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If your school or district purchased an iLearn plan with ThinkFast!, students, teachers, school and district administrators can access it by logging in at www.ilearn.com/login, scrolling down, and clicking the ThinkFast! button.
Important: ThinkFast! requires different interaction. When questions appear, students should be engaged and ready to answer correctly and quickly with one hand on the mouse to select numbers, and the other hand poised to submit answers by pressing the spacebar on the keyboard.
In each section of ThinkFast! the student must use their mouse to select numbers from the onscreen keypad and use the spacebar on their keyboard to submit answers. No other keys are active on the keyboard. This entry method is utilized to standardize entry input across all students, and encourages a consistent method of input at rates that can be measured while becoming fluent.
ThinkFast! is designed to help students gain fluency with the basic math facts. Students advance sequentially by either skipping the facts they know or learning those they don't. It uses explicit instruction in efficient strategies coupled with innovative use of these strategies to support practice. The result is that accuracy (learning the facts) and speed are developed in parallel - without the need for additional instructional activities or support. ThinkFast! includes two Units: Addition/Subtraction and Multiplication/Division.
At the start of each Unit and Chapter are pretests that include a Number Entry Checkup and a Unit FreePass Test. The Number Entry Checkup is used to assess the rate at which the student can enter numbers used in the Unit FreePass Test. The student is required to simply "copy" the number displayed by entering it in the answer box. The resulting "number entry rate" is subtracted from the total answer time in the FreePass test to evaluate the "thinking time." The student must enter a minimum number of answers to get past the Number Entry Checkup, and how quickly they enter numbers determines the student's required number of correct answers in the FreePass test. All tests in ThinkFast! have a time limit of one minute.
The Fluency Level in ThinkFast! is measured by the thinking time needed for students to enter correct answers. The thinking time is based on two factors: (1) the speed at which the student was able to enter and submit answers in the Number Entry Checkup and (2) the student's enrolled grade level. The default value for thinking time for students in Grade 4 and above is 1.2 seconds per correct answer. For Grade 3, the default thinking time is 1.3 seconds. For Grade 2, the default thinking time is 1.4 seconds. For Grade 1, the default value for thinking time is 1.5 seconds. Depending on a student's performance in the Number Entry Checkup, the thinking time can range from 1.2 seconds to 1.8 seconds.
After completing the Number Entry Checkup, students begin the Unit FreePass Test. These tests determine whether the student is already fluent with the facts in the Unit or needs to develop fluency with some or all of the facts. If the student meets the fluency requirements, they skip the Unit. If they pass the Unit FreePass Test for addition and subtraction, they advance to multiplication and division. The Unit FreePass Test requires students to enter a minimum number of digits correct per minute, while also maintaining a passing percent correct of 80%.
If the student passes the Addition/Subtraction Unit FreePass Test, they move to the Multiplication/Division Unit Pretests. If the student does not pass, they move to the first Chapter's Pretests. If the student passes, they move to the second Chapter's FreePass Test. When a student does not pass a Chapter FreePass Test, the student enters the first Lesson Instruction.
Lessons consist of three activities. The instruction for a Lesson uses explicit instruction to teach the student an efficient mental strategy for recalling the correct answer for each fact included in the Lesson. The Practice Activities provide an opportunity for the student to practice using the strategies taught in instruction. The Review Activities provide integrated practice that combines accuracy and speed practice for the combined subsets of facts covered in prior Lessons and/or Chapters. The purpose is to facilitate the recall of facts when presented in a mixed set and to further strengthen both accuracy and speed of recall over time.
In Practice, students have a few seconds, depending on their Number Entry Rate, to think of the answer, use the mouse to click it using the keypad, and submit the answer by pressing the spacebar on their keyboard. If needed, students can click the Help to answer correctly. After a few seconds, ThinkFast! automatically plays the Help to assist the student in answering correctly.
Depending on the amount of time it takes for a student to submit a correct answer, the student can receive either three stars (for a correct answer before Help begins), two stars (for a correct answer while Help is playing), or one star (for a correct answer after the Help has played in its entirety).
When the student completes the Practice, the results are scored and feedback is provided. The student must reach a minimum of Level 10 to pass the Practice. Students can score up to Level 5 by answering questions correctly regardless of how quickly they answer. To score above Level 5, students must answer questions while Help plays (two stars) or before Help begins (three stars). While students only need to reach Level 10 to pass the Practice, a Level of 15 can be reached by answering more questions correctly.
After completing a Practice with Level 10 or higher, students advance to the next Lesson's Instruction. After completing the last Lesson in a Chapter, the student advances to the Chapter Completion Test. Here the student must answer a minimum number of digits correct per minute and maintain 80%+ correct to pass. After passing the Chapter Completion Test, a student advances to the next Chapter's Pretests. When a student passes the last Chapter in a Unit, they advance to the Unit Completion Test. Passing the first Unit Completion Test for Addition/Subtraction advances the student to Multiplication/Division, the final Unit in ThinkFast!
Students log in at www.ilearn.com/login. At the Hub, scroll down and click the ThinkFast! button to launch.
When a student logs into ThinkFast! for the first time, they will complete a brief introduction lesson. Important: in ThinkFast! select numbers with the mouse, and enter answers with the spacebar on the keyboard.
To begin ThinkFast!, the student clicks the "Start to ThinkFast!" button at the top of the screen.
The top of the ThinkFast! program contains some important information.
Above is the student's current activity.
This displays the student's current location. Here the student is in the Unit Addition/Subtraction, in Chapter 1, Lesson 1, Lesson Practice.
The Back, Repeat, and Next buttons are available to students only in Lesson Instruction. Students can navigate to previous pages of Instruction, but can navigate forward only if they have just navigated backward. Students can also replay entire pages of Instruction by clicking Repeat.
The entry keypad is in the middle of the screen. Students use the mouse to click numbers on this keypad. Clicking the Erase button removes the last digit clicked.