Due to the tremendous amount of feedback to our original Sign-In / Sign-Out Sheet App which was released in our App Store very recently, we’ve introduced some new improvements which now allow parents to be assigned a PIN which they can use to sign in their own children.
Manage PIN for Parents Signing in Students
PIN numbers are unique to each parent. And the administrator for the app can generate/view PIN numbers as necessary. Once the PIN numbers are communicated to parents, parents can then sign in their children using the appropriate screen.
Screen for parents to Sign-In/Sign-Out students
The idea here is that the school would make a terminal available on site for the parent to sign in. This can be any internet-enabled device, including tablets and the iPad. Once the screen is enabled, it occupies the entire screen (i.e. full screen mode), the parent will only be able to sign in their children using a PIN (no other functions are available to the parent).Read More »
For those who haven’t noticed, we now have a Schoology Integration App that’s available on our QuickSchools App Store, which allows schools to synchronize their gradebooks from Schoology with the gradebooks in QuickSchools. With this integration, schools can create more dynamic Report Cards within QuickSchools, and share grades more readily with parents via the Parent Portal.
More information about the Integration is located here:
One thing to note about the Schoology Integration App: We utilize the Schoology API to connect the two systems together. The Schoology API only supports integration with the Enterprise Edition of Schoology. So the Schoology Integration App will not work with the free/teacher version of Schoology.
Schoology is what we’d call a Learning Management System (LMS), which is different from a School Management System, since it specializes in delivery of lessons and content to students. Also under development is an app to integrate QuickSchools with another LMS called Haiku Learning. Do let us know of any other LMSs that you’d like QuickSchools to integrate with.
There is another app in our App Store. For schools that prefer a sign-in / sign-out sheet to take attendance; or for those who need a Sign-In/Sign-Out Sheet app for daycare or an after school program, we now have it in our QuickSchools app store:
Sign-In / Sign-Out App on QuickSchools
The app works pretty simply. You can enable the Sign-In Sheet for specific teachers. Then, use the student selector to sign students in, When a student leaves, click on the “Sign-Out” button to remove the student from the list:
Sign-In / Sign-Out Sheet
When you sign a student in, you can add remarks. You can also enable a “Signature” field for parents to fill in their names. The app will track the time and user (in this case the teacher) when a student is signed in and out:
There’s a new app in our App Store called Online Forms, which will allow schools to collect information from any user within their QuickSchools account (Teachers, Parents and Students) via an Online Form.
QuickSchools Online Forms App
So here’s how it works. Once you’ve enabled the Online Forms apps for the appropriate users, you can then go to the “Online Forms” menu start creating your new Online Forms:
QuickSchools Online Forms List
Start by simply clicking on the “Add New Form Packet”. This will take you to the following screen:
Online Form Packet
When you first start out, the Form Packet is in “Draft” mode, which means nobody can see it unless you’re an administrator. Go ahead and fill in the details of the Form Packet (like Name, Description, Instructions and who can submit the form). There are several other sections you can fill, as described below:
Forms: These can be Custom Forms using our Custom Fields framework that you’ve seen in our other modules (details described below). Or, you can upload a fillable PDF file.
Supporting Documents: You can upload any additional files/documents that you’d like the user to access during the form submission process. These can be contracts, tutorials, and other reference files:
Workflow: The system comes with built in workflow statuses for “In Progress” and “Submitted”. Feel free to add any additional statuses that would be relevant to your process like “Reviewed” or “Completed”.
Advanced Settings: For advanced users, you can use this form to capture Enrollment/Registration information, as well as make it a multi-step submission process. We’ll describe more about these features in a future article.
Go ahead and click “Create Custom Form” to create a custom form using our Custom Fields framework, as per the Custom Fields module you’ve seen in other parts of our software (like with Students, Teachers, Parents/Guardians, Admissions, Discipline, and Lesson Plans), feel free to add any number of fields that you’d like to track. You can control the field type, as well as whether the field is required.Read More »
QuickSchools is fantastic for managing complex records and reports, such as the files kept for special education students. If you’re looking at how to setup your account to work best, given a handful of special education students – or a whole school body – here are some of the ways that we recommend tracking information.
The Students module can store tons of information – here are a few of the ways in which to use it for Special Education
Managing Records & Files
There are quite a few features that might be helpful for tracking forms, files, and special accommodations. Here are some highlights…
Documents – this tab in the Students module is like an online file-folder as it allows for files to be uploaded and stored online, with the student’s primary record. It’s great for IEPs, 504-plans, or other official files – written accommodations or otherwise.
Medical – this tab in the student record is a tidy way to enter student medical information. For situations where there are special accommodations due to allergies, illness, or physical disabilities, the medical tab can be a clear and helpful way to track the information.
CustomFields – this particular section of the student records is super-flexible, so it can be used as a way to make notes on a file. For example, students’ record can have custom fields areas for writing out necessary accommodations, or leaving notes for other teachers about how to work with a student
Private Messaging– As a communication system for special education teams, Private Messaging is a very powerful tool. It’s easy to have just one thread for each student’s group of support people. Parents and students can also be included in their special education threads, if needed.
Grading
Because QuickSchools is so flexible, there are quite a few different ways of going about managing grades are reports for special education classes. Here’s some information on the different features in the system that might be helpful.Read More »
Many schools want to track specific items about a student’s attendance. For example, did the student leave early (“Early Dismissal” or “Half Day”), or was the student suspended. If a student is expected to be absent due to vacation or medical reasons, an administrator might want to note that down in the Attendance module, even if it’s several days in the future.
The current Attendance Module within QuickSchools is designed for a homeroom teacher or subject teacher to take attendance when class starts. Often times, the teacher does not know the reason why a student is absent or tardy. This is why, the Attendance Roster only has 5 available settings: Present, Absent, Tardy, Absent with Excuse and Tardy with Excuse (Note: some of these fields can be hidden or renamed based on specific requirements of your school).
Attendance Defaults to Not Yet Taken
Once attendance is taken, an administrator or office manager can review the attendance taken for the day, and make any adjustments based on follow-ups with the parent. So for example, if a student is marked “Absent”, the administrator or office manager would typically call the parent and verify what happened, and would then update the system accordingly (if the student is sick, for example, the admin can change the record from “Absent” to “Absent with Excuse” and add remarks).Read More »
Here’s an example of what the Montessori Assessment App can record for any particular student:
Montessori Assessment in QuickSchools
Record progress / observations on specific work goals / objectives. This includes the level of progress (Presented, Practiced of Mastered) as well as when the observation was made. You can even add comments.
You can also add general notes independent of the work list.
To install the app, just go the App Store, and review/install the Montessori Assessment App:Read More »
Wonderful news! We are now offering integration with QuickBooks Online via an App in the QuickSchools App Store. The app is still in private beta (as of Aug 11, 2014), so if you don’t see it on your App Store menu, please come chat with us to request access.
This first beta version will allow users to do the following:
Connect with your QuickBooks Online Account
Map products/services in your QuickBooks Online Account with Fee Tracking Categories in your QuickSchools Account.
Map customers in your QuickBooks Online Account with either students or primary payers (for Family Billing) in your QuickSchools account. If customers have not been created in your QuickBooks Online Account, you can export them (exported records will be mapped automatically)
Export Charges, Invoices and Payments from your Fee Tracking Module in QuickSchools into your QuickBooks Account
QuickSchools
QuickBooks Equivalent
Fee Tracking Categories
Products / Services
Students / Primary Payer
Customer / Accounts
Fee Tracking Charges, Invoices and Payments
Invoices and Payments
In this article, we’ll run through a few quick steps on setting up integration with your QuickBooks Online account. For a list of supported countries check out:
