools have been upgraded from v 3.2. Early Learning activities have been brought in from 3.2 and dramatically upgraded. MUCH easier! IntelliKeys and switch access is much easier.
What to say: While discussing this slide be sure to mention that CS4 can be used in a variety of learning situations: On a single computer with a single student As a small group activity with students gathered around one computer As a whole class activity using a smart board, projection system, or large monitor As a computer lab activity Also mention that CS4 is completely cross platform and both Network and Standalone.
CAST’s research indicates that there are three important brain networks related to learning CLT’s technology can help educators differentiate instruction and address all three learning networks Multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge, Multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and rehearsing Multiple means of engagement to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.
What to do: Take a few minutes to demonstrate alternative access to CS4. Place the Classroom Suite 4 Access overlay on the IntelliKeys. Show how to use the overlay to access the Sort Sounds activity. Show two switch access. From the Options menu, select IntelliKeys, select CS4 2 Column Sort overlay to send this direct select overlay. Place the overlay on the IntelliKeys and demonstrate access.
What to do: As a group, ask participants to launch CS4 and begin the hands-on portion of this workshop. As the presenter, make sure you have an IntelliKeys hooked up to your presenter computer as you will be demonstrating overlay access later in this session. What to say: CS4 opens with automatic sign-in as the Administrator and opens to the Home page.
What to say: There are two distinct areas of CS4, Curriculum and Classroom Management. The Curriculum includes the templates to be used in creating access to your classroom learning activities. The Classroom Management provides access to assessing and managing student progress. What to do: Spend a few minutes familiarizing the group with this Home screen. Be sure to give a brief introduction to the Activity Exchange. If the presenter machine has access to the internet you can click the link to open to the AEX page. Also, be sure to click the link to Help and show participants the searchable, topic-based, help system.
What to say: The IntelliTools website is www.intellitools.com The Activity Exchange link is on the left side of the screen.
What to do: Ask participants to click on the Templates link on the Home screen to get to this Navigation screen. Spend a few minutes familiarizing the group with this Navigation Screen. Be sure to have them open the Published folder and point out the Export and Import options that come up at the bottom of the screen. Ask participants to open the Templates folder. What to Say: Classroom Suite templates are pre-designed activities containing research-based curriculum that support national educational standards. Templates are ready to use as is and easy to modify. You can quickly create custom activities that align to classroom curriculum, IEP goals, or standards. Notice that the Templates folder includes templates for Reading, Math, Writing, and Early Learning. We will begin with the Reading templates.
What to do: Ask participants to click on Preview. When the Sort Sounds preview activity opens allow the sounds to play. What to say: Notice the choices for the student at the bottom of the screen. Show Me, Practice, and Challenge reflect the most effective teaching approach. Another way to say this “I do, we do, you do” or “Model, Practice, Apply”. Show Me becomes the teacher or “I do”. It models for the student how to use the activity. Practice is the “We do”. The software works with the student to support the learning process by providing scaffolded feedback. Challenge is the “You do”. The student must complete the activity independently and answer 80% correctly in order to go on to another activity. What to do: Ask participants to select Show Me to experience how the program teaches the students to use this activity. Allow Show Me to play. Ask participants to select Practice to experience how the program supports the learning process, the ‘we’ do. Demonstrate a correct response. Next, get the answer wrong twice in a row to demonstrate the scaffolded support provided to help the student understand why their answer is incorrect and guide them toward the correct response. Finally, ask participants to take 5 minutes to explore the activity. Suggest they complete all the Practice questions in order to experience the Challenge mode. Move on to the next slide.
What to do: Ask participants to open the Sort Sounds template. What to say: Point out the organization of the Teacher Navigation page: Description Customize – allows teacher to create a customized version to align to adopted reading program or specific area of need Preview – a sample activity Publish – allows teacher to publish an activity for the student to use (to the Published folder). Instructions – links to HELP Philosophy/Pedagogy: The words (pictures) that are used in these activities were chosen by reviewing the FCRR activities as well as core curriculum reading programs such as Read Well, Houghton Mifflin, etc. CS4 reading approach is based on the most current research in phonemic awareness and phonics which treats blends as individual sounds.
What to say: The templates in Classroom Suite allow you to customize an activity to align with a classroom reading program or address the specific areas in which a student is struggling. To show the group a sample scope and sequence from a reading program, click the link on the bottom right-hand corner. Authoring with the templates in CS4 is driven by making choices in a dialog box. In a couple of minutes you can now create a brand new activity. When customizing a template it is important to think about the student. The Participant Workbook includes a student profile checklist to aid in determining a student’s needs and the template activities that would work best for that student. What to do: Ask participants to turn to page ??? In their workbook. Provide an overview of the Student profile checklist. Return to the software and ask participants to click the Customize button on the top of the Sort Sounds template activity (or from the Sort Sounds Teacher Page). Step participants through the choices: Choose the type of activity – show the choices, Initial, Middle, Ending, or Rime. (The term Rime comes from Onset and Rime found in whole language or 4 block reading programs.) Point out the choice to include words with consonant blends. What to say: Diagraphs – sh,th,wh,ch – are included by default as they are considered to be one sound. Blends such as tr, sl, br, etc. are treated as two sounds. Student typically do not begin working with words that include blends when first exposed to Phonemic Awareness to blends are offered as an option.) What to do: 3. Choose the number of columns and words. (This is the way teachers control the number of ‘questions’ the student has to answer. Depending on number of columns and words per column the activity can range from 4 to 20 questions or word cards.) 4. Choose the sounds to sort. What to say: The choices of sounds to sort can align to areas of student weakness determined by an assessment, or follow the sequence of a reading program. ( Click on the link to show a sample scope and sequence. Talk about how to apply the sounds being studied under the PA area in the sequence to the choices in the sounds listed in step 3). What to do: 5. Click OK to try out the customized activity. What to say: Be sure to point out that the Show Me will change to reflect the customized options – powerful! What to do: After participants have had time to try out their customized activity, have them Publish a sample. What to say: As you walk them through the Publish process be sure to point out: The activity is given a name based upon the options chosen. This can be changed if desired. The activity is being save into the Published folder so students can now access.
This is an example of the lesson workflow, using phonemic awareness as an example. In this case, the teacher wishes to focus on initial /b/ and /d/ using the “Sort Sounds” activity. Teacher uses simple menu choices to customize lesson, and can even set mastery level required. Then publishes activity. Student uses the activity, does practice and challenge sessions. Mastery leads to the next activity. Otherwise, the student is returned to practice with continued strategic feedback. 3. A report is automatically generated showing each question and the student response, which helps assess where to focus next. (reports in other programs often only provide summary percentages, such as “Score = 59%”) Note: it is not necessary for users to create “Units” with their activities. Students can simply do the activities, or teachers can assign them individually.
What to Do: Ask participants to open the Reading folder from the Navigation screen. What to Say: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension are the 5 keys areas of a successful scientifically based reading instruction. Some may know these as the 5 big ideas. In the late 1990’s, the National Institutes of Health (through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development), began reporting on a systematic review of critical advances in scientific research, and what that research could tell us about how good learners read, and the needs of at-risk readers (Lyon and Chhabra, 1996; Torgeson, et al, 1997; Foorman, et al, 1997). In 1997, Congress charged the NIH and the Secretary of Education to convene a national panel to assess the status of research-based knowledge, including the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read. In April, 2000, the resulting National Reading Panel released its report “Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction”. The report highlighted and recommended a number of reading instruction strategies that were proven to be successful in teaching children to read, particularly for those children who are at risk for learning to read . What the Research tells us: There are five areas of reading instruction that must be addressed to successfully teach children to read: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary , and text comprehension . The information below is summarized from “Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read” (2001, published by the Partnership for Reading, Natianal Institute for Literacy and the U.S. Department of Education). (Text above taken from Joan Sedita’s article titled: “What Every Educator and Parent Should Know about Reading Instruction”) The CS4 Reading activities are based on the most current research from: 1. FCRR is the Florida Center for Reading Research – we based many of the interactivity types on successful classroom activities developed by this reading center (http://www.fcrr.org/). 2. National Reading Panel 3. Consultants from the Reading First community
What to do: Ask participants to navigate back to the top level of the Reading folder. Point out the three remaining templates: fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. As time is limited, tell the participants that you will demo the fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension templates rather than providing hands-on. Navigate through the next three slides that have screen shots of each template. As you navigate share the talking points for each template. After providing an overview of these three templates, if time allows you can poll the audience and open and show one of the three templates. What to say: Research show that repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency and overall reading achievement (NRP, 2000) The main focus of this template is improving expression (also known as prosody). The teacher customizes the template to include a phrase, sentence, or paragraph for the student to read. Students can hear each sentence or passage modeled by the teacher, then record the same sentence or passage themselves. They can record and hear themselves multiple times. During Challenge, they read each sentence or passage without the modeling support. When they are finished, the recordings are saved for the instructor in a portfolio. What to do to demo this template: Click Preview and Practice, click the Listen button to hear the first sentence read aloud (not working, yet). Then click the record button to record it yourself. Then play it back. Once satisfied with your recording, click Go to move to the next sentence. To customize, simply click the customize button and type in your sentences. Sentences can come right out of the reading selection being used in their reading group. Then click the Preview button.
What to say: Research shows that good readers are active and read with a purpose. There are numerous elements of text comprehension instruction (at least 7 key strategies). Strategies like using graphic organizers and working on story structure are covered by our writing templates, however, this template focuses on two key strategies: Comprehension monitoring: This means that readers learn to react to text they don’t understand rather than skipping the material . They become active readers. (Klinger & Vaughn, 1999; NRP, 2000;Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts, 2002). This template supports comprehension by giving students a preview of the questions they’ll be asked. 2. Question-answering: Readers answer questions posed by teacher and receive immediate feedback. (Beck, McKeown, Hamilton, & Kucan, 1997, NRP 2000) What to do to demo this template: Click Preview. Click Practice, point out the questions to think about while reading, click next to view the passage. Then click next to begin the multiple choice assessment in Practice. Make your choice then click Go. In Challenge, the student gets the same questions presented one at a time with multiple choice answers.
What to say: Good readers and writers have both depth and breadth in vocabulary skills. Effective vocabulary instruction is not just looking up words in a dictionary. Success comes through direct instruction of important words, frequent use, teaching word learning strategies and fostering word consciousness. In addition to instruction from the teacher, students need to use their lexical abilities. Students need to keep track of new words through a note-taking scaffold (Marzano et al., 2001) This Vocabulary Notebook, based on work by Kevin Feldman, provides an organizer for important words, accountability for active student engagement and a reference for future review and study. The Vocabulary Notebook provides the format, organization, and suggested word choice students to use in their writing activities. Teachers can edit the Notebook to add in content-based words. Students can access their Vocabulary Notebook from any of the writing activities and open to view suggested words as well as add their own words. This Notebook is cumulative over the study of a unit, semester, or year helping to students to make new words their own by using them again and again in their writing. What to do to demo this template: To demo, click Add Word, type in a word, synonym, etc. add a picture (insert a photo, if you have one). Click Add Word to add another. Publish
What to do: Ask participants to navigate to the Early Learning folder. What to say: Students with significant physical and learning challenges need many opportunities to practice and reinforce early concepts. The activities in the Early Learning folder are designed to build access skills, develop early cognitive skills and provide a stimulating and engaging multimedia experience for early cognitive development. The content can be made age appropriate with the use of digital media and sounds. The content can be easily and quickly customized to ensure development and progression of early skills. Early Learning contains activities and overlays t hat are easy to use and have successfully been used for over 15 year with students with very significant disabilities. Also appropriate for early elementary or students with significant cognitive disabilities.
What to do: Ask participants to go to the top level of the Templates folder and open the Math folder. What to say: Students in the US are rating very low in math scores. CS4 addresses Number Sense and Automaticity which are the key K-5 math topics where lack of mastery leads to poor performance in math. Basic concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are not understood by many students. There are 3 different forms of math knowledge, Declarative, Conceptual, and Procedural. 1. Declarative – you know it, facts, automatic recall (2 + 3). 2. Conceptual – can solve problems in your head (2200 + 300) because you understand the math concepts involved in the process. 3. Procedural – complicated problems that are done on paper (275 / 12). Students in the US struggle because they are typically taught procedural math but not taught to truly understand the concepts. Number sense is an intuitive understanding of what numbers mean and their relationships. Classroom Suite builds number sense by presenting carefully crafted manipulative representations of math interactions. Students learn to “picture” how math works, and they become confident in their knowledge. Classroom Suite also measures automaticity using timed tests. Automaticity in math facts refers to direct retrieval of basic facts, rather than computing the answer (or counting on one’s fingers). Automaticity in basic facts is critical for students if they are to successfully tackle more complex concepts. The combination of the timed tests and the manipulative models give students the power to become more fluent in their math facts. The Manipulative models included in CS4 are based on the research of Douglas Carnine, PhD, John Van Der Walle, publications from the National Science Foundation, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
What to say: Stages of the Writing Process: Strong writers draw on a wide variety of component skills, organization of ideas, proofreading skills, a rich vocabulary, and an ability to organize sentences and paragraphs into a fluid piece. A good writing approach identifies all components of the writing process and provides direct instruction in each area. 6+ Traits of Writing: This assessment model was developed as a guide to enable teachers to assess the writing proficiency of their students. After determining where students’ writing weaknesses lie (using the 6+ Traits) educators can use the writing activities in CS4 to provide practice in areas where they are weak. The 6+ Traits are: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, Presentation. The next two slides will take a closer look at the stages of the writing process and the 6+ Traits.
What to say: Writing activities can be found in both the Writing folder and in Creativity Tools. We’ll start in the Creativity Tools folder as the StoryMaker activity is great for young children in K – 2. Designed for students in grades K– 2, students use the paint and design features of Classroom Suite 4 to draw a picture and then write a story to accompany it. They can add recorded sound, animation, and use the writing supports of Word Prediction and Spell Check. What to do: Ask participants to open the Creativity Tools folder. Open the StoryMaker activity.
What to say: CS4 allows schools to set up students, teachers, and classes to track student data. The Reading and Math Templates folders include Assessment templates. These can be used at the beginning of the year to determine placement and skill level. They can be used throughout the year to assess progress. Activities created from other templates also include an assessment component in the form of Challenge. The student uses the activity, completing both practice and challenge. A report on the correct and incorrect answers given during Challenge is automatically generated showing each question and the student response, which helps assess where to focus next. (reports in other programs often only provide summary percentages, such as “Score = 59%”) Educators can view and print reports to assess progress and build a student portfolio.
What to do: 1. Ask participants to reopen the Sort Sounds template if it is closed. If they have a Sort Sounds activity open they must select the Done button to navigate back to the Teacher Navigation page. 2. Ask participants to click on the Instructions button. What to say: The Instructions button takes you right into the HELP for this template. The HELP includes: A description of the template. The standards that align to the skills taught in the templates in the form of Skill Objectives. Standards were pulled from reviewing CA, TX, and FL State Standards. Authoring Instructions (For templates that offer more in-depth authoring, such as those in Early Learning and Creativity Tools, the Help includes advanced authoring instructions for those who want to learn higher level authoring.)