Teachscape Effectiveness Platform January 2013
Table of Contents About This Guide... 3 Document Conventions... 3 The Teachscape Learn System and Its Features... 4 Courses Offered in Teachscape Learn... 5 Navigate Through the Learn System... 5 Browse, Search, Register for, and Navigate Learn Courses... 6 Mark a Course Complete and View Completed Courses... 8 Drop a Course... 8 Manage Learning Plans... 9 Access Learning Resources in the Knowledge Base... 10 Continuing Education Units... 10 Create and Participate in Communities... 11 About Team Managers... 13 2
About This Guide This guide contains information about common tasks for users of the Teachscape Learn system. The information is presented in a question-and-answer format. For complete instructions on the Teachscape Learn system, refer to the Teachscape Learn User Guide. Document Conventions The following conventions are used in this document: Titles in instructions for clicking on buttons or links are in bold; for example: Click on the Start Observation button to begin your observation. In addition, boldface type is used to call attention to tab and page titles, other documents from Teachscape, or other areas of note; for example: From the Plans and Activities page, you can Items for consideration are listed with this heading: Note. System variables (items that change depending on your login or user type) are noted in italics; for example: Click on your name as shown in the upper-right corner of the screen. Teachscape system names are also shown in italics; for example: Teachscape Learn is a video-based professional learning system. 3
The Teachscape Learn System and Its Features What is Teachscape Learn? A learning management system comprised of a comprehensive course library for prek 12 teachers, learning communities, and video channels What are some of the main features of Teachscape Learn? Teachscape s Professional Learning Suite (PLS) for prek 12 teachers (content libraries that include courses, videos, assessments, lesson plans, sample student work, and more) Tracking of course registration and completion, certifications, and accrual of continuing education units Personalized Learning Plans Support for custom course publishing with third-party content Catalog administration for district in-service sessions (Instructor- Led, Web-Based, or Blended) Online learning communities to support collaboration Automated alerts and notifications Teachscape Channels: Search, view, and share from a prepopulated library of over 200 professional development videos organized by subject, grade, instructional strategy, and experts. District Channels: Build custom video libraries of best practices that can be viewed across the organization. These channels are set up and managed by your local administrator. My Channels: View videos shared by your colleagues, save and access your favorite lessons, and build your own custom best practices collections. 4
Courses Offered in Teachscape Learn What types of courses are offered in Learn? The Teachscape PLS includes web-based courses on a wide range of content areas and pedagogical practices. Teachscape courses typically include research-based content, video examples of classroom practice, expert commentary, and suggestions or opportunities for putting learning into practice. Your district can choose to offer courses in addition to Teachscape content. Your custom courses can include Instructor-Led training, Web-Based training, or a blend of the two methods. Navigate Through the Learn System What are the primary sections of the Learn system? Overview: View key parts of the system at a glance. My Learning: Manage your individual learning. Courses and Learning Resources: Access the course catalog and the Knowledge Base. My Communities: Access your communities or join new communities. Video Channels: View, share, and comment on lesson videos and build custom video libraries. Features include a library of 200 professional development videos. My Videos: Securely upload, manage, and view your own lesson videos and associated lesson artifacts. To access the My Videos tool, click on the My Videos link in the upper-right menu bar. Note: My Videos functionality is applicable to any users who will be uploading videos into the Teachscape platform. For users of Learn, files uploaded using the My Videos tool are also available in the My Channels library, which is accessible inside Video Channels in Learn. 5
Browse, Search, Register for, and Navigate Learn Courses How do I browse or search and register for courses? Click on the Courses and Resources tab to browse or search for courses included with the Learn system or developed by your district for local use. There are three ways to access content: 1. Browse In the Courses and Resources tab, click on the Browse Online Catalog link in the left-hand list. 2. Simple Search In the Courses and Resources tab, click on the Search link in the left-hand list. 3. Advanced Search In the Courses and Resources tab, click on the Search link in the left-hand list, and then click on the Advanced Search link on the right. Once you find the course you are interested in, click on the Launch button near the course title, which will open the course and register you for it. The course will also be added to your In-Progress Learning page. Click on the My Learning tab to open this page. How is the course catalog organized? 1. The Teachscape Professional Learning Suite (PLS) is organized into content libraries. 2. The Teachscape Professional Learning Suite Framework Edition presents the PLS in reference to the domains and components of Charlotte Danielson s Framework for Teaching. 3. Your district may manage its own content in Learn. Organization of district content will vary by district. Where do I find out how long a course is? Go to the Course Details page, and on the Main tab, review the information in the Scheduling Information area. The course duration for a Web-Based course is the approximate amount of time needed to read the online materials and view the associated videos. The course duration for an Instructor-Led or Blended course includes the amount of required in-class time, in addition to the time needed to view the online content. 6
How do I navigate through Teachscape courses? Navigate through Teachscape courses using the links on the lefthand side of the course window. A purple bar highlights the page you are on. You can also navigate using the Back and Next buttons. Checkmarks appear in the navigation list after you visit a page. A small video camera icon indicates pages with video content. Click on EXIT when you are finished. Your progress will be saved. After exiting (closing) a course, you will be returned to the Course Details page in the main Learn window. How do I exit a course? Click on the EXIT button to return to the Course Details page. How do I find my place if I closed a course without finishing it? Learn automatically bookmarks your last page, and when you relaunch each course, you will see a pop-up message asking whether you would like to be taken to the last page you visited. Where do I find a list of courses that I started (launched) but did not complete during previous sessions? On the My Learning tab, select the In-Progress Learning link to display all courses that you are registered for and have not yet completed. If a course is in your plan and you marked it complete, it will not be in your In-Progress Learning. 7
Mark a Course Complete and View Completed Courses How do I mark a course complete? From your In-Progress Learning page, go to the course listing you wish to mark complete. Click on More Actions to open the pop-up box. Click on Mark Complete in the selection list. The Completion Details screen will open. Set the status as needed and click on Save. Note: This is only available for courses that have been set to allow learners to manually mark them complete. Where do I find a list of courses I have completed? In the My Learning tab, click on Completed Learning. 1. The courses you have completed are listed at the bottom of the page, in the Completed Courses section. 2. (Optional) If you have a long list of courses, you can filter the list by selecting completion date parameters using the calendar tool or text box. (The date list defaults to the last 90 days.) 3. Select your course delivery type using the drop-down list, and then click on the Search button. 4. Search results are displayed in the Completed Courses section. Drop a Course How do I drop a course? Go to the Course Details Page. Under the More Actions heading, click on Drop Course. 8
Manage Learning Plans What is a Learning Plan? A Learning Plan can be a key component to organizing your professional development activities. You and your principal or other manager may collaborate on your Learning Plan throughout the school year. These items are found on the Plans and Activities page. All Learn user accounts come with a Learning Plan to which you or your principal can add courses. If your school or district has additional plans and/or also uses Teachscape Advance, the other plans will also appear in the Plans and Activities section. How do I access my Learning Plan? In the My Learning tab, click on Plans and Activities to list the plans that have been assigned to you. If you have multiple plans, you can sort them on the Plans List tab. How do I add courses to my Learning Plan? Click on the Add to Plan link for any course to add it to your Learning Plan, as follows: 1. Browse the catalog and click on Add to Plan in the Actions box near your course title. 2. When conducting both simple and advanced searches, you can click on the Add to Plan link in the search results list. 3. Browse to a course details page and click on Add to Plan in the More Actions box. 4. Open your In-Progress Learning page by clicking on the My Learning tab. Click on the title of a course in your list, and then click on Add to Plan in the More Actions box. Note: Launching a course adds it to your In-Progress Learning but not to your Learning Plan. 9
Access Learning Resources in the Knowledge Base Where is the Knowledge Base, and how do I use it? Use the Knowledge Base to upload and search for informal learning resources or district-owned documents. 1. In Learn, from the Courses and Learning Resources tab, click on the Learning Resources link in the left column. 2. The Browse Learning Resources page will open, showing the Knowledge Base set up by your district or school. 3. In the Item column in the center, click on a + sign to expand a category and see its contents. (The + will turn into a button; to close the category click on the button.) 4. In the Contents section on the right, you can do the following (both are optional): In the Name column, click on a link (a title) to open the details page for that item. Click on the Launch link to open the item, URL, or file in a new window. Continuing Education Units Can I get continuing education units (CEUs) for the courses in Learn? This is determined individually by each district. Please contact your local administrator or your instructional coach for more information. 10
Create and Participate in Communities What is a community in Learn, and what is it used for? A community is a forum for communicating with a group of users who have a common interest. Communities can be created to support many aspects of professional learning, including course-based communities, professional work groups, and private coaching teams. Can I contribute to a community that I join? Each community owner sets up the communityʼs features, such as the ability to add comments or participate in discussion forums. How do I search for and join a community? In Learn, click on the My Communities tab. Click on the Search and Join Communities link on the left to look for a community. You can search by multiple categories, including name, date created, owner, and type of community. Private communities will not be displayed in a public search. Results are displayed in a list. Communities can be based around a course offering, subject, school community, one-on-one coaching, or other topics. In the list, click on a Community Title to open its home page. How do I access communities I have joined or been assigned to? In Learn, click on the My Communities tab. On the list of communities, click on a Community Title to open its home page. Note: Your Team Manager or other district leader can also add you to communities that are created around a course offering. How do I leave a community that I am a member of? In your list of communities, click on the Leave link to leave a community. If you are a community owner, you will not have a Leave link next to the communities that you own. To leave a community, you must first transfer ownership of the community to another person. 11
How do I delete a community that I am the owner of? Go to the My Communities page and find the community in the list. In the Actions column, click on the red X to delete the community. What kinds of configurable features are available for Learn communities? A community owner can do the following: Configure the community home page (add a community title, photo, description, and shortcuts) Assign additional member moderators (Optional) Enable the Items tab for group attachments (Optional) Enable Discussions (topic-based forums for posting) (Optional) Enable the Q&A (s and s) section (Optional) Enable Wiki pages (team-edited web pages) How do I start a community? In Learn, click on the My Communities tab to open the My Communities page. Click on the New Community link on the right side of the screen to start a new community. Who owns each community? The person who starts a community is automatically the owner. The owner can transfer ownership to another user. Where do I find the communities I own? If you are a community owner, your communities (that you either own/manage or are a member of) are displayed in a table on the My Communities page. How do I edit my community settings or features? Go to the My Communities page and look for the community you wish to edit. Click on the pencil icon in the Actions column for that community. You can edit your community settings, description, and services such as Discussions, Goals, or collaborative wiki pages. 12
About Team Managers What is a Team Manager in Learn? What kinds of tasks do Team Managers perform? As a Team Manager in my district, how do I access the information for my team? In Learn, a Team Manager is anyone who has a team of direct reports (for example, a principal or vice principal). If you have been assigned management tasks in the Learn system, you will have access to the Team Overview drop-down menu on your Learn dashboard. Team Managers can do the following: View in-progress learning for their team Work with team members learning plans Assign learning to team members Access reports on team and individual activities Mark courses complete for individuals on their team Approve any course registrations that require approval A drop-down menu ( My Overview ) will be displayed for users with administrative rights and more than one role, such as Team Managers, instructors, or Learn administrators. This menu appears in the upper-right corner of the Learn screen. Team Managers or other administrative users must have Team Overview selected from the drop-down list in order to manage their team information. 13