Goddard Systems, Inc. and Istation

• What is Istation?
  • Istation is a Web- and Internet-based program that includes engaging, interactive content in a game-like format. The program supports students at all skill levels and, most importantly, encourages and enables progress and achievement as students move through the curriculum. Istation assesses each student's skill level and automatically assigns and delivers appropriate content tailored to their individual abilities. The program's reporting tools inform teachers and parents when an intervention is needed and confirm that the student is on the right path.
    
    
• What is Istation’s relationship with Goddard Systems, Inc.?
  • Istation is the official reading and math assessment for all Goddard schools.
    
    
• What is ISIP Early Reading?
  • Istation's Indicators of Progress (ISIP™) Early Reading is a sophisticated, Web-delivered, computer adaptive testing system that provides regular progress monitoring and reporting of student ability, including growth reports, in the five critical domains of reading throughout the academic years.
    
    Designed for students in prekindergarten through grade 3, ISIP Early Reading provides teachers and other school personnel with easy-to-interpret, Web-based reports that detail student strengths and deficits and provide links to teaching resources. Using this data allows teachers to more easily make informed decisions regarding each student’s response to targeted reading instruction and intervention strategies.
    
    
• What is ISIP Math?
  • ISIP™ Math utilizes computer-adaptive testing that accurately reflects the mathematical ability level of each student and measures growth over time.
    
    Adaptive assessments use interactive content to measure a student’s overall mathematical ability. Test questions range from easy to hard in several math skill areas for pre-K through 8th grade students. To identify the student’s overall mathematical ability, the difficulty of the test questions presented changes with every response. If a student answers questions correctly, ISIP Math presents more challenging questions until the student shows mastery or responds with an incorrect answer. When a student answers a question incorrectly, ISIP Math will present less difficult questions until the student begins answering correctly again. The ability score shows how a student is doing compared to their previous performance and to other students at the same grade level.
    
    
• What are some advantages of using Istation?
  • It is designed to (a) identify children at risk for reading difficulties, (b) provide continuous progress monitoring of skills that are predictors of later reading success, and (c) provide immediate and automatic linkage of assessment data to student learning needs, which facilitates differentiated instruction.
  • Since an entire class can be assessed in all measures in 20-30 minutes in a computer lab setting, less time is taken away from instruction for students.
  • Instant scoring results and a wealth of reports are available, including Lexile® scores.
  • The interactive assessment keeps developing readers engaged as they work through fun activities tailored to their reading ability.
  • Over 2,500 teacher-directed lesson plans are available for teacher use to support targeted instruction.
    
    
• How do I register for Istation?
  • Step One: Register online at www.istation.com/Goddard/SignUp.
    Step Two: Your implementation now begins! Automated e-mails with instructions will be sent to guide you through the process.
    
    
• How long after I register until I hear about getting the students enrolled?
  • Once you have registered, you will receive a welcome e-mail and step-by-step instructions on how to enroll your students.
    
    
• I have not used Istation before. Will training be provided?
  • Yes. All training will be provided on the Istation Reporting Website.
    
    
• Is there an online Help Center that I can go to for training and professional development?
  • Yes! Istation has a multitude of resources for development and training available 24-7 through the online Help Center including videos, step-by-step guides, pre-recorded Webinars, and live Webinars. Upon login, a new Getting Started feature will guide you through a successful implementation with Istation. Whether you are a first-time user or are ready for more advanced user content, the Help Center offers tips and tricks, short tutorials, and even checklists to make sure you are getting all Istation has to offer. Log on at www.Istation.com and click “Help Center” at the top of the page.
    
    
• How does Istation accommodate for special needs?
  • Several functions of Istation serve as modifications and/or accommodations for students with special needs, which typify the universal design of Istation:
    • Devices:
      • Touch Screen Overlay: This USB touch screen can be applied to monitors. It acts like a standard pointing device. Istation is known to work well with touch screen overlays. Even a student using a head stylus can use this device.
      • ZoomText Software: This software allows the user to zoom in to a very low screen resolution (so things look bigger) with automatic scrolling of the screen when the mouse is moved. This is extremely helpful for the visually impaired.
      • Adaptive Keyboard, Mouse, and Trackball: ISIP™ assessments work well with most adaptive desktop computer equipment, such as keyboards, mice, and trackballs.
      • Interactive Whiteboards: All students can take the assessment by using an interactive whiteboard to touch the answer. This is a helpful accommodation for students with limited fine motor skills.
    • Embedded Accommodations:
      • Computer-Adaptive Testing: ISIP is a computer-adaptive assessment that quickly adapts to each individual student response. A student will be given test questions within his or her ability range, regardless of age or grade. If a student is guessing and/or randomly clicking in the assessment as opposed to showing effort, the program will alert the teacher through a performance report.
      • Review of Directions: ISIP assessments have an embedded review of test directions within the assessment and between subtests. A test monitor or teacher can also orally review directions with the student by pausing the assessment between subtests.
      • Verbal and Visual Cues: ISIP assessments have embedded verbal and visual cues to aid students in staying on task.
      • On-Demand Assessments: ISIP assessments can be given in addition to the automatic monthly assessment for more frequent progress monitoring or to validate results.
    • Providing Directions:
      • Written directions: Teachers can provide written direction prior to each assessment or subtest. The teacher will need to prepare this prior to the testing session.
      • Preview of test procedures: Teachers may use their teacher accounts to log in and review or preview testing procedures with students prior to taking the assessment.
    • Time Accommodations:
      • Breaks: Students can take breaks between assessment subtests by pausing the program.
      • Sessions: The testing session can be broken up over several smaller sessions or over a few days.
        
        
• Can students use Istation at home?
  • Yes. Please contact Customer Support at support@Istation.com to enable this feature.

New Research Shows Istation Reading Grows Student Achievement

DALLAS, June 2, 2022 -- New research from the University of Central Florida found that reading curriculum from Istation, a leader in educational technology, helped students in over eight southeastern school districts significantly achieve reading gains

New Research Shows Istation Reading Grows Student Achievement

DALLAS, June 2, 2022 -- New research from the University of Central Florida found that reading curriculum from Istation, a leader in educational technology, helped students in over eight southeastern school districts significantly achieve reading gains

• Does Istation need to be downloaded and installed on every computer in the school?
  • Istation will need to be installed on every computer on which students will be using Istation.
    
    
• Is there an easy way for my technical staff to install the software quickly on all computers?
  • Yes. Istation has an MSI that can help install Istation quickly on computers in your school. For assistance with this, you can view the “Setting Up Istation” video in our Help Center or call 1-214-237-9300 and select option 2.
    
    
• Is ISIP Early Reading tablet-accessible?
  • Yes. ISIP Early Reading is available on iPads and can be accessed through the Chromebook mobile browser. This includes mobile access to Istation Reading’s interactive curriculum and other resources.
  • Using the iPad or Chromebook mobile browser, subscribers still have Web-based access to:
    • ISIP Early Reading assessments
    • The Istation Report and Management Web site, including Teacher Resources, the Help Center, the Report Toolbox, the Interactive User’s Guide, and Lexile®—Find A Book
      
      
• How does my computer need to be set up to use the program?
  • Please see the Technical Information Web page.
    
    
• Where can I download the ISIP Early Reading program?
  • To download the Istation program, visit the Istation Download Web page.
    
    
• What should I do if I forget my password?
  • Go to Istation’s Reset Password Request Web page.
    
    
• How do I log in?
  • Watch this video for details about logging in to the customer Web site.
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• What is my domain name?
  • We use a domain name to identify each Goddard School location in Istation. The domain is linked to your Franchise name. Type the name of your school in the domain field and select the matching domain name from the list of options.
    
    If you need to change your domain name, please select "Change School" at the bottom of the screen. You will have the option to edit your domain name.
    
    
• My students are having login problems. The program indicates that students are logged in, but they are not. What should I do?
  • If you know which computer a student used most recently, restart that computer. This will break the connection to Istation servers and allow that student to log in elsewhere. If you do not know this information or have tried restarting with no results, call Istation Technical Support (1-214-237-9300, option 2) when the student is ready to log in, and we can provide one-on-one assistance.
• A “login failure” error message appears on the computer screen when a student tries to log in. What should I do?
  • Follow these steps:
    • Confirm that your student is logging in to the student application. Imagination Station, the student application, must be loaded on the computer a student is using in order for the student to access the customized student content. Look for the Imagination Station icon on the computer desktop and double-click to launch the student application.
    • Next, confirm that the student’s school is listed correctly above the username and password fields.
    • Finally, confirm that the student is entering the username and the password as they appear on the login card. When entering passwords, please make sure Caps Lock is not enabled on the laptop or computer keyboard. As you type, the text may appear to be in caps on the screen, but it is not being input in caps if Caps Lock is not enabled.
      
      
• Can I troubleshoot student login problems any other way?
  • If a student is having login problems, ask him or her to log in using a different computer.
  • If the problem is limited to one machine:
    • Try hardwiring the computer to the Internet by connecting an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet port on the computer to an Ethernet port on a router or in the wall. Try having the student log in again.
    • Try restarting the computer.
    • Try reinstalling the program on that one computer. (Note: If you do not have administrative authorization, you will need to contact someone on your campus who does in order to accomplish this.)
    If the login problems occur on multiple computers and/or for multiple students:
    • Run a test using our Firewall Configuration Test utility to confirm that the campus firewall is allowing access. (If it is, the computer should post the confirmation message "OK".)
    • If possible, confirm that any campus content filtering allows the Istation IP address range (174.143.0.184-174.143.0.191 [174.143.0.184/29] and 184.106.6.73-184.106.6.75 [184.106.673/72, 184.106.6.74/31]), TCP ports 12500 through 12509, and Istation.com. Network content filtering can cause some content or data to be blocked for certain students.
    • Try using a different student’s login information on the same computer to see whether the same issue occurs.
    • Try visiting a site that a student wouldn’t normally visit, such as a grocery or hardware store Web site, to determine whether the computer has a good connection to the Internet.
    • Check with the technology staff at your school to confirm that the program has been installed using administrative rights and that the Istation directory has read/write access.
    • Call Istation technical support at 1-214-237-9300 and select option 2.
• A student is having problems with the sound on the Istation lessons. What should I do?
  • Try updating your sound drivers. Keep in mind that the Istation program requires speakers or headphones to launch.
• Where can I find information on system requirements and technical specs?
  • For information on system requirements and technical specs, visit the Technical Information web page.
• My students are unable to connect to the Internet. What should I do?
  • This usually indicates that there is a problem with the connection between your computers and the Istation servers. Try the following:
    • Visit another Web site that is not cached in your system (a site that students are unlikely to have logged on to from school, such as a car manufacturer site, usa.gov, etc.) to determine whether the computer has a good connection to the Internet.
    • If you cannot access another site, confirm that campus content filtering allows the Istation IP address range (174.143.0.184—174.143.0.191 [174.143.0.184/29] and 184.106.6.73—184.106.6.75 [184.106.673/72, 184.106.6.74/31]), TCP ports 12500 through 12509, and Istation.com. Also confirm that there is not any software installed on the computer that might be preventing it from connecting to the Internet.