Welcome to the fall eNewsletter, ALEKS users! We hope you are having a successful 2011-2012 school year. In this edition, we will highlight new features from ALEKS, including new high school courses, the improved Grant Center, the new Quick Start Guide, and more!    In This Issue     » What's New? » Spring 2011 Success Story Winners » Training & Support » Fall 2011 Events Schedule    What's New?   New ALEKS High School Courses Available Now   Based on valuable customer feedback, we are pleased to announce four new high school courses available for immediate use. These new courses offer enhanced features and highly individualized assessment and learning to help students succeed in math. You can learn more about these exciting new courses below:   Mastery of SAT Math: This new course is designed to help students achieve mastery of the math topics on the SAT Reasoning Test. ALEKS individualized assessment and learning enables students to efficiently refresh and fill gaps in their knowledge of the mathematics tested on the SAT. The course works best when supplemented with SAT practice tests, so that students achieve fluency in the particular style and format of the SAT test questions.   Integrated Mathematics I: This new course includes topics from algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics to provide an integrated approach to Grade 9 mathematics. This course offers comprehensive, standards-based coverage, and includes reporting against the Common Core Standards.   Algebra 2: This updated version of ALEKS Algebra 2 features enhanced artificial intelligence, greater content flexibility, and more complete coverage of state and Common Core standards. The course also includes 93 new topics and provides standards-based coverage of Algebra 2, with no coverage of Trigonometry.   Algebra 2 with Trigonometry: This new course features enhanced artificial intelligence, greater content flexibility, and more complete coverage of state and Common Core standards. This course includes 175 new topics and provides robust and standards-based coverage of Algebra 2, including broad coverage of Trigonometry.     Explore the ALEKS Grant Center for New Funding Opportunities   Are you looking for ways to help you expand your institution’s use of ALEKS? The new and improved Grant Center can help you find available private and government grants, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about how ALEKS can be used in the classroom.   Improvements to the Grant Center include:   • More than 70 new grants added. • Updated database search options including funding category, deadline, state, and keyword. • New FAQs section with answers to common grant and ALEKS-related questions.   View Available Grants View Grant Writing Assistance     New Reporting Features for Teachers and Students   Two new reporting features are available for ALEKS users: the Knowledge Per Slice Report for teachers and administrators and the Student Report with Tabs for students. The Knowledge Per Slice Report allows educators to view student mastery of each pie slice within an ALEKS course and is easily accessible through the Teacher Module. With the Student Report with Tabs feature, students have access to their pie chart progress and related information, the Time and Topic Report, and a State Standards Report (if applicable) all through the “Report” link in the Student Module.               BACK TO TOP  Training & Support   To help you get the most out of your ALEKS experience, we encourage you to take advantage of the many training and support options available to ALEKS users.   NEW! ALEKS Quick Start Guide   The new ALEKS Quick Start Guide provides step-by-step instructions and essential information to help users get the most out of their ALEKS experience.     Updated Training Center   Do you need a refresher on how to create a quiz in the Teacher Module or how to integrate a textbook with your class? The ALEKS Training Center offers in-depth video tutorials and PDF guides to help answer these questions and more.   You can also attend one of the many complimentary daily training and demonstration sessions conducted by certified ALEKS trainers.   Live WebEx Training and Demonstration Sessions Available Daily: View Schedule Request a Training     BROWSE TRAINING CENTER       BACK TO TOP    Spring 2011 Success Story Winners   Connersville High School – Connersville, IN –   » Computer Scenario: Computer Lab » Purpose: Intervention, At-Risk Students, Core Curriculum » Time Spent in ALEKS: 3.3 hours per week » ALEKS Course Products: Algebra 1   Daniel Haffner, Math Instructor With ALEKS, students are more motivated to learn because they are in control of the program. They can no longer just sit back and listen to lectures, perform practice problems, and repeat the same exercises day after day. Rather, students have taken control of their learning and work to complete a set number of objectives each week. Students who previously did not participate in class can now be seen actively solving problems in ALEKS. I have logged on to see student scores and have numerous examples of students working on ALEKS outside of class time. I was astonished to see that students were putting in extra work outside the classroom (something that never happened prior to ALEKS). I know we have progress because I see those "light bulb" moments where something finally clicks for students and they "just get it."   » Read Full Implementation Strategy     Haas Elementary School – Genesee, MI –   » Computer Scenario: Computers in Classroom, Computer Lab, Home Access » Purpose: Core Curriculum, After-School, Improve Test Scores » Time Spent in ALEKS: 3-5 hours per week » ALEKS Course Products: Mathematics - LV 5 (with QuickTables), Mathematics - MS/LV 6, Middle School Math Course 2   James Zwerican, Teacher My experience with the entire ALEKS program has been incredible! In 2008, our fifth graders scored toward the bottom on the math Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) in our district out of 21 schools. After we implemented ALEKS, the same students who were now sixth graders scored first in the entire district! This obviously had everyone convinced and now our entire school uses ALEKS for grades 3-8 and will continue to use it. The program is awesome in so many ways! ALEKS challenges the students, plus the assessments help achieve mastery at all levels. All of the students love the program too because they can constantly see how they are progressing each and every day!   » Read Full Implementation Strategy     VIEW MORE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES       BACK TO TOP    Fall 2011 Events Schedule   Stop by the ALEKS booth at any of the events listed below to learn more about ALEKS, and have your implementation questions answered!   Virtual School Symposium (VSS) – Booth #37 November 9 - 11, 2011, Indianapolis, IN For more information, visit: VSS   National Middle School Association (NMSA) – Booth #904 November 10 - 12, 2011, Louisville, KY For more information, visit: NMSA   National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) – Booth #320 November 17 - 19, 2011, New Orleans, LA For more information, visit: NABSE     VIEW FULL EVENTS CALENDAR       BACK TO TOP