Year at a GlanceThis resource packet will provide you with the essential

tools for your first year using StudySync!

StudySync Glossary 2

Getting Started with StudySync (Checklist) 5

StudySync Educator Goals 6

Implementing StudySync with Limited Technology 9

Best of StudySync: User Highlights 11

Page 2www.studysync.com Year at a Glance

StudySync Glossary

Binder: Tab in student accounts where all of a student’s work is stored, including his/her written responses,

teacher reviews, peer reviews and

assignment information.

Blast: Current-events or “hot topic” short assignments

in which students comprehend, evaluate, synthesize,

and write about in a short-form response.

Carousel: Viewing format of assignments in a

student’s tabs: Assignments, Review, and Binder.

CCSS: Common Core State Standards.

Communities: Groups of either students, teachers or administrators allowing sharing of content (e.g. the

StudySync Blast Communities in which students rate and review their peers’ responses from across the country,

or a teacher Community of all Modern American Literature teachers).

End Date: The last day in which a student may turn in an assignment. Assignments close at midnight, PST.

If incomplete, the assignment disappears from a student’s Assignment Carousel.

Groups: Teacher-created groupings of students,

usually by period, class, or subject area. Smaller

sub-groups can be created as well (e.g. ELL, Modified,

Honors, etc.). Assignments, including peer reviews, are

given to Groups.

Lexile Level: Standardized rating system that measures

the difficulty level of a text, to help match texts to a

student’s reading level. More information can be found

at http://www.lexile.com.

Library: Tab from which all StudySync users may access hundreds of texts and lessons via search filters to

help teachers and students find what they need. From the Library, a teacher can add specific titles to his or her

Bookshelf, create Assignments, access StudySync titles with lesson plans, and create custom Library items.

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Mimic: Method to view a student’s account. Select Mimic next to a student’s name to view his/her account,

and Stop Mimic at the bottom of the page to return to the teacher account. Note that any changes made while

mimicking a student will be reflected in the student’s account.

My Bookshelf: Location to save “favorite” texts for

later, so one does not have to perform a search again.

Accessed by using the “My Bookshelf” search filter in

the Library.

Peer Review: The ability for students to give anonymous

feedback on an assignment to their peers within a

Group or Community. Teachers determine the number

of required peer reviews when creating an Assignment.

Preview: Movie trailer-like short video supplement in a Premium/SyncTV Lesson.

Includes background information, tonal music, and imagery designed to engage

students and create excitement about a text.

Quikpoll: A feature within Blasts that asks students to give his or his/her opinions

on the topic and calculates the aggregate responses immediately.

Read: The section of a StudySync Library item or Assignment containing the text

excerpt. Students can print, annotate, or listen to an audio version of the excerpt.

Read/Write Assignment: Lesson that includes a chosen StudySync text

(with accompanying introduction and audio recording) and writing prompt.

Report: Teachers click here to see a student’s

completed work, including student responses and

annotations, reviews, and average scores received.

Teachers submit reviews of, and have the ability to

annotate student responses within a Report. Reports are

accessible, either by Assignment (showing the responses

for all students who received the Assignment) or by student

(showing all of his/her Assignments throughout the year).

Response: Student essay responding to the assigned writing prompt.

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Review: Tab in student accounts where students complete anonymous peer reviews for Assignments. Students can

only access an Assignment in the Review tab once they have completed their own written response.

Review End Date: The last day a student may submit reviews of his/her peers’ responses. Peer reviews close on

this date at midnight, PST, after which the assignment disappears from a student’s Review tab.

Review Prompt: The prompt outlining guidelines for peer reviews. A general prompt is pre-loaded for each

assignment, but can be modified or rewritten by the teacher.

Reviews Requested: The number of peer reviews a teacher asks students to complete for any given Assignment.

Students will be randomly assigned peer responses to review until they complete the requested number or until

the Review End Date.

Rubric: The scoring guide students and teachers use

to review written responses. Teachers choose a specific

rubric when creating Assignments. Custom rubrics can be

created from a teacher’s Assignments tab.

Standard Library Item: A text in the StudySync Library that

is not a SyncTV/Premium Lesson. Standard Library Items

include an Introduction, Text with accompanying audio

recording, and at least two optional CCSS-aligned prompts.

SyncTV Episode: 7-9 minute videos that model

study group discussion and academic collaboration for

elementary, middle school, high school, and early

college students.

SyncTV or Premium Lesson: In-depth lesson that includes

additional audio, video, and teaching material support: a

Preview, SyncTV Episode, three Think questions, and a comprehensive CCSS-aligned Lesson Plan.

Think: Section of SyncTV/Premium Lessons including three CCSS-aligned short answer or multiple-choice

pre-writing questions, each paired with a short video clip from the SyncTV Episode.

Writing Assignment: A teacher-created Assignment that includes a written prompt, without an accompanying text

from the StudySync Library.

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Getting Started with StudySync

Create your Groups uTutorial Video Here

It’s a good idea to create a Group for each of your classes, as well as sub-groups for differentiated teaching

opportunities (i.e. 1st Hour ELL, 2nd Hour Modified, RTI Group, etc.). Remember, students can belong to as

many Groups as you would like. Many teachers also create a Sample Group or Fake Group in order to test

out assignments and plan out the year.

Share Group Key Codes

Once your groups are established, share the Group Keys with your students. Students new to StudySync will

need to first create their accounts using the Group Key you have assigned. Students can easily join additional

groups from the drop-down menu under their name once logged into their StudySync account.

Add Library Items to your Bookshelf

Visit the StudySync Library and search for particular titles or authors. Use the filters to narrow a search

for a particular genre, grade level, theme, or CCSS appendix B title. Click on a title and select “Add to My

Bookshelf” to easily save a Library item.

Create an Assignment

Click on a Library item and choose to “Create a Premium Lesson” or “Create a Read/Write Assignment”.

Fill out the necessary information on the Assignment creation page. Consider adding specific Instructions/

Teacher’s Notes to help guide students with the Assignment.

uTutorial Video: Create a Premium Lesson uTutorial Video: Create a Read/Write Assignment

Join the Blast Community uTutorial Video Here

Blast assignments are a great way to start the year off with students. To join the national StudySync Blast

Community visit your Community page and click Membership next to the appropriate level (High School,

Middle School, or Elementary). Select “Add” next to each group you would like to participate. Once you join a

Blast Community students will automatically receive weekly Blast assignments.

Don’t forget: your StudySync Home page has additional resources & videos to help you get started!

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StudySync Educator Goals

Suggested Usage

FIRST STEPS Attend SyncUp 101 Getting Started with StudySync Webinar, and/or Watch a recorded StudySync 101 Training. Explore the Library and place items on your Bookshelf.

CLASSES & STUDENTS Create your Groups. Distribute Student User Guides to your students. Have students create their StudySync accounts and join your Groups.

ASSIGNMENTS Create a Read/Write Assignment for your Groups. Try a Premium Lesson with a SyncTV episode and Lesson Plan. Add your Groups to a Blast Community. Have students complete one or more Blast assignments.

REVIEW Access an Assignment Report. Annotate and review students’ responses.

MAKE IT YOUR OWN – CUSTOMIZE! Attend SyncUp 201 webinar training, and/or Watch a recorded StudySync 201 Training.

CREATE CLASSROOM GROUPS Create Groups within a classroom to differentiate instruction (e.g. Modified, ELL, Honors, etc.). Have students join the appropriate segmented Groups. Modify an assignment (e.g. extend the End Date, edit the prompt) for a specific Group, to meet the needs of those students.

MODIFY STUDYSYNC TO FIT YOUR NEEDS Modify or create your own prompt for an Assignment. Add specific Teacher Notes to an Assignment. Modify a Review Prompt for one or more Assignments. Turn a Blast into a Writing Assignment.

DO IT YOUR WAY Add Library items of your own. Design a Blast of your own. Create your own custom Writing Assignment(s).

August – September

Getting Started

October – November

Customizing Your

Account

Dates

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RUBRICS, REVISION, AND REVIEW Attend a SyncUp 301 Training Webinar and/or Watch a recorded StudySync 301 Training.

RUBRICS Create your own Teacher’s Rubric to meet the varying needs of student Groups. Customize the expectations for Peer Review. Use your Rubrics to analyze exemplary essays in class with students to show them what to look for when they write peer reviews.

STUDENT REVISION Create a Writing assignment asking students to review and reflect upon completed work existing in their Binders. Ask students to revise and re-submit a response, using the “Re-open to Saved” feature.

GRADING View and analyze individual student Reports.

INNOVATE Watch a Featured Teacher Webinar: Victoria Costley.

EXPAND Add Related Library items to the titles on your Bookshelf to easily cross reference within a course or across courses. Use StudySync resources to build a unit with both fiction and non-fiction texts. Create a Writing Assignment for your students as a summative assessment in preparation for year-end state testing.

STUDENTS ON THEIR OWN WITH STUDYSYNC Have students use StudySync to participate in weekly journal writing. Have students explore the StudySync Library and accomplish an independent reading assignment. Prepare for CCSS, state tests, or year-end assessments by having students complete a Blast and related SyncTV Lesson in one sitting. Have students record their own group discussions about a text to create their own SyncTV episode, then submit their videos via StudySync for peer feedback.

PLANNING YOUR OWN CURRICULUM ON STUDYSYNC Watch a Featured Teacher Webinar: Sarah Nolan Request a few Library items for next year. Add additional titles to your Bookshelf to use for next year. Create additional Blasts and Library items based around your curriculum.

December – January

Focusing on Review &

Assessment

February – March

Building Out

April – May

Planning Ahead

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ORGANIZE Remove students from Groups Deactivate Groups you no longer wish to use.

REVIEW YOUR ASSIGNMENTS Review what you taught last year, and: Deactivate Assignments and Blasts you no longer wish to use. Save Assignments you created this year that you want to use next year.

MAKE YOUR CURRICULUM EASILY ACCESSIBLE Add Related Library items to the titles on your Bookshelf to easily cross reference within a course or across courses. Organize your Bookshelf by adding texts you want for next year and removing unwanted texts. Create alignments between your curriculum and StudySync resources.

KEEP IN TOUCH Give students the option of staying in touch through Blast Communities. Stay updated with the StudySync Blog.

June – July

Compiling a Saved

Curriculum on StudySync

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Implementing StudySync with Limited Technology

Obviously, one of the big issues teachers face in implementing a technology like StudySync is how to use these

web-based resources when student access to technology is limited.

Here are some ideas culled from user schools around the country:

Projectors

Show a Preview from a StudySync Premium Lesson onto a screen or blank wall to actively engage your

students with the text. The Lesson Plan for the text offers follow-up questions to spur engaged viewing and

active discussions.

Project the text excerpt and read as a class or activate the audio feature, modeling close reading and

annotation skills along the way.

Watch a SyncTV episode as a class, then have students break into groups and have their own discussions like

the one modeled in the episode. SyncTV is often used as a meta-lesson in which teachers ask students to

watch with an eye toward how the students build a discussion together. Suggested discussion prompts and

SyncTV focus moments can be found in the title’s Lesson Plan.

Printers

All excerpts in the StudySync library are easily printable.

Print and distribute to students to read and annotate in

class or for homework assignments.

Pre-Writing

Give students the writing prompt and ask them to

pre-write on paper.

Give students time to organize their thoughts, draft outlines, and begin rough versions of their writing before

going to the computer lab or shared computer to type in their responses.

BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology)

Have students access StudySync’s mobile site: app.studysync.com/m using their own technology

(e.g. Smartphones, tablets, etc.).

The mobile site offers an optimized view of StudySync’s videos, texts, Assignments, Library, and Blasts.

Blast assignments, requiring a short-form answer, are ideal for students to access via mobile technology, so you

can save precious computer lab time for longer writing assignments.

Print copies of text excerpts.

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Partner/Group Assignments

Consider allowing students to work in pairs or small groups to share a computer and complete an assignment.

Students can choose one account to use for submitting work, or create a new account just for partner or group

work – all they need is the Group/Course key code and then create a New User as the name of their group.

Extended Due Dates and Extra Credit

Giving students extra time to use the materials on StudySync allows them to find time in their own schedules to

go to the library, schedule a computer in the classroom or school lab, schedule time with a parent’s or relative’s

computer, or share at a friend’s house.

Offer extra credit for StudySync assignments completed outside of computer lab/classroom time. This

encourages them to learn to find time within their own schedules.

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Bishop Moore Catholic High School Video Testimonial

Students and teachers at Bishop Moore have embraced StudySync across the curriculum. Watch their reactions

to StudySync here. Read about how they selected technology here.

Victoria Costley, Monett Middle School (MO)

Victoria created her own Blasts for a unit on the novel The Outsiders, where she incorporated non-fiction

news articles on subjects arising from their discussions of the novel. Victoria explains this and more in our

FEATURED TEACHER WEBINAR: VICTORIA COSTLEY.

Sarah Nolan, Cathedral High School (TN)

Sarah designed Blast assignments specifically for her debate classes. Students responded to a particular

debate issue on a Blast and voted on a debate winner. Listen to Sarah explain these Blasts and more in our

FEATURED TEACHER WEBINAR: SARAH NOLAN.

Best of StudySync: User Highlights

Create your own Blast from your Assignment tab.

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Katie Bubalo, Sci Academy (LA)

Katie used StudySync nearly every day leading up to

state testing. Katie showed Previews and SyncTV episodes

as whole class activities while students read and annotated

printed copies of text excerpts.

Colleen Carbone, Bailey Middle School (FL)

Colleen successfully implemented StudySync without

the use of technology. As a class, her students read and

listened to texts together, before breaking into small

groups and holding discussions about the text. Read

more at StudySync: A Solution for the Tech-Challenged

Classroom, or check out the Implementing StudySync

with Limited Technology section on page 9.

JoAnn Augustine, American Canyon High School (CA)

JoAnn created her own Library items and built

cross-curricular units within StudySync for her unit on

“Mobs, Murderers, and Madmen”.

Gwynneth Kovacs, Farmington Jr. High (UT)

Gwynneth’s Honors English students participated in

our 2013 StudySync National Writing Contest.

One student of Gwynneth’s was chosen by his peers

across the country as the national winner, giving the

student a sense of great accomplishment, recognized

beyond the borders of his school and state.

Doug Erret, St. Albans High School, (DC)

Doug created several Writing Assignments for his science

classes, including podcasts and textbook excerpts.

All StudySync texts are printable.

Create a Library item from your Library page.The text can be an excerpt, an image, or an embedded video.

Include links, images, or embedded mediain Writing assignments.

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Mary Schulze, Brenham High School (TX)

Mary’s students worked in cooperative learning groups to produce videos after studying various dramas.

The groups uploaded their videos into StudySync and completed peer reviews for feedback.

Michael Thompson, Fairfield Junior High (UT)

Michael’s students participated in a district-wide Blast contest, written specifically for students in the Davis School

District. His students completed over 500 peer reviews.

Robert Miller, Port Orange Elementary, (FL)

Robert uses StudySync to challenge his 5th graders and generate excitement about reading and literature.

Students were so inspired by reading the excerpt of Al Capone Does My Shirts during a Read/Write assignment

that the next day they searched for the full novel in the media center on their own and it immediately went viral

(he’s using the same assignment again this fall)!

His students also participated in StudySync’s First Annual National Writing Contest and one of the responses from

his class received an Honorable Mention for Excellence in Achievement in Writing.