Product Update - June 2018
The new Speak Agent version 1.3.8 includes many long-awaited goodies. Here are the highlights:
Rethinking Personalized Learning: The End of Average
I was recently at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum just outside of Washington, DC with my sons. We were looking at the amazing variety of planes and spacecraft including the Columbia Space Shuttle. As we were looking inside some of the older aircraft, we...
The Story Behind Vocab Lab
"Vocab Lab" is a word analysis game on Speak Agent that began with the problem of learning "tier two" words. Many experts classify vocabulary into three tiers. While these vocabulary tiers may not apply to English language learners (ELLs) in quite the same...
Reading texts are best aligned with content, not skill levels
An excellent article published by The Atlantic (view it here) captured key findings from NAEP reading panelists, who last week examined why reading scores have remained flat for two decades.
Speak Agent Pricing for SY2018-19
Speak Agent pricing has two main components: (1) an annual license cost per student and (2) a one-time cost to custom-develop interactive digital lessons that align to a school system's curriculum. The second component is optional but strongly recommended for...
Product Update - April 2018
Based on teacher requests, we added a few new features and enhancements in our April 2018 release (v1.2.5):
Speak Agent for Secondary Grades Now Available!
Speak Agent is now available in two different versions for Primary and Secondary grades. The new Secondary solution provides a customizable teaching and learning tool for middle and high school math, science, social studies, and language arts, as well as...
Why We Created Speak Agent
People often ask us why we decided to make Speak Agent. As co-founder and CTO, I wrote the first line of software code over three years ago. But the need has been around for much longer. Over the past decade the percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs)...
The Story Behind the NSF Study
My last blog post described the NSF-funded study that Rockman et al conducted at Manor (pronounced MAY-ner) Independent School District. It was all about facts and data. In this post, I talk about my experiences, the place, and the people.
NSF Study Finds Speak Agent Improves Science Vocabulary
Research Design
A National Science Foundation-funded study found significant gains in science concept knowledge using Speak Agent's game-based learning program after just a few hours of classroom use. Four second-grade classes and two third-grade classes at...