Homework Admin and Homework Listing Tool Overview There is a Homework Admin and Homework Listing tool for both the main website administration and for faculty accounts. In the main website admin the Homework Admin creates the assignment types. The Homework Listing tool can be added to any main website page and display assignments from multiple teachers either by groups or by grade levels. More than one listing tool can be used on the same or different pages. This will allow the district to customize the way assignments are made available to the public viewer. On the faculty side the Homework Admin is for the teacher. They add their class sessions and assign grade levels to those classes. The assigned grade levels are important to flexibility of displaying assignments on the main website pages and allowing the teacher to check on the number of Major homework assignments already scheduled by other teachers in their building. Using the Homework Admin calendar the teacher adds assignments just the way events are added in the Calendar Admin. The faculty side Homework Listing tool will only display assignments created by the teacher. However the tool allows the teacher to specify which classes to display, so all classes could be displayed using a single tool or multiple tools can be used on the same or different pages. Homework Admin and Homework Listing Tool Overview Main Website Admin Tools Homework Admin - Main Website Admin - Steps to set up homework types Homework Listing Tool - Main Website Pages Faculty Homework Admin and Listing Tools Homework Admin - Faculty pages Homework Listing Tool - Faculty Pages Main Website Admin Tools Homework Admin - Main Website Admin - Steps to set up homework types 1. First give permissions to the module itself in the Users Database or left side link Homework Admin will not show. i. In the Users Database search for the individual whose account should have access to the Homework Admin ii. Click on the pencil icon to edit the account iii. Click on the CMS4Schools tab and then the Web Site Administration subtab iv. Check the box just to the left of Homework Admin v. Scroll down and click the Save button. vi. Click on the CMS4Schools button to return to your main web site admin screen. 1
2. To add homework types i. Click on the left-side link Home Work Admin to access the Homework Types window seen in the left side screen shot below. The table will be empty if this is your first time using the Homework Admin. Click on the Add Homework Type link to see the right side screen shot below. ii. In the Add Homework Type window 1. Key in a name for the Homework Type you want to create. Keep the name descriptive and relatively short because you are creating the items for the dropdown list the teachers will choose from when they designate a Type for the assignment they are creating. 2. The Is Default check box should be checked for the Homework Type that you want to appear at the top of the drop-down list. In other words the most common type of assignment. This means that when creating the majority of of their assignments the teacher will not have to change the item in the drop-down list. NOTE: Only one Homework Type can be the default. You will be able to see which "Homework Type" is default in the Homework Admin table (see the left side screen shot above.) 3. The Is Major check box was designed to help balance the number of assignments assigned to a single student that could have a major impact on their grade. By checking this box other teachers will know about the assignments during the same date range and can plan accordingly. 4. Click the Add button. Repeat until all Homework Types have been added. 2
Homework Listing Tool - Main Website Pages 1. Add the Homework Listing Tool to the page where the assignments should display, just as you would any other CMS4Schools page detail tool. You may want to have a Text/Graphic Editor above the Homework Listing Tool describing what the public view is seeing and their options. i. The Edit link at the top of the tool will let you control the status of the tool by setting it to either Active (default) or inactive. ii. The Edit This Homework Listing's Properties link is where you will choose which assignments to display. The default is all groups and all grades. 1. Groups are created in the Users Database. a. This link goes to the Users Database help manual http:// support.4schools.net/cms_files/resources/user%20database%202- edited1.pdf Groups are covered on pages 22-23. b. You can use groups to display the assignments from selected teachers. For example you could create a group for each building in your district, groups by subject area, groups by house or any other grouping that will meet your needs. 2. Grade levels lets you display assignments using the grades teachers attach to their class sections. See Homework Admin - Faculty pages. Classes with multiple grades attached will show in the listing for each of the grade levels. 3. Look at the screenshot below to see the window that opens allowing you to check your selections. 2. The Homework Listing tool options include: i. Keyword Search will search for class, teacher, assignment, and description. When searching for a keyword the search will look for the keyword in assignments that occur between the dates displayed. If you want to find all of the assignments containing the keyword set the dates to span the entire school year. Keep in mind, the more restrictions you apply to your search the less likely you are to find it. It s best to keep the date range fairly wide. ii. Select the date/date range to display. The dates will default to the current date. Use the date picker or key in the dates. Be sure the End Date does not come before the Begin Date or you will not see any assignments listed. iii. Print options include two choices: 1. Print Short List which displays the printable (CTRL-P) table with Class/Section, Grade, Teacher, Assignment title, and Due Date 2. Print Expanded List which includes same information as short list with an additional row that includes the Description from the Text Editor and lists the attachments and links. 3
Faculty Homework Admin and Listing Tools Homework Admin - Faculty pages 1. Add classes / sections - This will probably need to be done at the beginning of each term for the first year that you use the Homework tool. Classes can be made inactive and reactivated at a later date. i. Click the Edit Classes / Sections link above calendar ii. Click on the Add Class /Section link shown in the screenshot on the left below. iii. In the Add Class / Section window shown below on the right, key in a name. ( You may want to make a new class for each section in case a section does not meet when the others do) iv. Check appropriate grades. (This is important for displaying assignments on the main website side. You would check all the grades levels possible for students attending that class.) v. Check the Active check box. Removing the check at a later date would let you save the class for another term without deleting the class and having to recreate it. Inactive classes will not display in the Homework Listing tools. You will not be able to delete a class if it has assignments in it for a future date. vi. Click the Add button. vii. Repeat steps ii - vi for each class. 4
2. Adding assignments to the Homework Calendar - You will add assignments for all classes to the calendar in your faculty Homework Admin. The homework Listing tool is added to a web page to display assignments for all or selected class sections. See the screenshot on the next page. i. Adding an assignment is just like adding an event to the calendar in the Calendar Admin 1. Click the date link for the day you want to add the assignment (click on the 6 on May 6) 2. Key in a name for the assignment - required 3. Pick class/section from the drop down list - required 4. Assign a date - defaults to current date but can change using date picker or by keying in date - required 5. Assign a due date using the date picker or key one in - optional 6. Homework Type - When the assignment is a Major type as defined by the main web site admin, a link will appear so the teacher can check on other Major type assignments made by other teachers for students at the same grade level. 7. Description - use the Text/Graphic Editor, the same one used as page detail tool, to add any information needed to explain the assignment details. - optional 8. Attachment(s) - one or more attachments may be added to the assignment. a. Browse to select file. The file types that can be attached are governed by the Allowed File Types option controlled by your main web site admin. b. Title - while optional it is a good practice to provide a title since it helps your website visitors understand what they are downloading to their personal computer. c. Multiple attachments are allowed, simply use Add Another Attachment link and repeat the process. 9. Link(s) - one or more website links may be added to the assignment. a. Key in or for accuracy paste in the URL i. Title - while optional is good idea to use. It will give your web site visitors an idea of what to expect when they follow the link. ii. Be sure to test the link to make sure it goes directly to the page 5
you want your students to access. b. Multiple links are allowed, simply use the Add Another Link and repeat the process. 10. Recurrence - you can use the recurrence options to have the assignment display on the dates you desire without re-keying in the assignment details. The options are: a. None b. Daily - assignment will repeat everyday until the end date, entered with the date picker or keyed in. c. Weekly - options allow you to choose from one to eight weeks before the assignment is repeated, which day(s) of the week to display and to select the end date. d. Monthly - options lets you pick which week(s) of the month, and on which day(s) of that week to display the assignment until the end date that can be added via the date picker or keyed in. e. Select Your Dates - use the date picker or key in up to 40 dates. This is option is designed for use when there is no clear pattern of repeating dates. 11. Be sure to click the Submit New Assignment button to save entry 6
Homework Listing Tool - Faculty Pages Use this tool to display the assignments you have added to the Homework Admin calendar. 1. Add the Homework Listing tool to the Faculty page where assignments should display. You may display the assignments for all or selected class sections on a page. i. Click on the Edit This Homework Listing's Properties link ii. Check which class/sections should be displayed on that page iii. Click the Update button. 2. Visitors to the web page will be able to (see the screenshot below): i. Select which Class Section to view from the drop down list. If only one class section is checked in the properties for the tool, the name of the class section will display and there will not be a drop down list. ii. Key in a date, the current date will be the default iii. Use the checkboxes to display specific Homework Types, the default is all types. iv. Expand the Assignment link to see the description and to access the attachments and links for the assignment. v. Use the Previous and Next links in the colored header bar to access the past and future weeks of assignments. 7