iStation Training Kirby Middle School

Quick Overview What is iStation? iStation is the new software system purchased by the district that replaces the reading universal screen tests that were previously used (Gates MacGinitie, DRA). iStation is a computer-based test that will assess your students in different areas of reading competency in 40 minutes or less and provide the teacher with immediate feedback on student skill levels. It will also provide you with a GLE (grade level equivalency for reading), a lexile level and a suggested tier for RtI.

How will iStation be used? iStation will be used as the district universal screen (BOY, MOY, EOY) for grade levels K-8 starting this year. Much like Eduphoria, iStation stores student data and it moves with them. Teachers can generate reports to look at progress over weeks, months or years of instruction. iStation will also be used to provide targeted interventions for students on Tier 2 & 3 of the RtI process. Students will be accessing iStation for targeted interventions during classtime on the Extendas, or if you choose to regularly take your class to one of the computer labs. iStation provides places for teacher comments for specific students and records the computer-based interventions the child has completed. For this reason, it has been recommended that iStation be used as the GIST documentation site for the READING RtI process. (ONLY reading – all other GISTS will remain the same).

What does iStation assess? iStation tests middle school level students in their “Advanced Reading” category. Skills covered are: Word analysis Fluency (This looks like a Mad Libs and they are given a time limit) Vocabulary (50% are science words, the remaining words are math, social studies and high-level general words) Comprehension (They cannot go back to the text, must answer questions from their memory only)

How does iStation assess? The testing interface looks much like a video-game. The middle school level has a space theme. iStation sets time limits for reading questions, reading texts and filling in certain portions of the test. The student cannot just click their way through the test. As the student is answering questions, the test adapts to their level – testing all the way down to phonemic awareness if necessary and all the way up to SAT level vocabulary words and passages. Note that your SpEd students will take longer to test (as the test keeps testing down until it hits their skill level) and your high students will finish the test sooner (as they top out of the levels quickly). There are activities provided to keep the students entertained once they finish the test.

Teacher Access to iStation You should have received an email from iStation accounts with your username and password. These were resent to you yesterday, if you cannot find it, please check your spam filter or Mrs. Ellis/Ms. Lehman know. Once you have your username and password, go to www.istation.com. Click on “Customer Login”. The website may prompt you to search for the domain – type in “Kirby Middle School”. The next screen will prompt you to type in your username and password. Note that your username is the part of your email address that is in front of the “@”. For example, mine is “nellis”.

Teacher Access to iStation

Teacher Access to iStation Click on “Manage” from the toolbar on the left side. The screen should look similar to this:

Click on “Students”. This should take you to your current student roster (looks something like this):

The blue toolbar on the left is going to be the one you will use the most often. The options are: Add student(s) – If you have a student that enrolls late, you click on this option, enter their ID number, first name, last name and click “Process”. Your roster has already been uploaded for you! If you have a student who transfers in from a district that has previously used iStation, send their name to support@istation.com or call 866-883-7323 and they will import the student’s data for you. Remove student(s) – To drop a student from your roster that has withdrawn or changed classes, simply click this option, click the checkbox by their name and click “Remove” at the bottom of the page. Note that one teacher can “Remove” the student from their roster, and another teacher can add that student to their roster and all their data will be moved with them. Class Listing – This gives you an alphabetical listing of your students, along with their iStation username (student ID) and their password (also their student ID). PRINT this before you go to the lab to assess your students – they will forget it! Login Cards- This actually prints individual Login Cards for you to hand each student. As their username and password are their student ID number, I don’t think this is necessary for middle schoolers. Print the master list from the Class Listing just in case. ISIP Options - allows the test instructions to be changed from English to Spanish. This option should be used for students who are taking the STAAR test in SPANISH ONLY. On Demand Assessments – You will receive training on this in the second part of the training. Student Demographics – This gives you a listing of student specific demographics, much like Eduphoria does. History – This screen shows a detailed listing of your class roster with notes as to when the student was uploaded into the system and by whom. This screen will tell you if your students transferred from another school that uses iStation and will give you the name of the school.

Take a moment…. Take a moment to explore both the “Reading Program” tab and the “ISIP Advanced Reading Reports” tab. More training will be provided on these AFTER your students are assessed the first time. Until then, there is not any data to work with in these areas.

Logout and close iStation. com Logout and close iStation.com. Find the “Imagination Station” icon on your computer’s desktop. It has the little boy with the cape as the picture. Double click to open the program. This is what your students will do when they go to the computer lab to be assessed.

Log In to iStation When prompted, go ahead and log in to iStation. Your username and password are the same as for iStation.com. The next screen you see should look like the picture on the right.

Student iStation Take a moment to explore the “Teacher Station”. Click on the “iStation Home” button on the bottom left when you are ready to return to this main screen. When you are ready, go ahead and click on the “Reading with ISIP” button. This will take you to the student assessment, which you are now going to take! As soon as you finish the assessment and ask any last questions, you are free to go. Please adjust your volume or put on headphones if you have them.