Adventures in After School Learning Blog

-By Mike DeBritz on Wednesday, March 28, 2012

These things really never get old!

-By Mike DeBritz on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Have your students take a shot at a $30,000 scholarship in Google's Doodle contest, where students compete to create a logo based on "If I could travel in time, I'd visit…" theme. 

This could be great fun as an after school project that everyone could try. Here's the kicker the school would also benefit by receiving $50,000 technology grant!! 

 Take a look at the video below or click here to get all the details.  Good luck!

-By Mike DeBritz on Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Google Science Fair is back and from the looks of the world-class prizes at stake they've really taken it up a notch!

Take a look at this quick introductory video to learn more or click here to enter.

-By Mike DeBritz on Wednesday, September 21, 2011

In the never ending search for new and useful solutions for after school, we linked up with a fabulous publisher of interactive learning materials named NewPath Learning. I've known the founders both Kurt Gelke and George Nassis personally for years and have witnessed their skill and dedication in serving educators.

Their mission is to create innovative learning materials that teachers can easily customize to positively impact students' academic progress. Their very first product was a fun board game focusing on grade level vocabulary and math facts. It not only allowed kids to review standards in a fun way but also brought healthy competition and game theory into play which won them the "Teachers Tools Annual Award" in 2009. All their materials are backed by solid research and aligned to state standards.

Just a little over two years ago they rolled all their content in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies together in an online learning system. This system is directed at putting the tools teachers need everyday directly into their hands with an easy-to-use web-based format. I've demonstrated the system to a couple of local customers, who were so impressed they'll be utilizing the software this year.

I see the online system working for after school leaders in three ways:

1. Supplemental Learning Materials: I know that teachers don't always have access to relevant materials to work with kids after school besides homework. The NewPath Online Learning System allows you to create customized assignments for students either in the form of flash cards, worksheets, tutorials or games. The tutorials can be aligned closely to the end of year standards for that student's grade and state. You can also create assignments that involve online practice, where the student can access the system from home or during the school day.

2. Lesson Plans: State Annual Performance Reviews and evaluators require programs to document academic plans which include lesson plans. This can be a tricky requirement to complete, especially with your part-time staff. The system has the capability to create customized learning plans that can be housed on the system and assigned to any student. A really nice feature of the system is how easy it is to align those lessons with both grade level standards and the new common core standards.

3. Quality Time on Task: I've seen this many times with free games, yeah they're easy but at the end of the day and year, you have little idea what kids did with their computer time. The system allows you to control what tasks kids spend their time on and the reporting system will record all progress through the quizzes assigned. This will help you determine your students overall progress and impact your program had for an entire year.

(example screen from online game)

We'll have a lot more to come on this, including webinars and descriptions on other ways to utilize the system. Another great feature of this system is the affordability--just $99 per year for a teacher license that includes 50 student passwords.

If you'd like to learn more take a quick tour or sign up for a FREE TRIAL by clicking here!