Sunburst Technology > New Standards Based Software

DALLAS, TX, Nov. 13, 2002 - At the National School Boards Association Technology + Learning Conference, Sunburst Technology announced a new line of affordable standards-based software for schools that targets basic math and reading skills. The new "Key Skills" line provides teachers with an easy-to-manage system that helps individual students develop the skills they need to succeed in math and reading. The programs also contain a full-featured assessment tool for teachers that records student performance and creates a variety of assessment reports. Designed for students in grades K to 2, the first four titles in the line will begin shipping by the end of this year: Key Skills: Letters and Words, Key Skills: Basic Word Concepts, Key Skills: Basic Number Concepts and Key Skills: Shapes, Numbers and Measurement.

Each title includes 10 engaging activities designed to complement a core reading or math curriculum. Each activity focuses students on practicing one specific skill, making it easy for teachers to isolate the skills they want students to work on. The (more) Teacher Assessment Tool, included with each title, integrates the content and student data from all Key Skills titles that are installed on a single computer or server through this one manager. The product line was developed this way to give teachers the flexibility to buy only the skills they want and allow them to easily add new content as more Key Skills programs become available.

On-screen help provides instructions to students who need assistance, and read-aloud options help young students follow text and instructions. The programs also provide instant verbal feedback to students as they answer questions, as well as a reward system for students to earn stickers when they answer problems correctly on the first try.

"Sunburst plans to devote significant research and development to the Key Skills line throughout next year to create new curriculum, cover more grade levels and provide more product support services to schools," said Joan Jacobsen, Sunburst vice president of development and marketing. "The Key Skills math and reading programs are a great resource for teachers to ensure students grasp the specific skills that they cover in the classroom. Teachers get valuable feedback right away so they can tailor lessons to meet both their class and individual students' needs."

Product Overview

With Key Skills, teachers begin by entering students' information, which can be easily imported from ASCII files, into the Teacher Assessment Tool. Next, they assign students to classes. Then teachers assign the classes or individual students to skill-specific activities with simple list selections. With one click, teachers can also view activity descriptions. Students may then choose from their assigned activities and start working at their own pace

Their progress is recorded in the Teacher Assessment Tool, where teachers can view individual student and class reports. They can create a variety of personalized reports using a filter option, with variables such as high/low, actual or median scores; percentages; dates; grade levels; activities; skills and more. Reports can be printed and shared with teachers, students, parents, specialists and administrators to communicate goals and accomplishments. Information from the reports can also be used to help teachers determine whether students have mastered math and reading skills long before major tests or report-card time, enabling them to adjust their lessons and reinforce skills as needed.

New Titles

Key Skills content was developed by educators for educators, based on skills found in national and major state standards. The first four titles in the new Key Skills product line are:

Key Skills: Letters and Words - This reading readiness program prepares students for reading success as they learn: The order of the alphabet; to organize words and objects by initial consonant sounds; to match rhyming words and homophones; to build words by matching onsets and rimes; and to identify short and long vowel sounds.

Key Skills: Basic Word Concepts - Builds students' language arts skills as they learn the difference between nouns and verbs, explore superlatives, match antonyms and synonyms, use contractions and common abbreviations and develop syllabication skills.

Key Skills: Basic Number Concepts - Develops students' number sense and prepares them for basic operations and measurement challenges as they: Sequence whole numbers, count, and skip count; sort, count, and group numbers by place value; add values to reach target values; identify linear measurement units; and learn fraction basics.

Key Skills: Shapes, Numbers and Measurement - Reinforces number measurement and basic geometry skills with quick-paced activities. Students develop their skills as they: Name and match plane and three-dimensional shapes; solve inequalities and make other math statements true; learn the value of coins by counting coins up to $2; complete simple subtraction problems; and review the basic unit measures of time and temperature.

Pricing and Availability

Key Skills: Letters and Words, Key Skills: Basic Word Concepts, Key Skills: Basic Number Concepts and Key Skills: Shapes, Numbers and Measurement will be available by the end of the year in a Macintosh®/Windows® CD-ROM format through Sunburst Technology and educational resellers such as Educational Resources®. All software titles include the company's exclusive School-to-Home™ license for teachers to use the software on home computers for lesson planning or homework. The street price for a single edition or a lab pack of 10 copies of any one of these titles is approximately $109.95. All four titles are available together as a bundle for $349.95. District purchase plans are also available and a network version is expected to be available early next year.

All Key Skills titles include toll-free technical support, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time, every business day. For sales and ordering information, customers can call Sunburst at 800-321-7511, Educational Resources at 800-624-2926, or their local educational reseller. Information and online ordering for these titles are also available on www.Sunburst.com.

Company Background

Sunburst Technology publishes award-winning instructional software and videos for the K-12 school market, as well as original multimedia products. Proprietary series in the Sunburst lineup include HyperStudio®, Tenth Planet, HMI, and Little Planet. Top selling titles include Type to Learn, Hot Dog Stand: The Works, Easy Book Deluxe, A to Zap!, Anger! You Can Handle It, and Gossiping, Taunting, Bullying It's All Harassment. The publisher, a company of Thayer Capital Partners, is headquartered in Elgin, IL, with its development center in Pleasantville, NY.

Thayer Capital Partners is a rapidly growing private equity investment firm based in Washington, DC. With two private equity funds totaling more than $1.2 billion, the firm manages buyouts and growth equity investments in two major sectors Ð growth manufacturing (including electronics, industrial components and outsourced manufacturing) and business services (including information technology and services and outsourced business services). Thayer has made capital investments exceeding $950 million in more than 50 transactions in the last four years. The Company's Web site can be found at www.thayercapital.com.