Revision Assistant Release Notes

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For External Tool Users

 

If you access Revision Assistant through an external tool or Learning Management System (LMS), such as Canvas, Moodle, or Blackboard etc., check out this page to see what we’re working on and bugs we’ve squashed in the Revision Assistant workflow. Be sure to read these notes before reporting an issue via ticket or email.

If you access Revision Assistant from www.revisionassistant.com, check out Release Notes for Website Users instead.

 

 

2023 May 3rd

Prompt update

We have released an update to the 11th-12th Grade ‘Ancient Greek Government’ prompt. The ‘Ancient Greek Government’ source is no longer available within the product and has instead has been replaced with a link to the website where students/teachers will be able to view the text. This was due to a licensing issue with the copyright holder.

2023 March 28th

Prompt update

We have released an update to the 6th Grade 'Rocks' prompt. The 'Xenolith' source is no longer available within the product and has instead has been replaced with a link to the website where students/teachers will be able to view the text. This was due to a licensing issue with the copyright holder.

2022 June 1st

New Expansion Pack prompt

We've added a new prompt to the Expansion Pack (XP) library! Below is the info on the new prompt that you can check out in the XP library.

• Impacts of Industrialization, Historical Analysis, 9-12

This prompt is part of our content partnership with the Gates Foundation in support of its World History Project.

 

 

2022 April 1st

New Expansion Pack prompt

We've added a new prompt to the Expansion Pack (XP) library! Below is the info on the new prompt that you can check out in the XP library.

• Economic Impact on Social Structures, Historical Analysis, 9-12

 

 

2022 March 23rd

Upcoming Scheduled Maintenance - March 26th

Revision Assistant will be briefly unavailable on Saturday, March 26 starting at 3pm EDT for scheduled maintenance.

​​Updates and notification of completion for maintenance activities can be tracked here: http://status.revisionassistant.com/.

See the list below for what time this will occur in your area of the country. We appreciate your patience during this time.

• Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 12:00 p.m.

• Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) - 1:00 p.m.

• Central Daylight Time (CDT) - 2:00 p.m.

• Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) - 3:00 p.m.

 

 

2022 January 26th

Two new Expansion Pack prompts

We've got two new prompts to add to the Expansion Pack (XP) library! Below is the info on the new prompts that you can check out in the XP library.

• Organization of States, c. 1200-1450 CE, Historical Analysis, 9-12

• Networks of Exchange, c. 1200-1450 CE, Historical Analysis, 9-12

 

 

2021 December 8th

Unexpected outage resolved

Yesterday, Revision Assistant was experiencing difficulties due to an unexpected outage on the Amazon Web Service (AWS) side. The AWS issues have been resolved and Revision Assistant is functioning properly.

Our engineering teams are trying to restore any lost Signal Checks from yesterday. Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

 

 

2021 December 7th

Unexpected outage

Revision Assistant is experiencing difficulties right now due to an unexpected outage on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) side. Inaccessible classes and unresponsive Signal Checks have been reported. What are we thankful for this November? The Expansion Pack (XP) library is expanding again! Below is the info on three new prompts that you can check out in the XP library.

AWS is working to fix the problem, but currently they do not have an estimate on when the issues will resolved. You will be the first to know when Revision Assistant is up and running again.

 

 

2021 November 15th

Three new Expansion Pack prompts

What are we thankful for this November? The Expansion Pack (XP) library is expanding again! Below is the info on three new prompts that you can check out in the XP library.

• Collapsing Empires and Their Impact on Trade, Historical Analysis, 9-12

• Causes of the First World War, Historical Analysis, 9-12

• Responses to Colonial Rule, Historical Analysis, 9-12

 

 

2021 September 30th

Two new Expansion Pack prompts

The Expansion Pack (XP) library is expanding again! Below is the info on two new prompts that you can check out in the XP library. We hope you fall in love with them.

• Growth of Exchange Networks after 1200 CE, 9-12, Historical Analysis

• Enduring Changes of Revolutions in the Long 19th Century, 9-12, Historical Analysis

 

 

2021 August 13th

Two new Expansion Pack prompts

Who doesn’t love new school supplies? Below is a list of two new Expansion Pack (XP) prompts the Revision Assistant team added to our cache of learning tools. After you check out the prompts listed below, be sure to revisit Revision Assistant’s existing features, such as standards-aligned source materials, instant formative feedback, grammar help, and student-teacher messaging.

• The Nazi Party's Rise to Power, 9-12, Historical Analysis

• Comparing Chinese Philosophies, 9-12, Historical Analysis

 

Free trials discontinued

All good things must come to an end. Revision Assistant’s 60-day free trial program has been discontinued until further notice. Though no new trial accounts will be created, trials that started before July 1, 2021 will continue until the 60 days are over. There is currently no timeline for bringing back the trial program in the future, but we will let you know if that happens.

 

Learning standards links broken

Due to technical difficulties, learning standards links in Revision Assistant are not functioning properly. There is currently no timeline for resolving this issue. For the time being, to see a prompt’s learning standards, please check the prompt’s genre and grade band in Revision Assistant. Then find the appropriate set of learning standards for that genre and grade band in our help guides on the Standards by Genre page. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

 

2020 October 5th

Two new prompts in the Expansion Pack library

We've expanded the Expansion Pack library again (again). Check out the two new prompts today, including Supreme Court Appointments, which easily could be used to supplement classroom discussions on the untimely passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

• A Long Walk to Water / Analysis / 6-8

• Supreme Court Appointments / Argumentative / 9-10

 

 

2020 September 17th

Four new prompts in the Expansion Pack library

We've expanded the Expansion Pack library again. Check out the four new (and wildly pertinent) prompts today, including Getting Into "Good Trouble" about late civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis.

• What is Winning? / Informative / 7-8
• Create a Myth / Narrative / 6-8
• Jail Time and Crime Reduction / Informative / 9-12
• Getting Into "Good Trouble" / Argumentative/ 9-12

 

 

2020 August 27th

New Exemplars and Expansion Pack prompts

Who doesn’t love new school supplies? Below is a list of two new Exemplars and six Expansion Pack (XP) prompts the Revision Assistant team added to our cache of learning tools for students and teachers. Be sure to revisit Revision Assistant’s existing features, such as standards-aligned source materials, instant formative feedback, grammar help, student-teacher messaging, etc. to further expand your remote-classroom supply closet.

New Exemplars:

• Screen Time, Argumentative, 7-8
• Letter to Your Principal: Cell Phones, Argumentative, 9-10

New XP Prompts:

• Young People as Activists, Argumentative, 7-8
• Criminal Justice Reform, Argumentative, 7-8
• Protecting Communities from Sea Level Rise, Argumentative, 7-8
• The Colonization of Africa, Historical Analysis, 9-12
• The Impact of Globalization, Historical Analysis, 9-12
• The Columbian Exchange, Historical Analysis, 9-12

 

 

2020 March 20th

Two new Expansion Pack prompts available

Revision Assistant has two new prompts in the Expansion Pack (XP) library. Be sure to (wash your hands and) check them out today.

• Comparing Leaders: Choices and Consequences, 6-8, Informative
• Narratives of the Holocaust, 6-8, Narrative

Psst! If any teachers are looking for a prompt that's even more eerily pertinent than our new one on the choices and consequences of world leaders, check out Climate Change and Its Impact on Pandemics (9-10, Informative).

 

 

2020 January 8th

Bug fixed on Student Progress page for Expansion Pack assignments

Bug = squashed. We're happy to report that teachers are now seeing the proper "Needs Review" notification on the Student Progress page for students who turned in or requested Signal Checks on Expansion Pack essays that were too short, copied from the prompt, or off-topic. See the 2020 January 2nd release notes for more about the initial bug.

 

 

2020 January 2nd

Bug causing scores to show instead of "Needs Review" on Student Progress page for Expansion Pack assignments

Our teams are working to address a bug that's causing teachers to see low scores instead of the "Needs Review" notifications on the Student Progress page for Expansion Pack (XP) essays that couldn't be properly evaluated.

Though it can calculate a score, Revision Assistant (RA) will not normally display one when a student requests a Signal Check or turns in an essay that was too short, copied from the prompt, or off-topic. Instead, RA gives students a message on how to improve before their next draft and displays a general "Needs Review" notification to the instructor next to the student's name on the Student Progress page for that assignment. We'll let you know when we have updates on this XP bug for teachers, and please note that Signal Check and Spot Check assignments are not affected.

 

 

2019 August 27th

Scope and Sequence doc is now filterable and contains all prompts

Love Revision Assistant (RA) prompts but not sure how to incorporate them into lessons? Sounds like you're seeking the Scope and Sequence. In case you're not familiar with it, the Scope and Sequence is a filterable, downloadable Excel doc for teachers that lists each RA prompt along with its genre, most applicable grade, related subjects, number of sources, and the essential questions that each prompt encourages students to consider. Previously, the doc only contained our Signal Check and Spot Check prompts, but our Teaching and Learning Innovations Team loves showering our teachers with resources so much that they added the entire Expansion Pack library of 90 prompts (!) to this unit-planning resource as well and made each column filterable for quicker searching. Scope out the updated Scope and Sequence doc in the Prompt and Resources section of our RA guides today.

 

 

2019 August 7th

Seven new Expansion Pack prompts

You know we couldn't let you start the school year without some new Revision Assistant prompts! The Turnitin Teaching and Learning Innovations Team (TLI) has once again expanded our Expansion Pack library. Though students won't get inline feedback, assigning Expansion Pack prompts like these gives students the option to get holistic feedback and scores, and prewriting and grammar guidance as they write -- all visible to teachers too. Check out the list of new prompts below and log into Revision Assistant to see them in their entirety.

• Ancient Greek Firsts, Historical Analysis, 6-8
• Characterization in Eleven and Shoes for Hector, Analysis, 6-8
• Hatchet, Analysis, 6-8
• The Great Fire, Historical Analysis, 6-8
• The Significance of War, Historical Analysis, 9-12
• The Skin I'm In, Analysis, 6-8
• Something to Bee Worried About, (<-- pun skills = 4/4) Informative, 6-8

 

 

2019 August 1st

Classes from previous school year have been archived

To ensure that teachers access the latest version of prompts and most accurate reporting, we've archived all classes and assignments from the 2018-2019 school year. But don't worry! Teachers who want to revisit their greatest hits from last school year can still access all archived classes, assignments, and progress data. Check out this guide for how to do that if you access Revision Assistant from a browser and a Learning Management System (LMS). Please note that we do not archive classes for our integrations partners (Springboard, Khan, Big History Project, and Penn Foster).

 

 

2019 July 22nd

Signal Check prompts added to Spot Check

Spotted: seven Signal Check prompts so popular they've been added to the Spot Check library too! This latest wave of prompts also includes four from our partnership with online curriculum juggernaut Big History Project. Though all seven prompts will still also appear in the Signal Check library, we've added them to Spot Check to provide instructors with a larger pool of prompts that do not give students any in-app feedback making these writing tasks perfect to assign as assessments. Check out the list of spot-acular new additions to the Spot Check library below.

• Human Language vs. Animal Communication, Historical Analysis, 9-12*
• Funeral Speeches in Julius Caesar, Analysis, 9-12
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Analysis, 9-12
• The Modern Revolution, Historical Analysis, 9-12*
• Reactions and Responses to Disease, Analysis, 9-12*
• Perspectives and Progress, Historical Analysis, 9-12*
• Women's Suffrage and Equal Rights, Analysis, 9-12

*Partnership with Big History Project

 

 

2019 June 24th

Expansion Pack prompts moving to Signal Check and Spot Check

Cue the "Pomp and Circumstance." It's graduation day in the Revision Assistant library! We're thrilled to announce that two of our prompts are graduating from the Expansion Pack (XP) library and moving into the Signal Check (SigC) library, and one of those is also moving into Spot Check (#proud-of-our-little-overachiever).

Moving prompts into the SigC library means students can now receive sentence-level feedback in addition to holistic feedback and grammar and prewriting help. Moving prompts into Spot Check gives instructors a larger pool of prompts that do not give students any in-app feedback and are perfect to assign as assessments.

Check out the prompts that are moving their tassels below.

• Protest: Violent or Not? / Argumentative 7-8 / XP to SigC and Spot
• Women's Suffrage and Equal Rights / Analysis 9-12 / XP to SigC

 

 

2019 April 10th

Julius Caesar prompt moving from XP to SigC

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! The Revision Assistant teams are thrilled to announce that the prompt Funeral Speeches in Julius Caesar is graduating from the Expansion Pack (XP) library and moving into the Signal Check (SigC) library. This move means students can now receive sentence-level feedback in addition to getting holistic feedback and grammar and prewriting help as they write to this prompt.

 

Two new prompts on Annabel Lee and Jabberwocky now in XP

In our continued efforts to do right by the Bard during National Poetry month, we also released the following two new prompts about famous poems: Annabel Lee and the Making of Mood and Jabberwocky and Portmanteau Words.

 

New Poetry Collection resource available

To accompany the release of our two new prompts, the Teaching and Learning Innovations Team (the artists formerly known as "the Curriculum Team") compiled a list of every Revision Assistant prompt, including the new ones, that asks students to analyze a poem to write their essay. You can view the Poetry Collection in the Prompts and Resources section of the Revision Assistant help guides.

 

Good countrymen, it's time to relax under a Tumtum tree in a kingdom by the sea and check out our Revision Assistant poetry-related prompts and resources.

• Funeral Speech in Julius Caesar / prompt / Analysis 9-12 / XP to SigC
• Annabel Lee and the Making of Mood / prompt / Analysis 6-8 / NEW in XP
• Jabberwocky and Portmanteau Word / prompt / Analysis 6-8 / NEW in XP
• Poetry Collection / resource / multiple grades and genres / NEW in help guides

 

 

2019 February 12th

Unplanned downtime resolved

This morning from approximately 8:00 am to 8:40 am (EST), Revision Assistant experienced downtime while our teams worked to fix a security issue. During that time, students working in Revision Assistant received error messages or were unexpectedly logged out of the system. The security issue has been resolved and Revision Assistant is working properly again. We apologize to any students and institutions who were affected by this unplanned maintenance. We take user experience very seriously and will work harder to make sure this does not happen again in the future.

 

 

2019 February 4th

Six new Expansion Pack (XP) prompts released

To celebrate the groundhog's prediction that we won't have six more weeks of winter, we just released six new XP prompts. Check them out today!

• Biotechnology, Analysis, 9-12
• The Importance of Family, Informative, 6
• Equal Pay for Women, Analysis, 9-12
• Ain't I a Woman?, Analysis, 9-12
• International Women's Rights, Historical Analysis, 9-12
• Mentors and Role Models, Informative, 6-8

Pssst! The last four prompts listed would be perfect additions to any Women's Appreciation Month lessons scheduled for next month.

 

 

2019 January 23rd

New International Baccalaureate (IB) crosswalk available in guides

Cue the crossing guard and stop that traffic. It's time to use the crosswalk(s)! The Curriculum Team has just released a new crosswalk doc that highlights the similarities between our RA/Turnitin Analysis rubric for grades 9-12 and the IB Language and Literature assessment criteria for the Middle Years Programme (Year 5). Check it out on the crosswalks page here.

We hope you b as happy as we b about this new IB crosswalk.

 

 

2018 December 19th

Holistic feedback available on Expansion Pack prompts

Holy moley. Students can now receive holistic feedback and scores as they write to Expansion Pack prompts - all visible to their teachers too! Students working on Expansion Pack assignments can now click the newly added Signal Check button in their Writing Space to get an overall score and holistic tips for improving their essay, just like they do on Signal Check assignments. Though they will not receive inline, sentence-level feedback, students can request holistic feedback and scores as many times as they want on an open Expansion Pack assignment. We hope you enjoy this holistic new world.

 

 

2018 December 13th

Signal Checks working again

After a brief tantrum from 1:50 pm to 3:36 pm (EST) today, Signal Checks are up and running again. Our teams are currently working on reprocessing Signal Checks that were requested but not received due to the outage. We will let you know when that fix is in place. At that time, any users who did not get their requested Signal Checks will need to refresh their browser to see their reprocessed feedback and scores. We apologize for the inconvenience! We're going to have a stern talking-to with our Signal Checks tonight.

 

 

2018 November 8th

New and updated Expansion Pack prompts available

Need a little pick-me-up? Check out our new Expansion Pack prompt, Energy Drinks. Along with adding this super-charged content, we also updated the sources and title of our NAFTA prompt to include USMCA, the newer version of the trade agreement. Crack open a can of caffeine and log in to check out Energy Drinks and NAFTA and USMCA.

 

 

2018 November 6th

New AP Crosswalks available

Let's make like The Beatles and use the crosswalk(s)! We’ve just released a whopping eight new Crosswalks for Advanced Placement (AP) English and History essay scoring guides. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, Crosswalks highlight the similarities between our genre rubrics and some of the most popular writing rubrics in the country. Check out the great eight on the Crosswalks page in guides.

 

New Historical Analysis Exemplars available

We have more exemplary news: we’ve added two new sets of Exemplars and we've updated all existing Exemplars to more accurately reflect our latest scoring models. Carefully crafted by our Curriculum Team, these sample essays grant teachers further insight into how Revision Assistant is assessing student work. Emerging (1), Developing (2), Proficient (3), and Advanced (4) Exemplar Essays can now be found on the Exemplars page for the following prompts:

• Local and Global Powers, Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12
• Investigating Change, Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12

 

 

2018 October 30th

New prompt in Signal Check library

Today we released a prompt we've been preparing for the past few months in the Pittsburgh office, Anne Frank and Miep Gies. As our city struggles under the crushing darkness of last weekend's events at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Anne Frank and Miep Gies remind us that we simply must do better; we must be better. Even in the face of insurmountable cruelty, everyone can "within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.” We hope this new prompt reminds all of us to be that small light.

Hatred will not weaken the city of steel.

 

 

2018 October 10th

Administrators can now view the prompt library

Spread the word. Administrators are now cordially invited to the prompt party. Though they can't assign prompts, Revision Assistant school and district administrators can now view the entire prompt library by clicking the new book icon in their header. This new functionality allows admins to peruse the library for the perfect, curriculum-aligned prompts to suggest to their teachers. For easier navigation in and out of the library, we've also added two additional icons to the header to take admins to the reports and the adding accounts pages. See Viewing the Prompt Library for more information on administrators capabilities in the library. Admins, it's your prompt party. You can cry (tears of joy) if you want to.

 

Prompt filters now appear along the left side of the library

Now that admins have joined the party, we decided to give the library filters a makeover. For teachers and now administrators (!), the genre, grade, subject, and source-based filters will appear along the left side of the screen in a sleek, black panel. Apart from the swanky, new look, the functionality is the same and users will still be able to filter across all library tabs at one time. Check out the new, little black dress panel in the library today!

 

 

2018 September 28th

Three new Big History Project prompts added

Whoa. This is big. We just released three new prompts from Big History Project! Big History Project is a multidisciplinary, online curriculum specializing in social studies. Lucky for us, Revision Assistant and Big History Project partnered up to feed our instant Signal Check feedback into their writing assessments and to bring their outstanding history prompts into our product. Log in or sign up for a free trial to check out our new and existing Big History Project prompts or peruse the prompt overviews below.

Prompt	Genre, Grade	Task
Evolving Theories - NEW!	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Analyze sources on why Darwin’s theory of natural selection has changed since 1895, and argue how theories evolve over time.
Foraging and Farming - NEW!	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Read about hunter-gatherers and the transition to agrarian life, and argue whether farming is an improvement over foraging.
Reactions and Responses to Disease - NEW!	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Read about bubonic plague outbreaks in two centuries, and analyze how the world's response to disease has changed over time.
Accepting Theories (released June 2018)	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Explore articles, diagrams, and hypotheses about plate tectonics, and analyze when and why people accept a theory.
Human Language vs. Animal Communication (released Dec. 2017)	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Using excerpts from The Language Instinct and Smithsonian magazine, argue whether language sets humans apart from other animals.
Investigating Change (released Dec. 2017)	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Analyze why Copernicus and Galileo challenged theories on the universe, and argue when and why people should change their minds.
The Modern Revolution (released Dec. 2017)	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Explore inventions, discoveries, and global trends, and argue whether the Modern Revolution has been positive or negative.
Perspectives and Progress (released June 2018)	Historical Analysis, Grades 9-12	Read about Antoine Lavoisier, "the father of modern chemistry," and make a claim about how new perspectives promote progress.

 

2018 September 5th

Student Work page features new dropdown roster and updated search function

Drop everything and check out the new dropdown roster on the Student Work page. Previously on the Student Work page, teachers had to scroll through names in the header one at a time to find a specific student's work for an assignment. While the scroll function in the header is still available, teachers can now type a student's name in the class search bar or select it from the dropdown roster to navigate to their work more easily. So, remember: stop, drop, and use the dropdown.

 

 

2018 August 23rd

SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE COMPLETE

Revision Assistant is back from the spa and feeling refreshed! The site is up and running again following scheduled maintenance last night (see Release Notes from 08.20.2018). Thanks for your patience while we spruced up the system before the start of the new school year.

 

 

2018 August 20th

UPCOMING SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE

Time for a mud mask and a hot stone massage! We’re giving Revision Assistant a spa treatment for a night. Due to scheduled maintenance, Revision Assistant will be unavailable Wednesday night, August 22. Users who log in that night will get a message from Pawscar Wilde, our Revision Assistant dog/mascot/idol, directing them to visit our product status and Release Notes pages for updates. See the list below for what time this will occur in your area of the country. We appreciate your patience while we pamper our product for the start of the new school year. We’ll let you know when Revision Assistant is back in action.

• Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) - 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Central Daylight Time (CDT) - 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

• Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) - 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

  

 

2018 August 15th

Holistic Feedback Now Provides In-Context Definitions

Tie your bibs and put on your stretchy pants. We've got a feedback feast for you. The Revision Assistant teams spent all summer tweaking our current feedback recipes to give teachers and students even juicier comments and corresponding resources just in time for the new school year. Keep eating reading to learn more. For the main course, all holistic feedback now provides pop-up definitions for the genre-specific academic vocabulary (e.g., support, exposition, claim, etc.) used there. Also, the lowest-scoring, holistic Signal will now be pinned open with a "Get Started Here!" message so students and teachers won't miss this valuable feedback as they review Signal Check essays.

Genre-Specific Vocabulary Lists Available for Teachers in Prompt Side Panels

To accompany our main course, all prompt pages for all assignment types on the teacher side now feature downloadable PDFs of the genre-specific academic vocabulary Revision Assistant uses in the prompt writing tasks and in holistic and sentence-level feedback. Teachers can easily use these lists in their classroom to help their students consistently break down and digest the writing tasks they're assigned and the feedback they receive. Check out these tasty, new PDFs in the prompt and assignment page side panel and in the Curriculum Resources section in guides.

Sentence-Level Feedback Now Points to Specific Sources

Let's finish off with some delicious sentence-level comments that now point to the specific sources students used in their essays. Many of our prompts feature articles, poems, excerpts, videos, images etc. that students will have to analyze to be able to write their essay. We call these "sources." Now, if a student cites too much or too little evidence from a particular source on a Signal Check assignment, Revision Assistant will call out the source by name in the inline, sentence-level feedback and give the student pointers on how to use it and the other materials more effectively.

 

 

2018 August 3rd

New prompt sequences added

Love Revision Assistant prompts, but not sure how they fit into a 9-week unit? Sounds like you're seeking sequences. And you're in luck! The Curriculum Team updated all existing Prompt Sequences for clarity and added three new ones about college readiness, social studies, and responsibility. For those of you who aren't familiar with them, Prompt Sequences show some of the many ways to incorporate Revision Assistant prompts, Expansion Pack Activities, Exemplar Essays, and Exemplar Activities into a nine-week unit. Check them out on the Curriculum Resources section in guides.

 

 

2018 August 1st

Classes from previous school year auto-archived

To ensure that teachers access the latest version of prompts and most accurate reporting, we've auto-archived all classes and assignments from the 2017-2018 school year. But don't worry! Teachers who want to revisit their greatest hits from last school year can still access all archived classes, assignments, and progress data. Check out the guides for how to do that if you access Revision Assistant from a browser and a Learning Management System (LMS).

 

2018 June 27th

Teachers can now view all prompts before creating an assignment

We are thrilled to announce that in addition to beautifying our library page, we revamped our assignment creation process in Revision Assistant. Now, when a teacher selects Create Assignment on their homepage, they will be taken to the dazzling, new library page first where they can filter through tabs of prompts for each assignment type, Signal Check, Expansion Pack, and Spot Check, on the same screen. In addition to these changes, we also added explanations and tips for each assignment type and onboarding to walk new and existing teachers through the library the first time they log in. See the updated Creating Assignments page for more guidance on the new workflow. Then, check out the remodeled library in Revision Assistant; no library cards or whispering necessary.

 

2018 June 20th

New prompts added to all three prompt libraries

We're proud prompt parents today. Three of our prompts graduated from Expansion Pack (XP) to Signal Check, including two that also went to Spot Check (#overachievers). We're also thrilled to welcome a brand new wave of 10 prompts into the Signal Check and XP prompt libraries. In addition to these big changes, we also had one Signal Check prompt join Spot Check and change majors genres from Informative to Historical Analysis. You can peruse the rundown of our new and graduated writing tasks below, or log into Revision Assistant to check them out. They just grow up so fast, don't they?

Guides Pages No Longer Show All Prompts

Though we bulked up the number of prompts in Revision Assistant itself, we slimmed down the number of prompts available in the guides pages. We did this for a couple of reasons: 1) in the coming weeks, teachers will be able to view all prompts in the product before creating an assignment (stay tuned!); 2) potential customers can now sign up for a 60-day free trial (available on the login page) for full access to Revision Assistant. Though the guides prompt library may have lost some weight, it still features full examples of Signal Check (Secondary and Higher Ed.), Spot Check, Expansion Pack prompts. We've also added a downloadable, filterable list to the guides library landing page of every prompt we offer along with its grade, genre, related subjects, and the number of sources.

 

 

2018 June 6th

Feedback Now Includes Suggestions for Varying Sentence Structure and Length

Sentence variety is the spice of life, so Revision Assistant now gives students inline and holistic feedback on how to increase the spiciness readability of their essays by varying their sentence length and structure. This new Language and Organization feedback advises students to break up overly complex sentences, combine simple ones, and alternate their introductory words and phrases to keep readers engaged. We hope you enjoy our zesty, new sentence-variety feedback!

 

 

 

2018 May 15th

Summer School Plan Now on Curriculum Resources Page

School in the summer? What a bummer. Not with our new summer school plan! This four-module resource includes ideas on how teachers can use Spot Check, Signal Check, Expansion Pack, Exemplars, and Assignment Reports to provide targeted, differentiated instruction during summer school sessions. Check it out below or in Curriculum Resources.

 

 

2018 April 19th

Holistic Feedback Now Points to Specific Sources on Signal Check Assignments

Care to know the source of our excitement today? Revision Assistant now has source-aware holistic feedback. Many of our prompts feature articles, poems, excerpts, videos, images etc. that students will have to analyze to be able to write their essay. We call these "sources." Now, if a student cites too much or too little evidence from a particular source on a Signal Check assignment, Revision Assistant will call out the source by name in the holistic feedback section and give the student pointers on how to use it and the other materials more effectively. See the screenshot below for a closer look.

 

 

2018 March 22nd

Data Collection Revamped and Teacher and Class Usage Tabs Added to Administrator Usage Report

We'll admit it, admins: we're pretty excited about the new additions to the Administrator Usage Report. Along with revamping the way we measure Signal Check data, we've added two new tabs of information on teacher and class usage. Check out the table below for more info on some of the updates.

Please note: If you used one key or secret to set up your entire district in Revision Assistant, you can download an Administrator Usage Report, but you cannot select which schools go in the report. Your data will still be separated by class and teacher, but it will come from the entire district and cannot be denoted by school. This is because setting up an entire district with one key or secret doesn't allow Revision Assistant to see which individual schools make up the district.

 

Students and Teachers Can Now Filter by Draft Type

We get it: sometimes you'd rather just see what you want to see. You're in luck - we've added a draft filter for teachers and students! Now users can elect to see all previous drafts or a specific type (i.e. only Signal Check drafts or only Turned In drafts) and filter out the rest while they're reviewing work. To use this new feature, students and teachers can click the Show [Draft Type] dropdown above the Writing Space (students) or next to the student name toggle in the top right of the Student Work page (teachers).

 

2018 March 20th

Students Now Able to Highlight Prompts and Sources on All Assignment Types

Allow us to take a moment to highlight our new feature: Revision Assistant now has a highlighter! Revision Assistant prompts and sources were designed to be a little tricky and stretch students' skills, so we've implemented this new feature to help them analyze and annotate as they read. To access it, students simply drag and release their cursor over important sections in a prompt and sources and then select Highlight from the pop-up menu. Though they can't see what students have marked, teachers can add Special Instructions to an assignment asking students to highlight a prompt's purpose, pertinent source quotes, etc. using our new tool. For more information see Using the Highlighter in our student guides section. We hope this feature release is the highlight of your day.

 

2018 March 9th

New Prompts Available in the Expansion Pack Prompt Library

Have you seen?! We've got a new 19! We just added a whopping 19 new prompts to our Expansion Pack Prompt Library. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, in Expansion Pack, students practice their skills and get to test out our never-before-seen prompts using our newest features. Though students won’t receive feedback or scores, this module provides high-quality content for engaging writing instruction and independent practice. You can now see the following new content in our Expansion Pack Prompt Library:

• Australia's Stolen Generation, Informative, 7
• Changing Your School, Informative, 7
• Designer Babies, Argumentative, 11-12
• Free Verse Structure in Out of the Dust, Analysis, 6-8
• The Impact of Communism in China, Informative, 7
• Impact of Urbanization, Argumentative, 9-10
• The Industrial Revolution, Informative, 8
• Lincoln's Suspension of Habeas Corpus, Historical Analysis, 6-8
• The Louisiana Purchase, Argumentative, 7-8
• Malaria and Sub-Saharan Africa, Informative, 7
• Manifest Destiny, Historical Analysis, 6-8
• NAFTA, Argumentative, 7-8
• Natural Resources, Argumentative, 7-8
• Oil Spills, Argumentative, 7-8
• The Panama Canal, Informative, 7
• The Reconstruction Era, Historical Analysis, 6-8
• Teaching Climate Change in Schools, Argumentative, 9-10
• The Watsons and Ballad of Birmingham, Analysis, 6-8
• Weaponization of Water, Historical Analysis, 6-8

We hope you enjoy these new prompts as much as we do!

 

 

2018 February 28th

New Subject Categories Added

We don't want to subject you to too much excitement in one week, but we've added four new subject categories in our prompt libraries! By selecting "Other" in the subject filter in any of our Revision Assistant libraries, you will now be able to see which of our existing prompts specifically pertain to STEM, Technology, Career, and Finance. These new subject categories will show up in our Scope and Sequence document in our Curriculum Resources guides section and along the right side of the prompt page under the prompt skill level. See the screenshot below for a closer look.

 

 

2018 February 27th

Lexile® Text Measures for Prompt Sources Now Available in Expansion Pack

February may be a short month, but we would never short-change you on feature releases! It’s our pleasure to bring you more Lexile® measures. Previously, teachers could only see Lexile text measures in Signal Check and Spot Check, but we're thrilled to announce they are now available for all prompt sources in Expansion Pack too. What are Lexile measures you ask? The Lexile Framework for Reading from MetaMetrics® is one of the most accurate and widely-used datasets for matching students with reading materials that will fit their skills level and help them stretch those skills even further. A Lexile measure represents both the complexity of a text (called a text measure) and an individual’s reading ability (called a reader measure). Choosing texts that have a text measure of 100 Lexile points below to 50 points above a student’s individual reader measure ensures that the student will comprehend the content and develop their skills as a reader.

For a more in-depth look at Lexile Measures see our Curriculum Resources page. Check out the screenshot below for where teachers can view Lexile Measures in Revision Assistant itself.

 

2018 February 21st

Assignment Report Previews Now Available on Student Progress Page

OK, so maybe you don’t like the previews at the movies, but you’re going to love the new Assignment Report preview on the Student Progress page. Now, before teachers download the Assignment Report for a Signal or Spot Check assignment, they will see a color-coded snapshot of how their students did on each rubric trait. We also revamped the way we show which students have turned in work on the Student Progress page. Now, checkmarks next to names disappear if the student continues to write and request Signal Checks after turning in a Signal Check assignment. This will help teachers see which students are still working before they review reports, final scores, or close the assignment. Grab some popcorn and go check out the Assignment Report previews in Revision Assistant!

Proofread Drafts Now Visible to Students and Teachers

What’s the best way to follow up an epic feature release like Proofread Mode? An equally exciting sequel, of course. We’re pleased to announce the release of Proofread Drafts, which allow students and teachers to revisit all grammar and spelling feedback students received in Proofread Mode on their Signal Check and Expansion Pack assignments. Students and teachers can find Proofread drafts exactly the same way they find previous essay drafts on an assignment - below their Writing Space (students) or below the most recent draft on the Student Work page (teachers). Students and teachers can click the underlined words and phrases on a Proofread Draft to see why they were flagged as grammar or spelling mix-ups and see the examples students were given to help correct them. We forgot the roses on Valentine’s Day, but hopefully, we made it up to you with these two new features!

 

2018 January 12th

Students Now Able to Check Grammar and Spelling with Proofread Mode

Revision Assistant is starting off 2018 in beast mode. Want proof? We’re thrilled to announce that students can now check their grammar and spelling with our new feature - Proofread Mode. After requesting one Signal Check (Signal Check assignments) or writing a paragraph (Expansion Pack assignments), students will be able to enter Proofread Mode to check for wonky punctuation and faulty word choices and learn how to correct their grammatical mix-ups. Students can request three Proofreads per assignment in both Signal Check and Expansion Pack.

For more information, please see Using Proofread Mode for Signal Check assignments in our student guides section. Then, check out Proofread Mode for yourself in Revision Assistant; you’ll never wonder how to use a semicolon again.