Curriculum Guides allow administrative users to create guides which house web pages that can be shared with and used by teachers. Curriculum Guides / web pages are built using News (posts), Units & Lessons, Resources, and Settings. For resources, users can create files, links, and folders. In settings, the web page is enabled by default when created, but can be disabled. In addition, users can create units and linked lessons based on a web page.
In order to create and edit curriculum guides, you must have View permission set via Users > Profiles > Users tab, which acts as view and edit since you are the only user who will have access to your web page.
1. In the Users menu, click Curriculum Guides.
2. Click + New Guide.
3. To begin creating the new web page, start by entering a tite in the Page Title... text box.
4. To add an image to the web page, click the blue pencil in the image section.
You can select from the existing System Images. upload an image, or take a photo with your webcam. Click Choose a file or drag it it here to browse for an image on your computer. You can also drag and drop the image into the Your Images section. Click Take Photo to take a photo using your computer's webcam.
5. Enter a Curriculum Guide Description in the provided text box to display a Public description for the web page, which will display for all users who can view the web page.
6. Click the Internal tab to add a Curriculum Description that will be viewable only to you.
7. Click Save.
You can add news posts to your guide, which displays as part of the guide and can serve as a way to add updates and check-ins; if enabled, students and other users can comments your posts.
1. To add a post, click + New Post.
2. Enter the Post Title in the provided text box.
3. Enter the post in the Post content text box.
The post text box allows you to bold, italicize, underline, and strikethrough text, as well change the font type and size, format in bullets, add background color, add a table of information, add a link, picture, video, and more.
4. If you want to specify profiles that should have access to the web page post, select the appropriate profiles from the Visible To pull-down. To allow both the Parents and Students profiles access, leave it to the defaulted selection, All.
5. Select Resources to link to the web page or lesson post from the pull-down. Selected Resources display at the bottom of the post when being viewed by other users. Note: The Resources pull-down is only available if Resources have been created from the Resources tab.
a. Hover over the resource link to view more information.
b. Click the resource link to open the resource file, link, folder, etc.
6. Select the Send Notifications check box to send a notification to the Community App if your district us using the mobile app (when adding a post).
7. To post the entered information to the web page/lesson, click the Post button.
Click Cancel to discard the post.
8. Once posted, your post will immediately display. To edit the post, click Edit in the header of the post.
9. Click+ New Post to add another post.
As posts are created, they display with the newer posts at the top.
10. Click Back to Curriculum Guides List to navigate back to the main screen from the Web Pages screen or click Back to My Web Pages from a Lesson.
If comments are enabled for web pages from the Settings tab, students/teachers can create comments on posts.
1. If students or other users have added a comment on the post, click the [1] Comments link to view them.
2. Click Comment to add a comment.
a. Enter your comment in the Post content text box.
The post text box allows you to bold, italicize, underline, and strikethrough text, as well change the font type and size, format in bullets, add background color, add a table of information, add a link, picture, video, and more.
b. If you want to specify profiles that should have access to the web page post reply, select the appropriate profiles from the Visible To pull-down. To allow both the Parents and Students profiles access, leave it to the defaulted selection, All.
c. To post the comment on the post, click the Comment button.
Click Cancel to discard the reply.
d. Once posted, your comment will immediately display. To edit the comment, click Edit in the header of the post.
3. Click Reply to reply to the comment made by the student/user.
a. Enter the post in the Post content text box.
The post text box allows you to bold, italicize, underline, and strikethrough text, as well change the font type and size, format in bullets, add background color, add a table of information, add a link, picture, video, and more.
b. If you want to specify profiles that should have access to the web page post reply, select the appropriate profiles from the Visible To pull-down. To allow both the Parents and Students profiles access, leave it to the defaulted selection, All.
c. To post the entered reply to your web page, click the Comment button.
Click Cancel to discard the reply.
d. Once posted, your comment will immediately display. To edit the comment, click Edit in the header of the post.
4. Select the Hidden check box to hide the comment from other students. Clear the selected check box, to make the comment visible to others.
5. Click Hide Comments to hide the comments made on the post.
The Units & Lessons tab allows users to create units and linked lessons based on a web page. When Units and Lessons are created, users can then create News posts and upload Resources per unit and/or lesson, as well as continue to add News posts and Resources to the main Web Page.
Units and lessons created display via the user's Calendar based on the user's selection from the the Display pull-down to Show Lessons and/or Show Units, in addition to gradebook assignments and classroom sections.
1. Click the Units & Lessons tab to switch from the About tab to units and lessons as they pertain to the selected web page/ curriculum guide.
2. To begin creating a Unit, enter the unit's Title in the provided text box.
3. Enter the Length (days) of the unit; the length defaults to 1.
4. Enter the State Date of the unit. The Start Date of the first unit created defaults to the first date set for the selected marking period via the marking period pull-down located in the header (such as quarter).
The Start Date for any additional units defaults to the first school day following the End Date entered for the prior unit.
5. The End Date automatically populates based on the Start Date entered and the Length (days) entered.
6. Select the Published check box to publish the lesson on the parent/student Calendar.
7. When all information has been entered, press the Enter key. Click the Save button to save the unit entered and begin adding lessons to the unit.
Once saved, the unit turns blue and displays in a panel on the right of the screen.
8. Once saved, click the Lessons button to add lessons to the unit.
Clicking the Lessons button while the unit is still yellow will cause an error. Be sure to click the Save button before trying to add lessons.
9. In the Lessons pop-up window, start by adding the lesson Title in the provided text box.
10. Enter the Length (days) of the unit; the length defaults to 1.
11. Enter the Start Date of the lesson. The Start Date of a new lesson defaults to the Start Date of the unit or the first school day following the End Date entered for the prior lesson.
12. The End Date automatically populates based on the Start Date entered and the Length (days) entered.
13. Select the Published check box to publish the lesson on the parent/student Calendar.
14. When all information has been entered, press the Enter key. Click the Save button to save the lesson entered and begin adding posts, resources, etc.
Once saved, the lesson turns blue and displays the View folder.
15. Click the View folder icon to publish news posts, add resources, add images, and more.
Here you can customize the lesson by adding a lesson image, lesson details (About), Resources, and Standards. For more information see Adding Lesson Details, Adding Posts, Adding Resources, and Adding Standards.
16. You can customize all units and lessons created by clicking the unit or lesson name displayed in the web page panel on the right of the screen.
1. From the attached Units & Lessons in the right panel, click the Unit or Lesson to be viewed and/or edited.
2. From the Unit or Lesson, click the About tab.
3. Enter or edit the Unit Description or the Lesson Description by clicking in the provided text box to display a Public description for the web page, which will display for all users who can view the web page.
4. Click the Internal tab to add a unit or lesson description for the web page that will be viewable only to you.
5. Click Save.
6. Click Back to My Web Pages to navigate back to the main screen or click the web page title from the Units and Lessons panel to return to the web page screen in the About tab.
1. From the attached Units & Lessons in the right panel, click the Unit or Lesson to be viewed and/or edited.
2. Click the Standards tab.
The Standards displays when viewing Units and Lessons for courses that are more than 7 digits long set via Scheduling > Courses & Sections.
All attached standards display at the top of the screen.
All Available Course Standards display at the bottom.
3. Click + Add to attach a standard to the unit/lesson.
4. To filter for specific standards, enter key words in the Filter field.
a. Click the X to remove the Filter.
5. Once added, click Remove to remove a standard from the unit/lesson, if applicable.
6. Click Back to My Web Pages to navigate back to the main screen or click the web page title from the Units and Lessons panel to return to the web page screen in the About tab.
1. Click the Resources tab to add different resources to the web page, unit, or lesson, such as documents, links, calendar events, and more.
2. Click Create Resource to post a resource to your web page.
3. In the resource pop-up, enter a Title in the provided text box.
4. Select whether the resource provided is a Link, Folder, File, or Calendar Event from the pull-down.
5. Depending on the type of resource selected, the follow steps will vary. See the appropriate step for each type of resource. See Adding a Calendar Event as a Resource for more information on calendar events.
a. If you selected Link, enter the Web Address in the provided text box.
b. If you selected Folder, you will upload multiple resources to the Folder, such as a file or link; therefore, nothing will be uploaded here.
i. Click on the created Folder to add resources.
ii. Click Create Resource to add links, files, calendar events, or additional folders to the folder.
c. If you selected File, click No File to browse your computer and select the document to be uploaded as a resource.
i. Once the file is uploaded, the file displays along with two additional icons. Click the cloud to download the file. Click the red x to delete the file and upload a new one.
6. You have the option to share uploaded Resources with other users by selecting the Shareable to other teachers check box. Selecting the check box allows other users to search for and share the same resource on their web pages via My Information > Resource Browser for Teachers. The same is accessible for administrative users via Grades > Resource Browser.
If you do not have permission to access the Resource Browser enabled via Users > Profiles > Users tab, the Shareable to other teachers option does not display.
7. To display an image for the resource link, folder, or file, click Select Image.
a. You can select from the existing System Images or upload an image. Click Choose a file or drag it it here to browse for an image on your computer. You can also drag and drop the image into the Your Images section.
8. Once all selections have been made, click the Save button to post the resource to your web page. You can also click Cancel to return to the Resource screen without saving the resource.
9. Click the resource to open the link, file, or folder. To edit the resource, click the blue pencil located in the lower right corner of each resource.
10. You can also click the four arrowed icon in the right corner of each resource to rearrange the order of the icons. For example, if you wanted the APA style guide first, click the four arrowed icon and drag the icon to the left.
11. To add more resources, click Create Resource. When finished, click Back to Curriculum Guide List or Back to My Web Pages depending on which screen you are viewing to return the main screen.
Adding a calendar event will be available to you if your district integrates with Google Classroom and/or you have the Show Google Classroom permission enabled via Users > Profiles > Users tab.
1. Click the Resources tab to add different resources to the web page, unit, or lesson, such as documents, links, calendar events, and more.
2. Click Create Resource to post a resource to your web page.
3. In the resource pop-up, enter a Title in the provided text box.
4. Select Calendar Event from the pull-down.
5. Click Sign in with Google to link the Calendar Event in the web page to a calendar event in your Google Calendar.
6. Follow the prompts in order to sign in to your Google account. Once signed in, your email address displays next to Google Account. Click the unlink button to sign out of the account.
7. Your Google Calendar(s) associated with your Google Classroom now display in the Calendar pull-down. Select the applicable Calendar from the pull-down.
If the web page has linked sections, and any of those sections are linked to a Google Classroom class, Focus will automatically select the calendar for that Google Classroom class.
8. Select the days the event should repeat from the Repeat every pull-down.
If the web page has linked sections, Focus will auto-fill the scheduling fields based on the superset of the section schedules. For example, if the web page is linked to Section A, which meets on Monday from 10:00am to 11:00am, and Section B, which meets on Tuesday from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, then the event will be repeated weekly on Monday and Tuesday from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
9. Enter or edit the dates and times the event should be active in the corresponding text boxes.
10. Select the Link directly to Google Hangouts check box so the event gets created with a Google Hangouts meeting. If the check box is left cleared, the calendar event will be saved in the associated calendar without going to Google Hangouts.
You can select Link from the resource type pull-down and enter the Google Hangouts meeting URL, which will navigate directly to Google Hangouts, as opposed to creating an Event Calendar resource. For more information on creating different types of resources, see Adding Resources.
11. You have the option to share uploaded Resources with other users by selecting the Shareable to other teachers check box. Selecting the check box allows other users to search for and share the same resource on their web pages via My Information > Resource Browser for Teachers. The same is accessible for administrative users via Grades > Resource Browser.
12. To display an image for the resource link, folder, or file, click Select Image.
a. You can select from the existing System Images or upload an image. Click Choose a file or drag it it here to browse for an image on your computer. You can also drag and drop the image into the Your Images section.
13. Once all selections have been made, click the Save button to post the resource to your web page. You can also click Cancel to return to the Resource screen without saving the resource.
14. Click the created resource to open the event in the Google Calendar or with Google Hangouts.
If the resource has been linked to Google Hangouts, when clicked, Google Hangouts will automatically open for the meeting.
If the resource hasn't been linked to Google Hangouts, when clicked, Google Calendar opens and the event is displayed.
1. Click the Settings tab to define specific settings for the web page/curriculum guide.
2. To link a specific section(s) to the web page, select the section(s) from the Linked Sections pull-down.
Once the curriculum guide is created, you can select the Linked Courses to make it available to teachers via My Information > Web Pages and My Information > Shared Courses > District courses where teachers can Copy From the guide in order to create their own Web Page. Note: Curriculum Guides only display in Web Pages and Shared Courses for teachers if linked to a course assigned to the teacher.
3. Select the profiles to determine the user(s) allowed to edit the curriculum guide from the Allow Edit pull-down. Once granted permission, the user(s) will be able to edit the guide as if it were their own.
4. Select the Allow Comments check box to allow students to post comments on web pages. If enabled, students and staff may add their own comments to posts. Staff may view all comments, and their comments will be immediately viewable by all.
5. Select the Comments Require Moderation check box to view comments made by students before making the comments viewable. Note: This option will only appear if Allow Comments is selected. If enabled, student comments are not visible to other students, until moderated by a staff member. Staff may view all comments, and their comments will be immediately viewable by all.
6. Select the Students can reply to other students check box to allow students to reply to student comments. If not selected, students will only be allowed to reply to staff comments. Note: This option will only display if Allow Comments is selected.
7. Click Save to apply settings.
8. When settings have been saved, click Back to Curriculum Guides List link to return the main web pages screen.
In order to create and edit web pages/curriculum guides, you must have View permission set via Users > Profiles, which acts as view and edit since you are the only user who will have access to your web page.
1. In the Users menu, click Curriculum Guides.
2. If any curriculum guides have already been created, they will be listed and can be clicked for viewing and editing.
3. To delete an existing web page/curriculum guide, click Delete.
a. A confirmation pop-up displays. Click Confirm to delete the selected web page or Cancel to keep the web page.
4. To add or edit information, see the section on Creating Curriculum Guides.
5. To view and copy web pages created in a different school year, select the corresponding school year from the pull-down.
Existing web pages created in the selected year will display. To copy the web page to the current school year in order to edit it and use it, click Copy to Current Year.
1. In the Users menu, click Curriculum Guides.
2. If any curriculum guides have already been created, they will be listed and can be clicked for viewing and editing.
2. From the curriculum guide / web page, click Template to view a templates pop-up window from which you can Import data from an existing template, as well as Preview template data created before importing.
3. Click the School Templates tab for templates created by administrative users via Grades > Lesson Templates. The templates found on this tab are available to the school selected from the School pull-down upon creating the template.
Click the District Templates tab for templates created by administrative users via Grades > Lesson Templates. The templates found on this tab are available to all schools in the district.
4. To preview the data before importing to your curriculum guide, click Preview.
5. Click Import to import the data to your curriculum guide.
If there has already been a description entered, a pop-up displays alerting you that applying a template will overwrite your current description. Click Confirm to import the template. Click Cancel to keep the existing data and stop the importing.
You will see the data you imported from the template in your curriculum guide.
