Capstone Connect

myON goes GLOBAL

A big thank you to Nate Swenson, who as a member of the Capstone Digital team of consultant is a guest writer for this week's myON blog post.  Nate is currently teaching at the American International School of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.  

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Students at the American International School of Jeddah (AISJ) in Saudi Arabia, have been battling for 60 years with the struggle over language.

Most of the students who attend AISJ are not native English language speakers and some students have English as their third, fourth, or fifth language.  Arabic is the language of Saudi Arabia and most students live in homes where no English is spoken , while others are exposed to very limited or broken English.  It is extremely hard to learn a language when you do not get he opportunity to hear the correct version of it on a consistent basis.  Enter, myON.

 AISJ has implemented the myON library in grades prek-5 and students are thriving with this amazing

resource.  Students access books on an individual basis at school during the day and then are able to hear proper English as they read at home.  They love the idea that they are able to find books that they are interested in at their own reading level.  For students to do this in our normal library, they must look through shelves of books, find one that looks interesting, then check to see if it is at their level.

In one of the classes, students have completely read over 3000 books in just three months. Parents love to see their children exposed to English in the evening and many sit with their children and read the books together.  Teachers have seen significant improvement in fluency, comprehension, and overall vocabulary of the students who have read the most books.  myON has had an amazing impact on the students of AISJ and parents love to see their children reading for pleasure at home.  AISJ is so glad that we have implemented this program and students look forward to seeing the new books as they are added to the library.  

Next week - myON goes to the Mars!  How cool would that be! 

Corporate Giving

It was announced today that I will be leading the Corporate Giving for Coughlan Companies. I'm excited to work on this since I think corporate giving shows that Capstone is much more than 'just' a book publisher. Every year our company donates thousands of dollars in books, gives scholarships to employee dependents and encourages our employees to volunteer.

Our biggest Corporate Giving project right now is the Capstone Literacy Center (CLC). About a year ago, Dr. Andy Johnson developed the CLC in the basement of our corporate offices in Mankato. This reading intervention program uses myON Reader and employee volunteers to help local students (at no charge) who just never got the reading help they needed. It's expanded to three sites already! I'm anxious to see where we will expand it next, and excited to dive into my new role!

 

Exciting news!

In January 2011, myON reader launched with 800 enhanced digital books. We have grown, boy have we grown! In January 2013 we have over 3000 enhancedi digital books, 1.75 million students reading on the platform and over 2500 schools using myON reader!

Earlier this month, The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)  organization announced the finalists for the 2013 CODiE Awards. myON reader is a finalist in two of the categories: Best Reading/English/ELL Instructional Solution and Best PreK-12 Personaized Learning Solution. 

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry's only peer-reviewed awards program. Educators and administrators conduct the first-round review of all education nominees. The judges are responsible for selecting the CODiE Awards finalists, and SIIA members then vote on the finalist products. The scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Winners will be announced during a special awards dinner at the nation’s leading education technology conference, the Ed Tech Industry Summit, in San Francisco on May 6.

The complete list of finalist is listed on the SIIA website and each finalist has a link to their program.

In 2011,myON reader was awarded the Product or Service Most Likely to Succeed in the Ed Tech Market and Runner UP in the Most Innovative Ed Tech Product or Service.

 

Top 10 List - Why we love spring in Minnesota

It's the first day of spring and let's just share that Minnesota  isn't looking like spring! We have snow on the ground and today it's 15 degrees with winds of 21 mph. But never fear - we are hardy people - or insane -- you choose. But in honor of the 1st day of Spring here is my top 10 list with a twist of books on myON showing us the way!

 10. We can finally take down the Christmas lights!

 

 

 

 

9. The ice scrapers can be put away for at least 6 months!

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. We have contests to determine what day the ice will come off the lakes!

 

 

 

 

6. We finally get to see grass!

 

 

 

 

5. We get to stop hibernating and see our neighbors again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Baseball/softball /soccer/lacrosse seasons starts!

 

 

 

 

3. Kids go outside & the spring cleaning begins!!

 

 

 

 

2. We start thinking about flowers and gardens!

 

 

 

1. NCAA March Madness Tournament begins (ok that is more personal – GO JAYHAWKS!)

 

We don't quite have a book on myON about Jayhawks - BUT WE SHOULD!

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

The Army has gone to the dogs!

Being a history buff, I frequently visit This Day in History website. Not only do you get a time line of the day in history but there is a great video montage as well. From major political updates to entertainment news and inventions to awards, it’s amazing to me how far we have come and in some instances in such a short time. As I was thinking about what to write today – always trying to think of how to share the great stories about literacy and myON—I  was fortunate to make the connection.

Did you know that on this day in history in 1942, the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) of the US Army began training dogs for the newly established War Dog Program, or “K-9 Corps”?  I have included an excerpt from the website below but how cool is that one of the most read books on myON is Animal Heros!

 

Courtesy of This Day in History: The K-9 Corps initially accepted over 30 breeds of dogs, but the list was soon narrowed to seven: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman Pinschers, 

collies, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes and Eskimo dogs. Members of the K-9 Corps were trained for a total of 8 to 12 weeks. After basic obedience training, they were sent through one of four specialized programs to prepare them for work as sentry dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or mine-detection dogs. In active combat duty, scout dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or mine-detection dogs. In active combat duty, scout dogs provide especially essential by altering patrols to the approach of the enemy and preventing surprise attacks.

myON has thousdands of enhanced digital books matched to student's interests and reading level that kids can choose from. One of the most popoular categories in myON is animals. There are hundreds digital books on dogs pets, therapy dogs and of course dogs that are hero dogs! For more information on the over 4000 books on myON – visit www.TheFutureinReading.com.

 

Student success attributed to myON reader - Learn how!

 

The best part about what we do is postivily impact students lives through literacy. It goes without saying that sharing success stories is one of our favorite things to do!

Thank you Mt. Washington Elementary in Bullitt County in Kentucky!

This note was sent from a 1st Grade teacher to the LMS/myON Reader Building Admininstrator:

Karyn, I wanted to share with you the success with my students that are using myON my consistently.

Kylie entered first grade on a DRA 3, which is right on grade level.  By December, she jumped up to a level 12, which is slightly above grade level for that point in the year. Her use of myON continued to increase as she had a goal of reading 100 books. Now by February, just two months later, she assessed on a DRA 18! She has now reached the benchmark consistent with late fall for a second grader. I would like to add that she has read over 200 myon books!

I contribute a huge part of her success to the easy access of books, her motivation to meet goals and your club levels, and the flexibility of the myON use. She alternates between having books read to her and reading books independently. Thank you for having myON for my students.

Samantha

Congratulations Kylie! And thank you Samantha & Karyn for impacting your students lives!

 

I Love to Read Month

In appreciation of “I Love To Read” month, we are providing FREE access to a limited version of myON reader. For the entire month of February, we want all students to get a taste of the magic behind myON reader and how access to the largest collection of enhanced digital books will encourage a new love of reading!

What is myON reader?

myON reader is a personalized literacy program that matches students’ interests and Lexile® level to the largest collection of enhanced digital books with reading supports. Click here for a video introduction!

Where can I access myON reader?

myON reader provides unlimited access, anytime, anywhere and can be used on laptops, tablets, and iPads,

What types of books are on myON reader?

Students can choose from thousands of digital books that include 70% nonfiction and over 10% Spanish titles.

How do I get FREE access?

Simply go to the website, and complete the form. Upon completion you will receive a login and password for your students! You can use it in your classrooms and students can use it at home or anywhere there is an internet connection.

We encourage you to share this special offer with your colleagues, friends, and family. And of course don’t forget to share your stories with us. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and www.TheFutureinReading.com.

Everyday is Digital Learning Day with myON reader!

Happy Digital Learning Day! 

Capstone Digital is excited to be one of the sponsors for Digital Learning Day! In February 2012 the Alliance for Excellent Education created Digital Learning Day as a national campaign to improve teaching and learning. So far forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, and nearly 20,000 teachers, representing almost 4 million students, have signed up to participate in digital learning activities throughout the day and beyond. 

As a sponsor of the Digital Learning Day, Capstone Digital wants to give everyone the ability to access myON reader for FREE!

myON reader is a personalized literacy program that matches student's interests and Lexile level to the largest collection of enhanced digital books with reading supports. With unlimited access to over 3000+ enhanced digital books, educators can track, measure and forecast reading growth for all students! 

For FREE access to myON reader visit our website today!

To learn more about myON reader check out our video! 

"Fit it all in" February

I'm going to piggyback on Allison's post from last Friday today. See, I was looking at my Capstone school calendar, and it was shocking to me the amount of holiday hullaballoo that is squeezed into just 28 days. The year's shortest month certainly isn't short on holidays. But never fear! For all of your February holidays, Capstone is here!

The following events last all month long:

Black History Month (Check out our World Black History set)

Library Lovers Month 

Youth Leadership Month

These special observances have their own weeks in February:

Children's Authors and Illustrator's Week: 2/1-2/8 (You gotta' love them!)

Random Acts of Kindness Week: 2/11-2/15

Read Me Week: 2/25-3/1 

The following holidays also make an appearance this month:

National Freedom Day: 2/1

Groundhog Day: 2/2 (And my father-in-law's birthday. I hope he doesn't see his shadow—the groundhog, that is, not my father-in-law.)

National Weatherman's Day: 2/5

Digital Learning Day: 2/6 (PebbleGo, anyone?)

National Kite Flying Day: 2/8 (Because once in awhile everyone needs to be reminded to "go fly a kite.")

Toothache Day: 2/9 (I'm not sure if we celebrate this holiday by eating a lot of candy or by abstaining from it.)

National Make a Friend Day: 2/11 (In case you hadn't already made that leap, today is the day to do it.)

Abe Lincoln's birthday: 2/12 (Honest Abe would be 204 by now.)

Valentine's Day: 2/14 (which Allison already covered beautifully)

Random Acts of Kindness Day: 2/17 (Check out the super cute new series Henry Helps.)

Presidents' Day: 2/18 (I was the 1996-97 student council vice president. Does that count?)

Love Your Pet Day: 2/20 (Ummm, shouldn't you love your pet EVERY day? Anyway, check out our new Pets' Guides.)

George Washington's birthday: 2/22 (Good 'ole George would celebrate his 281st birthday this year.)

Quiet Day: 2/25 (Seriously? I wonder if I can get my four-year-old to observe this holiday...)

Polar Bear Day: 2/27 (They're too stinkin' cute not to get their own holiday.)

And here you thought the holiday season was over. February—who knew!?

-Mandy Robbins
Senior Editor
Capstone Nonfiction 

GOT VIDEO?

It doesn’t matter if it is for marketing, training, or even some mindless entertainment, video is HOT! It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy but I have to tell you that in the last 3 months I have been in the midst of several video projects and that hopefully will make an impact on educators, students and parents!

During our recent national sales meeting we challenged our sales team to create and submit their myON moment from what they have heard from teachers and students. Leave it to the sales team to be as creative on one end of the spectrum to very serious and downright presidential in others.

Funny how change happens and as much as some of us resist it, we eventually come around. We are implementing several new programs to best track and monitor our myON reader successes. And when told we were implementing the program, what did I do? I went to YouTube and searched on the program for training videos. Yes you can train an old dog new tricks!

On a personal note, my two high school aged children introduced me to the “Fail Compilation” videos. Ok, is it bad that I sat there for an hour laughing so hard I my stomach hurt for two days. (had nothing to do with my New Year’s resolution exercise routine) I thought the outtakes of “Friends” were funny… So regardless if it’s for marketing, training or simply entertainment, myON reader’s GOT VIDEO!