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May 2012, Vol. 11 Issue 9 Learning Never Stops ... and neither do we!
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CONTENTS For Administrators For Teachers |
What a Great Year!As we round the corner to another successful year, we would like to thank all of the teachers, students, and administrators who have made the achievements of this year possible!
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we would like to especially thank all of the teachers out there. Without your hard work and dedication, who would shape the minds of our future generations?
Have a great month, Prof. Bill |
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May 7-11, 2012 is
Teacher Appreciation Week
Castle Learning has dedicated over twenty years to helping students achieve and empowering educators with time-saving tools. We want to start this month's newsletter with the greatest story of all: honoring you! The image above is just a small snapshot of teachers who have been active Castle Learning users this year. Your students would not be the same without you, and we appreciate your efforts and dedication to helping every student achieve. Three cheers for teachers throughout the world! |
We're Making Headlines
In the News...
Castle Learning Online has been selected as one of THRiVE! magazine's fast growing companies! Our mission of helping students achieve academic success has helped us forge relationships with educators in many states, and we continually strive to improve and enhance our product.
Thank you for supporting our mission to be a trusted resource in the educational world!
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Need More Student Response Systems?
Special Offer from
The Castle Learning team is very excited to partner with eInstruction, but this month we're even more excited to announce a special offer from the leading provider of student response systems.
For a limited time, when current Castle Learning customers purchase three sets of CPS "clickers" they will receive a fourth set for free!
Contact your Castle Learning Territory Manager or eInstruction® representative for additional information!
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Join us May 22 for a Webinar on
Text-to-Speech Integration: It Talks!
Castle Learning Online provides a web-based review, testing, and assessment tool for elementary, middle school, and high school teachers and students.
In this live webinar, you will see how Castle Learning Online uses ReadSpeaker's leading online text-to-speech service to deliver an audio version of its 90,000+ questions.
Since December 2011, which was the first month of ReadSpeaker's activation on the Castle Learning platform, the average monthly hits on the listen button is just under 400,000. The high level of usage by Castle Learning students demonstrates the usefulness of having a click & listen tool that doesn't require any downloads for the end-user. The audio version of the Castle Learning platform enables all students to access educational content. Students with cognitive issues, learning disabilities, visual impairments, and/or those for whom English is a second language benefit from the improved accessibility which enhances their learning environment. The highlighting of the text as it is being read also reinforces a better understanding of the content.
Presenters: Scott Fischer, General Manager/Partner Castle Learning Online  Nick Hall, Marketing Manager Castle Learning Online
Roy Lindemann, Cofounder/CIO ReadSpeaker
Title: Find out how Castle Learning uses ReadSpeaker to help students interact better with its educational tool
Date: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
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Just Released for Content Areas
NEW: 9 New Elementary English Reading Sets
The new passages are longer in length, which models recent changes in state assessments as well as the Common Core. Many of the multiple choice and constructed response (writing prompt) questions focus on Common Core initiatives such as: text-based evidence, vocabulary usage in context, and author's purpose.
3rd Grade (Basic) Level Reading Sets:
- Bikes I- Bike Safety- RL: 3.4
- Jellyfish I- How Dangerous are Jellyfish?- RL: 3.8
- The Donkey Carrying Salt- Fable- RL: 3.5
4th Grade (Intermediate) Level Reading Sets:
- Bikes II- Types of Bikes- RL: 4.5
- Jellyfish II- Life Without a Brain- RL: 4.5
- The Lioness and the Bulls- Fable- RL: 4.4
5th Grade (Advanced) Level Reading Sets:
- Bikes III- The History of Bikes- RL: 5.7
- Jellyfish III- How Do Jellyfish Move?- RL: 5.6
- Mercury and the Woodman- Fable- RL: 5.5
All of these reading sets have constructed response (writing prompt) questions and include sample answers for students (after they answer each question). The questions range in length and difficulty. Some questions ask students to complete a graphic organizer, some may require a sentence or two, and others may require a paragraph or more.
NOTE: Multiple reading passages can be incorporated into one assignment. Encourage students to click the double-down arrows next to the reading passage title to expand the selection (this helps avoid confusion when multiple passages are included).
Click HERE to learn how to add reading sets to a Castle Learning assignment.
UPDATE: Common Core
Castle Learning continues to build its collection of public assignments tied to specific Common Core math standards.
 Steps for importing a Public Assignment for Common Core Math:
- From the Teacher Home Page click Assignments
- Click the Create From Public Assignments button
- Click the plus sign (+) next to Common Core
- Click the plus sign (+) next to Math
- Click the plus sign (+) next to the grade levels (Grade 3 through Grade 8) or the desired high school strand (Number & Quantity, Algebra, Geometry, Probability & Statistics, or Functions)
- Click the standard number of an assignment to preview or select the check box next to the assignment name to mark it for import (some standards have multiple assignments)
- Click the Import button at the top left of the page to import into your Assignments
- Now it's ready to be assigned
Castle Learning Online continues to improve its Geometry course.
New short-answer questions include:
- locus of points equidistant from a line
- point reflections
- reflections in a line
- advanced questions using the distance formula
- proofs... and more!
Also, look for additional Intermediate Math ready-to-go assignments correlated to the Common Core Standards for Mathematics!
Ready-to-go short-answer assignments tied to Pennsylvania Keystone Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II are now available in the Castle Learning Online courses Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II & Trigonometry, respectively. In addition, a complete Pennsylvania Keystone Sampler Exam in Algebra I is also available (under Algebra).
Social Studies News  Ready-to-go short-answer assignments tied to New York State Learning Standards are now available for Castle Learning Online social studies courses:
- Elementary World & Communities
- Intermediate World History
- Intermediate American Studies
- Global History & Geography
- US History & Government
Pre-test and post-test assessments are available, as well as many assignments for practice.
Names of the assignments are tied to the NY state standards, key ideas, and performance indicators. For clarity, we prefaced the standards with E for Elementary, I for Intermediate, or C for Commencement level (high school). So, for example, under US History & Government, the assignment named NY C.1.2.3 Pre-Test is a pre-test assessment for Commencement level Standard 1 (History of the United States & New York State), Key Idea 2, Performance Indicator 3.
Science News Ready-to-go short-answer assignments tied to Pennsylvania Keystone Biology and Chemistry are now available for Castle Learning Online Biology and Chemistry, respectively.
Also, ready-to-go short answer assignments correlated to South Carolina Chemistry are now available in Castle Learning Online Chemistry.
Please share your thoughts!
Castle Learning is soliciting comments and requests about future releases from educators who use Castle Learning. Share your ideas at support@castlelearning.com.
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Important: End of Year Notes
As One School Year Comes to an End, A New One is Just Around the Corner!
All of us at Castle Learning Online would like to thank you for being part of the Castle Learning Online family! If you have not renewed your Castle Learning Online subscription for the 2012-2013 school year, please contact your Sales Representative or call 1-800-345-7606, Ext. 2.
Summer Assignments
Although much of the current focus is on end of year examinations, preparations for summer school sessions (for most schools) have been in the works for some time now. If the terms of your school's license agreement provide you with access to Castle Learning Online through the summer months, and you anticipate using it for summer school work or summer assignments, please notify the Castle Learning Online Customer Support team by calling 1-800-345-7606, Ext. 1, as soon as possible.
2012-2013 School Year Start Date
The beginning of a new school year is a busy, important time. Our goal is to help you set up your Castle Learning accounts for next year with as little stress as possible. Part of that setup involves the School Year Start Date.
To view the start date for your school:
- From the Admin Home Page choose 2012-2013 from the School Year drop-down
- Click School Summary
- View the start date on the last line of the summary window
The 2012-2013 start date marks the end of the previous school year (including summer school) and the beginning of the new school year.
If your school needs a different date, or if you have questions, please contact our Customer Support team by calling 1-800-345-7606, Ext. 1, or emailing Support@CastleLearning.com.
2012-2013 Enrollment Procedures
The following directions will help you prepare the necessary files for uploading your 2012-2013 student accounts into Castle Learning Online.
Create a separate EXCEL File (.xls or .csv format) for students. The necessary columns are listed below.
Note: Returning customers only need to supply student enrollment data for the 2012-2013 school year. Teacher and Administrator accounts are to be managed by Administrator account holders. (See section below "Deactivating Unused Accounts")
Students: (The following columns are required, in no particular order, unless otherwise noted.)
- Last Name
- First Name
- Grade Level (provides teachers with an easy selection process for creating their classes)
- Identification (a school issued student ID number is used as a unique identifier)
- Building Location (this assists in setting up accounts per location...HS, MS, ES)
- Login ID: (Optional. Only include if the school or district is requiring a specific login ID sequence other than the student number. Please Note: Castle Learning recommends the use of the student number as the basis for the ID format and reserves the right to add a prefix code to help eliminate duplication from other districts, schools or states. If the district does not request a specific login ID, Castle Learning will duplicate the format used in the previous school year.)
- Password: (Optional. Most schools allow students to activate their own IDs and create a password of their own desire. If the school or district requires a specific password for each user, it needs to be included. Please Note: Castle Learning reserves the right to decline the use of generic or non-secure passwords.)
Deactivating Unused Accounts
As unused or "stale" accounts provide portholes of unauthorized access, we recommend that these accounts be deactivated. Please use your Admin account to review all Admin and Teacher accounts that currently exist and deactivate ones that are no longer needed. You can choose to display only active accounts on the Accounts page by clicking the radio button labeled Active only in the Report Options section.
IMPORTANT! Customer Support Summer Hours
Please note that from June 25th through August 3rd, Castle Learning Customer Support will be available Monday through Friday from 8am until 5pm via phone, email, and live chat. We will return to our normal hours of 8am until 8pm on August 6th.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the end of year procedures, please contact Castle Learning Customer Support at Support@CastleLearning.com by calling 1-800-345-7606, Ext. 1.
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Meet Us!
Let's get together at one of these conferences or contact us about Castle Learning Online.
For the latest information about meeting the Castle Learning Online representatives, please contact us at sales@castlelearning.com or toll free at 800 345-7606, ext. 2.
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Castle Learning Online / 50 Countryside Lane / Depew, NY 14043 / 800-345-7606
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