Products to Fight Summertime Learning Loss, Part One

Summer may be in full swing, but teachers and librarians can't help but wonder if students are actually taking advantage of the reading lists, Web sites, or other resources shared during those final days of school. After all, research shows that students may lose as much as two months of learning over the summer. Here are some outstanding—and fun—resources that directly relate to instructional curriculums and can be used at home.

Grades PreK—3; exclusively for home use.

Cost A subscription rate for a household with up to three children is $11.99 per month. A 15-day free trial is available with a credit card; if you do not want to continue, call 1-866-4CLEVER and cancel before being charged the first month's subscription.

The Big Picture Clever Island provides parents with the opportunity to reinforce classroom learning through a program geared toward pre-K to third graders. The program is self-paced and interactive with a PBS/Nickelodeon feel. Children are taken on virtual adventures by clicking the different areas or activity icons. Program characters named Rumba and Alfy provide opportunities to learn about reading, math, and art through activities that can be completed online or through the "Kitchen Table Project" section which provides project pages to complete.

All lessons can be repeated which allows users to find success in activities that are a bit more difficult. Based upon the child's age, the program automatically sets the difficulty levels of each activity; however, parents can adjust those levels by entering the Parent Control Center and resetting the Skill Levels. A Skills Chart also provides parents with the specific skill development and age-appropriateness for each activity.

Look & Feel Clever Island is a brightly colored, musical site; using characters that are introduced immediately through an online tutorial, children see how to use the controls and are offered prompts (hands that reach toward specific online icons or brightly flashing pictures that indicate where to move the mouse) to interact with the Web site.

Parents have the ability to log in users and track the specific programs that have been used by their children. By selecting the child's name in the Parent Control Center, adults are able to determine what materials are best suited for their children and provide guidance in selecting projects or help with the online games and activities.

How It Works Once inside the program, parents are given the option to enter their child's information, including birth date, allowing the program to automatically select the skills level. The Clever Island icon on the desktop allows for automatic log-in to the program by children.

Through categories (Creativity, Math, Reading, and the World Around Us) children are able to participate in over 90 different activities. Each category provides specific projects that include drawing, counting, math, measurements, problem solving, shapes, sorting, telling time, letter sounds, spelling, memory, hand-eye coordination games, and animal games. Online activities provide users with positive reinforcement and timed prompts encourage users to move on if a project becomes too difficult.

For Students and Teachers Clever Island is not a classroom program but rather a supplemental program. The program definitely supports many of the early childhood development activities used in the classroom and can provide parents with the opportunity to work with their children on specific skills. For teachers who want to offer parents instructional content for home use, Clever Island is an option that is both affordable and easily accessed.

Report Card Although the program does not offer a free online trial without the use of a credit card, it does allow for immediate cancellation before charges are added. However, once an evaluation begins, parents will see that Clever Island provides an excellent Pre-K—3 curriculum that will encourage children to participate. As a unique, affordable program, Clever Island deserves an A.

Grades K—12; exclusively for home use.

Cost The monthly subscription is $9.95 per month or $99 for the yearly subscription. A 30-day free trial is available with a credit card; users can cancel the trial before the 30-day examination and not be charged.

The Big Picture Teachers and librarians who have used Discovery Education's Web site and United Streaming videos will want to share Cosmeo with students and parents. Cosmeo provides students with more than 30,000 video clips, 15,000 images, hundreds of teacher-selected Web sites, an online encyclopedia, and 40,000 math problem solvers and tutorials ranging from simple addition to high school algebra—all tied to the most widely used math textbooks.

Like United Streaming, its older brother, Cosmeo provides streaming videos that have previously aired on the Discovery Channel. Unlike the school version, videos on Cosmeo may not be downloaded. With content materials in subjects such as science, math, social studies, English, health, and art and music, Cosmeo offers an in-depth homework tool. Because the site is for grades K—12, parents can block content not age-appropriate and review the material that students have visited and check their assessment history. As students participate in the Web site, they are awarded points that they may exchange for items such as screensavers and simulator games.

Look & Feel Cosmeo has a very similar feel as the United Streaming Web site. Content is easily labeled and users can quickly access specific subject areas by clicking terms or icons. Once a subject area is chosen, users search for materials based upon the grade level. Content materials can be chosen by the parent and set for each child, or children can be given the option to browse the entire content levels within each subject module.

Parents may choose to review curriculum content for specific grades or subjects and search for materials that tie to their state's curriculum. For example, selecting Texas, the subject of Language Arts, and the third grade level, a parent could quickly locate the curriculum standard and associated videos. For the standard, "The student is expected to compare language and oral traditions (family stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures," 31 videos are available.

There are also exciting Brain Games that encourage students to participate in the interactive components through critical thinking; these test students' knowledge in various topics through quizzes, puzzles, and instructional modules.

Finally, users have access to online reference books such as dictionaries; almanacs; encyclopedias; and magazines such as Highlights for Children, Weekly Reader, or Time Magazine for Kids.

How It Works Once a subscription account is activated, parents can create their personal accounts as well as four individual accounts for children. Articles and images can be downloaded and used for student projects. Materials are also provided with bibliographic citation information in several styles. At the end of each video, an optional quiz provides students and parents with the ability to assess comprehension and learning.

Web-site links provide additional resources outside of Cosmeo, and once a link is chosen, there is a reminder to ask for parental permission to move from the program to the Internet site.

For Students and Teachers Teachers who have been excited about United Streaming and Discovery Education products will encourage parents to subscribe to Cosmeo. Through Cosmeo, parents will have the opportunity to participate in their child's learning and students will enjoy the interactive materials that can assist with topics that might be confusing or even forgotten by the time they start their homework.

Report Card Cosmeo offers a unique encapsulated homework program that directly corresponds with the resources used in thousands of schools across the nation. For a small subscription price, Cosmeo provides the opportunity to continue learning in a way that is both entertaining and exciting. As an outstanding supplemental homework solution, Cosmeo receives an A+.

Grades K—12+; for school or home use.

Cost Quia Web is available for $49 per year, per instructor; multiple teacher discounts and district-wide licenses are available.

The Big Picture Quia Web provides educational tools and templates, including components for creating 16 different educational games and activities such as flash cards, word searches, battleship, challenge board, and much more. Because content can be shared with others, the resources are wide and vary among the different subject areas, grade levels, and abilities.

The Web site is divided into three different sections (Instructor Zone, Student Zone, and Shared Resources). In the Instructor Zone, teachers create learning activities, give Web-based tests, check student performance, and create a Web page. In the Student Zone, students can work on activities, play games, check grades, and email their teachers. In the Shared Activities areas, students and teachers can browse the Web site for various games or activities, tests, quizzes, or other resources. Students access the subscribing teacher's Web site, games, worksheets, and activities using a direct link offered by the teacher.

Look & Feel Quia Web looks like fun —and it is! Because of the variety of activities, students can easily move among the different levels of difficulty to practice skills or receive instructional reinforcement and not end up frustrated. With games ranging from Hangman to Rags to Riches, students are challenged to answer questions that relate to specific instructional goals.

Teachers may select activities in the Shared Activities folders for specific subjects or game styles and quickly add these to their lesson plans. Among the subjects with activities are: Accounting, Chemistry, French, Government, Mythology, Microbiology, Psychology, SAT Skills, Trigonometry, and Zoology. Each folder may contain between 5 to 500 different activities. In addition to the games, teachers can create quizzes on specific subjects and, with the statistical analysis generator, quickly see which students have mastered content areas and which need additional reinforcement.

How It Works Although Quia Web provides immediate access to hundreds of online resources, teachers will need to first set up their classes through the Instructor Zone. Teachers can enroll their students or allow them to self-enroll and create their own accounts. If students enroll themselves, the instructor provides them with a specific code to access the site, along with easy instructions. Teachers can see and access the students' accounts.

Teachers will also need to create a Class Page (or Web page). Once a Class Page has been created and students have been added to the Roster, original quizzes, activities, and surveys can be created following the simple instructions and plugging in information (such as the answers to a multiple-choice test). Or teachers can choose the many resources already available.

Through the Copy icon (to create multiple quizzes from the same test), the Email icon (to send links for students to activities), the Reports icon, or the Export Results icon (to export results), teachers can easily access, create, and evaluate student work.

For Students and Teachers Quia Web offers a resource that is easily accessible and can be safely monitored. Teachers don't have to worry about students getting lost in online games that can provide little feedback. Students will enjoy the different styles of activities and variety of difficulty levels.

Report Card Quia Web is an easily accessible, user-friendly, affordable tool that can be used at home or school. Educators searching for reinforcement activities will find that Quia Web provides not only fun but also flexibility. Quia Web deserves a strong A.