The state of Michigan is taking action to ensure that elementary and middle school students across the state are equipped with the digital literacy skills to succeed – not only in school, but in college and careers. Through funding from the state legislature, more schools than ever will be eligible for Learning.com’s comprehensive digital literacy curriculum – at no cost to the campus.

Why digital literacy?

Michigan’s commitment to digital literacy for elementary and middle school students isn’t just about navigating technology. It’s about preparing them for future success in school, college and careers. The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, requires students to navigate their devices with ease and comfort, so that they can focus their energy and attention on demonstrating their academic knowledge and critical thinking. With this online testing starting in third grade, students need to build foundational computer and digital skills even earlier.

“This tool has helped us to develop the technology skills that our students need to be successful with the M-STEP. We need to make sure the M-STEP is an accurate measure of what our students know and not a measure of their ability to use technology within a testing environment,” says Karen Flynn, Technology Integration Specialist at Ionia Public Schools.

In later grades, digital literacy will be essential not only for standardized tests but for essay-writing, online research, and digital presentations. Eventually, they will be the foundation for more advanced computer science skills such as coding and data analysis.

Regardless of whether students pursue careers in technology fields, they will almost certainly be required to navigate some form of technology in their daily lives and careers.

These needed digital literacy and foundational computer science skills include computer fundamentals, keyboarding, digital citizenship and online safety, web browsing, email and online communication, visual mapping, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, computational thinking, and coding fundamentals.

“Learning.com’s interactive and user-friendly platform has provided our students the ability to excel in the digital world…. It has taught our students not only how to use technology properly but continues to develop skills to communicate, create, and analyze information,” says Mindy Bohan, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Marcellus Community Schools. “From the beginning of the school year there has been a significant growth in our students in their digital skills.”

Expanding opportunities

Over the past four years, the Michigan K-8 Digital Literacy Program operated through a partnership between Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools and Learning.com. 

“Digital literacy skills are required for our students to demonstrate their knowledge in core academic content areas such as math, ELA, science and social studies. Through our partnership with Learning.com, our goal is to ensure all students have the opportunity to acquire transferable digital literacy skills that will improve their success in school, college and career opportunities they may pursue in the future,” said Amy Scott-Kronemeyer, Superintendent of Schools in Sault Ste. Marie Area Public Schools.

Recognizing the pivotal role of digital literacy in the M-STEP and beyond, the state legislature has approved an expansion of the program for the 2023-2024 school year. This strategic move ensures that elementary and middle school students across Michigan have the digital skills necessary to excel not only in school but also in future careers. 

“Learning.com has allowed our teachers the flexibility to have students work through an independent self-paced course of lessons, where when a student misses a day, they are still able to complete assignments and move forward without missing a single lesson,” says Tanika Rucker, Instructional Technology & Data Coordinator, Center Line Public Schools. “Our students have benefited greatly from the addition of the Learning.com program.”

 The expansion of the Michigan K-8 Digital Literacy Program, funded by the state legislature, will enable qualified K-8 schools to use Learning.com’s comprehensive digital literacy curriculum at no cost to the school. This is a testament to Michigan’s dedication to bridging the digital divide, ensuring equitable access to essential digital literacy resources for every student in the state.

By prioritizing these skills, Michigan isn’t just preparing students for today’s challenges but is also fostering a generation equipped to navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital world.

Michigan’s funding of this program for eligible K-8 schools is about more than education – it’s a societal investment in the state’s future. Michigan’s commitment to fostering a digitally empowered generation not only enriches education but also opens doors for the future leaders.

Best-in-Class Edtech Products and Services Join the Largest Ecosystem of K-12 Teaching and Learning Tools

NEW YORK, NY – September 5, 2019 – (BUSINESS WIRE)–Schoology, the leading K-12 learning management and assessment platform, announced new additions to its Certified Partner Program. Schoology launched its Certified Partner Program earlier this year as a vehicle for edtech companies to promote their value to Schoology users and to provide joint customers with a more integrated experience.

“Interoperability has been a key element of Schoology’s growth. The open nature of our platform makes it easier for K-12 schools and districts to adopt Schoology,” said Jeremy Friedman, co-founder and CEO of Schoology. “Our Certified Partner Program ensures educators in Schoology districts have access to the best education technology products and services all in one place and welcome these cutting-edge companies with the same goal of advancing what’s possible in education.”

Schoology Certified Partners receive dedicated marketing and business development support as well as technical assistance to ensure their products integrate with Schoology and provide a seamless user experience. Schoology customers benefit from the availability of hundreds of outstanding edtech tools that operate seamlessly together.

New additions to the Schoology Certified Partner Program include:

• Capti is a literacy and learning app that helps struggling readers improve comprehension and aids teachers in providing accommodations with an all-in-one solution.
• Edpuzzle lets you use any YouTube video or upload your own and embed questions to hold your students accountable during the video.
• Kami is an interactive PDF and document annotation app with features that encourage collaboration between teacher and students, helping schools transition to paperless learning.
• Learning.com allows you to develop critical technology skills in K-8 students with Learning.com’s comprehensive digital literacy curriculum, instruction and assessment solutions.
• Respondus develops assessment tools that work seamlessly with learning management systems, including LockDown Browser, which prevents cheating during online tests.
• SchoolOfficeApps extends the Schoology Learning Management System into an Office Management System. SchoolOfficeApps has created a suite of 10 office applications that greatly simplify the day-to-day tasks of running a vibrant, high-technology school.
• STEMScopes, created by Accelerate Learning Inc., is an award-winning, research-based national leader in PreK-12 STEM curriculum.
• SchoolBzz is a cloud-based platform for whole-school, whole-community communication that streamlines how schools share information with everyone involved in a student’s learning journey.

“Joining Schoology’s Partner Program was a no-brainer,” said Hengjie Wang, co-founder & CEO of Kami. “Listening to our users has always been at the forefront of our innovation, and for years they’ve wanted to see an integration between Kami and Schoology.”

“Respondus products have integrated with Schoology for a number of years,” said Jodi Feeney, COO of Respondus. “The Certified Partner Program added structure and benefits to our relationship. We have found Schoology’s staff to be both responsive and resourceful.”

To learn more about the Certified Partner Program and to see the full list of certified partners visit: www.schoology.com/partners.

About Learning.com

Learning.com is the leading provider of digital literacy solutions that help prepare students for online assessments, school, college and their future careers. The company offers a complete digital literacy curriculum for grades K-8 that engages students as they develop critical skills such as keyboarding, business applications, online safety, computational thinking and coding. Founded in 1999, Learning.com currently partners with one in six U.S. school districts and serves more than 4 million students each year. The company has earned more than 30 industry awards, including ISTE 2017 Best of Show, 2017 Award of Excellence from “Tech & Learning Magazine” and “The Oregonian’s Top Workplace” for 2016 and 2017.

About Schoology

Schoology seamlessly connects learning management with assessments so that school districts can improve student performance, foster collaboration throughout their community and personalize learning for every student. Every day millions of students, parents, faculty and administrators from nearly 2,000 K-12 school districts leverage Schoology to advance what is possible in education. For more information, visit www.schoology.com.

For Immediate Release

Further Reading

A year ago, Noble applied for and received a three-year school improvement grant – no small task. A significant part of their effort included incorporating technology into the school so that they could prepare their students for the future – but also for the present. In the State of Michigan, all students, grades 3 – 8 and 11 are required to take the M-STEP online summative assessment.

Ms. Harris and her team realized that their students, especially the younger ones, were not prepared with the digital literacy skills that an online assessment requires. So, as part of their school improvement grant, they purchased Learning.com’s EasyTech curriculum to assist them in teaching these critical 21^st century skills.

Fast forward to this morning, visiting Noble with me today was Senator Morris Hood III who represents this area of Detroit. There were two purposes for our visit this morning. First, to raise the awareness with key legislators on how dedicated educators are addressing the unique needs of their students to prepare them for success in a digital world, and second make a small gift to the school in recognition of their dedication – more on that later.

As we arrived, we were treated to the morning Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom system, followed by Noble’s version of “mini-news minute”. The news was introduced by a few minutes of music, appropriately, Purple Rain – appropriately Prince, due to his recent death.

Upon entering the school, we met a young fifth grader who would serve as our chaperon for the morning – we will call him Alan. Alan was nothing short of awesome. He said he could “hang out” with us for a bit, but needed to make sure he got back to second period. I was thinking – wait a minute, you get an excuse to get out of class and hang out with a Senator, but you want to go to class. We later found out that second period was Alan’s favorite period – Science. Senator Hood probed a bit to see what Alan wanted to do. Alan wants to be a “coder”, those are his words. He wants to write software for games. How cool is that?!

Noble has set up a technology infrastructure that includes a library/lab setting with traditional desktops, as well as mobile iPad carts to be shared by teachers throughout the school. Our visit began with the lab where we visited with the first grade students. These students were learning the basics of digital literacy such as how to use a mouse, basic keyboarding, and computer fundamental. Each student is able to move through a personalized sequence of lessons at their own pace, supported by their teachers along the way. Guided by our chaperon, we were introduced to a few of the students, with special attention and acknowledgement given to the numerous certificates of completion for their Learning.com lessons. It never ceases to amaze me how thrilled a student is by receiving a certificate for completing a lesson.

Ms. Harris stressed the importance of starting with the youngest students to build foundational skills. “How many times a week?” we asked. The answer was two to three times for 20-30 minutes.

Once again, we were led by chaperon Alan upstairs to see what the third grade class was engaged in. There we found a traditional classroom environment with student working independently on iPad Mini’s. These students were focused on learning more advanced keyboard skills, word processing, and more computer fundamentals. I had seen this class before, which leads me to the second purpose of our visit – the gift.

During my previous visit, they were attempting to learn keyboarding – without keyboards. Instead, it looked like the students were playing a game of hunt and peck on the screen. The keys were so small it was impossible for anyone to use correct finger placement. We have been so impressed by the dedication of the Noble team that Learning.com wanted to donate 100 iPad Mini keyboards, so that students could more effectively master their keyboarding skills in time to prepare for the upcoming online assessments. It was great to see that the staff at Noble had already set-up the Bluetooth keyboards and the kids were racing through EasyTech lessons.

Somewhere along the way, Alan ditched us for second period. I later heard that Senator Hood told Alan to contact him sometime if he ever needed help. Alan’s response, “ok, but if you need more help today, have Ms. Harris call me.” I suspect that someday, there will be kids playing a video game designed by Chaperon Alan.

As we departed, Senator Hood could not help himself from popping into the fifth grade class being taught by Mrs. Rice. While introducing himself, he asked if they knew what a Senator did. We all got “schooled” by the fifth graders on government, further highlighting that I am not smarter than a fifth grader.

Senator Hood’s parting words were “we just want you to be the best you can be, and we are all here to help you do that.”

Further Reading