Powerschool Learning Updates

Powerschool Learning Updates

Parents

Some teachers are itchy to get parents attached to PSL. I ask that you please be patient with this. We are now set up to do it, however we are going to give all teachers some more time to get themselves acquainted with PSL before we connect parents. A plan is place to do a roll-out in October with literature going in newsletters, newspaper, etc. and at Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 20th parents will get their personalized log in information attached to their child's schedule/progress report at both the MS and HS. If a parent doesn't attend conferences, the letter will be mailed home. 

When a parent is connected to their child's account, they will be able to see everything their child would see, but they cannot edit anything. This includes classes, class content, assignment information, their child's work, and grades (if done on PSL). 

If you would like parents to 'view' your class before the late October roll-out, you can make your class publicly viewable, and share the link through an email. With this option, a parent would see your class content, but would not see any grades/work/etc. To make your class publicly viewable:

1) Go into the desired class

2) On the far right near the top Manage Class> Class Settings.

3) Under Class Settings, scroll down to the 'settings block' where you will see your current class visibility settings:

4) Change 'Only people in the class roster to 'Anyone on the Web.' and click save.

Again, you can now send that link to parents via email and they can view your class.

Class Calendars

I hope at a minimum that every teacher is keeping current their class calendar. This is an important piece as it allows a student to see a snapshot of all their class activities right when they log on. Think of it as 'filling out a planner' for the student. The middle school can use this to replace the Google Calendars as it shows all classes in one calendar for the student (and soon parent) rather than clicking on each individual class. Should you give access to your parents in advance by using the method above, they will also be able to see your calendar (although only by individual class). Here is a snapshot of what a student sees and why filling out your calendar is so important:

As you can see, this student has an exam in Spanish today, a quiz in science on Tuesday, and some class activities in Tech Exploration and Personal Finance. Please keep your calendars current. If you are unsure how to do this, please watch this 1 minute video on CREATING AN EVENT IN YOUR PSL CALENDAR:

SUPPORT STAFF/SHADOWING

I sent out an email regarding 'Shadowing for support staff and special ed teachers. Please make sure that these teachers are NOT enrolled in your classes as students or teachers (unless they need editing rights to your class). The 'shadow' feature should give teachers/aides access to all they need. For more information on shadowing, talk to me or watch the video on the PSL resource site....

RESOURCES

All the PSL resources are posted in the RESOURCE LIBRARY off of the Technology Site. 

TRAININGS

I will be hosting more trainings when football is complete for those who want to go further. However, I encourage you to talk to your colleagues on what they are doing with PSL. Some teachers are doing some really innovative things that can make life easier for both you and your students.

The enthusiasm towards PSL this fall has been great. I really appreciate everyone being patient as we work through occasional hiccups and I look forward to working with all of you to help make PSL a part of your classroom.