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‘netTrekker d.i.’
Helps Educators Differentiate Instruction with Standards-Based
Internet Resources
New search engine helps every child
learn with online resources
according to his or her special needs
Cincinnati, OH - In today’s classroom, every child is using
the Internet to learn yet every child learns differently and
needs access to unique learning resources. That’s why Thinkronize,
Inc., creator of the award-winning netTrekker academic
search engine, introduces a new safe Internet search tool that
allows educators to more easily differentiate their instruction
for each student. netTrekker d.i. matches
educator-selected, standards-based online resources to individual
students’ learning needs.
Because of the fundamental principle behind No Child Left
Behind, many districts have redoubled efforts to educate all
students and have adopted new tactics to reach this goal. This
means supporting a wide variety of learning styles and needs, including
the general education student, ELL/ESL students, those working
below or above grade level, children with reading challenges and
special needs students.
“netTrekker d.i. meets two major needs in our district
providing resources to help our teachers differentiate their
instruction, which is key to student learning, as well as finding
materials to help our ELL students succeed,” said Linda Morrell,
Director of Instructional Technology for Cobb County School District,
Ga.
“Using netTrekker d.i., our teachers can filter their
search results by readability level, which helps them match resources
to individual students’ needs. netTrekker d.i. also helps
our English language learners translate learning resources so the
material actually makes sense to them, minimizing their frustration,”
Morrell added.
netTrekker d.i. delivers more than 180,000 educator-selected
online resources that align with each state’s academic standards
and support the complete K-12 curricula to every desktop. Each
of the search engine’s 180,000 resources has been assigned a readability
measure based on Lexile® ratings and eight other
popular methods, allowing educators to target search results to
find grade-level content at an appropriate reading level for every
child.
The new product also incorporates several features that address
pressing issues in education. An entire section of. netTrekker
d.i. resources is devoted to helping instruct English language
learners. Educators are directed to sites in multiple languages,
where they can use the new dictionary/translation hotkey to find
the definition or translation for any word selected on a website.
A new multicultural pavilion contains resources for teaching about
the many backgrounds that comprise a school community. A third
new component is the netTrekker d.i. image database, which
provides suitable, school-friendly images for use in multimedia
projects or classroom presentations.
Districts using the award-winning netTrekker classic
search engine are already anticipating the new learning possibilities
that will be opened with the netTrekker d.i. upgrade.
More than 90 percent of current netTrekker classic customers
who have previewed netTrekker d.i. have upgraded before
seeing the final product.
“The unique features in netTrekker d.i. are really going
to help us meet the individual learning needs of our diverse student
population,” said Lou Greco, Director for Media Services, St. Johns
County School District in St. Augustine, Fla. “Being able to sort
websites by readability level provides our teachers with options
they've never had before for finding grade level content that matches
the individual students' reading skills.”
netTrekker d.i. will be available for district use on
Sept. 1, 2005. Introductory pricing for netTrekker d.i.
as low as 86 cents per student annually is now available through
October 15th. Affordable pricing options, including volume discounts,
are based on a district’s total number of buildings or student
enrollment, allowing districts to choose the option that best meets
their needs.
For more information, visit www.netTrekker.com.
About netTrekker
netTrekker classic is the award-winning academic search
engine specifically designed for school use. Unlike ordinary search
engines, netTrekker classic provides fast and easy access
to only the best educational resources from the entire Internet
in a safe, organized, standards-aligned format, helping to increase
student achievement. Using netTrekker classic, educators,
school librarians, students, and parents save valuable time because
their Internet searches are powerfully productive. They receive
only safe, relevant educator-selected results, allowing them to
spend less time searching and more time focused on learning.
To learn more about netTrekker classic, visit www.netTrekker.com.
About Thinkronize
Thinkronize, an Internet developer of award-winning K-12 educational
products, was founded
by Robert Reinders in July 1999 and grew out of a passion and commitment
to enhancing teaching and learning with the Internet and standards-based
online resources. The company’s premier product, netTrekker
classic, the trusted search engine for schools, was launched
in October 2000. Since netTrekker classic’s launch, Thinkronize
has enjoyed continued growth, success and industry recognition
and awards. netTrekker classic is being adopted by key
districts nationwide and is known to be one of the best products
in the education industry. For more information visit www.thinkronize.com
or phone 877-517-1125.
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