Updates for Winter/Spring 2024

vhlcentral Design Updates

vhlcentral supports and facilitates language acquisition for thousands of educators and millions of students. We are thrilled to announce that we are revamping the vhlcentral design to enrich the user experience. The new design is welcoming and intuitive, promoting an easy transition from the current site design. All updates are being implemented with a focus on accessibility to ensure that digital content is accessible to everyone. Users can expect to see more updates as we work towards a unified vhlcentral design. We cannot wait to hear what you think of the new vhlcentral!

 

Create an Account Page

Redeem a Code Page

Need Help Modal

 

K12 CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT One Student, One Program, Multiple Courses

Concurrent enrollment makes it possible students to access their Vista English Language content while working with multiple instructors. It gives students more flexibility by eliminating the need for separate accounts or licenses to access their work. By using the same online license to access content assigned by instructors in each section, students can efficiently access course materials, assignments, and resources. See our FAQ article for more information.

 

Red Exclamation Mark Icons

Instructors can now see the reason why there is a red exclamation mark next to a student’s name on vhlcentral. Reasons for the red exclamation icon can include:

• Student has enrolled in the section, but access has expired

• Student has enrolled in the section, and the instructor has given a grace period
  • This includes the number of days remaining on the grace period

• Student has enrolled in the course, but does not have all of the course materials required
  • This will note the missing component (ie. WebSAM)

• Student has enrolled in the section, but does not have an access code

 

Upgrades to student enrolling and purchasing

We have streamlined the enrollment and purchasing process on vhlcentral and the Vista Higher Learning Store for students who need to buy or upgrade their course materials. Now students will be directed to purchase exactly what their instructor requires for the course.

Note: If you have previous instructions listed in your syllabus, you may want to update them. 

 

Enrolling in the course

NEW wording and workflow for students to enroll with or without redeeming a code:

 

If students are enrolling without a code because they will be using their two-week free Grace Period, they will get a notification explaining in more detail:

 

Purchasing access made easier directly from vhlcentral

NEW—Direct purchase links for students, with an additional button below the book cover.

These links will take students directly to the school's dedicated Vista Higher Learning student store, ensuring they buy the correct product/package:

 

NEW—If students only need the WebSAM upgrade, a direct link to purchase the upgrade code is provided:

 

Expiring or expired access: NEW purchasing links

Expiring access countdown and NEW purchase link below the book cover are now in one spot! This new link makes it easier and quicker for students to purchase what they need to continue or renew access if expired, whether previous access was a grace period or full access. 

 

Expiring access:

 

Expired access:

 

Updates for Fall 2023

New for English Language Development

Assess to Learn–Standards-Driven Assessment and Student Progress Monitoring

Teachers can monitor the progress of a single student or an entire class using a new Standards report in Bridges. The Standards Analytics report allows teachers to review whole-class and individual student performance against state and national standards. Teachers can:

• Locate and assign proficiency assessments that support specific standards or skills.
• Quickly identify struggling students by drilling into the Analytics Standards report.
• Easily assign additional standards-based resources and practice for remediation.

Activities

Interactive Vocabulary Tutorials have been updated with NEW IMAGES and GIFS

The updated images simplify complex concepts and facilitate accelerated learning. In addition, they help students make connections and relate to the content more easily, which leads to faster learning. Visuals capture attention, promote inclusivity, and enhance memory retention. They also encourage active engagement and critical thinking skills.

The new overall look and feel of these Vocabulary Tutorials is paired with educators’ control over translations, which can be activated in course settings. These updated tutorials are available for Portales, Portails, and PRIME programs on vhlcentral.

 

Assigning

Multiple Due Dates

This enhancement allows educators to assign the same activity to different students with different due dates, thereby providing greater flexibility and control over course scheduling and student management.

Key Benefits: 

• Diverse pace setting: Assign activities at varying paces within the same section to cater to the unique learning speeds of your students.
• Facilitate makeup tests: Easily assign makeup tests to individual students or groups.
• Customizable instruction: This feature supports daily small group instruction, particularly in the K-5 range, allowing for differentiated instruction based on varying skills and levels.

 

Rubrics

Grading Projects and IPAs just got easier with Editable Rubrics!

Are you looking for a way to make grading in your language courses easier and more consistent? With NEW Editable Rubrics, available in any program including this grading option, you can customize rubrics to meet the needs of your course. Using the Drag & Drop function will allow you to effortlessly make changes. You'll be able to easily measure student performance in all areas of the curriculum, quickly identify areas where students need help, and provide clear feedback on how they can improve their skills. Make grading simpler and ensure consistency across the board with editable rubrics!

 

Please note: Activities with an editable rubric have the copy icon in the TOC list.

 

Editable Rubrics enable you to:

• Easily measure student performance in all areas of the language
• Quickly identify areas where students need help
• Provide clear feedback on how they can improve their skills
• Ensure equitable grading across the board
• Make grading simpler and more consistent
• Create a customized rubric that best fits your needs

Editable Rubrics are an invaluable tool for language educators. Log into vhlcentral.com to begin trying out how to use Editable Rubrics in your course.