DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 1

Parent’s Guide to DreamBox Learning K-3 Math March 2010

KEY QUESTIONS What is DreamBox Learning K-3 Math? What will my child learn? Which math standards are addressed? What happens the first time my student plays? How does DreamBox Learning continuous assessment and placement work? What happens if a parent or sibling “helps” a child progress in DreamBox Learning? What grades will DreamBox Learning K-3 Math be appropriate for? Is DreamBox Learning for kids who are struggling, at grade level, or advanced in math? How does DreamBox supplement what my child already learns in school? What progress reports will parents receive? Is there a way for a parent to play and understand more about the program? What is the expected time commitment? How do we log in and get started? Is there a 1-click login for my child? What is the best way to provide DreamBox Learning with feedback? What should I do if we have technical issues or support questions?

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT Does my child have to know how to use a computer mouse? A keyboard? Does my child have to know how to read? Can my pre-K child experience the kindergarten content? Why are some lessons so similar to others? Who designed the lessons?

PRODUCT FEATURES What are the main screens my child will see? What are the motivational / game aspects of DreamBox Learning K-3 Math?

SUPPORT What are the requirements for DreamBox Learning to work on our home computer? How do I contact DreamBox Learning?

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 2

KEY QUESTIONS

What is DreamBox Learning K-3 Math?

DreamBox Learning K-3 Math, the next generation of web-based learning, provides individualized

learning for kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade math in an engaging game-like framework.

DreamBox Learning K-3 Math automatically adapts to each student, which optimizes his or her

learning experience. We do this by customizing the lessons, difficulty, hints, pace, sequence, and

much more to match a student‟s knowledge and learning style -- just as a great tutor would! There are

well over a million different paths a child could take through our curriculum.

DreamBox Learning‟s curriculum is based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

(NCTM) Curriculum Focal Points and the best state standards. Students personalize their experience

by choosing a game character and a theme, such as pirates, dinosaurs, pets or pixies, which will

frame their lessons with fun adventures and goals.

Rather than simply providing practice for a concept students already know, DreamBox Learning K-3

Math helps a student learn and gain proficiency in a uniquely customized and engaging way.

DreamBox Learning K-3 Math helps every child reach his or her potential!

Engaging adventures! Move forward with the

right lessons!

Learn math with powerful

DreamBox manipulatives!

What will my child learn? Which math standards are addressed?

DreamBox Learning K-3 Math has more than 500 base lessons with unlimited variations for

kindergarten through 3rd grades. The program‟s underlying curriculum develops computational

fluency, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving ability, which allow students to enrich and

deepen their mathematical thinking. Content is aligned with the Number and Operations and Algebra

Focal Points for each grade set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), on

which most state standards are based.

DreamBox Learning develops and enhances your child‟s foundational math understanding through a

carefully tailored sequence of activities which allow your child both choice and variety in game play.

All lessons use our core virtual manipulative tools including dot patterns (Numbergrams™), a ten

frame, a mathrack (aka rekenrek), open number lines, Snap Blocks™, function machine, our “Human

Calculator™”, picture arrays, and many others.

One of the first lessons played by each student is a placement lesson, and there are many additional

placement lessons throughout the product. Instead of having one “overall placement” test at the

beginning of DreamBox, there are “mini placements” for every module or concept taught, so

DreamBox can constantly assess a student‟s existing knowledge and place him at the most

appropriate places in our curriculum. Students get to skip what they already known and focus on what

they are ready to learn.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 3

Throughout the DreamBox Learning adventure, your child is given the flexibility to move between

grades as appropriate, once they have met the prerequisites. We do not show students the grade

labels for the lessons, and we don‟t require, for example, that all kindergarten lesson games are

completed before first grade lesson games can begin. This allows your child to explore the math that

is most interesting and developmentally appropriate for him/her.

Kindergarten:

Compare more, less, and equal sets of objects up to 10

Count up to 10 in units of 1,2,3,5, and 10

Demonstrate ability to recognize sets of up to 10 at a quick glance

Build number lines and hundreds chart up to 100

Early addition and subtraction up to 10

Recognize doubles

Distance and orientation

1st grade:

Build, count, and recognize amounts up to 100

Compare and order numbers up to 100 using symbols <,>, and =

Count backwards and forwards

Addition and subtraction using strategies of “using doubles”

Develop automatic recall of basic math facts

Identify number patterns that make 15,20,50, and 100

Understand the open numberline, multiples of 10 (10-100), positive and negative, and

distances between numbers

Two-dimensional area and three-dimensional volume

2nd grade:

Solve problems with equal expressions

Addition and subtraction strategies for two- and three-digit numbers

Skip counting in jumps of 3-10

Compare and order numbers from 100 to 1000

Advanced addition and subtraction strategies

Place value …..?

3rd grade:

Place value to 10,000: identify, build and manipulate values up to 10,000

Solve multiplication facts to 12 using different representations and strategies, including

repeated addition, picture arrays and area models

Understand multiplication relationships such as the distributive, commutative, and associative

properties

Construct multiplication relationships with partial products

Using landmark multiplication facts to find products with one group more or less

Find factors for numbers to 100 and multiples of numbers 1-12

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 4

What happens the first time my student plays?

The first time a child logs in to DreamBox is different than subsequent sessions. In the first 15-20

minutes a student does not do any actual lesson work. Instead, there are mostly fun activities to get

children engaged and familiar with the product (e.g., students are prompted to choose a game

character and invited to visit the DreamBox imaginative neighborhood). The next 10-20 minutes

(depending on how the student performs) are spent doing placement lessons and tutorials. On the

lesson map, you can recognize placement lessons because the lesson icons have a star on them.

Note that placement lessons have fewer adaptations in them because they are designed to assess a

student‟s knowledge, not teach. Tutorials are also not lessons (and they do not adapt). On the

DreamBox adventure map you can recognize a lesson is a tutorial because the lesson icons have a

red „bucket‟ on them. A tutorial teaches a student how to use a new DreamBox Learning K-3 virtual

math manipulative.

In subsequent sessions, your child is provided with a much higher percentage of math lessons, and a

only a small percentage of a student‟s time is spent on engagement activities, placement lessons and

tutorials.

How does DreamBox Learning continuous assessment and placement work?

One of the first lesson games played is a placement lesson, and there are many more placement

lessons as a child plays through the program. Students usually won‟t notice that a lesson is a

placement lesson rather than a standard lesson, though the lesson icons are marked with a star on

the lesson map.

Placement lessons assess a student‟s existing knowledge and place her at an

appropriate place in our curriculum. Students who already know a particular math

concept, for example, will pass a placement lesson and then immediately skip

over all the lesson games for that concept.

In addition, DreamBox assesses every response, and makes immediate small

adjustments in the difficulty or scope of a particular problem, the type of hints given, the lesson

sequence that follows, and much more. All of these individual adaptations help ensure effective

learning for your child.

What happens if a parent or sibling “helps” a child progress in DreamBox Learning?

Because DreamBox Learning dynamically adapts its difficulty level to the student, when a parent or

sibling provides “help” to a student to answer the problems the program progresses too quickly for the

student. We get many emails from parents asking us to reset a student because he got too much help

and now the program is too difficult!

Parents or older siblings can certainly provide some hints so a student understands how to play a

particular game and what is expected. However, they shouldn‟t provide hints to answer the problems,

or DreamBox will adapt to the helper‟s level instead of the student‟s level.

What grades will DreamBox Learning K-3 Math be appropriate for?

The curriculum covered in DreamBox Learning K-3 Math will be appropriate for most K-3 students. It

is also very appropriate for many pre-K students and many 4th graders.

Is DreamBox Learning for kids who are struggling, at grade level, or advanced in math?

Because of our unique placement lessons and continual assessments, DreamBox is great for math

learners of all abilities! Struggling students will get the basic foundational concepts they need, along

with appropriate practice for mastery. Students who love math and need additional challenges can

move ahead in DreamBox as fast as they want.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 5

How does DreamBox supplement what my child already learns in school?

Research shows that early math proficiency is one of the most important skills we can give our

children, and school alone is not enough! Just as you help your children with literacy skills to

supplement their school work (e.g. sounding out words, reading signs, rhyming games, reading

books, writing notes), its equally valuable to provide your child additional support to learn the

essential math concepts and skills. DreamBox is a great complement to school, and kids love to play

it!

What progress reports will parents receive?

Parents can review detailed progress reports any time they want using the Parent Dashboard link

when they log in. The progress reports show which math concepts the student has “skipped in

placement” (i.e. already knew and therefore successfully passed in our placement lessons), which

lessons they have successfully completed, and which lessons they are currently working on.

In addition, parents receive an email whenever their child has successfully completed a group of

lessons that demonstrates understanding of a significant concept in mathematics. We will explain

what your child has learned, and provide some tips for further honing that knowledge, including quick

games that can be played together any time you have a few minutes together. We will also send an

email when your child has completed an adventure story and there is a Certificate to print out.

Is there a way for a parent to play and understand more about the program?

Many parents want to experience DreamBox Learning K-3 Math themselves so they can better

understand what their child is learning. We have created an account for a parent, accessible from the

Parent Dashboard, so that parents can play DreamBox without accidently modifying their child‟s

account (and changing their assessments).

We have also added a number of explanations in the Parent User account to highlight the various

features in the product. Below is an example introducing our placement lessons:

What is the expected time commitment?

Students will get the most out of DreamBox when they play at least two to four times a week, for

sessions of 15 to 30 minutes each. As students progress, they will continually be served

appropriate new challenges. Some students will want to play more and longer, and others will play

less. It is completely up to the student and family‟s schedule, though consistent play is best for

optimizing how each student will learn and progress.

How do we log in and get started? Is there a 1-click login for my child?

To first sign up for DreamBox, go to www.dreambox.com and create an account. Once you have an

account, you can log in to play by going to http://play.dreambox.com. If you forget this URL, there is

also a “Home login” link in the upper right-hand corner of the main DreamBox Learning website at

www.dreambox.com.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 6

After you‟re signed up, or any time when you log in, you can check the option “Keep me logged

in”, which will allow your child to play without retyping your login information. You should also save

the website URL to your favorites or bookmarks, or save a shortcut on your desktop.

Note that for the security of your account and the reporting information, even if you enable your child

to play without logging in, you will still need to log in with your password to view the Parent

Dashboard.

What is the best way to provide DreamBox Learning with feedback?

There is a link for “feedback” at the bottom of every screen in the program. If you would like to

comment on something specific on a screen or in a lesson, you can simply provide immediate

feedback by clicking the link, choosing the category of feedback (comment, bug, etc.) and writing as

detailed a message as possible in the feedback form. We also welcome your feedback on your child‟s

overall experience that day. We greatly appreciate your comments, and read every email carefully.

Your feedback helps us to improve our product!

What should I do if we have technical issues or support questions?

We want to answer your questions, provide you with support, and hear what you have to say. Please

email us at support@dreambox.com. You can also call us at 1-877-451-7845 (weekdays, 8 am-5 pm,

Pacific Time)

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT

Does my child have to know how to use a computer mouse? A keyboard?

Students must use a mouse in our program, and the ability to enter numbers via the keyboard is

required for the 2nd and 3rd grade content. Students do not need to know how to use the keyboard

for the K or 1st grade curriculum.

We have created three fun Mouse Tutorials that will help all users learn and/or improve their mouse

skills. The first time a student plays, we introduce them to the Mouse Tutorials right away as a “warm

up”. If your child needs extra practice, please encourage your child to play them again as often as

needed. You can find the balloon-popping Mouse Tutorials in the Carnival Arcade.

Does my child have to know how to read?

No, children do not need to be readers to play DreamBox Learning. In nearly every case, labels in the

game are repeated in the audio, and often when your child rolls the mouse over objects.

Can my pre-K child experience the kindergarten content?

There are many 4 year olds who are ready to learn the kindergarten content, have the dexterity and

knowledge to use a computer mouse, and the attention span to use our program. Many 4 year olds

will do best, however, if a parent sits with them, at least to get them started on each new type of

activity. If you‟re interested in signing up your pre-K child for the kindergarten content, please do so

and let us know how it goes!

Why are some lessons so similar to others?

The lessons have been thoughtfully designed to help students learn new concepts and develop

strong knowledge of math fundamentals. To achieve this, professional educators have found that

students must address concepts from several different perspectives. Therefore, for example, there

might be a lesson teaching a concept first with numbers 1 to 10 and no symbols, and then later the

same concept with numbers and symbols. Or there might be one lesson focusing on the “landmark”

numbers 5, 10, and 20 with our mathrack tool, and then another lesson focusing on the same concept

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 7

with our Numbergram™ tool. These lessons may appear similar, but are different in important ways

that help students successfully progress.

Who designed the lessons?

DreamBox lessons are first designed for their educational content by our Academic Team of

teachers, who are Nationally Board Certified and experienced elementary school teachers. They

carefully create the detailed framework of adaptations – in hints, difficulty, pace, etc. – that will help

each student individually learn the material. Our Academic Team is also helped by our Advisory

Board of nationally renowned experts in math education research and teaching. Then the teachers,

our creative team, and our software developers work closely together to add a motivational

framework to fully engage and encourage the students to progress through the lessons and have fun

while learning.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 8

PRODUCT FEATURES

What are the main screens my child will see?

Home Screen

Mouse Tutorial

Students “warm up” before their first math lessons with some games to practice mouse skills. These

games are available for playing again and again from the Carnival Arcade.

This is the

first level of

the mouse

tutorial. Pop

as many

balloons as

you can!

Click on the

Adventure Park

to go to the

Lesson Map

and move

forward on your

adventure!

Go to the

Carnival to

play games!

Go to My House

to see all your

rewards!

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 9

Theme Chooser

In the Adventure Park, students choose one of four themes to play: Pixies, Dinosaurs, Pirates,

or Pets.

Lesson Map

Students play lessons on the Lesson Map to find the missing items for their adventure story. As a

student completes a lesson, additional lessons appropriate for that student will appear on the path.

Students have

several

appropriately

selected

lessons to

choose from.

Open the

backpack to

see what

reward has

been earned!

Choose a

theme, and

even play

multiple

adventure

stories at the

same time.

Lessons

successfully

completed get

a checkmark.

This student has already

found 2 of the 6 missing

items to help the Pirates.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 10

Math Games

There are more than 500 different math lessons. Here is a screen showing one, using the

Snap Blocks™ virtual manipulative, that help students visualize equal expressions.

My Completed Stories

From My Room, students can view the certificates they earn for each completed adventure story.

Print them out and proudly hang them on the wall!

Click the

Help button

to hear

instructions

and tips

Click the

Done button

when the

problem is

solved

This is the

reset button

This is a lesson

progress meter.

Something fun

happens when

the student

completes each

lesson.

This student has

finished all 8

stories in the

Dinosaur theme,

and 1 or 2 stories

in each of the

other themes.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 11

What are the motivational / game aspects of DreamBox Learning K-3 Math?

Game Characters: Each student gets to select a game character from among more than two dozen

different characters. This game character will represent the student on screen as he/she goes

through the adventures.

Themes: Students can chose from four themes, Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs, and Pets. The student is

introduced via colorful animations to a collection of fun and silly characters, and invited to come along

on their adventures. There are more fun animations to reward kids when they complete the

adventure, as well as at steps along the way. Each theme has 8 adventure stories; a student can

switch themes (at interim milestones such as finding an item or finishing a story) to experience all of

the themes.

Lesson Motivators: As a good teacher or tutor would do, we encourage and cheer on the student

with audio prompts. In addition, lessons have fun animated progress bars to help students reach for

the goal.

Rewards: As students progress, they periodically find a “reward” on their lesson map. Sometimes it‟s

a goal for the adventure story, other times its an Adventure Friend card to collect in their house, and

still other times it‟s a token they can save and use when they want to play games in the Carnival.

Rewards are awarded for a combination of academic progress, overall effort, and time spent.

Certificate of Achievement: After a student successfully completes an adventure story (e.g., helped

fix the pirate ship), we will send the parent a “congratulations” email with a link to a fun personalized

Certificate of Achievement for the student. You can print out the Certificate and give it to your child to

proudly hang at home!

SUPPORT

What are the requirements for DreamBox Learning to work on our home computer?

DreamBox Learning should work easily on most computers. Here are the requirements:

1. The computer must have a mouse (touch pads do work, but are more difficult for most students). 2. The computer's display must have a minimum resolution of 1024x768. 3. The computer must have sound capability. 4. The computer must have a web browser. Windows supported web browsers are Internet Explorer 6

or 7, Firefox 1.x-3.x and Safari 3.x. Mac OS X (v 10.4, 10.5) supported web browsers are Firefox 2.x or 3.x and Safari 3.x.

5. The web browser must allow session cookies (these are cookies that do not persist when the browser is shut down).

6. The computer must have a current version of flash installed. Version 10 is required. See: http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_15507 to check your version number and http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash to install a newer version.

7. The computer must have high-speed internet access with a connection speed equivalent to a residential DSL line (1.5Mbps down/640kbps up).

8. Any firewall or filtering software must allow HTTP/HTTPS access to http://dreambox.com and sub-domains of dreambox.com

9. Any firewall or filtering software must allow HTTP POST requests to http://dreambox.com and sub-domains of dreambox.com.

DreamBox Learning Parent‟s Guide March 2010 Page 12

How do I contact DreamBox Learning?

There are 3 ways to contact us:

o Use the Feedback form in the program, via the button at the bottom of every screen. If you want

us to contact you about your feedback, simply click that option.

o Email us at support@dreambox.com

o Call 425.646.8080 or toll-free 877.451.7845 (weekdays, 8 am to 5 pm, Pacific time).

© 2010 DreamBox Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.