Executive Summary

In this day of accountability and focus on student achievement, many companies are scrambling to update their server based products, or move applications to online portals, to respond more quickly to the needs of educators, students and parents. Sunburst Learning Solutions was "in front of the curve" by offering as early as 2003, web and standards based programs that meet the need for increased teacher accountability, student achievement and parental involvement, as mandated by NCLB. That product is QuickMind.net

QuickMind.net is targeted to improve student mastery of key skills, both fundamental and higher order thinking skills, while offering easy to implement, engaging content for students and teachers. Parents are excited about the ability to assist their child's learning experience, while taking advantage of the ability to "brush up" on skills that will help their children learn.

QuickMind.net is a web-based curriculum and teaching program designed to increase student achievement by delivering engaging activities and lesson plans to students. QuickMind.net is aligned to all 50 state standards at the lowest benchmark level and provides a variety of reference, curriculum and supplemental materials in a format consistent with proven, research-based methods. It is suitable for K-12 students and covers Math, Reading, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Humanities, Art, Music and more.

Ease of Use

QuickMind.net is very easy to use for both teachers and students. Everything developed by Sunburst over the last thirty years has been developed by former teachers and includes extensive interaction with current teachers. Teachers can cover base-level instruction for all of their students but use QuickMind.net to assign lesson extensions to the gifted students. Teachers are able to ask students higher-level questions that require those students to look into causes, experiences, and facts in order to draw conclusions and/or make connections to other areas of learning.

Professional Development

Today's students are digital natives. Teachers are often digital immigrants. QuickMind.net includes professional development resources that help teachers stay in sync with their students. Professional Development includes both web based courses as well as on-site training. On-site professional development offerings are project based so that teachers can leave training with lessons and assignments for immediate classroom use. QuickMind's professional development is approved for credit towards Pennsylvania's Act 48.

Funding

QuickMind meets criteria for Title 1 Funding. All students have unique educational needs and learning styles and some students need the ability to learn at their own pace and path. QuickMind provides teachers the tools necessary to simultaneously custom tailor learning plans to the average student, the student requiring intervention and also the gifted student. QuickMind offers a full range of pedagogical approaches to address each student's unique learning styles. Teachers can teach the same base curriculum and use QuickMind for different extensions and interventions. Most students frequently show peaks and valleys of performance across and within subject areas rather than a level consistent performance in all cognitive areas. QuickMind is a flexible tool which helps teachers challenge in one area and simultaneously intervene if necessary in another for true differentiated instruction. QuickMind offers a wealth of resources for teachers to access and deploy to improve student achievement in all academic areas. QuickMind qualifies for numerous other funding sources including New York State Aid.

Bilingual

Sunburst Learning Solutions understands the importance of bilingual content. We offer hundreds of Spanish curriculum and activity resources in Language Arts, Math, and Science. Also included are printable lesson sheets in Spanish and Spanish ESL. This makes it easy for teachers to assign homework and know that parents can help their children in their own language. The Parent Center area is also in Spanish, allowing parents to track student progress and find resources and help for a wide variety of subjects.

Increase High Stakes Test Scores

QuickMind.net, was purchased by Gary Community School Corporation Elementary Schools in Gary, IN. The public school system utilized an Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Grant. They infused technology into teaching and learning in order to improve student achievement in the district. Students from 3 Elementary Schools made significant gains in Reading and Math composite test scores - including an 11% improvement in Vocabulary. Geraldine Champion, the district's Supervisor of Educational Improvement, credits the improvement to QuickMind.net, as well as the hard work of the teachers and students.

Parental Involvement

QuickMind.net purchases include access for teachers, students, and parents. Parents can assist in keeping their children engaged and challenged as students. QuickMind.net features a Parents Center, offering a wealth of information for mom and dad. Parents can track their child's progress on homework assignments and receive assessment scores from home, work or anywhere internet access is available. Parents can also communicate with their child's teacher through email access built into the program. QuickMind.net meets much of the criteria for parental involvement outlined in the "No Child Left Behind" Act.

Special Education

QuickMind.net is an ideal on-line learning tool for students with special needs. It allows teachers to individualize and differentiate instruction, addressing each student's individual learning style. Instructors can prescribe individual remediation within the program and track student progress. The system constantly adjusts the levels of a broad variety of assignments as a student progresses or regresses. Throughout instruction the teacher has access to assessment and time-on-task results. Students have all the time they need to complete assignments and can often feel successful for the first time!

Total Cost of Ownership is far less than server-based products

Because QuickMind.net resides on Sunburst Learning Solutions hosted servers, no server and maintenance costs are incurred by the school. This eliminates the need for technical staff at the school or district buildings. Unlike books or CD based software, online resources are continually monitored to be up-to-date. Online resources are continually upgraded and enriched. Because it is internet-based, QuickMind.net has less down time than server-based products: Studies report downtimes of 6.5% for server based compared to .003% internet based.

Latest Enhancements free to subscribers include: