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[Guest Blog Post from MyON] Getting to What

By: Todd Brekhaus on January 28th, 2015

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[Guest Blog Post from MyON] Getting to What's Next in Literacy

Curriculum Strategy & Adoption

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When my best friend’s mom asked me to help set up a bank of computers for Bloomington Public Schools in suburban Minneapolis, she provided me with my first experience in educational technology.  I was 14 years old at the time and I can still remember the sense of accomplishment when we finished, while at the same time wondering, “what’s next?”  

Today, some 30 years later, I have had the privilege of participating first-hand in some of those important next steps as our industry has collectively moved the needle again and again to bring the power of technology to education. And, I’m grateful to be working toward the critically important goal of helping improve outcomes for all children through the effective integration of technology to improve literacy.  

Research over the past 50 years has shown that literacy rates have been stagnate or decreasing in many areas of the world. Today’s educators are facing an uphill battle  -- demographic challenges, language barriers, decreasing budgets, lack of access to curriculum and technology resources, and the fundamental work of engaging kids in reading when they may not see the value.  This all adds up to what might appear to be an insurmountable task.  But I believe that we can address it by identifying subject matter experts, leveraging technology and working collaboratively,  and in the process truly revolutionize learning.

At myON, where we are about to celebrate the 4th anniversary of our personalized literacy environment, our talented team of developers and product specialists have been pushing the envelope on solutions to help kids acquire literacy skills, which are the key to success in school and beyond.  Here’s what we’ve done and what we’ve learned so far.

We see our customers as subject matter experts, and we work to understand their needs. At times, this approach has resulted in amendments to our product road map.   Don Haddad, superintendent of St. Vrain Valley Schools in Colorado and a former national superintendent of the year, is among the many innovative leaders who have implemented myON and whose insights have helped power our product development. His vision is simply stated, “Reading is the gateway to learning.” That very straightforward approach resonates beyond St. Vrain Valley and is shared by many of the other experts we partner with and serve, from educators to parents and community members who are collaborating with each other and with us. Together, we are working to ensure that all kids learn to read, love to read and have opportunities to read both in and out of school.  

By providing a state-of-the-art digital platform, which is built upon the Lexile® Framework for Reading, featuring award winning content from Capstone (our parent company) and our publishing partners, and incorporating digital literacy tools and embedded assessments to monitor each learner’s reading growth, we have created a literacy ecosystem that can help cultivate a global community of readers and learners.

When we launched myON in January 2011, our collection consisted of only 800 digital books from   Capstone Publishers. Today, we offer over 8,000 digital books from Capstone and more than 60 publishing partners. We expanded access to myON for both online and offline reading, and provide free mobile apps.  Optional scaffolds include naturally recorded audio, text highlighting and an embedded dictionary. Students can log into their accounts anywhere, including at home, and share the reading experience with their families. Our subscriptions provide year-round, multi-user and concurrent access, providing every learner with the opportunity to read the book of their choice whenever they wish and as many times as they’d like.  Embedded literacy tools allow users to interact with the text, by highlighting and marking up their own digital versions in ways that would not be permitted with a shared, physical book. 

At the start of the new year, over 5 million students were reading with myON, and we are seeing those numbers continue to grow regularly as more schools, districts and communities partner with us to give the gift of literacy to their children.  

We regularly ask ourselves and our partners to look beyond the challenges and imagine what an ideal learning environment would look like. Would students start school prepared to learn? Should learning take place only in a traditional school building with traditional classrooms? Can students be motivated to learn beyond the school day? How will students access technology that best fits their needs? What if all students had their own library of books and material that would inspire them to new levels? What if that student was your own?

As a father of four, I have witnessed firsthand how technology has inspired my own kids to learn. And, I simply want that same opportunity for all kids.

 

 

Guest Author Todd Brekhus is the CEO of MyOn and an educational leader devoted to introducing innovative technologies to educators and administrators. Prior to his career in edtech, he spent eight years in education as a teacher, department chair, and Technology Director and currently serves on the Board of the Educational Division of The Software Information Industry Association.  

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