Hello all,

Summer is winding down, and it is a bit of a slower webinar week here on the Island. We are holding our annual conference where all our outside respresentatives from all over the US are visiting our Dallas headquarters for fun and learning. Don't worry, though, we still have TWO amazing Speaker's Series webinars this week, as well as a "Back to School" webinar for admins on Monday! This webinar is essential for getting back on the Island when it's time to go back to school! The calendar is below. Just click the links or follow the directions to register!  Have a great week!

Wednesday, July 28

Speaker's Series: Web 2.0 in Your Classroom: Safely and Effectively Integrating New Media - 4 PM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or e-mail training@studyisland.com

Friday, July 30

Speaker's Series: Study Island and Microsoft Excel - 12 PM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or e-mail training@studyisland.com

Monday, August 2

Back to School, Back to the Island for Admins - 10 AM Eastern

Hi everyone!

We talked a little about professional development over the summer months on Friday. So, here's another idea for you: take in a few of our free webinars this summer! Each Monday, we post our calendar of webinars for the next week. Take a look at what's coming up, and take the opportunity to schedule some time for learning! If you have any questions about our webinar series, ask us on the forums!  Have a great week!

Tuesday, July 20

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! (Registering Users) - 11 AM Eastern

Speaker's Series: Virtual Field Trips: Learning Beyond the Classroom - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or e-mail training@studyisland.com.

Thursday, July 22

Welcome to the Island: Study Island Administrators - 12 PM Eastern

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! (Registering Users) - 3 PM Eastern

Friday, July 23

Study Island Speaker's Series: Study Island Report Customization Using Microsoft Excel - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or e-mail training@studyisland.com.

Monday, July 26

Study Island Survivor: Principal Webinar - 11 AM Eastern

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! (Registering Users) - 3 PM Eastern

Creating Customized Writing Assignments for Students - 4 PM Eastern

When I worked as a teacher, I was a preschool teacher working in a early childhood education environment, so I worked year round.  I was always jealous of the 2 to 3 months that K-12 teachers got off during the summer. I did wonder, though, "What would I do with all that time?" Sure, there were the givens: I would nap, watch silly television, spend time at the pool, maybe take a trip. I also knew that, just as I did when I was a K-12 student, I would eventually get bored and be ready to get back to my normal work. What would I do in the mean time to better myself as an educator?

I began wondering this again recently. So, I put the question out to our Facebook fans and started paying attention to what our Twitter followers are up to for ideas.  Here is what I discovered that teachers are doing over the summer on Facebook:

- "Reading leadership books. "Our Iceberg is Melting" by Kotter is a great way to look at things if your school or circumstances are going to change in the near future."

- "Becoming a (Study Island) Power User!" - We think this is a great idea!

- "Understanding by Design" workshops to learn to build a unit backward, starting with what I want them to know in "40 years".

From what I have seen on Twitter, people are:

- attending lots of edtech conferences

- taking time for themselves (just as essential as anything else, in my opinion)

What are you doing over the summer to develop yourself, professionally and personally?  Tell us on the forums!

Have a great weekend!

If you have been following the development of the new, nationwide Common Core standards, you know that final versions of the standards have been officially released, and many states have officially jumped on board.

Study Island has been following the developments from the beginning, and have been developing new products for the states that decided to officially adopt the standards. We are now excited to announce that the first of our Common Core products is available!

Customers in Ohio and Missouri now have access to 2nd - 8th grade Common Core Standards products!  This comes at no additional cost to the customer, and are included as part of our overall product offering in your state.

The products are fully based on the Common Core Standards, and each product contains a crosswalk document showing the overlap between the state standards, and SI topics.

The following states will have Common Core products avalable in the next few weeks (before the end of July):

- Michigan

- Maryland

- Illinois

- North Carolina

- West Virginia

- Wisconsin

- Hawaii

Is your state moving to the Common Core standards? Do you have any concerns for how Study Island is responding?  Let us know on the forums!

Have a great week!

"Waiting for 'Superman" was brought to my attention about a week ago. After doing some research online, I learned that there has been quite a bit of buzz in the education world about this film for quite some time, and I have somehow missed it.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim, Oscar-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth", and written by Guggenheim and Jeffrey Kimball, "Waiting for 'Superman" addresses the condition of the public education system in the United States.  In so doing, they break down the issues into the basic divisions of the system: students, teachers, administrators, unions, schools, states and the whole country.  Elsewhere, he tells the stories of 4 students from different places and backgrounds, and the uphill battle they and their parents face in getting them the education they deserve.

The film comes out this fall, but there doesn't appear to be a solid release date yet.  I can't wait to see this film. What about you?  Tell us on the forums!

Here is the trailer, but you should really visit the website at www.waitingforsuperman.com for more information, and to make a pledge to see the film.  

This installment of the Weekly Webinar Calendar is a bit late...or early...depending on how you look at it.  Because of the holiday, we didn't post it Monday and because of ISTE, we didn't post it yesterday.  Today, you'll get a look at the webinars coming up for the rest of this week and next, as well as the following Monday.  Since it is summer and so many of you are taking some much needed and much deserved R&R, we have adjusted our webinar offerings accordingly to offer slightly fewer sessions.  As always, you're more than welcome to join one or more! Also, feel free to visit us on the forums at forums.studyisland.com/forum.  Enjoy!

Thursday, July 8

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! (Registering users) - 3 PM Eastern

Speaker's Series: Assessing Student Needs and Abilities through Study Island - 5 PM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department fro details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or e-mail training@studyisland.com.

Friday, July 9

Managing Your Islanders: A Guide to Class Manager - 10 AM Eastern

Thursday, July 15

Easy Setup in Less than 30 Minutes! (Registering users) - 3 PM Eastern

Monday, July 19

Speaker's Series: Motivation Facilitation - 11 AM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

We spent Monday through Wednesday last week attending ISTE's 31st annual conference and exposition in Denver, CO. While we were there, we got to meet lots of customers, both old and new, and introduce Study Island to lots of people for the first time. We also got the chance to meet and get to know a newest partner on the response front, SMART, and our new sister company, Education City.  We also got to cathc up with folks we have met before, like the good people with Qwizdom, TurningTech, and Renaissance. It was a full and busy three days. Here are some highlights from the show!

Monday

We had a busy first morning when the floodgates opened and allowed visitors into the exhibition hall for the first time.  We handed out lots of stickers to our customers for our special, customers-only contest.  It was really wonderful to meet so many of our customers from all over the country!

Here are a few pictures from that first day:

Rich presents on using Study Island with Qwizdom.

Rich helps someone with a pricing question.

Our VP of Sales, Julie Huston, gives a demo.

Tuesday

We spent lots and lots of time Tuesday looking for customers wearing their Study Island stickers to award them their prize of a $20 Target gift card.  Here are a few of the winners:

Check out our Facebook page for all the pictures of the winners and their names!

Wednesday

Most of us had headed home on Wednesday, but we still had a few people manning the booth and conducting demonstrations.  It was a great, albeit short, day.

The theme for this year's ISTE for us ended up being that of a meet and greet.  Except of our (amazing) direct sales force, many of us don't get to meet many of you face to face, so it was a wonderful opportunity that we were so very glad to get.

If you made it out to ISTE, tell us your favorite part! What did you most enjoy?  Did you get a chance to stop by and say hello?  Let us know on the forums!

Have a great week, everyone!

ISTE attendees!

Here is our official schedule. Use this to pencil us in on your schedule. We'd love to see you! For a description of the sessions, click here to view our blog on what to expect from our presentations. Also, don't forget about all our giveaways! Click here for giveaway details!

We'll see you in Denver!

Monday, June 28

10:00 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 1)
11:00 - Study Island and SMART
11:30 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 2)
12:30 - Study Island and Renaissance
1:30 - Study Island and Turning Point
2:00 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 3)
3:00 - Study Island and Qwizdom
4:00 - Study Island and SMART

Tuesday, June 29

10:00 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 1)
10:30 - Study Island and SMART
11:30 - Study Island and Qwizdom
12:00 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 2)
1:00 - Study Island and Turning Point
2:00 - Cruising through the Lesson Cycle (Part 3)
3:00 - Study Island and Renaissance
4:00 - Study Island and SMART

Wednesday, June 30

10:30 - Study Island and Turning Point
11:30 - Study Island and Qwizdom
12:30 - Study Island and SMART

We have lots of fun giveaways scheduled for ISTE!  Here are some of the giveaways you can be on the lookout for, as well as some details on what you need to do to win!

Response system giveaways: After each demo, there will be a giveaway for a class set of the featured system. EXCEPTION: Renaissance will hold only one giveaway. Anyone who attends a demo featuring Renaissance will be entered into one drawing. All you need to do to be entered into these drawings is to come to (and stay through) the demonstration.  Also, you will be entered in our GRAND PRIZE DRAWING!

Twitter giveaways: We will be conducting several giveaways via Twitter. You will need to be following us on Twitter to know about the giveaways and WIN! Our twitter username is @studyisland.  Throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday, we will tweet instructions on how to win.  You may have to find the Island Luau girls, find Lukas or Solomon (from our graphic novel series, The World As You Know It) and return him to our booth, or come to the booth and give us the Island password that we tweeted. Prizes for these giveaways will be t-shirts, pens, keychains and AN ENTRY INTO OUR GRAND PRIZE DRAWING!

Customers Only Sticker Giveaway: If you are a Study Island customer, you may have received an e-mail from us about ISTE.  Print that e-mail and bring it with you to receive a special sticker to wear.  If we spot you wearing your sticker, out on the floor or in a session, you will win a $20 Target gift card and an entry into our GRAND PRIZE DRAWING!

So, what is the grand prize, anyway?

GRAND PRIZE: $1500 Amazon.com gift card!

So, in review, here's what you have to do to win:

• Follow us on twitter here: @studyisland
• Come to our demos and trainings

For the remainder of this week, we will be posting a series of miniblogs dedicated to the 2010 ISTE conference.  We will briefly discuss some of the things you can expect from the Island at ISTE and close with our official ISTE schedule on Friday!

DEMONSTRATIONS: We will have demonstrations throughout the day Monday and Tuesday, and through the morning in Wednesday.  These demonstrations usually last about a half an hour, and cover the basics of Study Island and often cover how to use Study Island with some of the various student response systems you can use with Study Island.  The systems that will be part of  our demos include:

• SMART Response
• Qwizdom
• Renaissance Learning
• TurningPoint from TurningTech

Hi everyone!

This weeks installment of our weekly webinar calendar will be a bit different. Next week, Study Island will be at the 2010 ISTE conference in Denver.  I will be there, tweeting live and updating all of you on the action from the scene! That also means, however, that since I will be THERE, I won't be here to post our schedule as usual next Monday. So, this week, we have two weeks of webinars posted. Remember next week that if you need a refresher, you can come right here!  Also, remember that you can check out our forums here for conversation with fellow educators! Have a great week!

TRAINING/IMPLEMENTATION WEBINARS ARE IN GREEN.

PROGRAM OVERVIEWS FOR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE IN ORANGE.

Tuesday, June 22

Speaker's Series: Study Island and Microsoft Excel - 4 PM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Wednesday, June 23

Graphic Novel Overview - 3:30 PM Eastern

Study Island and Turning Tech Demo - 4:30 PM Eastern

Thursday, June 24

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! - 3 PM Eastern

Creating Customized Writing Assignments for Students - 4 PM Eastern

Study Island and eInstruction Demo - 4:30 PM Eastern

Friday, June 25

Speaker's Series: Study Island Report Customization Using Microsoft Excel - 9 AM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Monday, June 28

Study Island v3 Enhancements and Program Overview - 3:30 PM Eastern

Tuesday, June 29

Welcome to the Island: Study Island Administrators - 5 PM Eastern

Wednesday, June 30

Speaker's Series: Virtual Field Trips: Learning Beyond the Classroom - 5 PM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Thursday, July 1

Speaker's Series: Study Island and Microsoft Excel - 9 AM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes! - 3 PM Eastern

Here's an inspiring story for your Friday afternoon. :)

Several months ago, we posted a blog about David Benke, a teacher who tackled a shooter outside Deer Creek Middle School in Colorado.  We're now happy to announce that Mr. Benke is being honored by the School Safety Advocacy Council during it's conference in Orlando, FL July 26-30.

To read the full story on edweek's Teacher Magazine, click here.

Here's video of Mr. Benke's interview with the Associated Press.  Thank you again, Mr. Benke, for your bravery!

Summer is here!  It's the time of year that so many students (and teachers!) wait for with great anticipation all year long.  Many parents and teachers, however, have concerns about students losing some of what they have learned over the summer.  How can you create an atmosphere of learning during the summer months to keep student's brains learning?  Here are some ideas, and some ideas on how to get the most use out of your Study Island subscription as well.

-          Keep in contact with students and/or parents over the summer via e-mail.  Team up with teachers in the next grade and send out periodic reminders about summer reading, activity ideas, and programs that are available for their use over the summer, such as Study Island.

-          Send students a "Scavenger Hunt" of learning experiences to do over the summer, including things like visiting museums, the zoo, botanical gardens, or other local educational attractions.

-          Let your students know about Study Island Summer Camp!  It's a really great version of the program for summer use.  It incorporates material across curriculum areas and includes it all in a fun, summer-themed format.  It's also inexpensive. Check out the Summer Camp website here.

-          Open up the school's computer lab for a few hours a week for Study Island time.  Take it a step further and decorate the lab in an Island theme!

-          As a teacher, use the summer to get ready for next year.  Clear out classes, assignments, etc.  Give us a call at 800-419-3191 or click the live chat button on any page if you need help doing this.

-          If you're a parent, have your kids work some in the last grade level they were in, but also work in the grade level they are going into.  Don't worry; the teacher can clear out any stats from the summer that are less than fantastic.

Of course, you don't want the kids to forget to have fun, relax, and get geared up for a new school year.  That includes a lot of swimming, napping, video game playing, bike riding and other exciting activities.  Just don't forget to let learning in every so often as well.  Have a great summer! 

Good morning, everyone!

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are experiencing a site outage here on the Island.

Last night, our servers experienced a serious and very unique failure.  Our team has been working all night to resolve the problem, but it has taken much more time than expected.

We are currently working to resolve the issue, but due to the size and complexity of the issue, our system will be down for at least the next 6 hours.

We truly apologize for this situation.  We pride ourselves on having very little downtime, so this situation is very unusual and disappointing.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue.  Our Customer Relations department will be available all day to help with any further issues. You can contact us at 800-419-3191 or by e-mailing support@studyisland.com.

Have a great day!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to another week! We have some great webinar offerings this week, so settle in, turn on the air conditioner and get in some relaxation and learning.  Also, if you have a moment, feel free to visit the Island Community for some discussion with fellow teachers.  Have a great week!

TRAINING/IMPLEMENTATION WEBINARS ARE IN GREEN.

PROGRAM OVERVIEWS FOR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE IN ORANGE.

Tuesday, June 15

California Program Overview - 2 PM Pacific

Wednesday, June 16

Speaker's Series: Assessing Student Needs and Abilities through Study Island (grades 3-8) - 9 AM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Thursday, June 17

Easy Setup in Less than 30 Minutes! (Registering Users) - 3 PM Eastern

South Carolina Program Overview - 3:30 Eastern

Minnesota Program Overview - 3:30 Central

Going Coconuts for Stats - 4 PM Eastern

Friday, June 18

Welcome to the Island: Study Island Administrators - 9 AM Eastern

Monday, June 21

Reading Intervention the Study Island Way: Graphic Novels - 12 PM Eastern

Study Island's parent company, Archipelago Learning, is very excited to announce the acquisition of a new member of the Island family, EducationCity.com!  Archipelago and EducationCity.com joined forces officially late yesterday afternoon.  

EducationCity is an online classroom, computer lab, and homework resource with integrates interactivity, animation and humor to provide basic instruction in reading, math, and science to children between ages 3 and 12. It also features teacher resources to support lesson delivery.

Like Study Island, EducationCity can be accessed from any web browser, maps to standards, combines rigorous content and interactive animations, fun games, and motivational rewards.  Unlike Study Island, EducationCity's core classroom and individualized instruction is geared toward the initial teaching phases of material.  In other words, while you would use Study Island to assess your students progress once you have taught a lesson, EducationCity is a tool you would use during the process of teaching the lesson as part of the learning process. 

When used together, you can look forward to a more comprehensive solution to your instructional needs from beginning to end.

We're looking forward to a long and happy future together!

Are you excited to see us join forces with EducationCity? Do you currently use any of their products?  Let us know on the forums!

Happy Thursday!

At the end of this month, the granddaddy of all edtech conferences is taking place in Denver, CO.   ISTE 2010 will be held from June 28-30.

Since this is just about the biggest conference there is, we have been cooking up some plans that are equally big!  Here's a sneak peek at what you can expect from Study Island at ISTE 2010!

• We will hold presentations explaining how to best utilize Study Island with each of our compatible classroom response systems, including SMART Response, Qwizdom, Renaissance, and TurningPoint by TurningTech.  Some of those presentations will include the opportunity to win a classroom set of that system!
• Our training department will hold several presentations each of a three-part series on utilizing Study Island throughout your lesson planning cycle.  These will be full featured training sessions, and as an ISTE attendee, you get them absolutely free!  You won't want to miss this opportunity!
• We will be holding several giveaways throughout the day each day of the conference.  Make sure you are following us on Twitter (@studyisland) to get updates on what you'll need to do to win prizes like Study Island gear, t-shirts, gift cards, and MORE, including a very special grand prize giveaway.  Stay tuned to find out what the grand prize will be!

Keep checking back for updates such as an official schedule of events and announcements of specific prizes.

What are you most looking forward to at ISTE?  What is your must-attend workshop?  Tell us on the forums!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Monday!

It certainly feels like summer here on the Island.  Today in Dallas, TX, it is 97 degrees and 80% humidity.  If summer weather has hit you, We hope you are enjoying the heat, or at least combating it to the best of your ability.  If you get a break from school (if you are still in school) or from summer fun, check out these webinars for the next week.  Also, check out our forums for information and conversation with fellow teachers!

Have a great week!

TRAINING/IMPLEMENTATION WEBINARS ARE IN GREEN

PROGRAM OVERVIEWS FOR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE IN ORANGE

Tuesday, June 8

Florida Program Overview - 3:30 PM Eastern

Wednesday, June 9

Managing Your Islanders: A Guide to Class Manager - 9 AM Eastern

Study Island Survivor: For Principals - 11 AM Eastern

Michigan Program Overview - 3:30 PM Eastern

Thursday, June 10

SI Training: Easy Setup in Less Than 30 Minutes (Registering Users) - 3:00 PM Eastern

Massachusetts Program Overview - 3:30 PM Eastern

Monday, June 14

Speaker's Series: Virtual Field Trips: Learning Beyond the Classroom - 10 AM Eastern - PRE-PAYMENT/REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Contact training department for details at 800-419-3191 option 6, or training@studyisland.com.

Bearing signs that say things like, "Enuf is Enuf. Enough is too much,", a small group of protesters outside the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. today. What are they protesting?  Spelling.

This group of people believe that the English language should change to a system where all words are spelled phonetically.  They claim that the millions of illiterate Americans are a result of clinging to traditional spelling. They claim that the English language is bogged down with too many spellings for similar sounds and vice versa. They also believe that the tendency of modern young people to spell words like "great" as "gr8", "your" as "ur" and so on is a revival of the "simple spelling movement" which they claim started over 100 years ago.

I, for one, have never heard of such a thing, so this story made me do a serious double take.  What do you think? Is this absolutely looney or does it kind of make sense? Tell us on the forums!

I hope that gives you some food for thought this Friday. Have a great weekend!

Over the years, many of our users  have asked for some sort of certification process for teachers in Study Island, giving them an "expert" status.  After years of ideas and months of planning and development, we are proud to introduce the Study Island Power User program.  This program will certify you as a master of Study Island, provides you with a free self-paced training and professional development opportunity.  Also, once you have completed the program, you will be entered into a monthly drawing for a $25 gift card to several different stores and restaurants.

This program allows admins and teachers to work through Study Island topics covering the basics of Study Island usage and features. Mastery of the topics and post test will certify you as a "Power User" of the program and allow you to earn rewards.

To become a Power User, just log in to Study Island as usual and click "Certified Power User Program" under "Tools" (for admins) or from the School Stats Page (for teachers or admins). Provide your information where it says "First time?", and then click the appropriate button to get started, either "Admins" or "Teachers" You will then take a series of Study Island tests containing feature-related questions. Once you finish that, you will be asked  to take a "post test" to earn certification as a "Certified Power User."

Are you ready to become a Power User? Log in now and get started.  You can also discuss the Power User program on the forums!

Have a great Thursday!