The StepsWeb Course has been upgraded

Teaching has changed a lot over the past decade. Starting with BYOD and followed by lockdowns, children are doing more of their learning online – often without the luxury of teacher support.

We’ve designed StepsWeb so it can function with minimal teacher support if necessary. Now we’ve upgraded our Course to take on more of an active explanation and teaching role, freeing up teachers and providing a better experience for all students. As part of this, we have developed new activities, and particularly focused on explicitly teaching new phonic patterns and spelling rules in a way which was previously done through our workbooks and hands-on resources.

Not only that, we’ve also added Foundation Levels, which are designed for 4-6 year olds. These are specifically designed for learners with little or no prior literacy knowledge and they will have a strong emphasis on core skills, such as phonological awareness.

Changing the whole Course is a pretty big deal! We have no doubt you’ll have some questions about how it’s all going to happen, like how will it affect students that are mid-way through a Level. If we haven’t answered your questions below, then flick us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Check out our webinar to hear Ros explain the changes in more detail

The diagram above shows how the old Levels will line up with the new Levels. For example, a student who is half-way through Level E will be placed half-way through Level 5. You can also see the additional Foundation Levels for earlier learners, as well as the extension content for older learners.

Workbooks

1-6_workbook_2022 Workbooks will be available for Foundation Levels A – D and main Course Levels 1 – 12. We would recommend that all Foundation Level students use the workbooks alongside the online and hands-on resources. With older students, we strongly recommend that all struggling students are on the workbooks.

For students who are part-way through a workbook, we would recommend the following:

Tier 3 learners (mild to moderate difficulties) - they could finish that workbook and start a new workbook when they transition to the next Level. By definition, the literacy content of the old workbook will be an appropriate level for that earner, although it will no longer directly reinforce each wordlist.
Tier 4 learners (major difficulties) – in most cases it will be more appropriate for them to switch to the new workbook, as these are the learners who need more structure and direct reinforcement.

We will also be releasing new Teacher Manuals and Teaching Guides.

To compensate for the unavoidable disruption, all workbooks will be at half price throughout Term 2. Workbooks purchased in 2022, but unused can be sent in to us for an exchange. Please email us at sales@stepsweb.com to organise this.

What happens to my existing students?

Students already on the StepsWeb Course will automatically transfer to the equivalent Level on the new Course. It’s important to be aware that this means they will be changed to a new wordlist, so it is important that they are forewarned of the change.

Students will not lose any progress records or medals. They will be on new material, but it will be consistent with their current literacy level, so we expect the vast majority to transfer with no difficulty.

What happens to new students that start after the upgrade?

Now that the Foundation Levels are available, it is no longer necessary to automatically put all students through the Placement/Spelling Test. Teachers will be required to enter the date of birth for all new student starting on StepsWeb. Students who are older than age 7 will automatically do the Test. Students below age 7 will not do the test, but will be placed as follows:

Students below 6:6 years will be placed on Level A
Students from 6:6 to 7:0 years of age will be placed on Level C

Educators will, of course, be able to change this for individuals if necessary.

The Educator login has a new look

We’re always looking for ways to make StepsWeb easier to use, and sometimes that means a new lick of paint. We hope you like the new look!

We’re temporarily removing the Essential Core Skills training course while we update the videos on it. It’ll show up again on your front page when the new videos are ready.

FAQ

Workbooks

Will the new workbooks be a different price?

Yes. Our workbooks will have a price increase. Our workbooks are printed locally in Christchurch and the cost of producing them has been steadily increasing. For the last eight years, we have been able to absorb the cost increase and maintain the same price level. However, we can no longer do this, so we need to revise our workbook prices to something which more closely reflects current costs. However, the new workbooks will be available at half price for Term 2 only (21 April - 25 July, 2022) for all of our StepsWeb customers. The new workbooks, and current pricing, will be available on our StepsWeb Store from 21 April.

Why aren’t you making workbooks for Levels 13 and above?

Workbooks will be available for the Foundation Levels A - D and for the main Course Levels 1 - 12. They won't be available for Levels 13 and above at this stage, as the main focus of the StepsWeb Course is on developing core literacy skills and knowledge and workbooks are less important at those higher levels. All levels have a range of printable resources, which can be downloaded and printed from the various "Printables" buttons.

Can I return my old workbooks?

If you have unused workbooks purchased in Term 1, 2022, please email sales@stepsweb.com and let us know. We can come up with a plan for the new workbooks. We will need the invoice number and the specific books purchased. We can swap your unused books for the new ones. Contact us for more information.

Do I need to get new manuals / teaching guides?

Yes. We expect the new Teaching Manual and Teaching Guides to be available shortly after the course has been upgraded.

The answer booklets should be available by the 21st of April. They will be put on the support site, under:
StepsWeb Sections > Course Section > Answer Booklet

Are the workbooks required?

We recommend that all students working on the foundation course use the workbooks, and that all struggling learners working on Level 1 – 12 use the workbooks too. The workbooks offer reinforcement which is essential for struggling learners and give an opportunity for literacy learning away from a screen.

Training

Can I get training for the new content?

The Course Upgrade webinar will be available on the website for reference and you'll see more support articles appearing to give you information and guidance on the new content. In addition, we are currently revising the Core Skills Course and this will be available through your educator login. In the meantime, teachers or parents are welcome to ring us for more information or for help with any aspects.

The Teacher Manual and Teaching Guides are currently being revised. It is likely that these will be available shortly after the main launch.

Where did the Essential Core Skills course go?

The last couple of major updates to StepsWeb have rendered the Essential Core Skills course out of date. We're working on updating it and will bring it back when it's ready.

Course

Should I make my students do the placement test again?

There is no need to have your students resit the test. Your students will be automatically moved to the corresponding level on the new course.

Does the new course align with the curriculum?

The phonic content and progression of the new Course align closely to the literacy curriculums in New Zealand, all of the Australian States and the UK. We will be publishing direct references to each curriculum strand for your information.

What are the benefits of putting our whole roll on StepsWeb?

One of the main benefits is that putting your whole school roll onto StepsWeb ensures continuity throughout their school years. Every learner can work at their own Level and speed and will transition seemlessly from one year to the next. This significantly reduces the need for testing and also means that teachers no longer have to plan separate spelling lists for different groups within their classes. It also ensures that those learners who need to progress more slowly or with more reinforcement don't fall through the gaps at an early stage. You may wish to look at our Four Tier Model for further information on this.

Will my students lose any of their medals or certificates?

No. However, previously earned certificates will be updated to reflect the new names of the levels. If that is a problem then we recommend printing existing certificates before the 21st of April.

What Level will my student move to?

This handy diagram shows how the old levels line up with the new levels.

Level_translation_diagram

What spelling ages are the new Levels for?

In the diagram at the top of the page, it shows bars in the background with spelling ages. For example, Level 9 sits at the beginning of Spelling Age 10, so it's suitable for 10 to 10.6.

Why is the DOB required now?

Students are only automatically placed on the Foundation levels if their age is less than 7. We need their DOB to be entered on creation to ensure that happens.

Having the DOB also allows us to show you the Age vs Spelling Age graph, and helps inform the recommended weekly activity goals.

What happens when a student finishes the foundation Levels?

At the end of Foundation level D, your students will automatically move to Level 1 on the course.

Course Upgrade

The StepsWeb Course has been upgraded

Check out our webinar to hear Ros explain the changes in more detail

Workbooks

What happens to my existing students?

What happens to new students that start after the upgrade?

The Educator login has a new look

FAQ

Workbooks

Training

Course

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