Change the Fast ForWord protocol for a group

A Fast ForWord component’s protocol determines which exercises are worked on in that component, how often those exercises are worked on, and the length of time spent working in each exercise on a given day. These protocols have been proven to help maximize the benefits of the Fast ForWord product. To learn more see Fast ForWord protocols.

The protocol for a Fast ForWord component is set when you assign that component to your students. The Change Fast ForWord Protocol feature lets you move multiple students to another protocol in one easy step. When you change the protocol, mySciLEARN updates all of a student's existing Fast ForWord assignments, including assignments at 100%. To change the protocol for a student on an individual basis—for example, to change the protocol for just one Fast ForWord assignment—use the Edit Assignment feature (see Edit Fast ForWord assignments).

If your school plans to implement the new protocol for all students going forward, consider also updating the default protocol at the school level. That way, all new student assignments will automatically use the new protocol and you won't have to change it later. See Set protocol defaults for a school.

More about changing the protocol

  • Any assignments made by Fast ForWord Auto Assign will be included. See Fast ForWord Auto Assign.
  • Reading Assistant assignments or "stopped" Fast ForWord assignments will not be included. See Stop/delete Fast ForWord assignments.
  • Because Reading Readiness only uses 30-minute protocols, only the number of days will be updated for those assignments. For example, let's say that you want to move a group of students to the 3-day/50-minute protocol, and a few of those students have a Reading Readiness assignment. The Reading Readiness assignments will be set to the 3-day/30-minute protocol, while all of the other Fast ForWord assignments will be set to the 3-day/50-minute protocol. See Fast ForWord protocols.
  • It takes about one second per Fast ForWord assignment to change the protocol. The key to estimating the amount of time is to consider both the number of students and the number of Fast ForWord assignments per student:
    • 100 students with 1 assignment each (100 assignments): 1-2 minutes
    • 100 students with 5 assignments each (500 assignments): 5-7 minutes

Best practice: The best time to change the protocol is at the beginning of the week, before your students start training. This will avoid any impact on their weekly participation and attendance scores.

  1. In mySciLEARN Manage section, click the Students tab to access the Students page.
  2. Locate the students in the students list. See The students list.
  3. To view the current protocols for all of the student assignments on the list, filter the list by group (see Filter by My Groups).

  4. Select the checkbox next to your students, or select the All checkbox at the top of the students list to select all of the students on the screen.
  5. From the More Actions menu, select Change Fast ForWord Protocol.
  6. Select a new protocol for your students.
  7. First choose the number of day per week (3 days or 5 days), then choose the number of minutes per day (30, 40, 50, or 90 minutes). The new protocol will be set for all of a student's Fast ForWord assignments, including assignments at 100%. Any Reading Assistant assignments or "stopped" assignments will be skipped.

    To change the protocol for one Fast ForWord assignment at a time, you'll need to edit the student's assignment manually. Exit this task and see Edit Fast ForWord assignments.

  8. Click Change Protocol.
  9. Depending on how many students you've selected and the number of Fast ForWord assignments being changed, this process may take some time. The dialog displays a bar to indicates progress. When the change is complete, the system displays the status, along with any errors for assignments that could not be changed. For changed assignments, the student will see the new protocol immediately. Students who have already used the product that day will see the new protocol on the next day.