How Title I Schools utilize VocabularySpellingCity to bridge the "Achievement Gap"
VocabularySpellingCity can support teachers in furthering achievements in Title I schools by offering a variety of customized vocabulary lists, effective learning strategies, and enrichment activities. It is ideal for meeting the needs of students in Title I schools because it is easy to use, very affordable, and highly effective. Title I services include take-home computers and computer-assisted instruction (CAI). As such, VocabularySpellingCity is covered by Title I funding, making it easy for schools to upgrade to a Premium account and benefit from the additional resources that this provides, including individual accounts for each student and automated record-keeping for teachers.
Spelling and Vocabulary Help
Students using VocabularySpellingCity are motivated to learn spelling and vocabulary, and gain computer skills at the same time. VocabularySpellingCity's scope goes beyond language arts into academic vocabulary and content area vocabulary in math, social studies, and science. There are extensive math and science word lists that are organized by grade level, then further categorized into topics based on the Common Core State Standards for math and on state and national standards for science. Building students' vocabulary across the curriculum leads to improved comprehension of all subjects and improved academic performance.
The Flexibility of VocabularySpellingCity Resources
Title I Funding
Title I is the country's oldest and largest federally funded initiative. Title I provided over $14 billion to more than 56,000 schools in the 2009-2010 school year. The needs are growing in response to the wide achievement gap between children from low-income families and those from higher-income families. As awareness of the benefits of technology for educational purposes grows, its use in the classroom increases. For students from low-income families who do not have access to computers at home, exposure to information technology is essential at school.
Effective Learning Strategies
VocabularySpellingCity's unique and effective learning strategy ensures retention of material covered. A student's understanding is deeper when he/she is required to answer questions about a concept and recall the information. VocabularySpellingCity games and activities encourage students to think critically and enhance their comprehension. A study by Butler and Roediger (2007) tested the effect of various post-lecture activities on students' long-term memories, finding that students retained the most knowledge when they took short-answer quizzes after a lesson. This is where VocabularySpellingCity is so effective. Repeating the testing at a week and then a month after the material was originally taught increases the rate of transfer into long-term memory. Premium Members can use the Assignments function to preset future activities and tests so students revisit their word lists at the recommended time intervals to ensure that they retain the material.
One meta-analysis, produced for the U.S. Department of Education, examined 51 studies that compared online learning to face-to-face learning and found that computer-assisted instruction was better at improving students' performance (Means et al., 2009). The benefits of online learning are that it is interactive, self-paced, and non-judgmental. Teachers have the ability to assign spelling quizzes and vocabulary quizzes on VocabularySpellingCity that provide immediate feedback. When students can identify and
Title I Parental Involvement
VocabularySpellingCity games and activities are available in customizable, printable worksheets so that whether or not they have access to a computer, students can bring their learning home. Students with home computers or mobile devices can share video lessons and presentations, games, and extra resources with their parents at home.
Butler, Andrew C. and Roediger, Henry L. (2007) Testing improves long-term retention in a simulated classroom setting, European Journal of Cognitive Psychology. Vol. 19, Iss. 4-5
Means, Barbara, Toyama, Yuki, Murphy, Robert, Bakia, Marianne, and Jones, Karla (2009) Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Project Report. Centre for Learning Technology. Available from http://repository.alt.ac.uk/629/ accessed 1/29/12.