ODYSSEYWARE

Students at Newberg  High School are spending at least part of their summer online. While many are gaming or logged onto social networks, others are recovering credits with ODYSSEYWARE.

Recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s Best High Schools, Newberg received a bronze medal for providing a good education across the entire student body and preparing students for postsecondary opportunities. Read more »

Busy teachers everywhere appreciate streamlined processes. That’s why ODYSSEYWARE created the batching feature. Anytime you wish to allow a student to skip an entire unit, enter the course for that student by selecting the Student tab on the left, locating the student and, moving to the right of the student’s name, click on the Grading link for the desired student. 

This opens the course view for the teacher. Read more »

At ODYSSEYWARE®, we understand that moving forward into the high-tech world of online learning can be a challenge, yet teachers across the country are using the latest tools, online resources, and innovative ideas to help students connect to their own education.

Do you know an ODYSSEYWARE teacher that has embraced the use of technology in the classroom to enrich the learning experience of his students? Do you have a story to share about the impact one teacher can have on the lives of her students?

If your answer is yes, nominate this first-rate facilitator to be honored as ODYSSEYWARE’s Teacher of the Month. The winner will be featured in an upcoming issue of the ODYSSEYWARE iQ eNewsletter. Just complete the nomination form to submit your nominee.

Some restrictions apply.

With one decade of the century under our belts, it seems surprising that educators, scientists, and parents continue to struggle to define those skills that should be taught in schools to prepare K-12 students for their future in the Information Age. There seem to be as many opinions as there are students, but more and more often, the phrase “21st century skills” is used to identify a specific and progressive list of skills that are necessary to ensure a successful future for today’s students.

Read more »

The headlines are often bleak with news of high dropout rates, budget cuts, and the closing of underperforming schools. Over the last decade, parents have demanded changes to an educational system that seems to be broken. On the other hand, there’s a sunny spot in Arizona, a place where student achievement is expected. Last year, ACE Charter High School reached a milestone, celebrating the largest graduating class in the school’s 13-year history.

ODYSSEYWARE recently conducted a case study at this innovative charter school that was started in the 90s to provide a technology-driven learning environment for high school students. After trying other computer-based curriculum, ACE switched to ODYSSEYWARE. The results have been remarkable. 

According to Jennifer Fimbres, a teacher at ACE,

“ODYSSEYWARE has had a big impact on the success of our students, especially in student satisfaction and attendance.”

The test scores speak for themselves. Last year, ACE’s pass rate for Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test more than doubled for math and reading.

While the numbers are impressive, student satisfaction is also a key component to successful academic programs. At ACE, both students and teachers expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the curriculum.

“Students didn’t like the old program,” said Jennifer. “It was old technology with a lot of line drawings and green screens. It was not aligned to state standards. Students like the interactive aspect of ODYSSEYWARE and the look. It looks like everything else they’re used to seeing. It’s familiar and easy for them to navigate.”

As the educational landscape rapidly changes, teachers are increasingly looking for ways to engage their students and support their academic success. For this forward-thinking teacher, who loves ODYSSEYWARE’s fully online curriculum, it provides a solution.

“The world that we live in is increasingly technical. Students need to be able to function in that environment with a certain amount of independence. ODYSSEYWARE allows them to do this,” she said.

The results are in and the future is digital, say teachers, at least according a recent survey completed by Grunwald Associates LLC for PBS. Key findings of Digitally Inclined are not surprising for tech-savvy educators who recognize the benefits of providing digital learning tools to students living in a digital world. 

Survey results include the following: 

• Teachers are becoming more strategic in their media use and savvier about integrating it into their repertoire of instructional strategies and resources. 

• Teachers value many different types of digital media, with games and activities for student use in school topping the list. 

• Increasing numbers of teachers are joining virtual professional communities, and many are comfortable using social networking tools in their personal and professional lives. 

This all bodes well for students who function best in a wired (or wireless) world and could usher in changes in both the pre-K and K-12 education. These changes include more “engaging, creative, and collaborative learning environments,” the implementation of more specialized individual learning plans for students with different learning styles and abilities, more teachers actively engaging in their own professional development, and increased opportunities for students to take charge of their own learning. 

At ODYSSEYWARE, we know how important it is for teachers to have access to the digital tools that support academic achievement. Our curriculum not only offers students a media-enriched curriculum that engages the mind, but offers teachers effective and efficient tools for providing individualized instruction that most suits each learner. 

As our schools become increasingly technology-driven, the tools teachers use in their classrooms continue to evolve, driving individualized learning and promoting 21st century skills. What digital tools are you using in your classroom to keep students connected to their own learning?

Just when graduation looked hopeless for credit-deficient students in Lodi, California, school administrators provided a lifeline. According to the Stockton Record and Recordnet.com, students at Lodi Unified high schools will have access to ODYSSEYWARE for credit recovery.

This opportunity comes in the wake of budget cuts which necessitated discontinuation of the summer school programs which helped failing students catch up and recover the credits they needed to graduate. Fully online classes will be offered first to students closest to graduation, then to others for whom the credits are not quite as critical.

With ODYSSEYWARE, these students can log on at school or at home but must take tests in staffed computer labs.

According to Kevin Anderson, who teaches math at Elkhorn Elementary School and has been a district teacher coach,

“I’ve taught summer school for about 10 years without computers, and I was really surprised how well [online classes] went. Engagement of the kids was just really unbelievable. I didn’t have to say anything, and they would come in and turn the computers on and start work without any instruction.”

ODYSSEYWARE is happy to welcome Lodi Unified to its family of partners. It’s our mission to reach kids where they are, and our online curriculum allows students with diverse needs to succeed academically. If your district is faced with budget cuts and funding challenges, an ODYSSEYWARE education specialist can work with you to find a solution that meets your needs.

As school administrators struggle to stay on budget while still providing students with a quality education that meets their diverse needs, school districts in South Dakota have found a practical solution in ODYSSEYWARE.

As reported on Keloland.com in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, seniors at Viborg High School are now able to take an economics class that would not have been available without online curriculum.

According to Viborg/Hurley superintendent Patrick Kraning, they “use it to augment what we do live in class, or it can act as a replacement for a course that we don’t have a person physically there to offer, so it gives us a flexibility.”

ODYSSEYWARE also offers options for kids who struggle in the traditional classroom with a credit recovery program that gives them an opportunity to pass the class and graduate on time.

Is it possible to listen to Katy Perry on an mp3 player while completing an online math assignment and texting a cousin in Poughkeepsie? If you ask anyone born with a silver mouse in hand, it’s not only possible, it can be done effectively. Not so, say the experts. 

While multitasking may be cool and so 21^st century, what we call multitasking is, in most cases, just switching from one task to another, avoiding a collision course of information. Most of us can’t do it very well, as evidenced by the incidence of automobile accidents caused by texting drivers.  In fact, brain research indicates that distractions can change the way people learn, especially as it affects using that knowledge later on.   

Work conducted at Stanford University and reported in an article by Constance Holden in ScienceNOW Daily News indicates,

“Cognitive performance declines when people try to pay attention to many media channels at once.” 

Not surprisingly we tune in and out depending on the attractiveness of what else is happening around us. 

In an age when more and more people are simultaneously working on their computer, social networking, texting, or talking on their smart phones, and listening to music, the implications are frightening. Not only are we not learning or working at capacity, we are actually fooling ourselves into think we’re good at this multitasking.

Like it or not, multitasking is present – in our lives, our classrooms, and the workplace. Instead of trying to convince students to disconnect from their chosen media sources, it’s our job as teachers to help them understand how they can learn most efficiently. We must teach them how to manage the media and the information that freely flows in “the Information Age.” 

It’s part of the job.

One of the benefits of ODYSSEYWARE is that it engages the interest of students in grades 3-12 with interactive tools and stimulating curriculum that helps them to stay on task, improving learning and their academic success.

What can you do as a 21^st century educator to teach the fine art of managing information, keeping students on task while they multitask?

The ODYSSEYWARE iQ eNewsletter is created for you, the innovative educators that have chosen to give your 21^st-century learners the tools they need to succeed. We want to bring you the news that matters in your world. Tell us your interests, your ideas, and the topics that are relevant to you, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your requests.

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