Yacapaca

Yacapaca revision follows a system that is well proven to boost results. Revision is now enabled by default for most* students on Yacapaca. All they need to do is log in and click “Revise (syllabus name)” and off they go.

What the student will now see is a stream of Yacapaca questions

• around the whole subject, but with particular emphasis on the most recent topic,
• of a difficulty level matched to the student’s ability,
• presented at a speed that is slow enough to allow thinking-through, but fast enough to engage.

At the end of the session, the student gets a grade and a revision keyword report. You get a report in your nightly email, and a weekly Gradebook entry.

*Why most students, not all students?

A number of possible reasons

• You may have chosen to switch revision off. You can do that via Edit Student Set from the Gradebook or the student set list.
• We may not have set up your syllabus for revision yet. Each one is a big job, and we are chewing through them slowly.
• The student set may not be linked to a syllabus. Check this (and set/reset the syllabus) also via Edit Student Set.
• The student set may be linked to a syllabus, but we don’t know which topics you have covered. A popup will periodically ask you to update this; you can also do it via Revision Topics from the Gradebook

How can I track my students’ revising activity?

Look out for nightly emails. There is also a weekly entry into the Gradebook and the Assignments List. We are working on more detailed information that will be accessible by clicking from these two locations. Even if you can’t see the detail you want yet, come back from time to time and try again.

What problems might arise?

Because the questions are selected algorithmically, students will sometimes come across content they have not covered in class. Driven high attainers may need reassurance that it’s OK not know everything. Students may also get frustrated with questions that don’t have well-written feedback. Please take this as an opportunity to revisit essential content in class.

What should I do to make sure this really boosts results?

Yacapaca Revision is designed for little-and-often consistent use right from the start of the syllabus, not for last-minute cramming. So…

• Make sure your students know it is available.
• Keep the topics list up to date for each student set.
• Take students’ concerns seriously and be prepared to trouble-shoot, especially early on.
• If the overall takeup level is high enough to support this, combine this with our Teams function (search this blog for ‘teams’ if unclear).
• At random intervals throughout the syllabus (but not predictably) hand out rewards for the students who have done the most revision that week. Diarise this so you maintain the discipline after it has ceased to be at the front of your mind.

How much does it cost?

It’s free until Sept 2014, so feel free to use it to the max for the rest of the year. After that, it will be charged pro-rata with quizzes. Usage up to the ‘light user’ limit will continue to be free, same as with quizzes.