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Amira Learning Blog
Your source for the latest updates on the intelligent growth engine.
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Mississippi | Pre-K - K Assessment Provider Approved by MDE
Accelerating Growth: Istation + MDE - A Partnership for Student Success in Mississippi Schools By Lisa Clark, Mississippi Education Consultant Before...
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BLOG | Mark Angel Responds to Amira’s Merger with Istation
Here’s why I believe the combination of Amira and Istation will ultimately matter to you…
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A Message from Dick Collins on the Amira Learning + Istation Merger
Back in 1998, education software programs on the market were ineffective and hard to use. That is why we founded Istation—to bring together...
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5 Steps to Successfully Implement the Science of Reading in Your District
Get the Steps to Improve Literacy Instruction and Reading Scores District-Wide In the ever-evolving landscape of education, district leaders play a...
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3 Keys to Creating a Data-Driven Culture in Your District
Learn How to Perceive Data as a Helpful Tool As a district leader, you strive to support a district-wide culture that utilizes student data in an...
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5 Ways to Utilize Assessment Data in the Classroom
How to Utilize Assessment Data in the Classroom An assessment is characterized as the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting,...
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5 Ways to Ensure Every School Has a Cohesive Literacy Instruction Program
How to Ensure Every School Is on the Right Track to Success Implementing creative and effective educational strategies in all schools is paramount,...
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A Comprehensive Framework for Driving Student Growth
5 Guiding Principles for Driving Student Growth Robust and detailed student growth plans at the beginning of the school year provide a clear baseline...
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An Educator's Checklist for Choosing Supplemental Curriculum
6 Essentials Every Educator Needs for Evaluating Programs Does your campus or district have a structured approach to selecting supplemental...
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3 Steps for Building Strong Teacher Communities on Your Campus
How to Build a Strong Sense of Community for Today’s Teachers Building a strong sense of community on your campus or campuses can bring big benefits...
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Celebrating 25 Years of Education Excellence
A Legacy of Trust in Education For more than two decades, Istation has supported educators and empowered learners with an all-in-one solution for...
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Celebrating Student Partnerships with Innovative Learning
High School Students Partner with Istation for Curriculum Design In the beginning of 2023, talented students from the Bryan Adams P-TECH program...
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3 Strategic Actions to Learning Recovery
How Schools Are Recovering from Learning Lag Educators are working hard to help students regain their academic footing after the initial disruptions...
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Essential Tips for Leveraging EdTech to Boost English Learner Achievement
Achieving Growth for English Learners Over five million students in US public schools are learning English as a second language. That’s more than 10%...
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Leading the Way: How Top Principals Drive Student Success
Strong Leadership Impacts School Outcomes School principals matter even more to student achievement than researchers previously realized. That’s the...
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Benefits of Online Summer Learning Programs
Keep Students Learning All Summer Long Summer vacations can be a mixed bag for students and their teachers. On the one hand, children have more...
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Helping English Learners Stay Engaged with School
Mastering English can be wonderfully rewarding for non-native speakers. Bilingualism dramatically expands life opportunities as it strengthens...
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Checklist: 7 Dual Language Program Essentials
Get the essentials for choosing a dual language program The task of choosing a dual language learning program — or enhancing your current program —...
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Strategies for Building Spanish and English Literacy Proficiency
Support dual language learners in the classroom Last week we explored the three pillars of second-language learning, and we want to continue our...
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The 3 Pillars of Second-Language Education
Explore the three pillars of second-language learning Dual language learners are often underserved in terms of literacy support at school. Sometimes...
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Elevate Teacher Expertise to Get Better Student Outcomes
Join Istation's Exclusive Community to Get Better Student Outcomes Why are communities so important? Istation has been asking educators for their...
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Understanding Dyslexia in the Elementary Classroom
How many are affected by dyslexia? Dyslexia is a language-based learning condition that causes difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, and other...
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5 Myths and Misconceptions About Dyslexia
Debunk Myths and Misconceptions About Dyslexia in the Elementary Classroom In a classroom full of students with different strengths and needs, it can...
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4 Ways To Support Elementary Students with Dyslexia
Find the Right Tools to Support Students with Dyslexia Recent studies reveal that 1 in 5 students may have a language-based learning disability like...
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I Was Principal for a Day and Glimpsed the Future of Education
Principal for a day! And what a day it was! As the country’s nearly 90,000 principals mark National Principals Month, Istation’s own Chief Operating...
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3 Steps to Address Unfinished Learning in Middle School
Why It’s So Important to Address Unfinished Learning Unfinished learning can be a huge obstacle for middle school students during a transitional...
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Engage Middle School Readers with Technology
How to Use Technology to Engage Middle School Readers In a research study by Gallup, two-thirds of the teachers surveyed said they use digital...
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8 Types of Technology-Enhanced Items That Engage Learners
Engage Learners with Technology-Enhanced Items Multiple choice assessments have long frustrated me. As a student I was usually one of the last to...
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Cultivate Digital Literacy Skills with Technology-Enhanced Items
Enhance Learner Motivation with Next-Generation Assessment Design and Technology-Enhanced Items Future-focused educators are using educational...
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4 Tips for Keeping Middle School Learners Engaged
Engage Middle School Learners with Authenticity There are many ways to engage adolescent learners. The key to them all is authenticity. By creating...
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4 Steps to Create Authentic Learning Experiences for Middle School Learners
Why Authentic Learning Experiences are Key Authentic learning experiences are woven into our day as educators. We strive to make learning as...
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4 Steps to Put the Science of Reading into Practice
Accelerate Students’ Reading Skills through Proven-to-Work Best Practices The number of students reading at grade level has been declining for years....
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How to Use Evidence-Based Principles for Effective Reading Instruction
Harnessing the Science of Reading in Literacy Instruction It’s important for educators to infuse the science of reading into their reading...
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3 Things to Know About the Science of Reading
Understanding the Science of Reading To transform students into skilled readers, schools must understand the science of reading and align their...
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4 Ways to Help Teachers Adapt to Technology
Ways Districts Can Support Educators as They Embrace Technology Today’s schools strive to embrace new technology tools, which have developed to serve...
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6 Features to Look for in a Flexible EdTech Tool
Ensure Your EdTech Solution Is Flexible With the rise of online learning and educational software options, school districts face a challenge in...
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Language Development for English Learners and the Edtech Advantage
How Emergent Bilingual Students Develop Language Children develop their schema from their guardians and surroundings. All the learning experiences...
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Develop Bilingual Learners’ Home-Language Literacy Skills
When English learners develop literacy in their home language, they benefit in more than one language.
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4 Considerations for Designing an Effective High-Dosage Tutoring Program
The Research Powering High-Dosage Tutoring Research shows that high-dosage tutoring supports learning gains and helps students get back to...
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How High-Dosage Tutoring Programs Support Teachers and Foster Student Success
Discover How High-Dosage Tutoring Supports Teachers and Students When it comes to combating learning loss, high-dosage tutoring (HDT) is emerging as...
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How Edtech Supports Accelerated-Learning Strategies
The Difference Between Accelerated-Learning Strategies and Remedial Services In the field of education, we often hear about the need for remedial...
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How to Use Tech Tools to Their Full Potential
Take Teachers From Tech Users to Tech Experts Over the past two years, the entire world has had to adapt as we have faced the challenges brought on...
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5 Ways to Support Social and Emotional Learning During Reading Instruction
Support Students’ Social and Emotional Learning During Reading Instruction In a landscape of remote, in-person, and hybrid models of teaching and...
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Strategies for Supporting Teacher Well-Being
Get 4 Steps to Support Teacher Well-Being The last 20 months have been stressful for almost every single profession, especially for those in...
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4 Steps to Implementing Continuous Teacher Improvement
How to Build a Culture of Continuous Teacher Improvement Teaching is one of the hardest professions in the world. Teaching during a global pandemic?...
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How to Choose Technology That Is Accessible for All
Why School Technology Should be Accessible for All The goal of accessibility is to level the playing field for all learners, regardless of learning...
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4 Tips to Make the Most of Technology to Increase Student Agency
Increase Student Agency by Making the Most of Technology Engagement and motivation are crucial to a student’s learning and academic growth. Among the...
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3 Steps for Sustainable Virtual Professional Development
How to Establish Sustainable Virtual Professional Development for Your Educators At the beginning of the pandemic, campuses and teachers were forced...
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4 Blended Learning Strategies to Build Readers by 3rd Grade
Reading by 3rd Grade Can Predict Later Success Honing reading instructional skills builds students’ confidence and helps them embrace the challenge...
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5 Steps to a Smart Pilot
What to Consider When Trying a New Resource for Your School or District With the myriad of options available, choosing the right resource for your...
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5 Factors for Choosing Customized Professional Development
Effective Professional Development Begins with Customization We should approach educator growth and development the same way that we do student...
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The Benefits of Assessing Early Readers with the Big Five
It’s Important to Assess Early Readers in Each Area of the Big Five Reading is one of the hardest skills to learn in early development. Unlike...
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How to Choose the Right Biliteracy Technology for Your English Learners
Why You Should Choose the Right Biliteracy Technology for Your English Learners Schools across the country have discovered the importance of...
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How to Create an Instructional Plan that Maximizes Technology
Create an Instructional Plan that Maximizes Technology Schools and districts have moved away from traditional response-to-intervention (RTI) models...
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The Benefits of Providing Adaptive Technology for Pre-K Learners
Benefits of Providing Adaptive Technology for Pre-K Learners Early childhood educators are continually trying to find the balance between...
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8 Benefits of Utilizing Virtual Learning Platforms
The Benefits of Virtual Learning Platforms Whether in the classroom or at home, students need the right tools to stay connected with their...
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3 Ways to Utilize ESSER Funding to Mitigate Learning Loss
Utilize ESSER Funding to Mitigate Learning Loss The American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund provides...
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4 Ways to Successfully Integrate Technology for Extended Learning
4 Ways to Integrate Technology for Extended Learning Learning loss in math and reading related to the COVID-19 pandemic is widespread and affects...
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Keep Students Engaged Through the Summer: 5 Steps for Parents
5 Steps for Parents to Engage Students Through the Summer Research shows that children who read fluently do better in school. It’s not just teachers...
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How Digital Progress Monitoring Can Simplify Your Assessment Process
3 Ways Digital Progress Monitoring Simplifies the Assessment Process Progress monitoring assessments are increasingly important to district...
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3 Key Benefits of Student Biliteracy
Discover the Benefits of Student Biliteracy Research shows that there are long-lasting benefits to becoming biliterate and bilingual. Our society,...
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3 Steps to Implement Teacher Morale Boosters
How to Create a Happier, Healthier Campus by Implementing Teacher Morale Boosters According to a recent survey by Education Week, keeping teachers...
1st Grade Auto-Scoring Is Now Available for ISIP™ ORF
We are excited to announce that 1st grade auto-scoring is now available for ISIP™ Oral Reading Fluency (ORF)!
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Virtual Learning Tips for Partnering with Parents
4 Virtual Learning Tips for Partnering with Parents Parents and families have become superstars for our school system, working alongside teachers and...
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Learn About Istation's ISIP™ Oral Reading Fluency How To Guide
Istation's ISIP™ Oral Reading Fluency How To Guide Istation is proud to announce a new resource available within our Interactive Help Center. The...
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Three Takeaways for Blended Learning Buy-In
Three Takeaways for Blended Learning Buy-In With innovations happening in today’s classrooms, blended learning is bridging gaps and is here to stay!
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ISIP™ Accommodations and Accessibility Features
Accommodations and Accessibility Features Istation is committed to creating equitable and accurate assessments that are accessible for all students.
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How Strong Leadership and Focus on Data Led to District-Wide Literacy Gains
How Strong Leadership and Focus on Data Led to District-Wide Literacy Gains When districts lack cohesion year over year due to issues like leadership...
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Build a PD Plan That Meets Teachers Where They Are
How to Build a PD Plan That Meets Teachers Where They Are Many e-learning programs like Istation include hundreds of additional resources educators...
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Create a Classroom Data Board
How to Create a Classroom Data Board Data boards are a great way for teachers to display classroom growth each month. Motivating students with...
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How a Tailored Approach to Reading Cultivates Top Readers
A Tailored Approach to Reading Cultivates Top Readers Zamora was a kindergartener when she first started using Istation Reading at the Boys and Girls...
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ISIP Oral Reading Fluency is Available in Spanish
ISIP Oral Reading Fluency in Spanish Istation is excited to announce that ISIP Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) is available in Spanish for elementary...
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Exceptional Leaders Transform Their District in 5 steps
How Exceptional Leaders Transformed Their District in 5 Steps Educational leaders are juggling the complexities of distance learning, navigating...
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Discover the Top 10 Must-Haves for Assessments
Get the Top 10 Assessment Must-Haves Whether learning is taking place in person or remotely this year, every student will take assessments to...
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Educator Gives Students Courage to “Believe in Themselves”
In case you missed it… Check out this inspiring article about one educator who goes above and beyond to transform the lives of her students! Through...
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3 Keys to Building Powerful, Effective Reading Programs
3 Keys to Building Powerful, Effective Reading Programs Closing skill gaps after the challenges created by COVID-19 will require highly targeted,...
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How One District Transitioned to Remote Learning
One District Transitioned to Remote Learning Recouping skill loss after the challenges created by COVID-19 is top of mind for educational leaders....
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Learn How to Assess Students Remotely with Istation
Assess Students Remotely with Istation With many students learning remotely this year, the way educators deliver instruction and assessments will...
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A New Take on the Flipped Classroom with Istation
A New Take on the Flipped Classroom After using Istation with the flipped classroom model last year, Chief Tahgee Elementary Academy (CTEA) saw...
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8 Ways Istation Supports Remote Learning and Progress Monitoring
Ways Istation Supports Remote Learning and Progress Monitoring As you continue to explore remote learning and progress monitoring, consider how...
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Istation “Sparks Huge Interest as Teaching Shifts Online”
In case you missed it… Istation was featured in the Dallas Business Journal article “Dallas technology firm sparks huge interest as teaching shifts...
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Combat Summer Slide with Istation Reads
Combat Summer Slide with Istation In partnership with Tackle Tomorrow, we have launched Istation Reads, an online reading series created to combat...
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Istation Recognized for Online Learning Innovation with 2020 EdTech Breakthrough Award
Prestigious Awards Program Honors Outstanding Educational Technology Products and Companies
New Parent Guide Available in Teacher Resources
Istation has a new parent guide available in Teacher Resources, searchable across products. This new parent guide is practical and easy to use with...
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Get At-Home Learning Tips To Empower Parents and Keep Students On Track
With an unprecedented number of education challenges, the connection between school and home is more important than ever.
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Measure Oral Reading Skills Using Fast and Flexible Advanced Speech Recognition Technology
Measure Oral Reading Skills Using Advanced Speech Recognition Technology Teachers can quickly and easily measure and score how many words a student...
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The Educator’s Thermometer
Use Oral Reading Fluency to Measure Learning Loss Oral reading fluency (ORF) is a measure of how quickly and accurately students can read aloud. At...
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Recoup Skill Loss with Powerful Intervention Strategies
How to Recoup Skill Loss with Powerful Intervention Strategies Recouping skill loss after the challenges created by COVID-19 is top of mind for...
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Red Cape Classroom: Make Blended Learning a Part of Your Child’s Day
How to Make Blended Learning Part of Your Child's Day Istation’s mission has always been to help students succeed and grow. In uncertain times, that...
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Red Cape Classroom: Keep Your Child Focused Not Frustrated
10 Ways to Keep Children Focused Not Frustrated Istation’s mission has always been to help students succeed and grow. In uncertain times, that...
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Students Gain 2 Months' Reading Ability Over the Summer
Students Gain 2 Months' Reading Ability Over the Summer Istation helped young students maintain literacy skills over the summer by providing its...
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At-Home Progress Monitoring During School Closures
Progress Monitoring for Students Learning At Home The worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on schools across the...
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Understanding Istation’s At-Home Progress Monitoring
Guide Parents in Understanding Istation’s At-Home Progress Monitoring Istation provides formative assessments, known as Istation’s Indicators of...
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Red Cape Classroom: How to Set Up a Successful Home Classroom
5 Steps to Set Up a Successful Home Classroom Research shows that the home learning environment plays a big role in supporting child development and...
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Red Cape Classroom: Tips for Finding Balance at Home
5 Tips for Finding Balance at Home Istation’s mission has always been to help students succeed and grow, and in uncertain times, that support is even...
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How To Use ISIP Oral Reading Fluency At Home
How to Use ISIP Oral Reading Fluency At Home Schools may be closed due to COVID-19, but educators can still make sure students are on track to master...
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Red Cape Classroom: Why Kids Need Routine
3 Reasons Why Kids Need Routine Istation’s mission has always been to help students succeed and grow, and in uncertain times, that support is even...
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Intervention in Action
Schools may be closed and students may be learning remotely, but educators shouldn’t put intervention on hold. Now is the time to consider how you...
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Help Parents Get Started at Home
Get Parents Started at Home There is a growing demand on parents to understand and navigate technology as more schools communicate digitally....
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One School Engaged with Data and Saw Huge Leaps in Reading
How One School Engaged with Data and Saw Huge Leaps in Reading Vista Grande Elementary in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, began using Istation’s reading...
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Early Readers Engage with Flint Rockwell and Fables
While working through Istation’s early reading instruction, 2nd and 3rd graders encounter Flint Rockwell, a young gecko with a love of stories and a...
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Program Resources Provide Schools with Targeted Instruction
Istation Resources Provide Bernalillo Public Schools with Targeted Instruction Earlier this week we heard Keith Cowan, superintendent of Bernalillo...
Implementing a New Reading Program? Start with Small Wins.
Start Small When Implementing a New Reading Program Implementing a new tool in your school requires dedicated time, professional training, and...
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Part 2, Implementing Istation with Excitement in North Carolina
Yesterday we learned how one educator energized her students to try something new! Today we see just how she accomplished that. Rida Iyoob is the...
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Part 1, Energizing Students for Istation
Excitement brewed at Hilburn Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, when Rida Iyoob, the K-8 Literacy Coach, motivated students to try something new!
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How to Improve Digital Equity for All Students
Improve Digital Equity for All Students The American classroom must change to ensure digital equity for all students. A new study from the Morgridge...
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Istation is Texas’s #1 Assessment Screener for At-Risk Students for Disabilities, Including Dyslexia
For grades 3-8 in Texas, Istation is the highest-ranked screener and reading instrument used to assess students’ reading development and...
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Actionable, Insightful Data and Performance Scales with Three Multitiered Systems of Support
Schools looking for optional performance scales to help define achievement goals for students can choose from Istation’s three multitiered systems.
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Tiering Students and Setting up Small Groups
Every teacher faces the challenge of grouping students for small-group intervention time. Knowing what skills students need helps play the biggest...
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Engage Early Learners with Folktales and Fairy Tales
For teachers looking for ways to engage early learners, Istation’s adaptive curriculum provides interactive instruction that introduces folktales and...
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Computer-Based Learning in the Early Childhood Classroom
Computer-Based Learning for the Early Learner Today’s four and five year olds have never known a world without laptops, smartphones, or tablets. If...
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Istation Accelerates Launch of Oral Fluency Program
Istation accelerates the launch of its Istation's Indicators of Progress (ISIP™) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment program across the United...
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Three Great Intervention Tools from Istation
Intervention Tools from Istation Student intervention has made the shift to a big-picture approach, moving from employing only one individual...
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Help Families Get Started with Istation Home for the Holidays
Keep students’ minds engaged over winter break. With the break just around the corner, you might be looking for a great way to keep students learning...
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Morning Reading Activities
Last week we kicked off our blog series detailing teacher time-savers that can prove helpful any day of the week. We have pulled together a few...
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Save Time with Technology
There’s just not enough time in the day. How do I fit something else into my already busy schedule? Let’s add just one more thing to my full plate.
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Six Easy Ways to Increase Usage
Looking for ways to increase student usage? As an educator, you know that some days just don’t go according to plan. The best of intentions to...
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How Intervention Helped a Failing School Get an A
Amy Stephens, former principal of Bayless Elementary School in Lubbock, Texas, can’t get enough of Istation. Istation has been her top tool in...
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Small Changes Lead to Big Results
How Small Changes Led to Big Results Intervention is more than just assessing students throughout the school year. It encompasses giving assessments,...
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Set a Goal and Go After It!
How to Set Student Goals with Istation Setting Istation goals with your students each month is a great practice that will motivate them in new ways....
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Measure Growth All Year Long
Collecting classroom data can be useful throughout the school year to plan lessons, coordinate activities, and maximize student engagement. In a sea...
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Learning Languages in a Digital World: Adaptive Technology and Bilingualism
Every time someone finds out that I have worked in the field of bilingual education for more than 18 years, this is the question that always comes...
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Smart Review – Istation's Timeless Tales 2.0: NexLevel
By Andrew Larson, December 2, 2017 To watch teens persist for long stretches at a video game or skateboard trick gives us Gen X and Baby Boomers a...
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Istation Success in the Prekindergarten Community
Studies show that children who attend prekindergarten programs are better prepared for kindergarten than children who do not. During their time at...
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Ipractice and Teacher Station
The Teacher Station feature inside the Istation app can be a hidden gem that classroom teachers miss out on. I continue to share the great news about...
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ISIP Assessments Predict Passage of STAAR Test with 95% Confidence
Istation has just released a report indicating that it can be used to predict the passage of the STAAR reading test with 95 percent confidence.
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Teacher Time Savers: Stations
At Istation, we recognize that no resource is more valuable to a teacher — nor as hard to find! — as time.
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Four Strategic Moves to Implement Istation and Motivate Students
4 Ways to Implement Istation and Motivate Students When Ms. Dillon realized the students at Horace O’Bryant Middle School weren’t enthusiastic about...
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Teacher Time Savers: Morning Work
There’s just not enough time in a day.
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I Have My Small Groups...Now What? How to Use Istation Data to Drive Small Group Instruction
My last blog entry was “How to Use Istation for Effective Small Group Instruction.” It seemed to really resonate with you, as it quickly became one...
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How to Help Students Keep Track of Istation Goals
Wendy S. was in her third year of teaching when she decided to try a new way of helping students keep track of their Istation usage goals. She made...
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How an "Istation Fairy" keeps students accountable
A little whimsy motivates students to do their best on Istation! ISIP™ scores were flat. Students were unfocused. Teachers knew their kids could...
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How to Use Istation for Effective Small Group Instruction
How to Use Istation for Small Group Instruction When I first began teaching the question was not, “ARE you going to teach small groups?” It was, "HOW...