🆕 Enhancement releases
We've been busy! Here's a sneak peek at our January 2024 new features and improvements:
Video Trimmer
Uploaded videos can now be trimmed, allowing teachers to control which portion of a video their students will view. Click here to learn more!
Video Experience Enhancements
Adjustable Playback Speed: Teachers and students can now change the video playback speed (when permitted by the teacher).
Automatic Video Loading: Videos now load automatically during creation, improving the user experience.
Streamlined Editing: In the editing view, the video feed stops on the question, allowing teachers to make adjustments without needing to switch to the preview.
Improved User Interface: A generally cleaner and more user-friendly interface.
Newsela Integration Enhancements
The Lexile level currently displayed will carry over to Formative, replacing the default Max setting and saving the user from having to manually adjust the Lexile level in Formative.
Formatives that contain Newsela content can now be published to private libraries (Gold plan feature)
Summary Report for Administrators
The much-loved summary report has been improved to allow filtering at the building, teacher, and class level for a more flexible analysis. This is something our district leads have been requesting since its release
Pinned Recent Feedback Notes
"Recent Feedback" skyrocketed to one of our most used solutions in Formative. With this enhancement, we are furthering its capabilities by providing teachers with a way to "pin" their recent feedback messages making it easier to re-use key messages.
LaTex Enhancement
LaTex just got a tad easier for teachers to add. We have updated to include a shortcut access to Latex using Ctrl +L or Cmd +L. This will allow users to insert TeX within rich text without leaving the keyboard.
Google Slides Syncing
Google Slides Syncing! You can now simply click a sync button to update your google slides in Formative.
🤖 Beta and Early Access Features Updates
The below features have been added to our list of future features teachers can opt-in to test with us:
Student Practice Background
Added "Limited Edition" background theme category in student practice.
Student Practice Reporting
Reporting in Student Practice! Teachers can now see key data points on student practice for their practice sets!
Editor Redesign
We're paving the way for an enhanced lesson-building experience in Formative. Currently, we offer an opt-in option for users to customize their editor's user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). The most valuable time is spent on grading, providing feedback, and reviewing responses. By optimizing the editor, we aim to free up more time for these essential tasks.
🛠️ Fixes
Every technological tool runs into hiccups here and there. If you run into any technical issues please submit a report to our team so we could go ahead and fix it!
Hot Text Question
Hot text highlights do not create new paragraphs and now mirror state tests more closely.
Accessibility (Student Practice)
Added keyboard support for flipping flashcards and selecting “Got it” or “Didn’t Get It”. These elements are now tabbable and users can click enter to interact.
Accessibility (Student Experience)
We added semantic HTML to the formative student experience as we continue to improve our accessibility and help our product to be better used by screen readers.
🐞 Bugs
The below bugs were resolved throughout the month
Corrupt matching question
Missing standards data on admin reports