As of August 1, 2022, you’ll not only find a new, improved, and redesigned Sirius Online user experience, but you’ll soon gain access to our new STAAR Test-inspired Cambium redesign and accompanying Sirius Tools Tutorial for Students (available mid August)!

So, what’s new in 2022? Take a quick look!

What’s New in Course Management?

• ***Ability for districts and schools to create pullout or breakout sessions based on rostered teachers and students (e.g., for tutoring or accelerated instruction requirements, HB 4545).

• Co-teachers/tutors can self register at rostered districts for one or more sections/classes.

• All professional roles (district administrators, school administrators, teachers, and co-teachers) can now have multiple school affiliations.

• District and school administrators can now make assignments on behalf of teachers who are absent for short or extended periods of time. 

What’s New in Working With Course Content?

• ***Teachers can now search content by tag, category, and standards alignments. 

• Teachers can now search assignments by keyword or lesson name.

What’s New in Course Content?

• ***New STAAR question types***. Updated with more than 25% new question types (all 20 courses).

• Emulates new STAAR interface. Updated user Interface/user experience to better match STAAR/Cambium platform used in the online STAAR test that all students will have to take in the Spring (Spring 2023). 

• New contents menuing.  Updated and redesigned main content menus, including which activities are assignable in clusters as well as those that can be switched from Practice (Feedback) Mode to Test Mode.

• Revised course content organization for greater clarity.

• New Reading Language Arts programs:

• G3-8 Reading is now G3-8 RLA with added Writing (Writing is now 50% of RLA tests);

• English I & II will have previous two courses combined into a single eCourse with 2 parts: Reading & Writing.

• Math, Science, and Social Studies Lessons will have related components grouped together, and all components can be assigned together.

• G8 Science Lesson assignments can be created together; E.g.:

• LESSON 1.2 – Physical Properties of Matter;

• LEARN 1.2 – Physical Properties of Matter

• PROBLEM SOLVING 1.2 – Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids

What’s New in Assignment Making and Scoring?

• Teachers can assign multiple lessons and practice components at once using Assign All.

• Assignment making is easier, especially when activities need to be assigned more than once.

• Assignments are easier to manage and score. Teachers select which assignment gets sent to reporting as well as quick access to scoring parameters and toggle switches for each student’s use of an assignment, especially if the same activity has been reassigned to them. 

• Teachers can now more easily assign activities by instructional groups.  

• Teachers can more easily assign activities by cut score/performance on Standards Reports against specific standards.

• Assignment management is clearer, better signposted, and easier to use. Better user experience and information design assists teachers in moving assignments from started to completed with more logic and clarity in place. 

• ***Assignments move from completed to “closed” in more automated ways. Improved automation of assignment workflows: computer-scored assignments automatically close and send scores to reports (when that parameter is set up front). When manual scoring is required by the teacher, assignments are clearly flagged and presented for teachers to complete the last step in scoring before scores flow into reports.

What’s New in Reporting?

• New and improved filtering in reports by content type, mode, or by group assignments.

• ***New: Student Progress Report. New standards-based reports on the progress that students make against activities and standards that they have been tested on earlier in their use of Sirius Online, and their performance on new assignments as they progress through our programs.

• (Launching late October, 2022): New: Student Engagement Report. A new lens into student work within Sirius Online that tracks granular usage of tools and how students work with scaffolded supports as they engage in their work, providing deeper insights to teachers about how students initiate deeper interactive engagement to positively impact their learning.

What’s New in eLearning Modules and Student Tutorials?

• New Sirius Tools Tutorial. Forthcoming to match the new 2023 STAAR Redesign (Cambium interface) will be available for teachers to assign to students mid-August.

• ***New eLearning Module: SES 101-E. Introduction to Sirius Online, v1, is now ready for your use. The module can be used for self- or group study, or your training team can quickly utilize the video resources when you conduct in person in-service training sessions. This module will be updated in Mid-August to include screen captures of the New Sirius/STAAR Tools Design. Please stay tuned, but do begin review now (especially trainers), especially those who plan to go 'hands-on' immediately in early August!

What’s New in Terms of Miscellaneous Fixes and Improvement

• Administrators select to view course contents vs. products (tab name change).

• Teachers and students can now resize pop up windows to better support their use of programs.

• Improvements to standards display and use.

• General improvements that better support teachers and students in their use of all interfaces and functions.

New Release on Evenings of August 25th and August 31