More on MY Access!
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18 Apr 08
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At Robbinsdale Cooper High School, which serves more than 2,000 students in grades 9-12 in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, ninth-graders are just beginning to use WriteToLearn. Teachers and administrators say they'll use it to prepare for the state writing and reading assessments and have high hopes for success.
"We're excited about the possibilities," said social-studies teacher Jill Kind. "The immediate feedback for the students will be great, as well as the knowledge we'll gain. We'll be able to see areas where students need help, so we'll be better able to individualize instruction."
Earlier this school year, language-arts teacher Michael Jenkins started using WriteToLearn with his students at Estancia Middle School in New Mexico, and he's already seeing changes.
"Lights are going on, and they're excited about learning," he said. "When I say it's time to go to the computer lab, they jump up and go, and I have no problem keeping them on task." He added that during a recent visit, Estancia's superintendent was surprised to see that the students were so immersed in WriteToLearn, they didn't even notice when the dismissal bell was about to ring.
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California's Palm Springs Unified School District is investing more than $800,000 in Vantage Learning's MY Access!, an online writing program that it plans to implement throughout the district over the next three years.
"Research shows how effectively [more frequent] writing increases achievement across the curriculum," said Superintendent Lori McCune. "Our teachers are looking forward to seeing not only improvement in written communication, but higher levels of achievement in all subjects they cover in their classrooms."
To use MY Access!, students write an essay based on a teacher's assignment and submit it to the web-based system. MY Access! analyzes more than 350 semantic, syntactic, and discourse characteristics, scoring students on focus and meaning, organization, content and development, language use and style, mechanics and conventions, and overall writing proficiency. The ratings of these elements are combined into one score on a scale of one to six (or one to four, as determined by the teacher), which appears on the screen.
"Writing is one of our most difficult areas to master," said McCune. "Oversized classes at the secondary level make it difficult for teachers to read a large volume of individual student work critically; [we feel] MY Access!, combined with effective professional practices, is the solution."
She added: "With the quick feedback it provides on a one-on-one basis, students reach a higher level of proficiency before they even turn anything in to the teacher for review. This program is a natural extension of an educator's expertise."
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