Oregon School Administrators and Portland Ed Tech Company Partner to Ensure State Students are Equipped With Digital Literacy Skills
PORTLAND, Ore. (PRWEB) December 10, 2015 -- Oregon elementary schools now have a powerful tool for ensuring that their students are equipped with digital literacy skills as the result of a new collaboration between the Oregon Elementary School Principals Association (OESPA), a division of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), and Learning.com. The Portland-based education technology company is partnering with COSA to provide free access to its TechLiteracy Skills Inventory for all of Oregon’s fifth graders.
OESPA President and principal at Portland’s Earl Boyles Elementary Ericka Guynes said, “While today’s students may know how to tap, swipe and Google, it is also critical that they have the skills necessary to use technology for learning. I hope that all Oregon elementary schools will consider taking advantage of this great opportunity to allow students to map a path for building the digital literacy skills requisite for success as they move on to middle school, high school and college.”
Learning.com’s TechLiteracy Skills Inventory will help educators ensure that all students have the technology skills to successfully complete online tests, such as the Smarter Balanced assessment taken by Oregon students. The TechLiteracy Skills Inventory helps teachers gain a deep understanding of students’ technology skills by providing authentic and detailed, student-level reports. Teachers can use these reports to pinpoint technology skills that students are struggling with and identify teaching strategies that will help improve those skills.
“By partnering with Learning.com on this important initiative, COSA is providing educators throughout Oregon with the opportunity to use a tool that will contribute to the success of their students on online assessments, in the classroom and someday in the workforce,” said COSA Executive Director Craig Hawkins. “Oregon has a robust educational technology business community and it is wonderful to have one of its leading members, Learning.com, support our schools and students through this new partnership with COSA.”
“It is projected that by 2020 technology skills will be needed in more than half of all jobs so it is crucial that students begin to develop those skills as early as possible,” said Learning.com CEO Keith Oelrich. “It is particularly fitting that we announce this partnership with COSA at the same time that Computer Science Education Week is being celebrated across the country.”
To sign-up for and receive the free TechLiteracy Skills Inventory, Oregon administrators or teachers can go to http://www.learning.com/COSA and enroll their fifth-grade classes. Deadline for enrollment is February 19, 2016 and the assessment can be administered between January 4 and June 17, 2016. All schools will have the opportunity to participate in a free training webinar that will explain how to deliver the skills inventory as well as how to interpret the results.
About the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA)
The Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) serves and represents more than 2,200 school administrators, managers and executives. COSA was founded in 1974 to give Oregon's education leaders a united voice in helping to shape public policy, advocate for schools and speak on behalf of students. COSA's perspective has earned the respect of educators, the Legislature, the Department of Education and other statewide agencies. COSA consistently puts the interests of schools and students ahead of self-interest.
About Oregon Elementary Principals Association (OESPA)
The Oregon Elementary School Principals Association (OESPA) serves and supports elementary and middle school administrators. OESPA is actively engaged in supporting the implementation of full-day kindergarten, in partnering with early learning providers to ensure that children enter school ready to learn, and advocating for the health and well-being of Oregon children and families.
About Learning.com
Founded in 1999, Learning.com currently partners with nearly 15,000 schools, 2,500 districts and serves 5 million students. Learning.com provides K-12 solutions to help students, teachers, and schools excel in a digital world. Districts equip their students with the technology and 21st century skills needed for success on online assessments, college, and the workforce using Learning.com’s digital literacy solutions. Learning.com’s digital content tools help districts build and share custom digital curriculum helping them meet their instructional goals, facilitate personalized learning, and address budget challenges. Through implementation services and professional development, Learning.com serves educators as they integrate technology and digital content into instruction.
Lisa Wolfe, L. Wolfe Communications, +1 (773) 278-2800, [email protected]
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