LMS Updates

Attention Elementary Teachers! Your Course Template Toolbox Awaits! Explore the new "Getting Started" folder that will be on your Fall 24-25 Schoology course! Access a wealth of resources including job aids, student and parent guides, bulletins, and support resources to enhance your course management. 

Are you ready to take your teaching to the next level? Introducing Course Templates – your ultimate toolkit for effortless course organization and management. Dive into a world of pre-designed resources, tools, and time-saving features tailored specifically for elementary educators like you.

With the Course Template folder “Getting Started,” you'll discover:

• Pre-configured grade setup screens to streamline grading processes
• Accessible resources and job aids to enhance lesson planning and delivery
• Support services and tutorials to guide you every step of the way

Say goodbye to manual course grade setup and hello to a more efficient, engaging, and enjoyable teaching experience.

Attention all users! We're making improvements to user role access to the Learning Management System (LMS) Schoology. On July 26, 2024, the Personalized Learning Systems (PLS) department will conduct a user-role data clean-up to ensure employees are aligned with their school building and appropriate job roles. 

Why is this change needed?

The role data clean-up is needed to ensure employees have access to their assigned locations.  Employees have reported to the help desk that they are impacted by the number of unwanted announcements/notifications they receive from previous locations.

In addition, a security audit found that some employees’ roles may not align with the access they need. This clean-up process will give employees a clean start and ensure they have the appropriate user role for the LMS.

What does this mean for you?

All Schoology roles will be reviewed and reset to a default role at the end of each school year. 

• All roster-carrying teachers will default to a “Teacher” role and be granted access to their assigned school campus in accordance with the MiSiS Master Schedule. 
• All non-roster-carrying employees will default to a “Staff (Classroom)” role. 
• This change will not impact school site principals. They will retain the “Principal” role and be granted access to their campus.
• This change will not impact student or parent accounts.

What do you need to do?

All employees will need to go to https://oneAccess.lausd.net to request an elevated user role, if needed, for the school campus to which they are assigned.  Non-school site employees will request access to location 9999 as mentioned on page 2 of the oneAccess job aid for Schoology access. This process will need to be done at the beginning of each school year, as your role will automatically reset to the default roles mentioned above at the end of the summer school.

What’s new?

In addition to the role clean-up, all assistant principals will automatically be granted the new “Assistant Principal” user role. Automatically granting assistant principals access to Schoology will simplify the elevated role approval process.  

For inquiries or support, reach out to our help desk at 213-240-5200 Option 5, then Option 1 or view our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document at https://bit.ly/SGYRoleChangesFAQ.

We've got some exciting news for you starting January 2, 2024. When you log in, you'll notice a new and fresh look with more user-friendly icons and a layout that just makes sense. These changes will give you a new visual and enjoyable experience. Don't worry; everything still works the same way – we've just made it look better for you! https://bit.ly/SGYNewLook2024. PDF Flyer

We're introducing a time-saving enhancement for teachers. Now, teachers can seamlessly search for Common Assessments material items from Performance Matters (AMS) directly within Schoology Learning.

What's New?

With this latest feature, teachers can effortlessly locate the Common Assessment they need when adding Materials without ever leaving their Schoology course. No more time-consuming scrolling through assessments. Simply type keywords for the item you are looking for – it's all at your fingertips!

We are excited to announce a new feature that will simplify the process of accessing digital content through our Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Beginning August 2023, when a co-teacher is added through MiSiS Master Scheduling, they will automatically get access to core digital applications being used by the roster-carrying teacher. This means that co-teachers will no longer need to request access to individual applications, saving valuable time for everyone. The availability of core content applications will be phased in gradually, meaning that not all applications will be available on day one.

Additional communication will be sent out to ensure that everyone is informed before this feature goes live. This will include a list of core applications that will be available in the first release. Please note that there will be multiple releases for Phase 2 of this project. 

This new feature will enhance your digital learning experience and make it easier to collaborate with your co-teachers. Visit our FAQ document for more information.

If the co-teacher requires additional access to the course, apply for a higher Schoology role through oneAccess at https://oneaccess.lausd.net. Please refer to REF-098500, Attachment B, for a list of available roles.

We would like to inform you about an important update regarding your Clever account. As we approach the end of the current school year, we want to remind you that your existing Clever Staff access will expire on July 27, 2023.

To ensure uninterrupted access to Clever and its associated educational apps for the upcoming school year, we have implemented a new process. Starting August 1, 2023, you will need to request access through our oneAccess portal https://oneaccess.lausd.net. This simple step will allow us to update your account and provide you with continued access to the digital tools you rely on.

We understand the importance of a seamless transition and want to ensure you have all the necessary information. In the coming weeks, we will provide detailed instructions and additional information on requesting access through oneAccess. These instructions will be available on our website, so please stay tuned and check back regularly.

We greatly appreciate your attention to this matter and encourage you to take the necessary steps to secure access for the next academic year. By following the provided instructions, you can continue to leverage Clever and its educational apps to support your teaching and learning objectives.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we strive to provide you with the best possible support for your educational needs. Should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact our support team at 213-241-5200 (option 5, then option 1).

Have you noticed a new “waffle” icon next to your name in Schoology?  This new icon is called the “App Switcher.” The App Switcher is different than the current Schoology “waffle” icon. The “waffle” icon is made up of 4 boxes and is used to access digital content apps, while the App Switcher is made up of 9 boxes and is used to switch between Schoology and other PowerSchool applications used in L.A. Unified, such as Performance Matters’ Academic Monitoring System (AMS).

You can now add an exception to any Assignment, Discussion, Assessment, or Test/Quiz in your Schoology gradebook to denote that a student's submission has been Submitted. The Submitted exception allows teachers to mark an item as Submitted and easily enter a score at a later time. The Submitted icon serves as a visual reminder that the student has submitted their work but has yet to be graded. Marking an overdue item Excused, Missing, or Submitted will also remove the item from a student's Overdue notifications, preventing unwanted overdue notifications from being sent to the student and parents. Once a score is entered, the Submitted flag will automatically clear itself. 

Features:

Teachers can add a Submitted exception to any Assignment, Discussion, Assessment, or Test/Quiz in the Schoology gradebook to denote that a student's submission has been Submitted.

Advantages:

• It allows teachers to mark an item as Submitted and easily enter a grade at a later time.
• Students and parents can verify that an assignment was received by the teacher.
• The Submitted icon serves as a visual reminder that the student has submitted an assignment.
• Students and parents will not receive overdue notifications if the Submitted exception value is used.

The Personalized Learning Systems (PLS) department, in collaboration with MiSiS, will be enabling a feature for the start of the new 2022-2023 school year. The new feature will allow schools to add an “Additional Educator” in MiSiS that will automatically be added to the corresponding Schoology course. This feature will address the need to add a co-teacher, such as an RSP teacher, to a Schoology course.

PHASE I

• Available August 1, 2022
• Enable functionality to send the Additional Educator from MiSiS to the corresponding course in Schoology as a Co-Teacher.
• Co-Teachers will have access to the Schoology course using their current Schoology role.  

PHASE II

• Available in the early Fall 2023-2024 school year.
• Enable digital content access for Co-Teachers added through MiSiS.
• Access to most digital content apps via CLEVER only

If the co-teacher requires additional access to the course, apply for a higher role through oneAccess at https://oneaccess.lausd.net. Please refer to REF-098500, Attachment B, for a list of available roles.

Visit our FAQ document for more information.

The Personalized Learning Systems (PLS) department has released an update to the existing MiSiS Grade Passback application. The new MiSiS Grade Passback 2.0 is available to all secondary school teachers beginning January 11, 2022.

The MiSiS Grade Passback (MGP 1.0) app will no longer be available after June 30, 2022.  For more information about MGP 2.0, visit the MGP 2.0 Page

Schoology Annotation Assignments

A new feature is now available in Schoology!  Teachers can now create assignments that allow students to annotate directly on a file shared by the teacher. Teachers can use existing handouts and attach them to an assignment. Students can record their responses directly onto the file without having to download or print the document. You can find out how to use this new feature using the Annotations Assignment job aid found on our PLS website under Resources.

Teachers can now align learning objectives to any External Tool in course materials. Teachers can align Common Core, State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, or Custom Learning Objectives for elementary schools.

To align an external tool:

1. Select Add Materials > Add File/Link/External Tool
2. Select External Tool

*Notice the new Learning Objective section.

1. Select the Align button
2. Follow the learning objective alignment workflow to align one or more learning objectives to the External Tool. For elementary teachers, refer to the video on creating assignments.
3. Select Submit to create the new External Tool material. The aligned learning objectives appear in the course material view under the assignment title.

It is important to note that scores for an External Tool will be distributed across all learning objectives aligned to the External Tool material. Scores are not able to be applied differently to each aligned objective.

The LAUSD Digital Library app is now accessible through Schoology with your Single Sign-On! The LAUSD Digital Library is a collection of LA Unified’s online subscription databases for research. Access resources like Gale, EBSCO, Worldbook, and TeachingBooks within the app. You can find a direct link for this library through the App Center menu icon in Schoology. After clicking the LAUSD Digital Library app, you will be redirected to Clever to select the desired database you would like to use. 

Schoology’s Audio/Video recorder was previously an Adobe Flash plug-in application. Schoology has now upgraded its audio/video player to a new format. With this new update, you will experience a new look to the interface, and will no longer receive the prompt to download or enable Flash when using the recorder. The changes to the interface can be found in the linked document below.

Audio/Video Recorder Updates

Old View

New View

School-based certificated and classified employees can request Schoology user roles via the OneAccess application at https://oneaccess.lausd.net. Principals manage and approve staff requested roles using OneAccess. 

All certificated school staff are assigned a default system role based on their current HR assignment.  New roles and access will be active upon principal approval in OneAccess. 

A job aid for using OneAccess is available at http://bit.ly/OneAccessLMS. We also have a Schoology Roles and Permissions Guide with details about each Schoology role available.

School-based classified employees can request a Schoology account using the OneAccess application at https://oneaccess.lausd.net. When a Schoology account is approved by the school administrator, classified employees will be able to receive school-wide updates, join groups, and support instruction in the LMS.

 A job aid for using OneAccess is available at http://bit.ly/OneAccessLMS.

Beginning March 20, 2019, the Schoology mobile app and http://lms.lausd.net will include a new pathway for L.A. Unified parents, students, and employees to log in to the learning management system, Schoology. To improve the login experience for all users, you will now see a launch page and will need to select your role in order to be directed to the correct LMS or Parent Portal login screen.

Mobile App Login Guides:

• Mobile Login for Teachers and Students
• Mobile Login for Parents

Schoology will be introducing a new “User Experience” that is focused on “accessibility, responsive design, and creating a more modern experience.” This includes updated application user interface and design elements, new site navigation, course dashboard, and other changes to the homepage.

All LAUSD users will be transitioned over to the new experience on December 15, 2018. 

• Learn more about the new experience for Instructors
• Learn more about the new experience for Students
• Learn more about the new experience for Parents

Explore

• The New LMS Interface and User Experience - Part 1 (Video)
• The New LMS Interface and User Experience - Part 2 (Video)
• The New LMS Interface and User Experience - Part 3 (Video)

The Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology, now displays a student’s “preferred” first name entered in MiSiS. The Preferred Name field can be set in the MiSiS Identifying Information screen in accordance with the following District policies:

• BUL-5703.2, Name and/or Gender of Pupils for Purposes of School Records, dated July 17, 2014
• BUL-6224.1, Transgender Students - Ensuring Equity and Nondiscrimination, dated August 15, 2014

• Improved Text Highlighting for Assessments
• Improved Calendar View on iOS

Schoology is bringing a New User Experience to iOS, as part of their focus on making the Schoology App easier to use. You can see a preview of the new iOS experience here. The target date for this release is October 8.

In order to ensure that Schoology continues to provide a safe, secure, and optimal experience for users using Schoology on iOS or Android, Schoology is dropping support for older versions. As of September 2018, Schoology will no longer support iOS 9, Android 4.4, and any older versions. Schoology’s new mobile device support policy will be:

• Schoology will only support the latest 3 versions of iOS. Whenever Apple releases a new version of iOS (typically in September), Schoology will drop support for the oldest version it previously supported.
• Schoology will only support the latest 5 versions of Android. Whenever Google releases a new version of Android (typically in September), Schoology will drop support for the oldest version it previously supported.

To get the greatest functionality out of Schoology, it is always recommended to be on the latest mobile operating system.

This feature is a visual change to the layout of the pages students see when beginning an assessment, viewing their attempts, and viewing their submissions (no workflow change).  This new layout design provides students with a consistent, responsive assessment experience across both native apps and browsers.

» Learn more about Schoology Assessments

The ability for test/quizzes to be converted into assessments has been added. Users can choose which test/quizzes they want to migrate to the assessment format and perform this conversion in Resources. This will enable Schoology users to transition their existing test/quiz content into assessments and eliminate the time needed to recreate content.

» Learn more about Converting Test/Quizzes to Course Assessments

Instructors will now be able to upload audio and video files to question stimulus and responses, upload images directly to question responses, add calculator, ruler, and protractor tools to question stimulus and responses.

» Learn more about Uploading Media

» Learn more about Question Level Tools

This feature provides the ability to require students to enter a teacher-generated password before beginning or resuming an assessment or managed assessment.

» Learn more about Requiring Passwords for Assessments