Overview

We are diligent about accurately recording students' training minutes. A session will time out if a student stays on one item for an excessively long time. This article explains what happens when a session times out, why it occurs, and how students can avoid it. 

If a session times out, it doesn’t mean there’s an issue with the student’s account. It simply means the session stopped recording because too much time went by without the student progressing from one item to the next. The student can begin a new session immediately. 

Why does a session time out?

When a student interacts with the trainer—answering a question, clicking Next, or selecting I’m Done—that activity is sent to our servers which record the action and deliver the next item. If a student goes too long without engaging in one of those activities, the session times out. All progress up to the last action is recorded. Any time afterward is not. 

There are a few scenarios where this occurs:

  • Not Progressing through Training: The student remains on one word page for too long without clicking Next. After the session times out and the student attempts to proceed, they are taken back to their dashboard and are notified why their session was closed: 
  • Closing the Browser: The student exits training by closing the browser rather than selecting I’m Done. Students should actively engage in training until the session is complete and they are told to Take a Break. If they need to stop earlier, they should click I'm Done. 
  • Lost Internet Connection: The student’s connection drops and doesn’t reconnect before the timeout threshold. All training data prior to losing internet connection is saved. Students are not able to train without internet. 

Where can I see if a session timed out?

  1. The Session Inspector: Timed-out sessions are labeled directly in the Session Inspector.
  2. The Student’s Activity Log: When a student finishes their session or clicks I’m Done, the session closes gracefully. This is indicated on their Activity Log. If you see that a session started but is missing the Gracefully exited a training session stamp, then the session timed out. 

Activity log for a student who finished their session or clicked I'm Done:

Activity log for a student who timed out (notice after the training session began there is no log of them exiting the session):

How can I help a student whose sessions are timing out?

  1. Encourage Consistent Interaction: Lingering too long can trigger the session to time out. Students should look at 2–3 items per word page, then click Next. Here are some training tips you can share with the student.
  2. End Sessions Properly: If a student needs to stop early, they should always click I’m Done.