User Guide (Administrators)

User Guide

(Administrators)

The English Tracker : Administrators The Schools

Development Group (2014) 1

The English Tracker by Schools Development Group is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.Based on a work at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

http://creativecommons.org/choose/www.schoolsdevelopmentgroup.org

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Version 1.1 Issued 11 th August 2014



Slide No Contents Summary of Content

4 – 9 Introduction and Rationale An overview of The English Tracker …

10 Diagram Visual overview of how the English Tracker is organised

11 - 14 Initial set-up of the English Tracker How to set The English Tracker up on your shared drive

15 - 18 Copying student information from Integris Copy information from Integris

19 - 22 Enabling Macros Security information

23 Custom Menu : Admin Tab Extra menu option for administrators (password protected)

24 - 25 Folder Selection How to link Student and Teacher files to The English Tracker

26 Import Integris Student Files How to import student information from csv files

27 - 29 Export Selected Teacher (Form) Files How to send files to teachers

30 Import all Teacher (Form) Files in selected folder How to retrieve files from teachers

31 - 36 New students and student leaving How to manage student movement

37 - 39 Updated Versions of the programme How to import data from old versions to new.

40 - 43 Creating Student Groups How to assign students to groups

44 - 46 Student Grade Data and Reports How to input grade data and run grade reports and graphs

The English Tracker : Administrators The Schools Development Group (2014)

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Introduction

The English Tracker has been developed as part of a joint project between the Schools Development Group and the Department of Education of WA.

The Schools Development Group is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1980 due to a need to provide exchange on co- operative teaching approaches and school design improvements. The activities of the Group have come from identified needs in public education by educators and parents in schools as well supporting education specialists. Visit www.schoolsdevelopmentgroup.org for more information.

The English Tracker is a culmination of two years work. The working party comprised of Administrators, Classroom Teachers and Literacy Specialists from schools across the state including Huntingdale Primary School, Highgate Primary School, O’Connor Primary School, Southern River High School, Duncraig Senior High School, Como Senior High School as well as Consultants from the Department of Education (WA).



Rationale and Aims

The purpose of The English Tracker is to provide teachers with a resource that assists with planning, teaching and assessment of the English contained in the Australian Curriculum (v7.0). It contains the Content Descriptions taken directly from ACARA documents. Each Content Description has been linked to checkpoints that have been carefully written as student behaviours that are observable and recordable.

The English Tracker has the facility to monitor student progress through the content and their assigned grades for each semester. It also has the capacity for teachers to write brief anecdotal notes about their students. An important function of The English Tracker is to be a resource that collects comprehensive data on literacy development for a whole school, year level, class and individual students. It is possible to roll the data over from year to year, thus providing a valuable means of effective communication between the admin team and teachers within a school. The English Tracker : Administrators

The Schools Development Group (2014)

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Modes and Sub-Strands:

The English Curriculum can be organised into:

•Modes: Listening & Speaking Reading & Viewing Writing

• Sub Strands: Language Literature Literacy

The English Tracker will allow you to filter to the content into either modes or sub-strands, or a combination of both. For example, Reading and Literature …..



Checkpoints and Teaching Points

There are checkpoints written for each Content Description. These checkpoints are observable behaviours that can be thought of as ‘tickable moments’ in the classroom.

Some of the checkpoints have teaching points that have been written by experienced Literacy Specialists. These are designed to provide further clarification of the Content Descriptor and often give examples that the teacher may encounter. These teaching points will be printed on the Year Level Overviews and be visible as a ‘mouse over’ on Student Achievement reports.





Moderation and Consistency• The accuracy of any whole school monitoring system is always dependent upon the

quality and consistency of teacher judgement. Moderation between teachers is essential if consistency is to be maintained. It is envisaged that the English Tracker will provide the catalyst for professional conversations around the planning, teaching and assessment of Australian Curriculum English and can be used as a basis for collaborative planning and the analysis of whole school strengths and weaknesses in the teaching of literacy.



A few notes:

• This program requires you to enable macros on your computer in order to read it. This is not possible if you have your security settings set too high. The setting needs to be medium.

• It is important that schools devise protocols for the effective sharing of files. The Admin version of the programme should be kept on a secure drive for admin use only and the teacher files should be kept on a shared drive that is accessible to all teachers and admin. The teacher files may be copied and updated elsewhere (eg at home or on personal laptops) ...but it is essential that all changes are re-saved into the shared drive and not re-named. Admin staff need to take care to only make updates to teacher files if it is the current file to safeguard against lost data.

• Always import teacher data before making any changes from the whole school admin copy. When you export any new teacher feedback files back to shared drive, this will overwrite any existing teacher feedback files.

The English Tracker Schools Development Group TEMPLATE

School Admin CopyContains data on all students in the school and is to be stored in a secure drive with Admin access

only

ReportsGenerated about achievement of Whole School,

Year Level, Classroom, Groups and Individual Students

Teacher CopyContains data on student in one class only and is

to be stored in a shared drive with Admin and Teacher access

Student data copied from

Integris

Import

Export



1. Create a new folder named “The English Tracker “Name of School Date” in a secure drive that is admin access only. Save the Tracker Template (.xlsm) to this folder. ( eg The English Tracker Huntingdale Primary School 010714)

2. . Create 2 sub folders in this folder. Name these:

i. Student Input (This will contain student details in csv files)

ii. Reports (This will be a holding folder for any reports that are run at particular times)

Initial set-up of the English Tracker



(Please note: If you also use the Maths Tracker, see slide 14 for alternative instructions )

Initial set-up of the English Tracker (your admin folder should look like this)



3. Create a new folder in a shared drive that all teachers and admin staff can access.

Name this folder “ENGLISH Teacher Feedback Files”

Initial set-up of the English Tracker



Admin Folder:•Template excel doc•Student Input•Reports

ENGLISH Teacher Feedback Files Folder:

(empty at this stage)

IN SECURE DRIVE IN SHARED DRIVE

Set up for both the Maths and English Trackers



Secure Admin DriveCreate one folder named Maths and English

Trackers

Sub Folders:

•Student Input Folder **

•English Reports

•Maths Reports

•Maths Tracker.xlms

•English Tracker.xlms

Shared DriveCreate one folder named Tracker

Teacher Feedback Files

Sub Folders: •Maths Teacher Feedback Files•English Teacher Feedback Files

** NoteBoth English and Maths Trackers will read the same csv files in Student Input Folder.

Copying student information from Integris

1. Open Integris. You are about to make a list of students for each year level. Using binoculars icon, identify the list of required students using drop down boxes. Click Find .

Using the Year group filter, search for each year level , one at a time.




2. Highlight all students in that group and click Select. This builds a ‘browse set’

3. Click the “Send Letter” icon (It looks like a letter and a pencil) then select“Produce a CSV file for use in subsequent mail merge”. Click OK.




4. There should be a message “building files” Save csv file in the Student Input Folder that was

created in the secure drive earlier. (eg Year K.csv, Year 6.csv)

5. Repeat this process until all year groups have been saved. Your Student Input Folder should now contain CSV files for all year groups in your school.




! Care ….. These files contain personal information about your students. Ensure they are in a secure drive.

The Tracker only requires the information in columns A – K of the csv files. You can highlight all columns L onwards and ‘clear contents’. This will delete sensitive information such as addresses, phone numbers and custody information.



Open The English Tracker...

In order to use the document, you will need to enable macros. Please ensure that the security settings on your computer are set to “medium” ....macros cannot be enabled if the settings are too high.





Enabling macros

Each time you open the file you will need to “Enable Content”



Enabling macros

Add-ins Tab A new tab called “Add-ins” will appear across top of page. Click this to view a custom toolbar menu containing the following tabs:

•Students•Achievements•Reports•Tables•Query•Utilities•Admin•Save/Quit

Enabling macros

This custom menu contains all functions that you will need to operate and maintain The English Tracker. It is not necessary to use any of the other standard Excel functions. (....in fact it is BEST not to)

As the Administrator, you now need to activate the Admin tab to display extra menu items.





Custom Menu : Admin Tab

This tab allows extra Admin menus to be displayed. Click Display Admin Menus. It is password protected. The password is PASSWORD (all caps) There is also an extra tab on left named “Folder Selection”

Folder Selection This tab is where links are made to your student input files (csv files from Integris) and also to Teacher Feedback and Reports Files.



1.

1. Click ‘Folder Selection’ and then ‘Select All’2. Click “Browse” button in Student Input row. Select the file you created in secure drive name

“Student Input” (don’t open it) 3. Repeat for Teacher Feedback and Reports Folders (remember the Teacher Feedback Files

are in a different drive) Click OK. The title page will be displayed with these links. Check that they are correct.

2 & 3



There should now be file paths recorded in rows 7 – 9.

Go to Save/Quit menu and save this file.

Import Integris Student Files



Click the Students Tab then click the “Import Integris Student Files”

You will see a message in bottom left hand corner of screen saying “Please wait ....importing student data”. When it is complete, all of the students in your school will be displayed in alphabetical order.

Click Utilities tab and then “View Title Page” to get back to title page.

You are now going to import your student details into the programme.

Export Selected Teacher (Form) Files



You are now going to export a copy of the programme for each class (form) in your school.

1. Using the Tables tab, click Form. You will see a list of all the classes (room numbers) in your school.

2. Type a Y next to every one of them that you wish to create a file for. Most likely, this will be all of them. Click Save this file in the Save/Quit tab

2.

. 1.

3.

3. Click Admin tab, then “Export selected Teacher (Form) files”.

4. You will see a message in bottom left hand corner of screen saying “Please wait....saving teacher file for Room ##, then progress through until all room numbers have been saved. The English Tracker : Administrators


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You have just created a teacher file for each class and they are saved in the folder named “English Teacher Feedback Files” that you created in the shared drive during initial set up.

At this point, go to Save/Quit tab and Close this file. Make sure you select “yes” to save changes. (It is best not to have the admin version open at the same time as a teacher file ....as it can be confusing)

Now go to English Teacher Feedback files (in shared drive) ....these are the files that your teacher can access to view and update their student information. Notice the Form and date issued information in cells with yellow background ......this colour differentiates a teacher file from the admin file (it is the only visible difference). Teacher files and Admin files work in exactly the same way...but Teacher files only have data for that particular class.

Import all Teacher (Form) Files in selected folder



The Teachers will now go ahead and update information on their files. At some point in time, usually at the end of a term or semester, the Administrators will want to collate the data back into the master copy kept in the secure drive. Make sure the teachers are aware that you are going to do this so that they have their updated files saved in the nominated shared drive.

Open the admin version of the programme. Display admin menus. Click Admin tab and then “Import all Teacher (Form) Files in selected folder”

There will be a message in bottom left hand corner of screen saying “Please wait, importing teacher feedback data from students achievement data entry for room ....” The teachers data is now saved into the admin version of the programme.

New Students and Students leaving your school

When a new student arrives:

1.Save a new csv file for that year level from Integris. Save this in Student Input folder. When computer gives message “File already exists, do you want to replace it...click yes.2.Open Admin menus on admin version in secure drive, using PASSWORD.3.Use Admin tab to “Import all Teacher (Form) Files in selected folder”4.Use Student tab to “Import Integris Student Files.”5.Follow procedure for “Export Selected Teacher (Form) ....but only place a “Y” next to the class that you wish to update with new student.

6.IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the teacher is aware that you are updating the teacher file. You need to be sure that the file is the current file and all teacher updates that have been made are saved.



When a student leaves:

1.Use the admin tab to select “Mark/Unmark students for deletion.



2. Identify the student(s) who have left. Click pink button “Mark selected students for deletion”



3. You can leave students marked for deletion, and archive their records periodically (eg: once a term) When you are ready to archive the students’ records and delete them from the student list, click “Delete and Archive students marked for deletion”



4. Browse your computer to select a folder to keep archived records.

A folder within the “Reports folder” may be a good place. Rename the archive file to a date or name of student…



An Archive File….has 2 sheets.

Sheet 1: Student DataThis contains ‘deleted’ student details

Sheet 2: Achievement Data This contains details of any achievements made by the students in the file. (These can be re-entered if the student returns. See Schools Development Group administration for more details ) The English Tracker : Administrators


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UPDATES It will be necessary to send updated versions of The English Tracker throughout the year. We will be making minor changes and upgrades as issues and concerns are raised. Updated versions will be placed in the Library of The EnglishTracker Connect Community. www.connect.det.wa.edu.au

When you receive an update, save it to the admin secure drive: 1. Open current admin version of the English Tracker. Display admin menus. Use Admin menu to “Import

all teacher (form) files in selected folder”. Close this file.

2. Open NEW version in usual manner and enable macros. Display admin menus.3. Use Admin menu to “Import all data from previous version of the program”4. This will prompt you to select the folder where current admin version is stored. Highlight the current

version and click open.



1.When all data has been imported, this message will pop up. Click OK. You should have students data and achievement data in the new file. Check by “View students by surname” and “View achievements”

2.You need to re - enter the file paths for the folders Student Input, Reports and Teacher Feedback files. Either open ‘old’ version and copy cells B7 : E9 on title page and paste this into cells B7:E9 on new version or…..

Click ‘Folder Selection’ , Display All, and then browse your computer for these file paths. (See Slide 23)

2

1



Please note: After importing data from current version to new version, it is an opportune time to ensure that all student details are correct. Add any new students and/or delete students who have left the school.

To export new Teacher Files:

3.In new Admin version, use Tables tab to select the forms (classes ) that require a new copy of the Tracker. Click ‘Tables’ then ‘form’ and place a “Y”

4.Use Admin tab to “export selected teacher (form) files”.



The English Tracker v1.1 has the capacity to group students into 8 different groups. Schools have the choice to label these groups as best suits their context and needs of the students.

As a suggestion, Admin could ‘pre label’ in 3 or 4 of these groups before exporting the Tracker to the teachers. For example, “ESL”, ‘Indigenous”, “Special Needs”etc… This would leave4 or 5 groups unlabelled and allow teachers to group their students according to working literacy groupswithin the classroom. Groups are always flexible ….and students can be in more than one group.

Student Groups

To label groups, Click on ‘Tables’ tab and select ‘Student Group’ Type in column B to change the title of each group



To assign Student Groups1. Click on “Students’ tab2. Select “Update Student Attribute data”3. Highlight a student4. Click yes (or no) for a particular group5. Click green “Update attributes” after each student.6. When finished, click Close. there will be a “Y” next to

students name in columns K – R as appropriate.

Students can be grouped by either admin or teachers.



Using Student Groups

Choose ‘Reports’’ Tab and Achievements Summary.

Choose the group for which you wish to run report.



The report will be labelled with name of group and the date of the report.

This function is useful for the provision for differentiation and IEP / GEPs



Student Grades Data

1. Use ‘’ Students’’ tab to “Update Student Grade Data”

2. Input grade data. You are able to select multiple students at one time.

1

2



2

Using “Reports” tab, Select “Grades reports and Charts”

View data by chart



In this view, if you double click on the numbers in the grade chart, you will see which students attained that grade.

This is a pivot table. Advanced users of Excel will be able to re-sort this table and drag categories around to compare groupings and data.

Double click on numbers to see student names

View data by count / percentage



User Guide (Administrators)

Documents

schools development

graphsthe english tracker

english trackerhow

english curriculum

administrators password

student grade data

copying student information

student movement