Posted by Melinda Kolk on Thu, Apr 25, 2013 @ 04:06 PM
As an award-winning leader in providing 21st century tools, Tech4Learning announces the release of Share 4, software secondary students use to build media literacy as they actively engage with classroom content.
Share is authoring software that lets students combine text, graphics, movies, and animations to show mastery and understanding. Students synthesize content and communicate ideas through interactive presentations, brochures, web sites, and digital portfolios.
“Share has always let students author classroom projects,” shares Tech4Learning CEO, David Wagner. “With Share 4 they can now collaborate on projects in real-time, as well as save and publish their work in the cloud giving them a global, authentic audience.”
Laura Spencer, Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Santee School District in California explains, “It has never been easier to provide students an opportunity to create, publish, and share their creativity. Share is a must have 21st century tool!”
To learn more about Share, visit the Tech4Learning web site at: www.tech4learning.com/share.
Posted by Melinda Kolk on Tue, May 08, 2012 @ 04:27 PM
Tech4Learning has released the Pixie Home Edition, a trimmed-down version of the award-winning Pixie software, that provides an affordable ($19.95 on Amazon) way to continue the learning at home. Research shows Pixie improves student achievement at school, and now families can promote the same great learning through creativity at home.
Pixie is exciting creativity software that students can use to share their ideas and imagination through painting, combining art, writing, and voice narration. Pixie is a standard software on elementary computers in districts across the United States. “Millions of students use Pixie at school,” shares CEO David Wagner. “We wanted to bring that same creativity and excitement to the home.” Tech4Learning has also developed free Parent Guides for Pixie that include specific activities in for Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
“My son really enjoys creating pictures and using all of Pixie‘s cool features. I really like the fact that he can navigate through the program by himself. It was all he talked about when he came home from school last year, and now he gets to enjoy it at home and it didn’t cost us a fortune!” shares parent Susie Winters.
Additional information about Pixie Home Edition is available at: http://tech4learning.com/pxhome
Posted by Melinda Kolk on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 04:28 PM
Tech4Learning has released Common Core Curriculum Guides for Pixie to help K-5 educators align creativity, their curriculum, and the Common Core Standards.
The guides include over 100 pages of activities, lesson plans, and classroom stories that provide ideas and strategies for using the creative technology tools in Pixie to meet the Common Core learning goals.
Pixie is educational software students use to share their ideas, imagination, and understanding through a combination of text, original artwork, voice narration, and images.
“Many of our customers are grappling with how best to implement Common Core Standards in a way that addresses 21st century skills,” explains David Wagner, CEO of Tech4Learning. “We put together guides that highlight activities and lessons educators can use to meet the goals of the standards through creative work with technology.”
The Common Core Guides for Pixie include:
- activities and classroom procedures that meet the new standards for grades K-5,
- success stories from educators already using Pixie to meet Common Core goals, and
- creative, high-level lesson plans that engage students and meet multiple standards.
“The guides provide examples of great projects that are already occurring in classrooms around the country,” shared Melinda Kolk, Director of Professional Development. “We hope these stories will inspire even more teachers to engage students in high-level, creative project work.”
More information on the common core guides can be found at: http://web.tech4learning.com/meet-common-core-standards-with-pixie/ or by contacting Kristen Yazbek at 877-834-5453.
Posted by Melinda Kolk on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 @ 06:27 PM
Tech4Learning has released an update to Wixie that makes it easy to track student progress toward achievement of Common Core Standards. Wixie is an authoring tool students can use to paint pictures, write stories, and record their voice to explore the curriculum and demonstrate mastery.
With the update, teachers can assign activities specific to Common Core Standards and attach Common Core Standards to student projects in Wixie. Teachers can track progress towards the standards and assign activities to individual students in order to develop mastery.
“Hundreds of the activities in Wixie have been correlated to Common Core Standards,” shares Melinda Kolk, Director of Curriculum Development at Tech4Learning, “and Wixie’s new management tools make it easy for teachers and administrators to view and evaluate student work, and differentiate instruction as students progress toward mastery of these standards.”
“With the addition of the Common Core Standards, Wixie continues to evolve as a core curriculum product, instead of nice to have technology supplement,” explains David Wagner, CEO of Tech4Learning.
Because Wixie is a cloud-based product, the Common Core integration with Wixie is immediately available to all current Wixie subscribers.
More information about Wixie is available at: www.tech4learning.com/wixie or by contacting Kristen Yazbek at 877‐834‐5453.
Posted by Melinda Kolk on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 @ 11:55 AM
In an article highlighting how cloud-based computing is moving beyond administration to promoting student collaboration and creativity, Wixie leads the way. The articles highlights projects done at Meiklejohn Elementary School in Arvada, Colorado where the 4th graders design lessons for their Kindergarten buddies.
Melissa Swenson, the Library Media Specialist for Meiklejohn Elementary School, finds that with the use of Wixie, “students are able to communicate their understanding of content in a more deep and rich way.”
Read the entire article!
Wixie is available to students 24/7 wherever they have Internet access. Students can extend their learning outside the classroom making it an essential 21st century productivity tool. Educators also have the ability to manage student work, assign projects, and share student work instantaneously with a unique URL and/or embed code. Parents, too, can now post their child’s work to their own web site or blog.
Currently 6 schools in Jefferson County Publis Schools are JEFFCO piloting Wixie for improved student engagement and productivity.
Posted by Melinda Kolk on Fri, May 27, 2011 @ 01:47 PM
Tech4Learning has released a series of parent guides for Pixie, its most popular classroom product. Available for kindergarten through fifth grade, the parent guides include specific and practical Pixie activities across the curriculum for parents to work on at home with their child.
“Not only is Pixie the perfect tool to support learning in the classroom, it transitions easily into the home,” explains David Wagner, CEO of Tech4Learning. “At home, rather than consuming computer games, Pixie encourages kids to create – create artwork, stories, diagrams, designs, and much more.”
If students use Pixie at school, parents are able to purchase Pixie, and other Tech4Learning software tools at significant savings, making it easy and affordable for children to continue their learning at home with the same tools they use at school.
With the release of these free Pixie parent guides online, parents of elementary age students have a handbook for activities to complete with their child to help maintain current academic skills and avoid the summer slide. Parent guides are available at no charge from the Tech4Learning web site at: http://www.tech4learning.com/parents.