Wireless Generation Offers Professional Development and Consulting Services to Help Schools Use Data to Deliver Effective Instruction

Business Wire, July 31, 2007

Educators Seek to Answer "So What?" and "Now What?" Questions that Follow Assessment

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Wireless Generation, the leading company offering mobile- and Web-based technology for managing and improving teaching and learning in grades pre-K-12, today announced that it is offering highly customized, in-person and Web-based professional development and consulting to help schools use data on student learning to provide effective instruction. The company also formally announced Wireless Generation Professional Services, a new business division that is developing and delivering the new offerings. Wireless Generation Professional Services has already served over 100 school systems, including large urban districts, in the last school year.

Wireless Generation created the new services in response to demand from users of its mCLASS assessment and reporting technology. The mCLASS system enables teachers to give broadly used Pre-K-6 reading and math formative assessments efficiently and accurately with a handheld device, and makes the resulting data immediately available and useful in instructional decision-making via reports on the handheld and on the Web. Currently, 100,000 teachers in 49 states and overseas use the mCLASS system to collect timely data on over 2 million students' reading and math progress.

"Educators now have a wealth of data about students at their fingertips, but the connection to teachers' classroom instruction and administrators' decisions about curricula and resources isn't always obvious. Our goal is to help them build lasting capacity in analyzing and acting on their data - answering those 'so what?' and 'now what?' questions," said Leslie Kerner, Executive Director of Wireless Generation Professional Services. "Teachers generally get a day of professional development here and there, and it often doesn't 'stick,' or isn't relevant to their classrooms. That's why our professional services are customized, with participants working with their actual student data, and learning techniques and skills that are easy to incorporate into their classroom instruction immediately."

Wireless Generation's consultants are former educators with hands-on classroom and administrative experience. In addition, they hold specialized professional certifications in math and reading assessments such as the TPRI[R], Tejas LEE[R], DIBELS[R], IDEL[TM], and CIRCLE[TM].

The new professional services offerings include:

Taking Action with Assessment Data Series -- Four two-day sessions that build district and school staff ability to do "just in time" data analysis, and to plan and adjust instruction. Sessions, available as a series or individually, are Data-Informed Instruction: Using Benchmark Data; Adjusting Instruction: Using Progress Monitoring Data; Making Informed Decisions: Using Aggregate Data; and Promoting School-Wide Improvement: Sustaining Data-Informed Decision-Making. Wireless Generation provides the same consultant throughout the series, ensuring an in-depth understanding of staff's evolving needs and goals. Consultants support school staff between sessions through email, phone, and Web conference communication.

Leadership Consulting Services - Data Analysis for Instructional Leaders -- School and district administrators learn the importance of establishing clear processes for analyzing and using formative assessment data, as well as how data can help to drive school improvement and shape decisions about instruction, professional development, and resource allocation. Participants also gain methods for evaluating curricula, setting short- and long-term goals for implementing instructional programs, and doing hands-on data analysis. Sessions are available individually, or as part of a series throughout the school year.

Response To Intervention -- Participants learn how to implement and sustain a Response To Intervention (RTI) program in which general education and special education professionals work together to intervene with struggling students before they are referred to special education.

To learn more about Wireless Generation Professional Services, visit www.wirelessgeneration.com.

About Wireless Generation

Wireless Generation pioneered the adaptation of mobile technologies, including handheld computers and digital pens, for use in managing and improving teaching and learning in grades pre-K-12. The company's commitment to listening to educators and gaining a deep understanding of their challenges has lead to the development of offerings that optimally combine mobile tools, Internet technology, and in-person services to help improve student achievement in reading and math. Wireless Generation's mCLASS[R] products and services streamline collection of data about student learning needs and school operations, facilitate data analysis and interpretation, and build educators' capacity to implement data-driven instructional programs that deliver better outcomes for children. State and district school systems across the country and overseas now rely upon these offerings to achieve and sustain growth in their classrooms. More information is available on the Web at www.wirelessgeneration.com.