Tool Search: Blended Learning

The Blended Learning tools provide a way to assign learning groups to students in an effort to limit the number of students in a building at any given time, to keep all staff and students safe, and still ensure that learning needs are being met. At its core, this functionality allows students to be on site at a building, virtual (learning from home or other location), or a hybrid learning set up. When situations change for students or the community, those groups can be easily modified to change the group setting for a safe environment. 

Several reports throughout the product also include Blended Learning Group information for students.

The following information provides an overview and summary of the available tools. See the linked articles and videos for detailed guidance. 

What do you want to do?

• I need to prepare my district for virtual learning.
• I need to change the attendance code used for virtual learning.
• I need to review and modify our current virtual attendance preferences.
• I need to copy virtual attendance preferences to other schools.
• I need to create and assign students to groups.
• I created groups, but need to assign students to those groups.
• I need to set which calendar days the groups are virtual.
• I need to alter the names and icons of the groups.
• I need to reassign the days certain groups meet.
• I need to modify which students are assigned to which groups.
• I need to change the start date of a group assignment.
• I need to right-size the number of students assigned to the groups.
• I need to modify one student's group assignment.
• I need to create reports that include blended learning information.
• I need to record and view student attendance for the attendance office.
• I need to see the student groups for my class sections.

Blended Learning Setup

Prior to using the Blended Learning tools, a few areas of Campus need to be modified. Attendance Codes needs to be marked for virtual attendance and preferences for recording virtual attendance need to be set. Also, review the System Preferences for enrollment and group behavior. 

Attendance Codes

Tool Search: Attendance Code Setup

Attendance records for virtual learning are not tracked as absent or tardy; instead, a student is either participating in virtual learning or is not participating. This is a similar concept to positive attendance, where a student is "present" or "checked in" to a course for an amount of time. 

An Attendance Code needs to be marked for virtual participation first. Then, Virtual Attendance Preferences can be set.

Option for Using Code in Virtual Course Participation

Virtual Attendance Preferences

Tool Search: Virtual Attendance Preferences

Virtual Attendance Preferences determine how and when teachers record attendance for virtual classes and how students and/or parents indicate they participated in virtual classes. 

These preferences apply only to the calendar selected in the Campus toolbar. Once selected and saved for that calendar, use the Virtual Attendance Preferences Copier Wizard to apply those same preferences to other calendars in the district.

The Preferences editor (1) allows for the enabling (or disabling) of Virtual Attendance and (2) determines whether virtual attendance data is posted and when, and if posted, what Attendance Posting Code is used (marked on the Attendance Codes editor).

Virtual Attendance Preferences

System Preference for Enrollment Behavior

Tool Search: System Preferences; Enrollments

A System Preference, called Cascade Enrollment End Date to Blended Learning Group Assignment End Date, determines whether a student's Blended Learning Group Assignment is ended when the corresponding Enrollment record is ended. 

When the System Preference for Cascade Enrollment End Date to Blended Learning Group Assignment End Date is set to Yes, adding an End Date to the enrollment record, whether manually on a single student's enrollment record or when using the Enrollment End Batch, Blended Learning Group Assignments are also ended for the same date. 

• When a student has overlapping enrollments, end dating one enrollment does not update the Blended Learning Group Assignments. There is no way to determine to which enrollment the Blended Learning Group Assignment is associated. 
• When an enrollment is marked as No Show, the student's Blended Learning Group Assignments are deleted.
• When an enrollment is deleted, the Blended Learning Group Assignments are deleted.

Ending an Enrollment Record with Cascade System Preference Turned On Ends the Blended Learning Group Assignment

Blended Learning Groups

Available tools for creating groups, adjusting groups and managing groups are available. Use the information following for a shorter description of the tools and the tasks that can be performed for each one.

Note that discussions with applicable staff (principals, teachers, attendance office, curriculum directors, etc.) should be had to determine how Blended Learning Groups are established. Think about:

• What is our purpose for using Blended Learning Groups (mandated virtual learning, general usage for easier management of students, etc.)?
• Will students remain in the same group for an extended period of time?
• Will assigned groups be changed for every student every month/week/term?

Create Blended Learning Groups

Tool Search: New Blended Learning Groups

After establishing Attendance Codes and Virtual Attendance Preferences, and determining whether Blended Learning Groups should end when an enrollment is ended, Blended Learning Groups for your schools/calendars can be created. This is done using the New Blended Learning Groups tool.

New Blended Learning Groups

When creating new groups, two options for student assignment are available - Manually add students to groups or Auto-assign students to groups. 

• Use the Add Students Manually option to select specific students for the group. Groups that require students to be hand-picked (students receiving services or seniors enrolled in PSEO, for example) should be created first.This eliminates those students from the auto-assignment process when the remainder of the student body is assigned to groups. This option should also be used for groups who are always on-site or always virtual.
• Use the Auto-Assign Students to Groups to create groups and let the logic of the tool assign students to groups. This option provides a faster way to create the groups and make assignments, but may require more shuffling of students after groups are created. 

All students who have an active enrollment in the selected calendars are assigned to groups.

Edit Learning Groups

Tool Search: New Blended Learning Group

Basic modifications can be made after Blended Learning Groups are created. 

Users can:

• Change the group's name. 
• Modify the color and icon assigned to a group. 
• End a group as of a certain date. Students in that group, if any, need to be assigned to a new group.
• Change the status of the group from Active to Archived. 

Edit Blended Learning Groups

Blended Learning Groups and Calendars

Tool Search: Day Setup

After creating Blended Learning Groups, the groups that meet on a particular day can be assigned to the Calendar Day. This is useful when a school does a hybrid instance of Blended Learning - where certain grade levels may be on-site for a couple of days during the week and virtual for the other days of week. 

On the Days editor, assign which groups are virtual for a particular day. Indication of a school day being virtual also prints on the Calendar Days Rotation Report.

Assign Virtual Groups to a School Day

Adjust Blended Learning Groups

Tool Search: Adjust Blended Learning Groups

The Adjust Blended Learning Groups tool allows users to change the rotation for group day assignments, and modify the name of existing groups and the start and dates of the groups. Group membership can also be modified from this tool. 

This tool can be used to modify entire grade levels or a subset of students assigned to a particular group. Use the Blended Learning Group Assignment tool to modify a single student's group assignment.

Adjust Blended Learning Groups

• Use the Student Group Assignment option to adjust the group membership and the start date of the group. Selected students are assigned to the group as of the entered date through the entered end date.
• The Group Day Assignment option adjusts the selected group's designation of being virtual or on-site on a particular day.

Manage Blended Learning Groups

Tool Search: Manage Blended Learning Groups

The Manage Blended Learning Groups tool provides the ability to backdate blended learning groups and to redistribute students to other groups. 

Manage Blended Learning Groups

• Backdating groups changes the start date of the group and updates all student group assignments in that group. There's a few important pieces of logic that pertains to student attendance records and calendar that should be reviewed prior to performing this action (detailed on the article above)
• Redistribute Groups moves students currently assigned to one group to another group on the entered start date. Groups can also be redistributed into other groups.

When moving students to other groups and modifying group start/end date, there's a potential for gaps in student group assigned to be created. The Blended Learning Groups Gap and Overlap Report identifies a gap or an overlap in a student's assignment to a Blended Learning Group.

Student Information and Blended Learning

Several Student Information tools include reference to the student's assigned Blended Learning Group. The group itself can be managed on the Blended Learning Group Assignment tool, where modification of the group only affects the selected student. 

To update the group assignment for multiple students, use one of the Blended Learning Group tools mentioned previously.

Student Blended Learning Group Assignments

Tool Search: Blended Learning Group Assignments

A current and historical list of the student's Blended Learning Groups displays on the Blended Learning Groups Assignments tool. This tool provides an easy way to find which group the student is currently assigned to, edit the group assignment, and assign the student to a new group. 

Student Attendance

Tool Search: Attendance

When a student has an attendance entry for a day when their assigned Blended Learning Group that is virtual on that day (the Blended Learning Group is assigned to the Calendar Day), a Blended Learning Group icon displays next to the date for that attendance entry. 

Student Schedule

Tool Search: Schedule

When a student is assigned to a Blended Learning Group that meets on the day that is being viewed (Blended Learning Groups are assigned to Calendar Days), a label of Virtual displays in the Day, Week and Agenda views of the Student Schedule. 

Student Schedule - Day View

Also, the Walk-In Scheduler displays the Blended Learning Group name when hovering over a placed section after adding a requested course.

Walk-In Scheduler

Student Profile

Tool Search: Profile

A Virtual indicator displays in the Attendance Details when the selected date is a virtual attendance day for the student. 

RTI Batch Setup

Tool Search: RTI Batch Setup

The RTI Batch Setup tool is used to assign intervention plans to a group of students. A list of historical RTI batches display on the list screen. Students can be added to a batch by their assigned Blended Learning Group.

Attendance Tools

The process for recording attendance is the same with Blended Learning Groups as it is without Blended Learning Groups. Teachers record attendance as present (participating) or absent (not participating), or students can mark themselves as present (participating) in a class that's virtual. Then the attendance office assigns excuses to attendance entries. 

Classroom Monitor

Tool Search: Classroom Monitor 

Staff can record attendance for virtual students using the Classroom Monitor. There's a little bit of setup required to allow student (and guardian) check in for a class. Review the Classroom Monitor for complete details.

Daily Attendance

Tool Search: Daily Attendance Processing

When recording attendance for a course section using the Daily Attendance tool, the student's active Blended Learning Group icon displays next to their name when the student is participating in virtual classes for the selected date. Hovering over the icon displays the name of the Blended Learning Group. 

Daily Attendance Virtual Icons

Instruction Tools

Teachers can see which students are virtual for a day by noting the virtual icon that displays next to the student's name on the Roster and on Student Groups. The Blended Learning Group icon/flag also displays next to the student's name on several Instruction reports. 

Taking Attendance

Tool Search: Teacher Attendance

The teacher's attendance view divides students into Physical and Virtual sections. The options for recording virtual attendance vary depending on these settings.

See the Campus Instruction Attendance articles for more information.

Scheduling and Courses

Tools in Scheduling and Courses include summaries and visual differences when locating Blended Learning information.

Section Roster

Tool Search: Section Roster

A Blended Learning Group Summary displays at the top of the Section Roster, and lists the names of the different groups to which the students are assigned, broken down by gender. 

Section RosterBlened Learning Summary

This summary can also be included when using the Print Options to generate a report of the section roster by marking the Show Blended Learning Group Summary Display Option and the Blended Learning Group Student Options.

Attendance (Section)

Tool Search: Section Attendance

The Section Attendance tool separates students who are Physical Students and Virtual Students. Virtual students are assigned to a Blended Learning Group that meets virtually. See the Add Section Attendance Records for Virtual Students for guidance.

Section Attendance - Recording Virtual Students

Portal

Tool Search: Display Options

To show Blended Learning Groups in Campus Student/Campus Parent, the Display Blended Learning Group Name option must be marked on the Display Options.

Other Blended Learning Information

Make sure the appropriate staff are assigned the appropriate tool rights to Blended Learning tools. And, for those staff who are responsible for building reports, note the available options for Blended Learning information available in Ad hoc Reporting.

Tool Rights for Blended Learning Groups

Tool Rights: User Management

The following tool rights related to Blended Learning.

Virtual Attendance Preferences Tool Rights

Blended Learning Ad hoc Reporting Information

Tool Search: Filter Designer

Blended learning information is available in the Query Wizard for Student Data Type. Fields are available in the Learner > Blended Learning folder. Fields exist for the student's Active Group Assignment and All Group Assignment.

Blended Learning Ad hoc Fields