TargetScore! Learning Blog
T. Donahue
This Blog Will Explore Two Key Questions:
(1) Can we transfer the successful methods we developed in school learning labs (in our award-winning Math and Vocabulary-Reading Acceleration programs) into American homes? We know our software gets results. We know that in a lab setting kids get addicted to it and that we often have to tell them, "That's enough for today. Stop Working!" But parents buy learning software, not children. The question is: can we sell them learning software their children will actually use? (think that's a funny question? In a world full of edutainment programs that neither educate nor entertain we think it's about time a company asked it!)
(2) What tools and methods does research- and our successful lab experience- show to be crucial to motivating children to "fall in love with practice" and to ensuring that their practice time isn't wasted?
Key tools you'll see explained, tracked, critiqued, defended: the Learning Zones Placement games; the TargetScore! Motivation & Mastery System; TargetScore! Progress Trackers (printable paper trackers); Perfect Practice Vocabulary and Math Learning Paths; and our claim that "40 words a week can change a child's life!"
| Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 |
| How to Help Kids "Fall in Love with Practice" |
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| Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 05:31 |
Why do most educational software games remain unused after only one or two tries? Most are missing some or all of the 6 things researchers say you need
to help kids "fall in love with practice":
1. Clear Learning Goals ("clear" means defined, visually or numerically)
2. Ability-Appropriate Goals (games that are too easy bore us; too hard, frustrate us);
3. Clear, Instant Feedback (on progress toward goals)
4. A Next-Step Goal always waiting (the brain rewards us for learning new things)
5. Drama & Suspense: time-pressure, increasing level of difficulty: 'Will I make it... before time runs out?! ... before the little monsters eat me?!'
6. Real-World Power: kids know the difference between skills that only help them in video games and skills that make them stronger in the real world.
Here's how the TargetScore! Motivation & Mastery System matches up to the six elements: 1. Clear Goals: TargetScore! 4-Game Learning Path;
2. Ability-Appropriate Goals: Learning Zones Placement game (starts every student in a customized learning zone);
3. Clear, instant feedback: TargetScore animated Score Cards;
4. Next-Step goals (so when they hit one Target they can use the skills they've just mastered to tackle the next level)
5. Drama & Interaction: time-pressure, increasing level of difficulty: Will I make it... before time runs out?! ... before the little monsters eat me?! etc.
6. Real-World Power: TargetScore! Learning System's 3000 Core Literacy Words. Words are power. Don't believe it? Remember the study that found CEOs of Fortune 500 companies had the largest vocabularies of any profession. Words are power: power to understand, power to create, power to persuade.
The TargetScore! Learning system was developed and tested under real-world conditions and designed to help kids "fall in love with practice" so they spend enough time (on the 'perfect practice' learning path) to get results. |
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Do you worry that TV (passive, fleeting connections; 75% images, only 25% words), the Internet (browsing, not reading), iPods (songs without lyrics), cell phones (no time to read, think, or finish one conversation), video games (please!), and all the other distractions of our Video Age might be suppressing your children's word power? Fight back with TargetScore! Vocabulary
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| Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 |
| Getting Kids to Play "Games That Make Them Strong" |
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| Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 01:32 |
So how do you get your kids to to actually use that vocabulary software you just bought?
You could give them a talk about how vocabulary is the key to staying on grade-level in reading (after second grade). You could tell them that making sure their vocabulary "keeps up with the books" is a key to succeeding in school and on high-stakes tests like the SAT or ACT. You could tell them that modern life (with all its distractions--TV, video games, the Internet, cell phones, etc.) will make it very hard for them to "grow their vocabulary" at the rate their grandparents grew theirs.
You could warn them that if they don't take steps they will most likely find themselves without the vocabulary they need to earn high enough grades and test-scores to get into their first choice college--or to do well at whatever college or career they do choose. Then you could sit back and see if they start spending an hour a day on the new software-- build a bigger vocabulary, read the great books, become captain of the debate team!
But I wouldn't do it that way! In the next post I'll tell you what I say at my house... |
Permalink
Do you worry that TV (passive, fleeting connections; 75% images, only 25% words), the Internet (browsing, not reading), iPods (songs without lyrics), cell phones (no time to read, think, or finish one conversation), video games (please!), and all the other distractions of our Video Age might be suppressing your children's word power? Fight back with TargetScore! Vocabulary
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| Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008 |
| Our Home Software Now in 50 Homes! |
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| Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008 06:35 |
Ok, as of today children in over 50 homes are using the TargetScore! Vocabulary software.
From an accountant's perspective the number is laughable (especially when you realize a few families received free copies!). We had the usually unexpected startup delays: software bugs, waiting for T1 lines (delayed more than usual due to the catastrophic San Diego fires in October-November-- 1700 homes destroyed-- which had the phone company working round the clock) and we basically missed the 2007 Christmas selling season. (See "3 Learning Games You Should Have Bought Your Kids for Christmas") But from a teacher's point of view "50" is a very fine number. Since the TargetScore! methods and software were originally developed in schools where we were used to helping hundreds of children a semester, you may ask why I'm happy with 50?
I look at it this way-- in only a few days our small sales staff (we call them "learning consultants") managed to convince around 50 families to take our vocabulary-based reading acceleration program into their homes--because they believed our promise that it would help their children. That's exciting, but it's also a bit daunting-- now we have to make sure we keep that promise.
Because our goal is not just to sell our learning software, our goal is to change US education one household at a time. So if a family buys a copy of TargetScore! Vocabulary but doesn't use it we've failed--even if they keep it and we make money.
More on how we can make sure we keep our promise in the next post... |
Permalink
Do you worry that TV (passive, fleeting connections; 75% images, only 25% words), the Internet (browsing, not reading), iPods (songs without lyrics), cell phones (no time to read, think, or finish one conversation), video games (please!), and all the other distractions of our Video Age might be suppressing your children's word power? Fight back with TargetScore! Vocabulary
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Vocabulary-Reading
