"Students Use Study Island to Help with Studies"

By Alene HillCorrespondentWednesday, March 5, 2008 9:52 AM CST
When Heather Muench, a sixth-grade student at Dorris Intermediate School, needed extra help with math, she turned to a new tool in district teachers’ arsenals for assistance.“I was having trouble with exponents, so I went over it on Study Island, and I got it,” she said, pointing out that the software also helps with reading.Another sixth-grader, Brandon Belobraydic, pointed out that games on the software — especially a skateboard game — made the lessons more enjoyable. “You can get bored just taking tests,” he said. “But with the skateboard game, when you choose an answer, you can use the arrows to do tricks.”Sixth-grader Christina Holland said the test helped her by making the “ISAT tests easier – especially with vocabulary words.”Students aren’t the only ones testifying to the help they receive from new innovative software programs being used to target areas where they need assistance, review previous classroom material and even work ahead to more challenging material.

Brad Snow, a fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson School, said the programs are an excellent tool that help tailor assistance to “each student’s individual needs.”

With Study Island, math and reading skills are broken down into different areas and when a student answers a certain number of questions correctly they get to move on and they incorporate games to keep it fun.”

“(Study Island) can also be used at home,” he said. “Students can use their passwords and user names and the program keeps track of their work. It can help parents see they are having trouble with a particular area — everyone is on the same page.”

Ms. Holland goes on to say, “I know by looking who is having trouble and where exactly they need help,” she said. “The reports for teachers are tremendous.”Lessons for each grade, she said, are also linked to state standards for reading and math skills.

“Teachers can review immediate results from the tests and then determine areas of concentration for instruction,” she said.The program also provides practice material for problem areas and teachers can print out and send home individual reports for parents.

Study Island is used in the district’s second- through sixth-grade classrooms and is also aligned to Illinois State Standards, she said, and “is an invaluable program for parents looking for reinforcement and practice material to help their sons or daughters increase their academic achievement at home.”

Some schools, such as DIS, have incorporated Study Island events to encourage participation.DIS principal John Griffith said the school had scheduled a luau, an event with a Hawaiian theme, during lunch period on March 31.“The students receive blue ribbons when they meet certain criteria with Study Island,” he said. “Some students have earned their grade level and above and we have the ‘Top Ten Island Surfers’ – the top in each grade and the top in the school.”But for Griffith, who began teaching 17 years ago, the program is a breakthrough.“I couldn’t have fathomed then using tools like this for teaching and kids having fun learning,” he said.The board has supported extending the subscription for the program for next year, she said.Parents wanting more information on Study Island can contact their children’s teacher or school.