Waterford

Waterford is our reading enrichment program for grades preK-2nd.

All PreK-2nd grade classrooms and the MES computer labs should now be equipped for students clicking on the Waterford icon and accessing their work session. If you are having issues with this, please let us know!

Your teacher log in is accessed through:

manager.waterford.org 


Some items to remember that our wonderful consultant, Alisia, went over with us 9/15/17:

• F11 makes the program full screen (so they won't click on other web pages)
• ctrl+ makes the screen bigger, ctrl- makes it smaller (because the little ones like to play with this, we need to know how to fix it...)
• If a student has to leave a session early, BE SURE to click the back arrow at the top of the browser (F11 to make it regular screen, then back), so it will cache their data. The timer will start over when they return, but the lesson and time will pick up where they left off.
• Be sure you are checking student progress at least once per month.
• She showed that very creative way to fix the mouse for K4 students. I highly suggest the velcro she was talking about to help their pointer finger learn where to be placed. Let me know if you think this would be helpful in the computer lab and I'll talk to the tech guys about it. ;)
• Be sure you use Google Chrome with Waterford or it may not work correctly. It also does not always work with touch screen computers. There is an app for it, but it's only on iTunes.
• If the sound is not working, the "hardware acceleration" needs to be disabled like she showed us - I can help you with this.

Here are some files that may be beneficial to you that were shared with me. This has letters for home access, and some general getting started tips. Alisia is also going to send some other information that was requested from teachers when she visited (like the bird pictures 😀 - Love y'all!)

Home Access Files

To help with implementation: 

My suggestion after discussing it with Alisia is to complete reading (15 minutes) 3 days per week and Math (15-20 minutes) 2 days per week.
K4's SmartStart program is set to 12 minutes (low as it will go)
**You as the teacher can change the minutes. If you need help with this, let me know.**

When Alisia returns (date TBA), we are going to look more at progress reports and curriculum and she will show us some ways that we can differentiate this time for each student depending on their needs shown through their work on Waterford. Point being - do NOT freak out about not getting in specific "minutes" for each subject right now - just get them on Waterford every day and let them work.

From Alisia 9/20/17:

Below you will find links to important information that I hope you find helpful and resourceful.  Some of these resources we were able to review during our time together.  

(Please click the blue links below) 

• Waterford Manager: This website is where you access your student's information and generate reports. We are only compatible with the browser Google Chrome. You all should have your log-in information. If you still need this information please reach out to Dr. Larsen.
• website: manager.waterford.org

• Assigning Courses: When you receive a new student (and they have been added to your roster), you will need to assign their courses (Reading and Math/Science for 5K-2nd or SmartStart for 4K). 

• Adding/Changing Student Pictures: This video shows you how to add or add a picture for each student. 

• 5K-2nd WEL Introductory Video for Students and 4K SmartStart Introductory Video for Students:  I highly recommend showing these videos to your students in a whole group setting (on interactive whiteboard, etc.).  This is also great to show your parents as well.  I also recommend showing your 4K and Kindergarten students our Mouse and More Lesson video to help them with their mouse skills. Here is a Walk-through Assist Video that reviews the student's features in the program. 

• Class Auto Rotation: This shows you how to turn on Auto Rotation in your Waterford Manager if you chooses to use this feature.  DO NOT use this feature if your students are also using Waterford or SmartStart in a Computer Lab.

• Correlations and Skills Taught: Here you can view and download the skills taught in Waterford Reading, Math & Science, and 4K SmartStart.

• Ending a Session Early: If a student needs to end their session early, there is a correct way to end their session so that all of their  data is saved up until that point.  Please remember that if they get back on that same day, their timer will start back over but they do pick up where they left off.  Please DO NOT click the X in the top right corner of the browser to end their session. ***Click the back arrow in the browser (top left), and then click okay. (Towards the end of this video, it shows you how to do so.)

• Generating Reports: This video shows you how to generate the reports in your Waterford Manager.

• Waterford Help Page: Our Waterford Help page has many great resources.  This is also located in the top right corner of your Waterford Manager. 

• Waterford Support: If you need assistance with Waterford, you can visit our help site, email our support team, or call our support team, Monday-Friday. 

Additional Resources: This folder includes some of the documents/resources that I gave you onsite. This folder also included the WEL Characters that Mrs. Nienstadt requested.