BASICS: Time Management & Organization (Text Version - Videos Below)

Generally speaking, when you first log into Edmentum, you see two things. Exact Path and Courses. Exact Path is where you practice things you may have missed in previous years, or to extend concepts where you are advanced (this will help with honors & AP in high school and with college exams). Courses are your actual graded classes. You need to spend 30-60 minutes a day on each course. You can choose to do all your English on Monday, Math Tuesday, etc. as long as you remember that class requires about 2.5 - 5 hours per week for success. If you missed a lot in a previous school year, I would say spend 20 minutes a day in Exact Path until you are showing grade level skills in that area. Then, 5-10 minutes a day (just to keep it fresh) should do the trick. Exact Path will help you understand Language Arts and Math Courses (Tutorials) better, and do better in those classes!

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When you click a course in Edmentum, it takes you to the last activity you were on. This is not good if you did not pass the previous one. So, I recommend going to the table of contents for the class so you can start improving the scores below 60%. Here is how that works in Language Arts...

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The top level is a Unit. 1 Your first task in a unit is to study the first tutorial. This means going through each slide (except the first 2 are just repeats) and listening, watching videos, and reading the information carefully. After the first video, you have a 2 warm-up writing assignment. This is REALLY important. Write anything you want with ONE GOAL in mind: with what you know about this tutorial so far, how does it relate to YOU? How does this topic relate to your life? If you will really figure this out for yourself and write it down, you will learn the material that follows MUCH more easily. 3 When you finish, click SUBMIT, then SAVE & EXIT. Edmentum doesn't autosave and it logs you out after TWO MINUTES so if you don't click SAVE & EXIT you don't get credit for having done that slide.

 

4 You will read a few slides, then have an Assignment. Be sure to click the play button (top right) if you learn better by listening to reading! Some assignments are written and others are fill in the blank or multiple choice or "highlight the words." Take your time on these tutorial assignments and do not hit SUBMIT until you are sure you are correct, or have thoroughly answered the written question. 5 When you reach the final slide, go back to Slide 3 (The Objective of the tutorial). Click the FOLDER icon at the top left and choose GUIDED NOTES. 6 Now, go back through the non-video parts of the tutorial and fill out those notes (they are SUPER easy, the headers--big words--match the slide titles). This doesn't take long, and it really cements your knowledge of the tutorial. Sometimes, you will be in a Tutorial and either the content, concepts, or assignments are just not making sense to you. That is what I am here for!! Come to my Zoom and ask me about it so I can help you understand it!

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Why do allll that work, Ms. Lawhon? Because then, you can save your Guided Notes (or print, or take a pic with phone) and use them to get 100% on the Mastery Test the FIRST TRY. You will save HOURS of time by doing it right the first time. Fun Fact: It will take you TWICE AS LONG to pass the Mastery Test if you simply ignore the tutorial and guess and keep retaking it. On average, students take 10 or more tries before they pass with a 60% if they haven't reviewed the tutorial or done the assignments. I have yet to see a student do it that way and get above a 60%. Set your goal at 80% for everything...and you will succeed.

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7 So, after you finish the Tutorial, Assignments within it, and the Guided Notes, you take the Mastery Test. If you follow my process, you will get an 80% or above and move on to the next section.

 

DANGER If you do not learn the tutorial content & do the assignments, you will likely see a 60% at best on the Mastery Test after many tries, and you will get a zero on the Tutorial Assignments. Each are 50% of that part of your grade. And it goes downhill from there because those are smaller parts of your grade than the Post Tests and Final Exams. 

 

8 The next step is at the end of a Unit. After 3-5 sections, there will be a Post-Test on everything in that Unit. If you have your Guided Notes and took the time to learn each tutorial, you will do well. If you do not have notes, and you have not learned the information, you will likely get an F. The Post Tests are double the points of a Mastery Test and Tutorial combined. So, if you had a D or C and get a 20% on the Post Test, your grade goes down to an F.

 

Post-Tests are ONE CHANCE ONLY. You don't get to retake them. So, to succeed, be proactive by really learning the Tutorial, acing the Mastery Tests on the first or second try, and having your filled-out guided notes ready! TIP: blank guided notes are a great review sheet for Post-Tests! Try to fill them out and any blanks that you cannot fill, go back to that tutorial and review that slide!