San Antonio's Harlandale ISD Pilots SRA Digital Content and Netbooks at Summer School

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (June 22, 2009) – Third-graders attending summer school at Harlandale Independent School District in San Antonio are testing 21st century learning technologies during a three-week period this summer. SRA/McGraw-Hill, along with M&A Technology, is providing these elementary students with access to netbooks to take advantage of SRA’s digital learning content in literacy skills.

Students are using the netbooks to access SRA/McGraw-Hill’s Imagine It! eSuite technology. At the end of the pilot, SRA hopes to evaluate student and teacher response to utilizing netbooks in the classroom.

Imagine It! is SRA’s latest research-based reading and language arts curriculum for Grades Pre-K–6. Instruction with Imagine It! is enhanced through its integrated technology, the eSuite. For Grade 3 students, the eSuite features:

• eStudent Reader: Electronic version of the Student Reader with audio, zoom, and easy-to-access pages straight from the Table of Contents. The electronic tool also provides the ability to highlight selection vocabulary and a glossary with audio of the words.
• eSkills and eGames: Online games and interactive reading activities to build vital reading skills like phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and writing.
• eFluency: With eFluency, students benefit from innovative assessment methods aimed at helping them become comfortable with reading aloud. Students read and record passages, and teachers then listen to these recordings and access data based on the total number of words recorded and the number of words per minute. This data helps tailor fluency activities to fit the needs of every student.
• eInquiry: Guides students systematically on how to complete research projects and offers the students a variety of research topics from which to choose. Includes a Project Planner Notebook, which allows students to collect and organize their research information.
• eBackground Builders: Short videos build background knowledge as students begin each unit.
• eDecodable Stories: Students hear each story read aloud. They can then focus on new vocabulary words with the Read mode, which allows the user to click on individual words and hear them correctly pronounced.
• eSound/Spelling Cards: Animations, music, and an audio read of the jingles for each sound card.

“We anticipated the excitement from the students when we decided to move forward with this project. The amazing thing to see is the level of enthusiasm we encountered from the teachers,” said Myrna Martinez, software support specialist at Harlandale. “We’re anxious to see the results of the project at the end of summer school.”

About Harlandale Independent School District
Located in San Antonio, Tex., Harlandale Independent School District serves 14,011 students in Grades Pre-K–12. The student population is approximately 95.6% Hispanic, 3.6% Caucasian, .6% African American, .1% Asian American, and 1% American Indian/Alaska Native. For more information about Harlandale, visit Harlandale.k12.tx.us.

About M&A Technology
M&A Technology, a leader in the educational market, offers a wide range of technology solutions that are based on innovation to improve learning through technology. In addition, M&A Technology provides a unique platform for contract manufacturing and custom built servers and workstations. For more information, please visit MAComp.com.

About Imagine It!
Imagine It! is the result of 45 years of research and field study. It contains all the elements recommended by the National Reading Panel: instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, explicit phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The program has a focus on Response to Intervention and covers all daily reading, language arts, and writing curriculum requirements. It also has abundant curriculum links to science and social studies. Imagine It! fully integrates state-of-the-art technology tools to enhance learning. The authors, who are researchers themselves, continue to update the program as new studies are published revealing the latest findings on effective instructional methods. For more information, visit ImagineItReading.com.

About SRA/McGraw-Hill
SRA/McGraw-Hill is the top provider of specialized research-based educational programs and professional development for the elementary market. Leading programs include SRA Imagine It! reading program, Direct Instruction, SRA Number Worlds, and additional core and supplemental programs. SRA is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment, and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at MHEducation.com. For more information on SRA/McGraw-Hill’s products, call 1-888-SRA-4543, visit SRAonline.com, or find an SRA representative in your area.

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