While each rostering method comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, there are general rules that apply to each rostering method within Studies Weekly Online. These questions and answers will hopefully address concerns you may currently have when considering rostering with Studies Weekly.
What is Rostering?
Rostering with Studies Weekly allows districts to create and manage user accounts for teachers and students district wide through a variety of automated processes. Studies Weekly is also able to collect roster data through third-party applications, such as ClassLink or Clever.
User data that is sent through the roster will be given a Studies Weekly Online account and be assigned either a district admin, teacher, or student role.
If a family email is being shared with a student account in the district SIS, that email will also be linked to the student's Studies Weekly Online account.
Why would I choose to roster my teachers and students?
As a District Admin that manages the roster data for your district, you will have the ability to manage the user accounts for all users at your district that utilize the Studies Weekly materials you’ve purchased. If you have a lot of users at your school, you can help them get a head start on the school year by setting up their online accounts for them. You can easily transfer data from one teacher to another, remove unused student or teacher accounts, and see high-level usage reports for your district (broken down by school).
Do I have to roster my users?
No, if you would rather allow your teachers to manage their own classrooms and students, you can direct them to the registration page where they can create their own accounts. The teachers will have the option to upload their students in bulk using an Excel spreadsheet.
The teacher registration page can be found here: Teacher Registration Page
What options do you have for automated rostering?
We offer integrations with third-party applications such as ClassLink or Clever, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) with CSV formatted files, or a direct connection with your Student Information System (SIS) through OneRoster API.
How often are you able to sync data?
Studies Weekly will sync data each night to ensure we have the latest information. Studies Weekly is also able to sync upon request as well.
Do you offer Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Yes, we offer Single Sign-On through OAuth 2.0 Handshake, Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) by IMS Global, or Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML).
Could we use Studies Weekly with a Learning Management System?
Yes, once we have set up a roster connection and we have users in the database, those who have an account will be able to login using an LMS. An LMS such as Google Classroom, Canvas, or Schoology gives teachers the opportunity to post lessons, assign homework, administer assessments, and communicate with students.
What LMSs do you integrate with?
Studies Weekly Online can integrate with any LMS that is compatible with LTI 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3 Advantage.
This is the current list of LMS platforms that we have successfully integrated with:
- Canvas
- Schoology
- It's Learning
- Blackboard Learn
- Agilix Buzz
- Thrivist Curve
- Lesson Planet
- Safari Montage
- Infinite Campus Learning Suite
What can and cannot be manually edited within a rostered school?
Rostered users can do the following:
- Add and remove publications from the classrooms created through rostering
- If a publication is manually added, it should stay during the sync
- If a rostered publication is manually removed, it should stay hidden during the sync
- Create new classrooms not managed by the rostering sync
Rostered users cannot do the following inside classrooms created by rostering:
- Archive Classrooms
- Add Co-Teacher
- Add Students
- Use the Join Code
- Edit Student Name, Username, or Password
- Transfer Student
- Import Google Classroom Students
- Create Multiple Students
- Import Student
- Generate Student Join Codes
Note
This means that they won’t see the three dots / action menu to do these actions (e.g., on the Classroom tile).
What will happen to our existing accounts?
When we receive the roster, new accounts will be created. Your existing accounts will not disappear so we advise making sure all of your teachers are logging in through the SSO. The only rostering method this does not apply to is Studies Weekly CSV. In that case, the existing accounts should be overridden by the roster.
Will account progress and reports merge to the new accounts?
Unfortunately, existing data will not merge over to the new accounts. Currently, student and teacher progress in the online publication is stored in the classroom.
How long will it take for accounts to be created?
We have a pretty quick turnaround time. Once you share your roster data with us we can get the accounts created within 24 hours.
How do family accounts get created and how will they login?
Accounts that are not sent through your roster server can be created directly through our site. Many rostering methods accommodate users that are not in district including sharing a family email. Teachers can manually add a family email to a student account under the Edit Student section of the People page. This allows a parent or guardian view-only access to the student's account.
Can our school roster or can rostering only be done at the district level?
If your school is independent from the district (your Student Information System(SIS) is independent from the district or the district does not include your school or any of it's users in rostering), then Studies Weekly can set up your school to roster. If not, then rostering must be done at the district level.
Can we roster after the school year has started?
Yes, you may still set up an automated roster even if the schools in your district are already in session. However, since existing account data does not merge to new rostered accounts, your teachers and students may lose progress in their online publications if they have already been utilizing the materials through manually created accounts. Depending on how far you are into the school year, it will be up to you as the district to decide if you would like to roster now or wait until the next school year begins.
Can I use Google Classroom if my account is rostered?
If the email associated with your rostered account is a Google-sourced email, then you will be able to use Google Classroom with Studies Weekly Online.