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1 focus on my classes introduction echalk online classes support student success by using echalk class web pages teachers drive student learning give students direct access to assignments handouts presentations deadlines class materials and discussion boards day or night collaborate with colleagues share lesson plans ideas and materials with colleagues make parents productive partners keep parents informed about class activities upcoming deadlines and student progress let parents know what they can do to support student learning and provide them with helpful resources an echalk class page consists of four major components a monthly calendar an area to post a special announcement an area to post class resources documents web links surveys and web pages and an online discussion tool in addition you can create a member list for your class to provide access to the appropriate students and for emailing purposes in this guide create a class page learn how to maintain content on a class page add and edit members of the class learn how to change existing class page information contents 1 2 introduction creating an echalk class page 3 create a class profile 4 add students as members of a class page 7 define class management privileges working with class pages 9 adding work events 10 the homework drop box 14 the echalk class archive 16 adding class announcements 17 adding class discussions 19 adding class resources 24 grade publishing 25 using the members area 27 using the settings area 30 public 31 private to logged in users 31 private to class members 8 30 viewing class pages 33 troubleshooting faq updated 08/22/07 as

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2 focus on my classes creating an echalk class page to access the echalk class page feature log in and click the my classes button on the left side toolbar fig 8.1 the classes i teach page will display note my classes will only display on school sites getting started with echalk class web pages is an easy three-step process create class sections complete your class profile add members to your class figure 8.1 to create sections and visibility 1 log in and click the my classes button on the left side toolbar the classes i teach page will display 2 click the create a class button the create a class page prompts you to enter basic information about your class and the number of sections you teach 3 select the appropriate subject/course that best describes the class you are creating if you do not see a subject/course that describes the class you are creating click the select other subjects courses link to choose a different subject/course title 4 using the sections drop down menu select the number of sections or periods of the class you teach note by choosing multiple sections you will be able to easily share materials between your various echalk class web pages rather than entering the same information several times power tip not sure how many sections you ll need on echalk don t worry you can add new sections anytime 5 if you teach this class at multiple echalk school sites within your district click the 6 select sites link to choose other school sites on which you would like your class page to be available determine who will be able to see your class page by selecting an option from the this class will be visible to the following users drop down menu you can indicate if the information on your class web page will be visible to the general public from your school s homepage or if you only want it visible to the class members note if your school does not have student accounts it is important that all classes are public to the internet so your students can access the information 7 click start questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes creating an echalk class page 3 define a class profile the define class screen allows a teacher to insert detailed information about each section of a class being taught fig 8.2 to define a class profile 1 enter your class name the class name should be something easy for students and parents to recognize in the class pages directory e.g mrs smith s 3rd grade 2 enter the term start date and the term end date end date is optional click the reference calendar icon to view a calendar where you can navigate to the date you would like the class term to begin and end the term start date determines when the class becomes active and visible to others based on your visibility settings note you can enter a term end date if you know when the class ends for example if the class ends on the last day of school you could enter the date of the last day of school when a class reaches its term end date the class becomes inactive making the visibility of the class page private to your account and all class events archived figure 8.2 3 enter other optional class information in the appropriate fields 4 the taught by option allows you to include other faculty or staff as instructors of your 5 class page other instructors might include teachers with whom you co-teach or a paraprofessional who works in your classroom select the grades to which this class is taught note fields with a red asterisk class name term start date and taught by are required fields without a red asterisk are optional questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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4 focus on my classes 6 at the bottom of the page you can either select students from a simple grade-level listing by clicking the select students button at the next screen select your students and click the add to list button click finish to save the class page and member list or advance by clicking the next button and then clicking no in the pop-up window click finish to save your class page if you will not be adding students or see below for further instructions creating an echalk class page adding students as members of a class if your school is using echalk student accounts a teacher is able to select students as members of a class page there are two options to assist in the addition of members to a class fig 8.3 the first option enables the teacher to select the members from a list this option is more appropriate when creating a class that includes many members or when creating multiple class pages the second option enables you to manually type or copy and paste member names into a class and should be used when you have an existing electronic class roster or when adding a few members into an existing class figure 8.3 questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes to select members from a list 1 click the select members button to set your search criteria 2 click the select sites to search link at the top of the page to select students from other sites within your district 3 click the radio button next to students 4 optional select a grade to search from the grade drop down menu 5 optional select a status to search from the status drop down menu there are three status types disabled ­ accounts that are no longer active new ­ accounts where the users have never logged in active ­ accounts where the users have logged in 5 6 click next if you do not define a status to search a prompt will display asking would you like to add this set of users as a rule to your class note a rule will set the membership of your class to all users who fit your selected criteria for example if you set your search to user type student grade 12 all users on your echalk system with a profile setting of user type student and grade 12 will be added to your class if an additional 12th grade student is added to your echalk system in the future she will also be automatically added to your class 7 click yes to create a membership rule for the class 8 if you decide not to set up a rule for class membership click no and you will be taken to a screen of search results where you have the option to choose the members of your class if you choose this option then you will have to manually adjust your class membership to add additional users in the future 9 select the names of the members to add to the class by checking the box next to each student s name fig 8.4 and then click the add to list button the members you have just added will display in the add members page 10 click the finish button to save your member list or to delegate class page management privileges to class members follow the instructions in the next section figure 8.4 questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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6 focus on my classes to add members manually 1 click the add members manually button from the add members page 2 enter the first and last name of the contact e.g john smith or email address e.g jsmith@school.echalk.com in the add members box make sure each member s first and last name is separated with a space if a partial name is entered enter at least 3 characters of the member s first or last name if you are adding members from sites that are not currently displaying in the select sites section click the select sites link to select additional sites you may also enter the user id in the add member box to do this choose the id radio button and then enter each id on a separate line 3 click the ok button the members added will display in the add members page 4 click the finish button to save your member list or to delegate class page management privileges to class members follow the instructions in the next section questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes creating an echalk class page 7 define class management privileges you may want a trustworthy student or colleague to help you maintain your class web page he or she can update class events announcements and resources on your behalf by default the teacher creating the class or instructor has full management privileges see legend below therefore the fm box is checked for the instructor to give a class member management privileges 1 select from the fm mm or mc options see legend below next to the member s name fig.8.5 2 click the finish button figure 8.5 privileges legend fm full management mm manage members mc vo manage content view only can edit all class settings e.g add content edit member list can add and remove members of this class can add and edit all calendar events announcements resources and discussions can view all content including information posted for class administrators only these users will not be listed in the members listing or class directory questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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8 focus on my classes working with class pages after you have created the class profile the framework of your class homepage will display and is ready for you to post activities and homework an announcement resources and discussions you can make changes to the options you just indicated in the set-up process by clicking either the settings or members button on your side toolbar detailed instructions on how to edit an existing class page profile follow the class page is divided into four main sections work events an announcement resources and discussions fig 8.6 work events post homework assignments quizzes exams projects and events any content that is scheduled or that has a due date enable students to submit assignments electronically and access your event archive announcement post a class announcement or reminder use this area to recognize student achievement remind parents to sign permission slips share a problem of the week or display quotes and facts related to the class curriculum discussions create online discussion threads for the members of your class resources post additional reference material for students parents and other teachers resources can be links to sites on the web presentations and notes surveys or echalk template web pages figure 8.6 the following pages provide detailed instructions on adding content to your class page questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes working with class pages 9 adding work events the work events section is the calendar for your class where you can post homework assignments quizzes exams projects and events any event that is scheduled or that has a due date to add content to the work events section 1 click the add button at the top of the work events area 2 in the work event types page select the type of work or event you want to add and click next the add work event screen will display fig 8.7 3 indicate the due date for the assignment type the date in the mm/dd/yy format or select the date from the thumbnail calendar to the right note if this event repeats at any point in the year or takes place over consecutive days click on the repeat event link set up the repeat pattern for this event and click save to return to the add work event template 4 select an event type from the drop down menu if the appropriate event type did not appear on the previous screen the event type menu may contain additional event types added by your district select the visibility for this calendar event by selecting an option from the visibility drop down menu figure 8.7 power tip if you don t see the event type you would like to add to your calendar on the work event types screen contact your district site manager to customize this listing 5 note the class profile setting in the visibility drop down menu will use the same setting you have selected for your class page for example if you have set your entire class page to be public to the internet then any event entered with class profile setting selected will also be public to the internet 6 under event information enter a descriptive title for the work or event 7 enter any additional event details or descriptive text in the text/html field 8 you have the option of displaying this additional text directly on the calendar or in a 9 separate page select the radio button above the text box for the appropriate choice optional use the add image link or the browse button to add additional content to your work or event such as a picture from the echalk image gallery or a file such as a word document or a powerpoint slide questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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10 focus on my classes 10 optional enable the homework drop box by checking the allow students to submit completed work to this assignment box read more about the homework drop box feature below 11 if you have multiple classes or class sections you will have the option to share this event to those other class pages if you would like to do this select the appropriate classes under the classes heading 12 click the save button at the bottom of the screen the assignment will now be added to the work events section and to your class calendar click the assignment link to view the body of the assignment or to edit any of the assignment information working with class pages the homework drop box once a teacher enables the homework drop box a student can submit an assignment electronically all submissions are date and time stamped until 11:59 pm est on the due date students may continue to submit revised documents to the homework drop box only 1 document may be submitted at any time after this time submissions will not be taken teachers may log in and view assignments at any time to submit an assignment electronically the student must 1 log in to their echalk account 2 select the my classes button 3 select a class name e.g history 101 4 select the assignment under the work events section for which they are submitting work 5 click the submit assignment button fig 8.8 figure 8.8 questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes 6 there are two ways a student may access a file to submit upload a file from their local computer click the browse button and select the file to submit fig 8.9 transfer a file from their digital locker my files ­ click the add from my files button and select the file to submit optional type comments to be read by the teacher in the comments box click the upload button the student will receive a thank you response containing a confirmation number for their records fig 8.10 11 7 8 9 figure 8.9 note when this thank you response appears a pop-up window will also appear giving directions on how to print this page figure 8.10 questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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12 focus on my classes to view or collect an assignment that has been submitted electronically the teacher must 1 log in to echalk 2 select the my classes button 3 select a class name e.g history 101 4 select the assignment in the work events section for which you would like to view or save work 5 click on the view assignments button the view assignments screen will display fig 8.11 history 6 to view a student s assignment click on the appropriate submitted link when the submitted link is clicked the file download window opens displaying four download options download option #1 provides the option to open the file in a new web browser download option #2 provides the option to open the file in its registered application download option #3 provides the option to save the file to your computer to do this right click on the save icon or hyperlink and choose save target as download option #4 provides the option to save the file to your my files folder in echalk figure 8.11 7 to view his or her comment click on the adjacent yes link note all submitted assignment files are renamed by echalk to include the student s name with the original file name to better help you identify the file and stay organized 8 to download all submitted assignments to your local computer for review and grading select the select all checkbox and click save to save the assignments to a location on your computer when the save button is clicked the file download window questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes opens displaying the four download options again please refer to the directions in step 6 for a description of these options to view all assignments from one class where the homework drop box has been enabled 1 log in to echalk 2 select the my classes button power tip choose to download all 3 select a class name e.g history 101 assignments at once to save time and maintain organization of your files 4 click the homework drop box button at the top of the work events section the homework drop box page displays fig 8.12 showing all events for this class 13 figure 8.12 5 you may choose to display events of a specific event type by choosing the event type in the display drop down menu which defaults to all event types in use 6 you may search for a specific submitted homework assignment by entering the 7 8 confirmation number of the assignment in the confirmation field or by entering a keyword for the assignment in the keyword field additionally you may view events from a different class by clicking the view drop down menu at the top of the page and choosing the class for which you would like to view events in the submissions column for each event it will display the number of submitted assignments clicking on this number will take you to the view assignments screen follow the previous instructions for viewing and collecting submitted assignments questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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14 focus on my classes working with class pages the echalk class archive the echalk class archive stores every homework assignment exam project or other class event that you have ever created so that you can reuse it in another class or next term changing portions of stored events for reuse with another class rather than recreating new events every term saves time and effort to view your archived events 1 click on the my classes button in the left side toolbar 2 select a class by clicking the arrow in the view another class drop down menu at the top of your screen or click on the class name link in the classes i teach view 3 from the class page click the archive button that displays at the top of the work events section a list of all work events entered on the class page displays fig 8.13 4 to change the archived work events power tip you can also access your order click the column name link name class archive via the calendar button in type submissions last assigned the left side toolbar from your class page created last updated the default sort order is by the type of event class event exam homework project etc and then by the date last assigned events used in the current term display with a blue asterisk beside the title events with the homework drop box enabled are indicated by the homework drop box icon figure 8.13 5 to view another page of archived events click the next button located at the top of the 6 7 page to preview an event in the archive click the event s title to delete an archived event click in the box to the left of the event titles and click the delete button questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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focus on my classes note a confirmation window opens asking if you are sure you want to delete this event responding with yes will remove the event from the class page archive 15 important deleting an event from your class archive will permanently remove the event from your account and it cannot be recovered 8 to close the archive click the cancel button at the top of the page to reuse a past term s event and add it to your current class from the archive 1 from the archive page click an event title link that does not have a blue asterisk beside it the view work event page displays 2 click the next button the edit work event page displays 3 make any changes necessary date title visibility etc 4 once you re done making all your changes click the save button to add the event into the current term on your class page to add a current event to your class from the archive 1 from the archive page click an event title link with a blue asterisk beside it the view work event page displays 2 from this page you can do any of the following change the date of the event ­ select the change date link if the only change you need to make is the date on which the event displays edit the event ­ select edit if you would like to change the date title visibility or other event properties of the archived event note editing an event from the class archive will remove the original copy of the archived event copy the event ­ select copy if you would like to change the date title visibility or other event properties of the archived event and would like to keep the original copy of the archived event saved in the class archive delete the event select delete to remove the event from your archive close the event select close to return to the archive 3 after you have made your changes click save power tip to use archived work from another class select the class name from the view drop down menu in the archive screen questions contact support@echalk.com or 1-800-499-2741

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