Intro to Skyward: Preferences & Settings

Summary

This video offers a concise tour of Skyward, an educational platform, focusing on the student, finance, and employee portals. It highlights customization options like color themes and font sizes, emphasizes the importance of using Skyward's save and back buttons for data security, and delves into the teacher access portal's features, including gradebooks, student information, and attendance tracking. The script also covers the use of 'Expected Levels of Performance' for elementary Mastery grading, providing a visual color-coded progress report for students.

Takeaways

• 🌐 There are three types of Skyward portals: Skyward Student for housing student data, Skyward Finance for school financial matters, and Skyward Employee for HR purposes.
• 🎨 Users can personalize their Skyward experience by changing the interface color through the preferences menu.
• 🔍 Skyward does not automatically save changes, so it's crucial to always press the 'save' button to ensure data is retained.
• 🚫 Avoid using browser navigation buttons like refresh or back, as they can disrupt the secure portal and may log you out.
• 📚 The 'Teacher Access Portal' is the primary area for teachers, containing grade books, student information, and attendance features.
• 📝 Teachers are advised to take attendance twice a day, once in the morning and once in the second home room, although the latter is not recommended for other activities.
• 📊 The 'Gradebook' is a central tool for managing student grades and assessments, with options to customize how grades are displayed and sorted.
• 📑 The 'Expected Levels of Performance' (ELP) feature is unique to elementary education, offering a color-coded system to quickly assess student mastery.
• 👥 'My Students' provides a comprehensive list of student details, including family members, login information, and special needs indicators.
• 📅 'Conference Scheduler' is used for organizing parent-teacher conferences, a feature utilized twice a year.
• 📝 The 'Message Center' allows teachers to send emails to all parents in their class, though it's noted that other platforms like ParentSquare are often preferred.

Q & A

What are the three types of Skyward portals mentioned in the video?

The three types of Skyward portals mentioned are Skyward Student, Skyward Finance, and Skyward Employee.

What is the purpose of Skyward Student portal?

The Skyward Student portal is used to house student data, and it is typically accessed by teachers to manage and view student information.

Why might a school secretary have access to Skyward Finance?

A school secretary might have access to Skyward Finance to handle financial matters related to the school, as it is the financial portal of the Skyward system.

What is the main purpose of the Skyward Employee portal?

The Skyward Employee portal serves as the HR portal where employees can access human resources-related information.

How can a user customize their Skyward interface according to the video?

A user can customize their Skyward interface by changing the color scheme through the preferences menu, next to where the user's name is displayed.

What is the importance of using the save button in Skyward?

The save button in Skyward is crucial because the system does not save changes automatically; users must manually press the save button to retain any modifications they have made.

Why should users avoid using their browser's refresh or back button while in Skyward?

Users should avoid using their browser's refresh or back button in Skyward because it is a secure portal, and using these buttons can result in being logged out or losing unsaved data.

What is the primary function of the 'My Students' section in Skyward?

The 'My Students' section in Skyward lists all the students, providing access to their information, including parents, siblings, computer logins, and passwords.

How does the 'Post-Daily Attendance' feature work in Skyward?

The 'Post-Daily Attendance' feature allows teachers to take attendance for their students, with options to take attendance by name or by using a seating chart view.

What is the significance of the 'Expected Levels of Performance' (ELP) in Skyward's gradebook?

The 'Expected Levels of Performance' (ELP) in Skyward's gradebook is a feature that color-codes student grades to indicate their mastery level, helping teachers quickly assess student progress at a glance.

How can teachers use the seating chart in Skyward for attendance purposes?

Teachers can use the seating chart in Skyward to visually manage attendance by clicking on student photos and names, which can be helpful for quickly learning student names or for substitute teachers.

What is the difference between the two Home Rooms in Skyward's attendance feature?

In Skyward, the first Home Room is used for taking morning attendance, while the second Home Room is a system requirement and should not be used for attendance or other activities, as it may not save or function properly.

How can teachers switch between different grade books in Skyward?

Teachers can switch between different grade books in Skyward without having to log out and log back in by using the grade book switcher feature within the system.

What is the function of the 'Message Center' in Skyward?

The 'Message Center' in Skyward allows teachers to send emails to all the parents in their class, although the script mentions that some schools may use alternative methods like ParentSquare.

How can teachers customize the display of student names in the gradebook?

Teachers can customize the display of student names in the gradebook by choosing options such as suppressing names for privacy, listing them by first or last name, or using a shortened version.

What does the 'Modify Grade Sheet Sequence' feature allow teachers to do?

The 'Modify Grade Sheet Sequence' feature allows teachers to change the order of students in the gradebook, which can be helpful when new students join or existing students change seats.