On Wednesday November 21st, for the very first time, pilot teachers logged into the MiRead application. This first real user experience in the new literacy application, which relies on MiDataHub for data, far exceeded expectations. Within fifteen minutes the first teacher was off and running in the system.
Samantha, from Kaleva Norman Dickson (KND) schools, was able to explore most of the applications features, reviewe data on her students, and re-create an IRIP she developed for one of her students this fall. In doing so, she was able to assign strategies that her team at KND (with support from their local literacy coach and Manistee ISD Literacy Coach) had identified for use in MiStrategyBank. Developers from MiStrategyBank were able to configure these strategies and ensure that they were aligned and ready for use in MiRead.
The most exciting part of this initial experience was when
Samantha told us that the student she had created a plan for had already successfully completed the initial intervention. With that in mind, she logged back into MiRead and augmented her student’s plan, closing out the initial strategy and adding a new one that she is now using to help that student take their next steps toward becoming more literate. Samantha quickly demonstrated a key concept that had been envisioned for MiRead: a living literacy plan - both teacher and student being supported in their ongoing efforts to strategically strive for success in reading. Jen, the local Literacy Coach at KND reported that their old process would never have supported the ability to quickly and easily modify or enhance the reading plan based for the student or teacher in this way.
The rest of the teachers at KND are scheduled to access the system
this Thursday, November 29, 2018
and begin full piloting of the application. Other pilots in Southwest Michigan are expected to be online within the next two weeks, and Wayne county districts are in the process of identifying strategies that will prime the system for use in the coming month.
