Wireless Generation Provides Free, Open Source Elementary Reading Program Online at Www.Free-Reading.Net
Wireless Generation, the leading education company combining mobile technology, the Web, and in-person professional services to improve teaching and learning in grades PreK-12, today announced the launch of www.Free-Reading.net, an open source Website where teachers can access a free, sequential, research-based reading intervention program for grades K-1, and contribute their own lessons and insights into what works best in the classroom. In providing teachers with such a resource, Wireless Generation aims to help school systems deliver high quality instruction with a rigorous, free program that reflects the latest research on effective early literacy practices, and is constantly enhanced and extended by fellow educators.
Free-Reading.net offers a complete intervention program in phonics and phonological awareness for grades K-1, and will soon expand to include vocabulary and comprehension. Unlike textbooks, which are updated every 5 to 7 years, the Free-Reading.net program will be updated continuously to reflect the latest reading research and feedback from educators. Teachers can follow the full 40-week scope and sequence of lessons, or tailor materials to individual students’ learning needs or class curriculum needs. Open source and Web 2.0 tools enable teachers to easily give feedback, contribute additional lessons and activities, and join discussions on early literacy.
“There is a sea change going on in K-12 education as educators act on the finding that teachers and their ability to understand and address students’ individual needs have the greatest positive effects on student learning,” said Larry Berger, CEO and Co-Founder of Wireless Generation. “But schools still spend a huge chunk of their budgets — nationally, approximately 7 to 8 billion dollars per year* — on textbooks and instructional materials. That leaves a much smaller pie that schools must stretch to purchase formative assessment, professional development, and other initiatives that help teachers do their jobs well. Free-Reading.net is a step toward changing these economics and freeing up funding for things that improve teaching and learning.”
Educators view Free-Reading.net as a viable option in sourcing instructional materials. The Florida Instructional Materials Adoption Committee for K-3 Supplemental Reading Programs has recommended that the Free-Reading.net reading intervention program be adopted.
An Advisory Board of leading reading researchers will help to guide the expansion and evolution of Free-Reading.net over time. Members of the Free-Reading.net Advisory Board include:
Fred Carrigg, Director of Humanities K-12, Middletown Public Schools; Former Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Literacy, New Jersey Department of Education (2002-2007)
Michael Kamil, Consulting Professor of Education; Psychological Studies in Education; Learning, Design, and Technology; Stanford University School of Education
Barbara Kapinus, Senior Policy Analyst, National Education Association
Catherine Snow, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Barbara Taylor, Guy Bond Chair in Reading, University of Minnesota; Director of the Minnesota Center for Reading Research
“Open source presents educators with a real opportunity to find new and better ways to source and distribute high quality instructional materials,”said Michael Kamil, Consulting Professor of Education, Psychological Studies in Education, Learning, Design and Technology at Stanford University School of Education, and a member of the Free-Reading.net Advisory Board. “Traditional educational publishing has created a model for curriculum development and distribution that, while still valuable, doesn’t reflect the opportunities emerging through new technology or capture the many great contributions teachers make to instruction every day in their classrooms. We are excited about Free-Reading.net and seeing where it could lead the potential for improving curriculum and instruction.”
Free-Reading.net provides instructional content under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, sometimes referred to as the “wiki” license. This license enables any site visitor to copy, share and distribute the content in any medium, as long as the content includes appropriate attribution, and any changes to the content are similarly shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license terms.
“Free-Reading.net incubated at Wireless Generation, and we are pleased to continue funding the technology platform. We eagerly look forward to seeing the K-12 teaching and research community add to the Free-Reading.net content, and working with our team of advisors to guide the expansion of the instructional programs offered on the site,” said Berger. “We believe that open source and Web 2.0 technology will change how instructional materials are created, updated, and sourced for schools, as well as the price tag attached to them.”
About Wireless Generation
Wireless Generation pioneered the adaptation of mobile technologies, including handheld computers and digital pens, for use in managing and improving teaching and learning in grades pre-K-12. The company’s commitment to listening to educators and gaining a deep understanding of their challenges has led to the development of offerings that optimally combine mobile tools, Internet technology, and in-person services to help improve student achievement in reading and math. Wireless Generation’s mCLASS® products and services streamline collection of data about student learning needs and school operations, facilitate data analysis and interpretation, and build educators’ capacity to implement data-driven instructional programs that deliver better outcomes for children. State and district school systems across the country and overseas now rely upon these offerings to achieve and sustain growth in their classrooms. Currently, 100,000 teachers in 49 states and overseas use mCLASS to collect, analyze, and act on data in support of over 3 million students’ reading and math learning. More information is available on the Web at www.wirelessgeneration.com.
* Source: EMR, 2005E. Excludes Technology Spending.