Curriculum Components
Curriculum components define the types of information that must be included on units and lessons in a course plan, for example, Objectives, Essential Questions, Evidence of Learning, Background Knowledge, etc. District curriculum and learning specialists set up unit and lesson components. If given permissions, teachers may be able to select which unit and lesson components are included in their course plans, or curriculum components may be set and locked by the district on the curriculum guide. The district can also set up component templates to require certain components for different subject areas.
Unit components are set up by the district, and define the types of information that must be included on the unit level. Once set up and saved, unit components can be added to curriculum guides and course plans.
1. The Curriculum Components screen is divided into three tabs: Unit Components, Lesson Components, and Component Templates. The Unit Components tab is opened by default. Any existing unit components will be listed in the table.
2. To add a new unit component, scroll to the bottom of the list. In the blank row, you’ll define the information for the new unit component.
3. Enter a component name in the Title field.
4. Use the Type pull-down to define what the component field will be. Options include:
- Plain Text-Basic text field with no special characters or formatting options.
- Rich Text-Rich Text fields use the Content Editor, which includes options for images, tables and formatting.
- Short Text- Plain text field limited to 255 characters.
- Number
- Date
- Select One- Creates a pull-down where the user can select one option from a list of district-defined options.
- Select Multiple-Creates a pull-down where the user can select multiple options from a list of district-defined options.
5. When Select One or Select Multiple is chosen, a text box appears where you will enter the options the user can select from. Enter one option per line.
6. (Optional) Enter a Description of the component. The description will display beneath the component when building curriculum guides and course plans so that users know what type of information needs to be defined.
7. Select a Restriction radio button to permit who can use the component. The options include Teachers Only, Admins Only, and Admins & Teachers. For example, when a component is marked with Admins only, the component will not display as an option teachers can select from when creating course plans.
8. Enter a number for the Sort Order. The Sort Order allows you to select in what order components will appear. By default, Focus automatically arranges the list in alphabetical order.
9. To allow students and parents to view the information within the component, select the Visible to Students and Parents check box.
10. (Optional) Enter an Alternate Title.
11. Select the Disable check box if you do not want users to use the component and you do not want to delete the component from the system.
12. Click Save at the top-right corner of the screen to add the new component.When creating a curriculum guide or course plan, users will be able to select which unit components to include.
13. To edit a component, click a field to enable it for editing.
14. After making the change, click Save at the top-right corner of the screen.
Changes to unit components may affect course plans and curriculum guides that are already using the component. If a significant change is being made, it is recommended to disable the old component and create a new component.
15. To delete a component created in error, click the minus sign in the Delete column to the left of the component. It is important to only use this button if nothing has been built within the component and teachers have not imported any curriculum guides that use this component.
16. A confirmation message will display, indicating how many course plans or curriculum guides currently use the component. Click OK to proceed with deletion.
Lesson components are set up by the district, and define the types of information that must be included on the lesson level. Once set up and saved, lesson components can be added to curriculum guides and course plans.
1. The Curriculum Components screen is divided into three tabs: Unit Components, Lesson Components, and Component Templates. Click the Lesson Components tab. Any existing lesson components will be listed in the table.
2. To add a new lesson component, scroll to the bottom of the list. In the blank row, you’ll define the information for the new unit component.
3. Enter a component name in the Title field.
4. Use the Type pull-down to define what the component field will be. Options include:
- Plain Text-Basic text field with no special characters or formatting options.
- Rich Text-Rich Text fields use the Content Editor, which includes options for images, tables and formatting.
- Short Text- Plain text field limited to 255 characters.
- Number
- Date
- Select One- Creates a pull-down where the user can select one option from a list of district-defined options.
- Select Multiple-Creates a pull-down where the user can select multiple options from a list of district-defined options.
5. When Select One or Select Multiple is chosen, a text box appears where you will enter the options the user can select from. Enter one option per line.
6. (Optional) Enter a Description of the component. The description will display beneath the component when building curriculum guides and course plans so that users know what type of information needs to be defined.
7. Select a Restriction radio button to permit who is allowed to read/write. The options include Teachers Only, Admins Only, and Admins & Teachers. For example, when a component is marked with Admins only, the component will not display as an option teachers can select from when creating course plans.
8. Enter a number for the Sort Order. The Sort Order allows you to select in what order components will appear. By default, Focus automatically arranges the list in alphabetical order.
9. To allow students and parents to view the information within the component, select the Visible to Students and Parents check box.
10. (Optional) Enter an Alternate Title.
11. Select the Disable check box if you do not want users to use the component and you do not want to delete the component from the system.
12. Click Save at the top-right corner of the screen to add the new component.
When creating a curriculum guide or course plan, users will be able to select which lesson components to include.
13. To edit a component, click a field to enable it for editing.
14. After making the change, click Save at the top-right corner of the screen.
Changes to lesson components may affect course plans and curriculum guides that are already using the component. If a significant change is being made, it is recommended to disable the old component and create a new component.
15. To delete a component created in error, click the minus sign in the Delete column to the left of the component. It is important to only use this button if nothing has been built within the component and teachers have not imported any curriculum guides that use this component.
16. A confirmation message will display, indicating how many course plans or curriculum guides currently use the component. Click OK to proceed with deletion.
Component templates are set up to define which unit and lesson components are required for a given subject area. Once set up and saved, the user can select the component template to use when creating curriculum guides and course plans.
1. The Curriculum Components screen is divided into three tabs: Unit Components, Lesson Components, and Component Templates. Click the Component Templates tab. Any existing component templates will be listed in the table.
2. To add a new template, scroll to the bottom of the list. In the blank row, you’ll define the information for the component template.
3. Enter a name for the template in the Title field.
4. Select the desired unit and lesson components for the template. The options available for selection were set up in the Unit Components and Lesson Components tabs.
5. When finished, click Save at the top-right corner of the screen.
When creating a curriculum guide or course plan, users will be able to select a template to use.
6. To edit the template name, click the field to enable editing and make your changes.
7. To add or remove unit or lesson components from the template, select or deselect the appropriate options.
8. When finished, click Save at the top-right corner of the screen.
9. To delete a component template, click the minus sign in the Delete column to the left of the template.
10. In the confirmation message, click OK.
Deleting an existing component template will not affect curriculum guides and course plans built using that template. It will simply remove the template as an option when creating new curriculum guides and course plans.
Districts or schools may allow teachers to create web pages that are visible to the public. Only one public web page can be set up per teacher; the public web page is not linked to a specific course. The system preference “Custom Teacher Web Pages” must be enabled in order to turn on this functionality.
The web pages are displayed in a three-column format; the district or school defines the type of content that teachers can include in the first two columns of the web page. This is set up in Grades > Curriculum Components. The third column of the web page is reserved for teachers to include files and links.
1. In the Setup menu, select System Preferences.
2. On the System Preferences screen, select the School Preferences tab to set the system preference for the school you are currently logged in to. Select the Default School Preferences tab to set the system preference for all schools in the district.
3. The General sub-tab is opened by default.
4. Scroll down and locate the Custom Teacher Web Pages preference within the General tab. Select the check box to enable the preference.
If you are setting the preference for a specific school and the default school preference is set to No, you will need to deselect the No check box in the Defaults column before you can select the Custom Teacher Web Pages check box.
5. Click Save.
1. In the Grades menu, select Curriculum Components.
2. The Curriculum Components screen is divided into three tabs, Unit Components, Lesson Components, and Component Templates. Click the Unit Components tab.
3. Any existing unit components are listed. The blank row at the bottom of the screen is used to add a new component. In the blank row, enter the information to set up the first component for the public web pages.
Public Web Page- Select the check box to enable this component for use in public web pages. (This field is located at the far right of the screen)
Title- Enter a title for the web page component, e.g. Teacher Info. The title will display as a column header on the web page.
Type- Select Rich Text or Plain Text.
Note: When the Public Web Page check box is selected, Rich Text or Plain Text are the only Type options available for selection.
Description (Optional)- Enter a description of the component. The description will display beneath the component when building the web page so that teachers know what type of information needs to be entered.
Restriction- Select a restriction radio button to determine who can use the component. The options include Teachers Only, Admins Only, and Admins & Teachers. You must select either Teachers Only or Admins & Teachers to allow teachers to use the component.
Sort Order- Enter a number for the sort order. The Sort Order allows you to select in what order components will appear.
Visible to Students and Parents -This field is not applicable when setting up public web page components.
Alternate Titles- This field is not applicable when setting up public web page components.
Disable- Select the check box if you want to disable the component. When disabled, the component cannot be used.
4. Click Save. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to set up the second web page component.
Only two components can be enabled for use in public web pages.
