Participant Guide
Student Login (PC/Mac/Chromebook)
Welcome to the Letter-Sound Knowledge Study!
Thanks for joining the Flinders University Letter-Sound Knowledge study, in partnership with Reading Doctor®. This summary of the Participant Guide will help you to get your student(s) started!

by Dr. Bartek Rajkowski

Introduction & Purpose
Strengthening Letter-Sound Knowledge
This study is designed to strengthen your student’s letter-sound knowledge – a key skill in learning to read and spell. It uses the Reading Doctor® Online program.
Reading Doctor® Online: an Evidence-Based Phonics Teaching Tool
Reading Doctor® Online is software designed to help students improve important reading skills, such as letter-sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, decoding, and sight word recognition. Students in this study will use the letter-sound knowledge part of the program.
Getting Started
Read the Participant Guide
See this page to read the participant guide!
Print Name Cards
The researchers will provide Name Cards with login details and QR codes for students.
Print Instructions for Students
After students are logged in and before they begin their testing, read them these instructions.
Prepare Headphones
If multiple students will be working in the same space, prepare working headphones for them to use.
Accessing the program
PC, Chromebook, or Mac Users
  1. Open Google Chrome and go to login.readingdoctor.com.
  1. Save this page as a bookmark for easy access.
  1. Enter the student’s Username and Password provided on their Name Card and press ‘Login’.
  1. Once logged in, remind students to click the ‘Full Screen’ button to minimize distractions:
Accessing the program
iPad Users
  1. Make sure the Reading Doctor® Online app (Version 1.0.7 or later) is installed from the App Store: Click here to download
  1. Open the app, tap ‘Login’, and then enter the student’s Username and Password – or use the provided QR code for an easier login.
  1. If using headphones, check that they are connected and working properly.
Testing Instructions for Students
“ReadingDoctor will help you to learn your letter-sounds. Letter sounds are really important for learning to read and spell! Before you begin your activities, ReadingDoctor will do a test to see how many letter-sounds you know. First, we will do a practice test to help you understand what to do. After that, you will do the letter-sound test. Please do not worry if some of it is tricky, because some of it is for older kids. Just do your best and if you don’t know the answer, just press the skip button.
The skip button is the orange arrow button. It looks like this (show this image to students):
You can also press the repeat button once to hear a sound again if you need to. The repeat button looks like this (show this image to students):
Remember, don’t worry if some of it is tricky. Just do your best. OK, are you ready?”
Getting Started
To get started with the program
  1. Students click or tap on the big green button.
  1. Tests appear on the right and letter-sound activities appear on the left.
  1. Students start with a practice test to help them understand what to do. Please use this as an opportunity to ensure sound is working!
About the program
1
Assessment Tests
When a student logs in, they first complete a series of tests to assess their letter-sound knowledge.
2
Letter-Sound Activities
After testing, they do 8 weeks of activities. They might start straight away or after 8 weeks, depending on the research group they’re in.
3
Reassessment Tests
After 8 weeks of activities, then again after 8 weeks break, skills are reassessed to evaluate progress.
About the program
1
Assessment Tests
When a student logs in, they first complete a series of tests to assess their letter-sound knowledge.
2
Letter-Sound Activities
After testing, they do 8 weeks of activities. They might start straight away or after 8 weeks, depending on the research group they’re in.
3
Reassessment Tests
After 8 weeks of activities, then again after 8 weeks break, skills are reassessed to evaluate progress.
About the program
1
Assessment Tests
When a student logs in, they first complete a series of tests to assess their letter-sound knowledge.
2
Letter-Sound Activities
After testing, they do 8 weeks of activities. They might start straight away or after 8 weeks, depending on the research group they’re in.
3
Reassessment Tests
After 8 weeks of activities, then again after 8 weeks break, skills are reassessed to evaluate progress.
Supervising the Session

1

Quiet Environment
Ensure that students work in a quiet, distraction-free environment.

2

Supervise and Support
Supervise the session to help them understand the tasks without interfering with their independent progress.

3

Encourage Persistence
Encourage persistence and celebrate effort, especially when tasks become challenging.

4

Avoid Over-Assisting
Remember: help is there to guide, but try not to over-assist – let the program adjust the difficulty based on the student’s performance!
Learning Process
1
80% or Higher
A score of 80% or higher unlocks the next level of difficulty.
2
50% to 80%
Scores between 50% and 80% prompt a repetition of the activity at the same level.
3
Below 50%
If below 50%, the program will offer an easier activity.
FAQs & Support
Activity Completion
If a student completes all the activities, they will be congratulated and can choose to review the most challenging tasks.
Activity Repetition
Repetition is a key part of the learning process – it helps ensure mastery before moving on. You may notice activities repeating as well as revision activities. This is normal!
Technical Issues
If you have any technical issues or questions about the program during the study, please do not hesitate to contact us:
1300 66 99 40 [email protected].
Thank you for participating!
Your support in this study is helps us understand and improve early literacy education. If you need further details or have any questions, please refer to the participant guide or contact our support team.
This research was made possible by the Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation.