Instructional Software Homeschool Starter Kit ST Math : Homeschool (K-8)
ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit Copyright 2015 by MIND Research Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. MIND Research Institute www.mindresearch.net 111 Academy Suite 100 Irvine, CA 92617 Printed in the United States of America. ED-HM-001-150706
Table of Contents Contents Support Information... iv ST Math Background... 1 Activation/Install Info... 2 Introducing ST Math... 3 Day 1: Accessing ST Math... 4 Day 2: Password Retraining... 5 Today s Accomplishments... 6 The Game Toolbar... 7 JiJi Console... 8 JiJi Console Dashboard... 9 Test Drive... 10 Change Grades... 11 ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit iii
Support Information Program access: Access ST Math from any computer by navigating to stmath.com Access ST Math from supported tablets! Download ST Math: School Version from the itunes Store, Google Play, or the Amazon Appstore Additional help is available! Toll-free: 888-491-6603, Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 5:00 PM, PST e-mail: support@mindresearch.net text: 424-MIND TXT (424-646-3898) trs.stmath.com Access the Teacher Resource Site anytime for help with all your ST Math needs Find tutorials, videos, and other frequently updated resources Access our anytime online Year 1 Training Program Course 1: Learning w/out Words: An Introduction to ST Math Course 2: Ready, Set, Know: Examining Content and Structure Course 3: Day 1 on the Games: Intro, Linking, and Passwords Course 4: Day 2 on the Games: Trouble Free in Three Steps Course 5: It s All About the Toolbar: What Parents & Students Need to Know Course 6: Power of the Card: Managing Students, Reports, and Content Course 7: Teaching w/out Telling: The Benefit of Struggle Course 8: JiJi Joins the Classroom: ST Math as an Instructional Tool Access to live chat from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST iv MIND Research Institute
ST Math Background The ST Math instructional software is a research-proven, comprehensive, grade-level math program that utilizes Spatial-Temporal (ST) reasoning to teach math concepts that are aligned to Common Core and state standards. Spatial-Temporal reasoning is the innate ability to visualize and manipulate images through a sequence of steps in space and time a process critical to solving problems in math, science, and other curricular areas. ST Math s innovative visual learning approach not only helps differentiate instruction to reach students of all levels of academic and language proficiency, but also engages students who struggle to learn with traditional materials and methods. The program includes hundreds of language-independent computer games that promote mastery-based learning and mathematical understanding. It can be used to complement any textbook and classroom instruction, and offers self-paced learning, instructive feedback, and data-driven reports. Visual Learning Teaches students mathematical concepts through manipulating interactive visual models found in ST Math s richly animated games to solve problems. Real-time Informative Feedback Enables students to make predictions about the visual models and to learn by doing based on the feedback that adapts to each student answer, showing why the solution was correct or incorrect. Learning Paths Provide carefully structured sequences of math content that move from the visual models to incorporating mathematical symbols and language, scaffolding to move students through with a desirable level of difficulty. Intrinsically Motivating Problem Solving Builds students intrinsic motivation as they experience success in solving challenging problems, making learning math fun as students experience success and take ownership of their learning. Who Is JiJi? JiJi is the beloved penguin in the ST Math software games. Students help JiJi get past obstacles by solving math puzzles and they associate JiJi with challenge, learning and the thrill of success. Every time a student demonstrates understanding of a math concept, JiJi crosses the screen, signaling success and leading the student to the next more challenging puzzle. ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 1
Activation/Install Info ST Math can be activated on laptops, desktops, netbooks, and tablets. In your initial welcome email you received your unique activation code. You may need to download the latest version of Adobe Flash before activating ST Math. Note: For Tablets, go to your device s app store and search for JiJi. Then download ST Math: School Version. No further installation is necessary for tablets. Setup on Laptops, Desktops, and Netbooks 1 3 Launch a browser and go to http://www. stmath.com/entrance. Click Enter Activation Code in the lower right corner. 4 Select the On-site button. 2 Select Allow local data storage. Enter your activation code from your welcome email. 2 MIND Research Institute You will know ST Math is activated when you see JiJi (the penguin) standing outside with Welcome and your account name above JiJi s head. You may also want to bookmark this site.
Introducing ST Math Take a few minutes before students begin to use ST Math to introduce the games and the password process. Introducing ST Math Share the following with your student(s): The games are designed using research in neuroscience to make learning math easier Just like in video games, rather than being told how to play, students must figure out how to solve the puzzles Making mistakes can actually help sometimes Watching the animation is critical to figuring out how the game works Use paper, pencil, or other materials, but NO calculators to figure out your answers It is OK to ask for help; the parent can help students examine the animation more closely Take time on all quizzes Introducing Password Share the following with your student(s): All the password games need to be completed on first day The steps they ll take to learn their password are based on brain research Each password is made of 13 pictures Their password doesn t have to be memorized; it is based on visual recognition Even if they can t remember, they should just click on the pictures they recognize from their password training ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 3
Day 1: Accessing ST Math Students will log in to ST Math the first time with a text-based login, and then they will learn a picture-based password. You should have received your text-based login in your email confirmation after subscribing to ST Math: Homeschool. 1 3 From the JiJi screen, instruct students to click/tap on JiJi. Instruct students to type their Username and Password into the boxes provided, then click/tap the Log In button. 2 4 Then, have students click/tap on the faded text-login button in the lower right corner of the screen. This will toggle ST Math into text-login mode. Upon successful login, students will enter the password objective and play the password game. After learning the password, students will play some introductory games and then begin their grade level curriculum. Exiting ST Math Teach your students: Exiting must be done properly in order for progress to be saved Exit by using the arrows on the bottom left of the screen Stop at Today s Accomplishments to assess and possibly record progress Click the button to save progress 4 MIND Research Institute
Day 2: Password Retraining Remind students that from now on they will get onto ST Math games by using their picture password. Most students have no trouble remembering the password. However, if this happens, see steps below for password retraining. Automatic Retraining If a student forgets one or two of his/her password pictures while logging onto ST Math, the system can often automatically retrain that student on the forgotten password pictures. 1 2 3 Parent-Assisted Retraining If the system cannot recognize the student or he/she has forgotten too many password pictures, a red status frame will appear asking the parent to log in to activate password retraining. 1 2 3 3x Triple click to log in using Username and Password. Select Student is LINKED: Retrain student on his/her password. Select the grade-level group the student is in. Then retrain the student on password. ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 5
Today s Accomplishments Encourage students to stop at this screen as they exit. They can share or record: Increase in Syllabus and Mastery Progress Number of puzzles solved Any hurdles that have been mastered Goal setting and closure activities can increase student motivation and progress. Consider: Journal prompts Discussions about games or puzzles that are fun, challenging, or connect to math textbook lessons Setting progress goals of 1% per session Sharing what was learned or a challenge that was mastered Instructional Time: Students work toward mastery of mathematical knowledge and problemsolving skills by using ST Math for the recommended 90 mins per week in 30-45 minute sessions. Note: Because of the Intervention Content, Middle School Supplement and High School Intervention session progress may vary. Students assigned more intervention topics may have a slower rate of progress since they have more content to complete. Students with fewer or no intervention topics assigned may have a higher rate of progress since they have less content to complete. If students skip over one or more quiz-determined objectives due to pre-quiz scores, they may show a higher than normal Mastery Progress for that session. This may be correlated with a low number of puzzles solved since they did not play the games to get credit for the progress. 6 MIND Research Institute
The Game Toolbar Back Arrow: Returns to the level-selection screen. Also used to exit the program. SCD (Student Code): Look at this to verify the correct student is logged in. The letters in the SCD represent the first letter of the student s first name and the first two letters of the last name. Vertical Bars: Indicates the level currently being played. Question Mark: If the game has a tutorial, clicking this button will launch it. JiJi: Number of tries remaining. Refresh: Resets the current puzzle so the student can start over without losing a JiJi. Raised Hand: Students can ask for help by selecting this button, and a red status frame will appear around the game content. Clicking a second time will lower the hand and remove the red status frame. This feature autolocks if it is abused. Score: Indicates the percent completion of the current level. The total score is always 100%. Progress Bar: The thick bar shows student progress for this attempt at the current level. The dots under the bar indicate the number of unsuccessful attempts made by the student for the current level. The thin bar shows furthest progress made for the current level during previous attempts. If the thin bar extends across the full width of the progress bar, the student has completed the level. Encourage the student to play the gray and move on. ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 7
JiJi Console Tip: If you don t have a username or password, contact support@mindresearch.net or call 888-491-6603. The JiJi Console provides all the tools needed to effectively manage your child s instruction, browse and sequence content, view reports, and more. 1 2 To access the JiJi Console from a computer: Navigate to http://web.stmath.com. From the welcome page, click on the Teacher Login button at the top right corner of the page. 3 Log in by typing in your username and password. Then click the Log in button. Forgot your password? Click here. 8 MIND Research Institute
JiJi Console Dashboard Your dashboard displays the grade-level group you have created for a quick view of all the functions available to help you monitor and support your student. Multiple grade-level groups will be displayed on the JiJi Console for parents with multiple students working at different levels.. Select any section of a grade-level group for additional functions and details. Roster summary. Select to edit individual student information, delete, or retrain on password. Pull down menu allows you to manage your account and log out. Average class Syllabus Progress. Select to access reports. Number of students with alerts. Select to view details. Alerts require parent support. Total assigned objectives. Access curriculum to analyze games and familiarize yourself with ST Math. Create additional classes if desired Access trs.stmath.com for just-in-time resources for all your ST Math needs. ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 9
Test Drive Test Drive allow parents to access all of the games in the curriculum. This can be helpful for: Exploring the visual models used to teach particular concepts Finding games to bring into the classroom Helping students stuck on a particular game Previewing or reviewing content 1 5 Log in to the JiJi Console and select Test Drive. Choose with open access to view all content in the objective. 2 6 3 Select the grade level. 7 Click/tap gray objects to open them. Use the arrows to return to the objective list. 4 Scroll to find desired objectives. From the objective list, you can use the drop down menu to view content from other grade levels. Click/Tap the bar for a description of the objective. Select Test Drive to access games in the objective. 10 MIND Research Institute
Change Grades To move a student to a new grade level, parents first need to create a class for the desired level. Then transfer your student to this class. Follow these instructions: 1 5 2 Log in to the JiJi Console and select Create Class. 6 Open the student s current roster Click on the student s name Select the grade level, and group number for your new class. Some fields may populate automatically based on your calendar and curriculum. 7 3 Click Transfer 8 Select Go to my Dashboard. 4 Select the student s new grade and group. Some fields may populate automatically. A Class Card for your new class will now appear on your dashboard. Now when the student logs in, he/she will play through Intro to ST Math again, and then be placed into their new grade level content. ST Math : Homeschool Starter Kit 11