Frequently Asked Questions

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STUDENTS

GETTING STARTED WITH READ TODAY

1. How do I sign up for Read Today?

a) On the home page, click “Sign Up Here”.

b) Fill out the form.

c) In the “Parent or Teacher Email” field, enter the email address of a parent, teacher or tutor whom is already registered with Read Today. Upon registration, you will be automatically added into their group.

d) When you are finished with the form, hit Go.

2. I had minutes recorded on the old site. How do I access my information on the new site?

On the old Read Today site, all minute-tracking was handled by parents, tutors and teachers. On the new site, students are able to have their own accounts, where they can record reading minutes and view their progress. When the new site went live (June 11, 2012), every parent, teacher and tutor received an email containing the new usernames and passwords for each of their students.

To log into your account, request this information from the parent, teacher or tutor that was responsible for your minute-tracking on the old site. (Your assigned username will be similar to “S123456” and your password will be the email address associated with the parent account.) You have been automatically placed in their group on the new site, so they will be able to see and track information for you on the new site.

Once you log in for the first time, we recommend you change your username and password to something more memorable and secure.

3. How do I change my account information?

When you are logged in, click on Manage Account. From this menu, you can edit your Username, Email Address, First Name, Last Name, Password, and Location.

4. What are groups? How do I join a group?

By joining a group, you allow the owner of that group (e.g., a teacher, tutor or parent) to view your progress and record minutes and Words Per Minute (WPM) scores for you.

To join a group, log into your account, click “View Reports” and scroll down to “Manage Groups”. On the left, you will see the groups you already belong to. Join a new group by using the dropdown menu on the right to select the State, City and School of the group you would like to join. Once you have selected the group you want, click “Join Group”.

TRACKING YOUR READING

5. How do I record my reading minutes?

a) Log into your account and scroll down to “Student Time Tracking”.

b) If you would like to time yourself as you read, click on the yellow stopwatch to start the timer. When you are finished, stop the timer and click “Save”. (If for whatever reason you don’t want to save the time you’ve recorded, hit “Reset”.)

c) If you would like to record time that you’ve already read, use the fields to the right of the stopwatch. Enter the date and the number of minutes read and click “Submit”.

6. How do I record my WPM (Words Per Minute) scores?

a) When logged into your account, click on “View Reports” in the top right.

b) Scroll down to “Student WPM Testing”.

c) Enter the score and the date of testing. Click “Submit”.

7. How do I create a goal?

a) When logged into your account, click on “View Reports” in the top right.

b) Scroll down to “Manage Goals”.

c) Your default goal each month will be 100 minutes until you change it. To create a new goal, use the menu on the right to select the Month and Year you’d like to set a goal for. Enter the number of Minutes you want to read in that month and click “Confirm Goal”.

VIEWING YOUR PROGRESS

8. How do I view the minutes I’ve read?

a) When logged into your account, click on “View Reports” in the top right.

b) In the “Reading History” section, the “Daily Reading Chart” displays how many minutes you’ve read each day in the current month and “Overview” displays a text summary of your progress in the current month.

d) “Goal Progress” graphically displays how close you are to reaching your goal.

e) To view your minutes read across multiple months, use the “View Month(s)” selector in the top left of the “Reading History” section to select the months you would like to view. Click “Update View” and the charts will update to display the information for the selected months.

9. How do I see how close I am to achieving my monthly reading goal?

a) When logged into your account, scroll down to “See your progress!” As you progress toward your monthly goal, Isaac the Mouse will move from the Start (at left) to the Finish (at right). The text above this progress bar will also tell you how many minutes you have read and how many you have left to reach your goal.

b) For more detail on your progress toward your goal, click on”View Reports” in the top right.

c) In the “Reading History” section, the “Goal Progress” graph visually displays how close you are to reaching your goal.

10.How do I view my Words Per Minute (WPM) scores?

a) When logged into your account, click on “View Reports” in the top right.

b) In the “Reading History” section, scroll down to “WPM (Words Per Minute) Scores”. This graph displays a bar for each WPM score and displays the testing dates to the left. By default, only the scores for the current month are displayed.

c) To view scores for multiple months, use the “View Month(s)” selector in the top left of the “Reading History” section to select the months you would like to view. Click “Update View” and the graphs will update to display the information for the selected months.

11.How do I view my progress across multiple months?

a) When logged into your account, click on “View Reports” in the top right.

b) By detault, the “Reading History” section displays a summary of your progress for the current month.

PARENTS, TEACHERS & TUTORS

GETTING STARTED WITH READ TODAY

1. How do I sign up for Read Today?

a) On the home page, click “Sign Up Here”.

b) Select the Tutor/Teacher/Parent option at the top of the form.

c) Fill out the form. Be sure to select your role (as a Teacher, Tutor or Parent).

d) Select the school with which you are affiliated (i.e., the school your students attend). If your students are homeschooled, select “Homeschool” from the dropdown. If your students attend a school which is unlisted, select “Other”. If you know of a City or School which should be added to the list, please let us know. (You will be able to change your School later, if necessary.) When you are finished with the form, hit Go.

2. I had an account on the old Read Today site. How do I access my account on the new site?

When the new site went live (June 11, 2012), you should have received an email with a new username and password. (Your assigned username will be similar to “T123456” and your password will be the email address associated with your account. ) Use this username and password to log in the first time. Once you’ve logged in, we recommend your change your username and password to something more memorable and secure.

If you didn’t receive the email containing your new username and password, go to the login page and click “Forgot your password?” Enter your email address and you will be sent a link to reset your password. The email containing this link will also list your username.

3. How do I change my account information?

When you are logged in, click on “Manage Account”. Edit your Password by selecting “Edit Password”. Click “Edit Details” to change your Username, First Name, Last Name and Email Address.

4. How do I add students to my group?

For security reasons, Student accounts are not searchable, so you can’t add students into your group. However, if you make your group public, students will be able to find and add into your group by selecting the State, City, and School with which you are affiliated.

5. How do I make my group public?

By default, when your account is created, your group is set to “private”. This means that it does not appear in the menu when students go to search for groups to join. If you would like students to be able to join your group, you must change the group privacy to “public”. To do this, when logged in, click on “Manage Account” and then “Edit Group Settings”. From this page, you will be able to identify your role as a Teacher, Tutor or Parent, select your location and school, and change the privacy setting of your group.

TRACKING STUDENT READING

6. How do I record reading minutes for my students?

a) When you log into your account, you will see the “Reading History” section at the top of the page. By default, this section displays an overview of the current month for all of your students.

b) To view the information for an individual student, select the student in the “View Student(s)” selection box (in the top right of the “Reading History” section) and then select one or more months from the “View Month(s)” selection box. Click “Update View”. The “Reading History” section will now display the information for the selected options.

c) Once you’ve clicked “Update View”, scroll down the page to the “Student Time Tracking” section. Use this menu to record the information for the selected student.

d) If you would like to time your student as they read, click on the yellow stopwatch to start the timer. When the student has finished, stop the timer and click “Save”. (If for whatever reason you don’t want to save the time you’ve recorded, hit “Reset”.)

e) If you would like to record time that your student has already read, use the fields to the right of the stopwatch. Enter the date and the number of minutes read and click “Submit”.

7. How do I record WPM (Words Per Minute) scores for my students?

a) When you log into your account, you will see the “Reading History” section at the top of the page. By default, this section displays an overview of the current month for all of your students.

c) Once you’ve clicked “Update View”, scroll down the page to the “Student WPM Testing” section. Use this menu to record the information for the selected student.

d) Enter the score and the date of testing. Click “Submit”.

VIEWING STUDENT PROGRESS

8. How do I view the progress of all of my students?

When you log into your account, the “Reading History” section displays a summary of the progress of all of your students for the current month.

9. How do I view the progress of one student for one month?

When logged into your account, use the “View Student(s)” selection box to select the student whose progress you would like to view. Use the “View Month(s)” selection box to select the month you would like to view.

The “Daily Reading Chart” shows the number of minutes read for each day of the selected month.

The “Overview” provides a text overview of the student’s progress in the selected month, including the student’s goal, minutes read, and percent of goal completed.

The “Goal Progress” graph adds up the minutes read by the student throughout the month, showing progress (an ascending light blue line) to the goal (a dark blue horizontal line).

The “WPM (Words Per Minute) Scores” graph displays one horizontal bar for each recorded test score for the student within the selected month.

10.How do I view the progress of one student for multiple months?

The “Daily Reading Chart” shows the number of minutes read for each day of the selected months. The “Overview” displays the goal, minutes read, and percent of goal completed for each month.

The “Goal Progress” graph diplays two horizontal bars for each month—the light blue bar represents the monthly reading goal, and the dark blue bar represents the minutes read for the month.

The “WPM (Words Per Minute) Scores” graph displays one horizontal bar for each recorded test score for the student within the selected months.

11.How do I view the progress of multiple students for one month?

When logged into your account, use the “View Student(s)” selection box to select the students whose progress you would like to view. Use the “View Month(s)” selection box to select the month you would like to view.

The “Daily Reading Chart” displays one row for each student, with the number of minutes read for each day of the selected month.

The “Overview” displays one row for each student, with the goal, minutes read, and percent of goal completed for the selected month.

The “Goal Progress” graph diplays two horizontal bars for each student—the light blue bar represents the selected month’s reading goal, and the dark blue bar represents the minutes read for the selected month.

The “WPM (Words Per Minute) Scores” table displays the test dates and scores for each student for the selected month.

12.How do I view the progress of multiple students for multiple months?

The “Monthly Reading Overview” displays one row for each student, with the goal, minutes read, and percent of goal completed for the selected months.

The “Goal Progress” graph diplays two horizontal bars—the light blue bar represents the average reading goal for the selected students and months, and the dark blue bar represents the average minutes read for the selected students and months.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please email us at contact@readtoday.com. Happy reading!