Frequently Asked Questions



Frequently Asked Questions

(A Growing Compendium)

What is the username and password for CoCo downloads?

Username: digitsteacher

Password: digitsmath5

Does digits come with ExamView?

No – digits comes with MathXL, which also allows for some customization.

Is there/will there be a correlation of PH Math and digits for joint-usage?  We think we will offer free class-sets of PH Math to teachers, in case they are afraid to take the plunge with digits, they’ll have a traditional book to grab.  We may offer a choice of a projector or a class-set of PH Math.  Thoughts on that?

No correlation is planned and this approach was already attempted without any positive results.  It actually created a lot of confusion that distracted from the core benefits of digits.The honest truth is that these two programs are not designed to go together, and any attempt to make them will only be a shallow solution that will be pretty obvious to the customer.  Don’t let the fact that everything is integrated make you think that our “FWO” is limited.  digits offers the strongest teacher support of any program, a full assessment system (with Progress Monitoring Assessments, Benchmark Assessments, and Test Prep), a full Practice engine powered by MathXL for School, AND a complete data-driven intervention system that most customers would have to pay upwards of $60 per student if they were buying a separate supplemental product (which by the way, would not be integrated with the core program and thus would require a heavier investment of time from the teacher to manage).  Because all of this is already included, we do not have approval to add a projector into the FWO.

With the ability to assign content for gifted students, how high does the system go in grades 7/8 (algebra geometry)?

For gifted students, digits not only provides leveled homework to keep the students challenged, but also has enrichment projects that span the length of the unit (6-8 weeks).  This enables the projects to provide students with a very deep experience with the mathematics. And, digits is built from the Common Core State Standards which does include Algebra and Geometry.  For the Table of Contents or the CCSS correlation which shows you specific details about these strands, you can go to the intranet site to download and then share with your customer.

The majority of the districts 8th grade students take Algebra 1, they would need to use digits for 6, 7 and our PH Algebra 1 for 8th correct?

Yes, you are correct, the district would use digits 6 and 7 and then PH Algebra 1 for grade 8.

What if there is a kid in class who is a terrible note-taker, and (s)he does not have internet at home.  How would this kid review the lesson content at home as he’s completing his paper homework?  How would (s)he be able to access worked-out examples to help with his/her studying?

The student companion provides the student with a review of the lesson.  In order to ensure that students have correct answers in their student companions, the teacher can have students self check their work by opening the annotated student companion pages right from the lessons at the end of each section. (the "solution" buttons in the Launch and Close and Check)

Foundational research has also shown us that low performing students struggle the most with trying to use print textbooks as their at home reference for homework assistance since it is very passive and students can't learn math on the sidelines.  Students learn math when they actually have to do it.  Students respond positively to interactive and dynamic assistance such as what we offer with digits homework powered by MathXL.  The CD version does not require internet connection and gives students access to worked out examples (as well as Help Me Solve This).

Pricing – can a teacher just purchase the Teacher Package and print all relevant student materials? In other words, is the purchase of Student Packages a requirement to teaching digits?

The answer is no.  Student licenses are required before being able to buy the teacher package.  Additionally, the teacher package license is only active for the same time period as the student license and can only be used with students who have student licenses… if only one year student license are purchased, the teacher can only use the teacher package for one year (can’t duplicate for the second year or duplicate for students who do not have licenses, that would be copyright infringement). The price of the program is based on the intellectual property, not the cost of physical sheets of paper.

Is the Teacher package normally free with the order of the Student Materials?  Do they have to order a new Teacher Package after 6 years?

Yes, the Teacher Package can be offered as a FWO item on digits orders. The Teacher Package gives the teacher access to digits for the life of the adoption. However, a teacher can not buy the Teacher Package without student licenses (otherwise they can run the whole year just paying the $699). Also, the Teacher Package cannot be sampled.

How are shipping costs calculated? Will shipping for the Student Companion be charged up-front or yearly?

1. Student license, 1 yr = 8%

2. Student license, extension yr = 8%

3. Student license, 3 yr and 6 yr = 9%

4. Teacher Resource Package = 8%

These costs are % on total PO, charged in the first year, which includes free shipping of the Student Companion write-in worktexts in the out years if multi-year package is purchased.

Is digits compatible with the iPad?

digits is a flash-based application and it is therefore currently incompatible with the iPad.  Furthermore, it is a product that’s intended for whole-class instruction with the aid of interactive whiteboards (albeit with personalized individual study plans and homework) – it is not a one-on-one PC-based curriculum like most digital curricula are today. However, pending the prevalence/popularity of iPads in education, making (certain elements of) digits compatible with this device is a topic we will explore for version 2.0. Please note – digits is compatible with other tablet products that do run Flash programming, such as the Android tablet product family.

All digits teachers have access FREE OF CHARGE to the two digits eText for iPad components.  Both of these components are teacher-facing.  There are currently no student-facing eTexts for iPad for digits.  (Please note: both and , the teacher- and student-facing online dashboards for digits, respectively, are compatible with Apple devices, as well as with other mobile devices, including smartpohnes, tablets, etc).

The two digits eText for iPad components are:

1. eTEacher Edition

2. Annotated Student Companion (i.e. Student Companion with answers noted in red)

Teachers can access both of these eTexts for iPad as follows (see Playbook: Technology Access for more information):

1. When using a Mac or Windows browser, teachers can access their eText within the digits PSN+ course.

2. Teachers can use their digits username and password to directly access it in the eText for School app in the Apple App Store.

Is 6th grade equivalent to Course 1, 7th grade Course 2 and 8th grade Course 3?  Does the 8th grade curriculum mirror a Pre-Algebra curriculum?  At the end of the Digits program, what course are we recommending students go into:  Pre-Algebra or Algebra 1?

digits is built from the Common Core State Standards, so the gr 6 level corresponds to gr 6 CCSS, and similarly for gr 7 and gr 8.  digits is not labeled as C 1, 2, 3 bc of the structure built from CCSS.  As such, students who complete gr 6 and gr 7 digits can either move on to gr 8 digits or Algebra 1.  This course sequence flexibility is innate to how the Common Core State Standards were written.

Digits and algebra… can a student complete year three of digits as a true Algebra 1 course so they are prepared for Geometry as a freshman?

digits is built to the CCSS, which has as a goal preparation of students for Algebra.  Gr. 8 is not an Algebra course, it is a Gr. 8 CCSS course.  However, CCSS were designed to enable students to complete CCSS grade level courses up to Gr. 7 and then an Algebra course in Gr. 8, like our HS PH Algebra 1 program.  Alternatively, students can also take CCSS grade level courses up to Gr. 8 and then an Algebra course in Gr. 9.  CCSS were developed to provide districts this flexibility.

Is digits compatible with Power School and Performance Tracker?

digits is on SuccessNet Plus, which is the School group’s learning management system.  SN+ is not synched with PowerSchool or Performance Tracker.  Unfortunately, courses hosted on SuccessNet Plus do not have any way to be transferred to another Learning Management System, like Blackboard, via cartridge.  (I believe that Pearson’s Virtual Learning online courses (from FVL) are compatible with many different LMS’s, though, which may prompt these types of questions). Jennifer McDonald, Marketing Manager for SNP, is able to provide you with guidance on how to message SN+ to your customers.

Is there pricing for summer school (6 weeks)?

digits is a full blown curriculum intended for whole year use and priced accordingly.  We do not have separate summer school pricing as all the content is delivered in one package (we can’t separate out pieces).  However, this does raise a good point to make with customers, which is that once purchased for the full year, there is flexibility for districts to use digits during the summer.  Often, summer school programs are separate supplemental programs that have no connection to what or how the teachers taught during the year. This can create confusion for students who are already struggling. With digits, students can complete individual study plans with lots of supported practice during the summer built from the results of grade level topic tests.  This directly ties to the content that they received during the year and is completely data driven.

HW completion at home w/o internet – the have vs the have nots. Concerned with what customer termed the “non-textbook” aspect of digits – namely, that there is no “student book” for the program. Also concerned with bandwidth issues in her school – namely, that not all students in one class could be online simultaneously

Note that there *IS* a Student Companion book for the program, which is a note-taking device with which learners create their own reference guide. There is a companion page for the Launch and for the lose & Check section of each lesson. The customer was concerned with student who may not be taking notes; how will they access material after the fact, etc.

The Student Companion is designed for in-class use, during instruction. To implement digits in a manner that reaps all the benefits the product offers, the Student Companion *should* be used in class. Students do have access to all the lessons and examples in the curriculum through their online dashboard, which serves as an additional reference for new understandings.

The recommended solution is to stagger online access for students in order for them to be able to complete their HW online - for example, opening the computer lab before/after school and/or during lunch, so not all students attempt to log on at the same time. In our field tests, schools worked with their own computer labs/libraries, as well as the public libraries in their local communities – and even the Boys and Girls Club in one instance – to create additional bandwidth opportunities for their learners. Students can also log in form home. Students do *NOT* need to be online during class instruction as the only resource they need is the print Student Companion piece while in class.

Is there a paper HW book?

digits is designed as a digital program – we need to come to terms with the fact that it’s not a program that will meet the needs of ALL districts.  Paper HW should be seen as a backup solution in the digits arena since the product promises to save time/personalize learning by harnessing technology in the most efficient way.  We would dilute this value proposition if we created a paper-based HW component and we would also lose the main marketing message of auto-differentiation and time-savings for the instructor.

With that said, please check with your manager for a limited and temporary HW worknook option via Custom Pub.

What is located in the consumable work text? Are all examples online listed in the consumable work text?

The consumable Student Companion is a write-in workbook that students use during in-class instruction. Each lesson in digits correlates with two pages in the Student Companion – one page accompanies the Launch section of the On-Level Lesson, and one page accompanies the Close and Check section of the On-Level Lesson. Please find examples of the Student Companion pages posted on the Intranet under Sales Tools. The Student Companion contains no homework. Furthermore, the consumable work text lists only the examples that are part of the Launch and the Close and Check portion of the lessons. Examples in all the lessons, however, are accessible via the online student dashboard

How are manipulatives used in digits? Do they use algebra tiles for instance? What would be included in the program?

Yes, there are virtual manips in digits, inclusive of algebra tiles. These appear in the math tools menu in the upper right corner of the digits lesson screens. They can be accessed in any lesson. However, in some lessons, virtual manipulatives are actually already buil tin as part if the lesson. (The virtual manipulatives feature is not active in sample materials yet – the Grade 7 and 8 pods will include this function, though).

What happens if they have more than 5 kids who need HW CDs in their class?  Can they purchase more CDs?

Yes, additional HW CDs (up to 30 additional copies per teacher) are available free of charge for customers who have already purchased digits. Customers should contact Customer Service and use code DHWCD to order a few extra copies at no charge. They may call 1-800-848-9500 or email K12CS@.

Are any completed HW assignments on CD saved or accessible after the fact for reference?

After homework is completed, a score sheet is generated that reports results for use by the teacher. These score reports are saved for future use. Work on individual homework problems is not saved, but students can refer back to similar problems they worked out in the Student Companion or in the study aids embedded in online homework.

Are the HW CDs grade specific? 

Yes, they are. There is too much homework material for the entire curriculum to fit on a single CD.

Does the program have components that reach special needs, RTI, and enrichment?

Yes, digits is especially powerful in the RTI arena, effectively eliminating the need for an add-on intervention component. Please refer to the RTI & interACTIVE Learning Cycle flyer posted on Playbook.

What does your training and support look like in year one, two, and three?

digits will have a complete, well-rounded PD offering, including full implementation training at the beginning of the adoption and continuously available further development opportunities as the adoption progresses. Pearson is fully committed to working with each digits customer to develop individualized PD offering to fit every user’s needs.

What assessments are included in your program including beginning, middle and end of the year inventories and are there programs for progress monitoring with a data component?

Please refer to the Assessment FAQ document posted under FAQs on the digits tab in Secondary Mathematics on the Intranet.

Does your program allow for flexibility in the order of the units?

Yes, the digital nature of digits allows for complete flexibility on the part of teacher in terms of the order in which units are delivered, or even the order of the lessons within units – in addition to the order of the content within each lesson. As opposed to print curricula, digits is completely customizable to each classroom’s needs.

Need to know more about what print and CD teacher materials look like. Teachers are worried there is no TE – we need to make clear the support is a TE and more…..

The Teacher Edition is embedded right in the lessons.  Please open any lesson from your content sampler, and open the Teacher Support drop-down menu in the upper right corner of any lesson screen to see the full range of teacher materials available to the user. Be sure to explore both the Details (shown on screenshot below) and Overview tabs to find:

• Teacher Guide

• Editable Lesson Plan

• Printable Homework

• etc

[pic]

Now that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting Khan Academy [], what suggestions might anyone have to address why schools wanting digital only should have to "purchase" online assets?

A key factor to remember is that complete digital curricula include not just instructional content, but additional supporting materials (both print and digital), assessment tools, homework management, built-in intervention (RtI) and challenge, and user-friendly management systems.  (A good example of this holistic learning management approach would be digits.)

Open-source resources, like Khan Academy, are, on average, a great tool.  Its originator, Sal Khan, has devoted very much of his time to developing Khan Academy with the goal of improving education around the world.  (On a personal note, team digits believes that to make this world a better place, we all need to be passionate and work hard like Sal.)

With that said, there should be no mistake that although the content from Khan Academy is free to the public, it did cost something to make, and in his case, those costs were met via private funding.  All great content requires resources, and private funding is the development model for Khan Academy.  Obviously, publishers’ model for sustaining the development of great content is by selling it, and this model enables us to have a continuous cycle of research and development, unlike private funding, which may be erratic.  Not only do publishers have a predictable cycle of research and development, we also can guarantee that we will be around for the long term, through implementation and well beyond.

A word of caution: free sites that do not have these types of long-term/reliable resources (and therefore operate on private funding) are limited in their ability to vet the content, test it with students, keep it updated, copy edit, work with authors and academics who have devoted their lives to developing content, etc.

It really does come down to “you get what you pay for” and in the case of Khan Academy, fortunately, Bill and Melinda Gates are paying for the benefit of all of us – hopefully, for a very long time.

digits and homeschooling…do they go together, or is it only going to be available for schools?

digits can certainly be used by homeschoolers.  Everything a home school parent needs to deliver the curriculum effectively can be accessed via the online logins (for both instructor and student, respectively).  The Resource Kit includes the lessons on DVD, so it’s not for sale for the home school market. The child would still need the write-in Student Companion worktext. Also, digits will be set up to license individuals.

digits and algebra… can a student complete year three of digits as a true Algebra 1 course so they are prepared for Geometry as a freshman

How does pricing work in digits?

We do not have a site license plan for digits.  However, we do have flexible pricing with the one-year, three-year and six-year licenses and low-cost add-on years.

Using the one-year license as the base license, a school with the projected enrollment of 100, 120, 90, 100, 120, and 80 students over the next 6 years could either use the one-year license as the base license or do a straight-up purchase of 120 of the six-year license like they would have done with a traditional book.

One-Year base license plan

Year 1: 100 students, purchase 100 one-year licenses at $39.97

Year 2: 120 students, purchase 20 one-year licenses at $39.97 and 100 add-on licenses at $7.97

Year 3: 90 students, purchase 90 add-on licenses at $7.97

Year 4: 100 students, purchase 100 add-on licenses at $7.97

Year 5: 120 students, purchase 120 add-on licenses at $7.97

Year 6: 80 students, purchase 80 add-on licenses at $7.97

(Note that 120 total base one-year license were purchased in year 1 and year 2)

The total for the 6 years is approx $7920.

If the school bought 120 6-year licenses (because 120 is the max number of students) at $69.97, where some of the licenses are not used in some years, the total would then be approx $8400.

In the above scenario above, doing the year by year purchase plan makes the most sense, but it isn’t always the case.  You have to look at the projected enrollment to figure out which plan would be most economical for the school.

Basically, the guidelines are:

• If you have a lot of variance year to year in enrollment, the one-year base license is probably going to be the most economical

• If you have enrollment that doesn’t change much in the first 3 years, and then a lot of variance after that, the three-year base license is probably going to be the most economical

• If you have enrollment that doesn’t change much in six years, then the six-year base license is probably going to be the most economical

Also note that once you have a base license, you can add on, and it does not necessarily mean the next calendar year (see years 2, 3, and 4 in the worked out hypothetical enrollment), you can add-on to that base license later if the enrollment doesn’t pick up until later.

Can you explain to me why a character on the demo CD would use improper grammar?  The character in the aquarium that says “I don’t want to step on no fish”.  I assumed  this is a mistake, but  I was told that it wasn’t.  Are we seriously going to have characters using improper grammar in the digits program?

digits is a unique curriculum not only in that it utilizes interactive whiteboards for effective instruction, but also in that it teaches math with a constant “real world” focus. To help put mathematics into perspective for pre-teen learners, digits relies on the tenets of Understanding by Design (teaching for understanding through student-friendly models). One of these models is the use of UbD hosts, such as the Jay character you mention below. The UbD hosts are older students who guide young learners through the learning process by relating math to the students’ real environments. As such, they need to be dynamic, relatable, funny – and, occasionally, grammatically liberal.

Jay – and the aquarium scene in particular – has garnered overwhelmingly positive results in both field tests and user focus groups (both with students and teachers). Please know that a lot of research and background work went into creating these characters and their ability to bring math into perspective for digits students.

With that said, this particular video has been updated for grammatical correctness.

Are the Student Companions a consumable resource that come every year for the life of the adoption – with the digits purchase? 

Yes – this is absolutely the case. Whichever subscription model they purchase, the customer will automatically get Student Companion books at the start of each new school year for the duration of the subscription. See the digits pricing flyer on Playbook for more info.

The Students/Schools that are listed in the development of the digits (the DNA slide) do we have any details about how they used the program?  Were they using just a few modules/lessons?   Were they using beta versions of the lessons?  Just a little more information would help so that we have some background story around this 

Please refer to the “Experience Profile” document on Playbook (Success Stories) for Lawrence, MA for more background information on this digits field study test site.

In brief:

• NYC – field study.  Summer 2010. Two teachers at a Queens middle school and one teacher at a Manhattan middle school taught the Ratios lesson (apples/pears) with an hour of pre-training each.  We were testing ease of use for teachers and students and also gauging how intuitive the lesson was.  Results were very positive – students were engaged, and teachers remarked about how easy the product was to use.  The Mnahattan middle school is featured in the “Classroom Photos” folder on your digits sales presentation flash drive – these are the stock images we use for media purposes.

• Evanston, IL – field study. This scenario was very similar to the Lawrence, MA one described below minus the video footage – we do not have photos or video footage from this field study.

• Lawrence, MA – field study: one school, two teachers.  This was in the early phases of the development process – I believe 2009 spring.  We went out with several sample lessons, incl. intervention – and also worked in the online HW element. The purpose of this field study was to test the usability of the different lesson types, see the Readiness lesson in action (as well as individual intervention lessons), and to solicit tips/feedback/advice form both the teaches and student who participated on how to improve digits.  This field study was timed so that the feedback we heard was actually analyzed and incorporated into the design/editorial process as digits was still being developed.  Additionally, this field test gave Pearson the opportunity to observe online HW in action, see how kids/teachers adapted to using it, and the types of solutions the school came up with to allow internet access to all students (keeping Library open late, working with Boys and Girls Club, etc).  Video footage from this field test ahs been incorporated into the digits program commercial.  

• Ideashare – Pearson solicited ideas form the general public for use with our new middle grades math program, digits.  101 individuals voted over 700 times in response to the 39 ideas posted. The majority of these ideas have been implemented in digits in some way.  For the full report of ideas submitted and how they were used, please visit

How do we get rid of all of the Security Warnings that come up every time we launch the Prezi in the sales presentation?  It must be some setting in our browser – but they really distract from the presentation! 

Go into your internet browser tools (this function is in a different spot for each browser – Explorer, FireFox, etc) and manage your security settings to enable “Active X Controls”. Unfortunately, if you are using the internet from the location you are presenting at (rather than your own wireless provider, for example), the customer’s own internet security settings may cause the problem to re-occur.

Will 6th graders have access to only the 6th grade units next year?  What if I want to do some of the 7th grade units with my sixth graders?

If the school has the 7th grade license, the 6th grade teacher will have access to the 7th grade content. This means that the 6th grade teacher can electronically assign the 7th grade content to the 6th grade students and print out the associated companion pages to go with the 7th grade lessons for them.

Do the 6th graders who order a 3-year package receive only the 6th grade workbook this year, or all 3 workbooks?

The school/6th grade teacher receives copies of the worktext each year… if they have 100 3-year licenses, they get 100 worktexts each of the 3 years shipped each year.

What calculator would you recommend for digits?

Essentially, there is no preference for either calculator.  It really should be up to the district for what they’re looking for.  The TI-34 is a scientific and the TI-73 & TI-84 are graphing.

Does digits have any project-based assessment activities, not just multiple choice or word problems?

The Enrichment Activities are unit based and are a project type of activity. Students apply what they are learning/have learned over the sequence of topics of the unit to complete a task/series of tasks. They have to research, construct/build, write, and present their findings. Accompanying teacher material includes a scoring rubric using a suggested 0-3 scale.

Is there any Spanish support for digits?

Currently, the only "thing" in Spanish for digits are the on-screen lessons - every time you see a Spanish toggle ("es") on the bottom right of the screen, the on-screen material translates to Spanish.  Vocab is also bilingual ("v" toggle next to "es" toggle)

MathXL is not really a bilingual product, so HW is English only.  MathXL does have a Spanish option, but that is for the MathXL player (like the directions and the submit button) the math problems themselves are only in English.

How will digits materials be implemented in my school/district? Who will help handle the technical details?

Pearson has a dedicated Technical Services group which handles technology product implementation in schools. Trained Field Engineers travel to schools/districts and work in tandem with local IT teams to set up digits so it runs flawlessly in situ. The Technical Services group is run by Cindy Saint who can answer specific questions about the technical aspect of digits implementation.

Does the teacher overview and implementation come in print book form with a purchase, or is the idea that the teacher will selectively print the notes that they want for particular lessons directly from their online/DVD resources?

These are the components of the Teacher Resource Kit:

o Program Overview Guide

o Teacher Resources DVD-ROM (in-class lesson presentations, teacher guides, reproducible masters)

o Student Homework Assignments CD-ROM (5 copies)

The Program Overview Guide provides info on system requirements, authors, background information (research, UbD, etc), mathematics content, instructional framework, teaching tips, ELL suggestions, and SuccessNetPlus navigation tips. In other words, it is a general reference guide for using digits. It is a print book with spiral binding.

There is no separate print Teacher Edition. Teacher Support is incorporated into all the lesson in the Teacher Support tab (both Details and Overview level). Furthermore, the Teacher Support tab also includes the eTeacher Guide and the editable Lesson Plan. These same resources are also available via the Teacher Resources DVD. You are correct that if a teacher wants a hard copy of the TE pages, they would need to print those pages. However, since we are not limited to the confines of a traditional print TE, we are able to provide much more information than a standard TE, allowing us to tailor our teaching notes both for veteran teachers and those just starting out, inclusive of authors’ intent, etc. Think of it as a Teacher Edition on steroids.

Will student online access include the ability to see the same exact lesson presentations that the teachers presenting in class?  Or, will there view be restricted to accessing homework?

Student online access via the online dashboard () will grant access to the lesson content, assigned HW and practice, etc. Through this portal, student will also be able to access math content based on their interests, and view math videos, listen to math raps, play games and more.

Will teachers be able to modify and adjust recommended study plans that the students are given based on their performance on the readiness assessments?

Yes.

Companion guide-this will be a bound softcover book correct?

Yes. The Student Companion write-in worktext has a consumable page to match the “Launch” section and another consumable page to match the “close and Check” section of each lesson. Thus – two consumable pages per lesson.

Can you also confirm that 7th grade students who are accelerated are able to continue through the 7th grade material and move into the 8th grade material during the 7th grade year?  In other words, do teachers and students have access to material for both grade levels with the same license? 

Yes because teachers have access to the full digits course and therefore can assign 8th grade material to their 7th grade students (or any lesson/activity from the entire 6, 7, 8 grade content span).

What print info comes with digits...and what can be printed?

Print components that come with the program are the grade-specific Student Companion write-in worktexts which hare supplied once per year for the life of the purchase AND the teacher-facing grade-agnostic Program Overview Guide which is a one-time shipment along with the rest of the components of the Teacher Resource Kit.

As for printable resources:

Right from the lessons:

o Teacher Guide

o editable Lesson Plan

o On-Level "Launch" Student Companion page

o On-Level "Launch" Student Companion page with answers

o On-Level "Close and Check" Student Companion page

o On-Level "Close and Check" Student Companion page with answers

o Readiness Activity Sheets

o Readiness Activity Sheets with answers

o Intervention Journal Pages

o Intervention Journal Pages with answers

o Homework (both levels) and answer keys

From SuccessNetPlus (refer to Appendix A in Program Overview Guide for more information):

o On-Level, Readiness, Intervention editable Lesson Plans

o On-Level companion pages with answer keys

o Readiness Activity Sheets and answer keys

o Intervention Journal Pages and answer keys

o Enrichment Project pages and answer keys

o Assessments and answer keys

o Teacher Guide

How can I use the digits Program Overview Guide effectively in inservices?

Incorporating the POG into inservice presentation is a natural fit.  Teachers will have access to this item via having purchased the product and will presumably come to inservice with it. Please refer to the POG tabbing guide in the In-Service Toolkit via Playbook. NOTE: this piece is not recommended for sales presentations. Sales presentations are best supported with the digits sales presentation handout packet.

Benchmark assessments - in the overview guide it says these are benchmarked against grade level standards. Are these the CCSS standards? And have these assessments been validated?

Yes, the benchmark tests in digits measure progress against CCSS grade-level standards. No, they are not validated.

Can digits lessons be disaggregated? In other words, can a school or district assign each lesson separately and queue it up on their own portal/Learning Management System?

The SN+ platform enables individual assignment of individual lessons.  Through customization, lesson SCOs can be separated.  For example, each lesson contains 5 SCOs (Launch, 3 Examples, Close and Check). These can be broken out into 5 “lessons” by making copies and then customizing the copies.  Lessons can only be assigned in SN+. digits is currently only on SN+, but the platform has integration plans in the future with other Pearson portals (like PowerSchool).

What is the suggested pacing for digits?

Each digits lesson is designed for a regular (about 45-55 min class period). If you take a look at the TOC (pages 49 through 57 in the Program Overview Guide), basically every lesson noted there correlates to a full day of instruction, plus 1 day for Topic Review and Topic Assessment each. Readiness Lessons are optional full-day lessons.

If you take a look at the block pacing guide on pp 62-70 (page reference: POG 4th printing), you can basically multiply the number of days noted by two to arrive at a suggested # of days for "regular" pacing. Note that these include allocations for EVERY Readiness Lesson, as well as for the Unit Assessments

Grade 6: 77 block pacing days x 2 = 154 days total

Grade 7: 82 block pacing days x 2 = 164 days total

Grade 8: 74 block pacing days x 2 = 148 days total

I am wondering if there are hands-on activities/projects that go with the digits lessons. I am not seeing any such thing in the test drive pod.

The lessons you see in the digits test drive pods are On Level Lessons; i.e. standard lessons intended for daily instruction. In addition to On Level Lessons, digits also incorporates Readiness Lessons which are intended for whole class instruction with students in small groups, incorporating intervention elements for students below level and extension opportunities for on/above-level students. These lessons incorporate group activities.

Furthermore, digits also offers Enrichment Activities, which are unit based and are a project type of activity. Students apply what they are learning/have learned over the sequence of topics of the unit to complete a task/series of tasks. They have to research, construct/build, write, and present their findings.

Teacher support materials are offered with both of these resources.

If you wish to review a Readiness Lesson, please contact your sales rep for a digits Content Sampler CD. We will also have online digits demo accounts available shortly; check back on in a few weeks for access information. The online demo account will give you reviewers access to the curriculum where you will be bale to experience both the Readiness Lessons and Enrichment Activities in full detail.

Does the price for digits include PD?

In addition to free online resources at , Professional Development for digits is available for purchase.  I have attached a summary of PD offerings for digits; please also be sure to visit our current Professional Development catalog at . Infomration about PD offerings for digits begins on page 61.

I also encourage you to visit (the online teacher portal for digits) and click on the MyPearsonTraining channel for more information.

Are there any additional practice examples that can be done during the On-Level Lesson if the teacher feels students need more work than just the three problems contained within the lesson?

Often, the teacher materials suggest an additional example or ways to extend on the examples within the lesson. Additionally, the Close and Check companion page contains additional problems for students to work on in pairs or independently during class time. The annotated student companion contains the answers for teachers to review the problems during class time.

Is there a guide, as there are in some of our other programs, that gives the teacher a heads-up as to which HW problems should be assigned if the teacher is not going to have the students do all of them?

Homework in digits is not like in other programs. It is auto differentiated according to student results on the Readiness Assessment. It is already streamlined to provide students with the necessary practice to master the concept of the lesson. With the built in Learning Aids, all students can be successful with all exercises. The homework is designed to complete in 30 minutes, so the number of problems vary, for lessons where the problems are shorter, there may be 15 problems. For lessons with longer problems, there are less.

Why isn’t there a clear labeling on each of the Teacher Guides as to what lesson it is from? Once you print the Teacher Guides off you do not know what lesson they belong to, 1-1 or 1-4 etc.

To avoid labeling confusion for potential reordering of content due to custom state content or district curricula, print-ready eTE pages in digits are published without Unit and Lesson designation.

Where are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) listed in digits?

• In the PRINT Student Companion on the Launch page

• In each lesson, see below (“More Information” drop-down in SNP)

• Editable Lesson Plans for each lesson in SNP (appearing as a little clipboard icon underneath each lesson title in SNP)

• Teacher Guide: Topic Overview (Teaching Resources drop-down in lesson screen – Overview tab) on lesson screen

• Teacher Guide: Unit Overview (Teaching Resources drop-down in lesson screen – Overview tab) on lesson screen

• Via the “i” Information button in upper right of lesson screens – next to Math Tools button on lesson screen

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